Is your kitchen in need of an upgrade?
Why not save on some counter space by getting two of the most popular appliances in one convenient unit? I present to you the air fryer microwave combo.
These brand new appliances combine the power of an air fryer and a microwave to bring you some of the best cooking technology there is to offer.
If you’re ready to bring your kitchen appliances to the next level, we’re reviewing 5 of the best air fryer microwave combos to make your life just that much easier.
We will look at how they work, their pros and cons, and a simple buyer guide to make sure you never go wrong when buying the right model.
Keep reading to find out more!
Difference Between Air Fryer And Microwave
Before we can get into our top picks for the air fryer microwave combo and their incredible benefits, it might help if you understand the differences.
The biggest difference is the way they produce heat. Air fryers work fairly similar to your conventional oven you will have in your kitchen, just on a much smaller scale.
The coiled element is heated by electric currents, and a built-in fan helps the heat be distributed evenly across the cooking chamber.
Microwaves, however, use electromagnetic radiation. This is done through producing microscopic waves that cause the water molecules in food to vibrate.
Your food is essentially heated by the heat produced by these vibrations.
They use moisture to help heat your food meaning your food will rarely come out crispy and brown.
An air fryer microwave combo brings the best of both cooking styles to one easy to use unit. So, let’s take a look at some of the best options.
OUR TOP PICK
Panasonic Microwave Oven With Air Fryer
Is your oven broken and your air fryer on the edge?
This Panasonic HomeChef model is 4 cooking appliances in one! It can work as a microwave, air fryer, convection oven, and a broiler.
This is essentially all you need in your kitchen. You can utilize each function on its own or use them together.
Make some delicious, crispy dishes in the air fryer and roast your side dishes with the convection oven.
There is also the added benefit of not needing a lot of oil due to the air fryer function, making healthy cooking even easier with this appliance.
When it comes to the microwave you can reheat, defrost, cook, and warm food in a matter of minutes.
Alternatively, choose to utilize some simple pre-set options that make cooking faster.
Pros
- 4-in1: Use this appliance as an air fryer, microwave, convection oven, or broiler. Use each function on their own or together to create delicious dishes.
- Design: This air fryer microwave combo has a sleek, compact design perfect for small living spaces.
- Power: 1000 Watts of power makes this appliance perfect for cooking your food quickly and evenly every time.
Cons
- Price: This air fryer microwave is expensive and can be costly for those trying to stay within their budget.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Cuisinart 3-In-1 Air Fryer Microwave Oven
Are you moving into a shared dorm, or simply want to save space on your kitchen countertops?
This 3-in-1 Cuisinart air fryer microwave oven is the ideal compact model. This incredible appliance is super powerful and offers controlled airflow technology that makes reheating food faster than ever before.
You’ll be able to defrost, cook, and air fry to your heart’s content!
Air fry up to 2 pounds of crispy chicken wings for game day. Slow roast a 4-pound chicken for Sunday dinner with the family. Settle down and pop some popcorn for movie night. It’s all possible with this handy air fryer microwave combo.
Three air fryer and six microwave cooking presets make it easy to get your favorites ready to enjoy even faster. Adjustable time and temp along with 11 different power levels offer customized cooking as well.
Keep a dedicated eye on your food’s progress with the easy view interior light and the glass panel.
This compact air fryer microwave combo is perfect for those looking to downsize their appliances, or for those moving into their first home.
To get started with your new unit, check out our 5 best Cuisinart air fryer recipes to try today.
Pros
- Child Safety Lock: An optional child lock may be engaged to keep little ones safe during cooking.
- Stainless Interior: The inside is both easy to clean and incredibly durable.
- Accessories: Comes with an air fry basket, drip tray, and turntable.
- Compact Size: At only 18” on the longest side, it fits easily in a small amount of space, while still offering .6 cu ft of cooking space.
Cons
- Wattage: The microwave only runs at 700W. While it will still cook fine, it takes a bit longer than a standard 1000W model. Note the air fryer operates at a higher 1500W.
- Interior Size: The turntable is only about 9.5” in diameter. Very large dinner plates may not fit.
- Turntable: The glass turntable must be removed before the air fryer is operated. Otherwise, it will break. We view this as a minor inconvenience, but really a pain if you forget.
BEST VALUE
RCA Air Fryer Microwave
If you love cooking for your family and want to do it in a quicker, healthier way, then the RCA Air Fryer Microwave is a perfect addition to your home.
With the convection oven option, it can easily reheat frozen items, air-fry some tasty chicken, and bake and roast. Learn how to cook frozen chicken tenders in the air fryer perfectly with our handy guide!
With its simplistic design and controls, there is almost no learning curve.
An impressive 10 power options means that you have more control over your appliances than you ever thought you needed.
With touch screen features, this air fryer microwave is made for even the most technologically challenged.
All you need to do is press a few buttons and you will have delicious, cooked meals every time.
The child lock feature ensures that your curious little ones are kept out of the scalding hot interior and are unable to open the door during the cooking process.
Pros
- 5-in-1: Cook your food 5 different ways with this incredible smart feature, including five one-touch smart program options.
- Touch Screen: View your settings and control your appliance easily with the tech savvy touch screen feature.
- 10 Power Settings: With 10 power settings you have more control over the cooking of your food than just a regular microwave or air fryer.
- Child Lock: Keep your little ones safe from burns and injuries with the handy child lock door handle.
Cons
- Size: May be too large for someone living in a shared living space such as a college dorm room. If you’re shopping for this sort of place, check out our guide to the best dorm microwave.
RUNNER UP
Toshiba Multifunction Microwave Oven With Air Fryer
Is there anything this Toshiba microwave air fryer can’t do?
We’re struggling to answer this question! This Toshiba microwave has a whopping 25 pre-set menus. Nearly half of these are air fryer settings that will turn out beautifully browned and crispy, crunchy dishes.
The microwave also has a broiling setting to ensure your meals are extra crispy. You can even achieve a charred effect!
A baking setting even helps baked goods such as cakes to fluff up and cook to perfection!
There are also 4 low-temperature settings that help you dehydrate fruits and vegetables, and ferment ingredients such as yogurt.
This Toshiba microwave air fryer boasts an eco-setting that allows you to save energy when you’re not using it.
It comes with all of this, plus 11 microwave settings including defrosting pre-sets.
Although this microwave is a 1000 watt microwave, because of its many functions there are 10 different power settings you can use.
With this spacious microwave you can also roast whole chickens and even 12-inch pizzas. If you don’t need a whole pizza, scale it down and learn how to cook bagel bites in the air fryer instead!
It also looks beautiful with a stylish and sleek design that’s sure to fit into your kitchen perfectly.
Pros
- Wide Variety of Settings: With this microwave you can not only air fry but dehydrate fruit and vegetables, and bake food too.
- Attractive Design: The sleek design is sure to look good in any kitchen.
- Eco-Setting: This setting helps you to save money on your energy bills when you’re not using the microwave.
- Large: Big enough to cook 12-inch pizzas and roast chickens.
Cons
- Complicated: While we believe the variety of settings is a good thing, some customers have found this choice overwhelming and that it makes the microwave more difficult to use.
RUNNER UP
Galanz 4-In-1 ToastWave
This is the upgrade from the Galanz 3-in-1 SpeedWave. The Toastwave adds the cool new feature of being a toaster oven as well as a microwave and an air fryer!
Like the model before, it continues to use a rotating plate to ensure the food is heated and cooked evenly throughout.
This model features more cooking possibilities, including – you guessed it – toasting! This is thanks to its toast oven setting.
However, this capability also enables you to crisp up ingredients, lightly toast seeds and nuts, and even cook crispy pizza on a pizza stone.
If you are more interested in the air frying capabilities of this appliance then you will be excited to know that there’s little to no oil required.
Using TotalFry360 Technology, your Galanz 4-in-1 ToastWave is enhanced and provides more frying surface area with better air circulation.
In simpler words, your food will be crispier and even more delicious.
Pros
- Toaster Oven: Not only can you reheat, cook, and air fry, you can also now toast your foods. Make pizzas just as good as in an oven with one simple appliance.
- TotalFry 360 Technology: This technology provides more frying surface and enhanced air circulation for tastier, crispier food.
- Sensor Cook & Reheat: There is no undercooking or overcooking of your food thanks to an integrated humidity sensor. When food is heated and ready to eat for pre-cooked dishes, sensor reheat automatically shuts off.
Cons
- Ease of Use: If you have little to no understanding of technology, then using the Galanz 4-in-1 ToastWave may be difficult and time consuming.
Best Air Fryer Microwave Combo Buying Guide
Shopping for a new appliance is a complicated task, especially when it’s something new to you. Since the air fryer microwave is a fairly new innovation, there’s several different things you’ll want to consider for your purchase.
We have put together this buyer’s guide that makes navigating all those complicated features simple. Check it out!
Power Settings And Usage
When looking to buy any form of appliance, you should always check the amount of power it uses.
A typical microwave air fryer combo uses around 1200 watts, although some models may use more or less.
On today’s market there are plenty of air fryer microwave combos that come with eco-settings within their arsenal.
This will help save you power when your appliance is no longer in use but has not been unplugged.
Another factor to consider when it comes to power settings is how low and/or high you can set the power.
Now, it is common practice for appliances to come with 10 power settings. These settings allow you to alter the intensity of the heat when cooking your food.
If you are looking to defrost, many models come with defrost presets.
However, if your chosen model does not come with a defrost function then you would use the lowest setting.
When selecting your perfect air fryer microwave combo, you want to ensure that it has a host of features to make your life simple.
At the very least, make sure you’ll be able to adjust the temperature when cooking different dishes.
If you are unable to adjust the heat then you may not get as much out of your appliance as you anticipated.
Size
With different people having different needs, microwaves and air fryers come in all different sizes. So, it should come as no surprise that the same goes for air fryer microwaves. You have to select one that fits your needs.
If you are cooking for 1 or 2 people then a 0.6 cubic feet model would fit your needs perfectly.
This size is also great for those living in smaller living quarters such as a studio apartment or a college dorm room.
If you happen to have a family of 3 or more, meal prep, or simply cook for more people on a regular basis then you will require a larger appliance.
Anything larger than 1 cubic feet will work perfectly for cooking for a family of 3 or more.
The biggest model on the market is around 2 cubic feet and takes up quite a lot of countertop space.
However, it is perfect for those hosting large gatherings or cooking for a larger family.
Design
The design of an appliance is often the first thing to draw you in and to take a deeper look at.
However, the most important thing to consider about an air fryer microwave combo is the durability. You don’t want to have to replace it every few months or even years.
Most air fryer microwaves are designed from stainless steel. This material is durable when it comes to bumps and scratches.
It is also super easy to clean. Stainless steel is a popular material for kitchen appliances and often fits nicely with the interior design of the kitchen.
Your appliance should last you, on average, seven years before needing a replacement.
It may last longer, however, at the seven year mark there will be more improved models on the market.
Now you can look at the glass paneling and other elements. When it comes to the panel, you want scratch resistant glass that you can see through to monitor your food.
An air fryer microwave with an internal LED light makes it even better.
Function
The functionality of the appliance is one of the most important features. You want your appliance to work well and do what it claims to do.
Otherwise you may consider returning it altogether.
Make sure to choose an air fryer microwave combo that has all the features you’d like to frequently use.
That could be reheating, defrosting, or air frying so your food is nice and crispy. Defrost your chicken breast in the microwave, and then air fry to golden perfection – all in the same appliance!
If you choose a model that’s lacking an important feature, you’re likely to be disappointed with your purchase.
Read as many reviews of each model that you can before making your final selection.
This allows you to learn from others experiences and determine whether the appliance is right for you.
If a product has mainly negative reviews then you will know that it is not worth purchasing and will cause you trouble in the future.
Best Air Fryer Microwave Combo Frequently Asked Questions
Before making the purchase of a new air fryer microwave combo, you may have some questions.
We have answered the most frequently asked questions regarding air fryer microwave combos.
What Are Air Fryer Microwaves?
An air fryer microwave is exactly what it sounds like- the combination of a microwave and an air fryer.
You can reheat, defrost, cook and air fry your food in one appliance.
Through different settings you can make your food in a range of ways without having to change the machine you are using.
What Can You Cook In An Air Fryer Microwave?
You can really get creative with your air fryer microwave dishes. Cooking anything from crunchy fries, roast chicken, to pizza. All you have to do is enjoy.
If you made too many fries the day before, you could always reheat fries in the microwave and use the same appliance to do so!
Can You Use Oil In An Air Fryer Microwave?
You can use oil in an air fryer microwave if you desire. However, just like a regular air fryer, there is no need for oil to be used.
This is what makes it a healthier cooking option versus a traditional fryer. However, if you want to add a little bit for a more golden brown, feel free!
Final Thoughts
If you are looking for a way to really upgrade your kitchen or to downsize in appliances, the air fryer microwave combo is perfect.
With all the benefits of microwaves and air fryers, what’s not to love?
Take a look at our top picks of air fryer microwaves on the market and our handy buyer guide to help you make your decision today.
Watch what you can create with the capabilities of both an air fryer and a microwave without ever having to turn on the oven or wait on the deep fryer.
That doesn’t even include the health benefits from cutting out all the oil!
I enjoy trying new recipes, creating my own, and dabbling with new techniques all the time. My husband loves to protest when I make him my guinea pig, but it’s all for the love of food!
My cooking philosophy is that great tasting food doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming to make. I'm a home cook with over 20 years of experience feeding myself and others. I've learned from a variety of different people, things I've learned online, and some trial and error as well.
I enjoy cooking a variety of foods, from convenience to comfort foods, as well as international cuisine. You can rest assured that all of my recipes have been actually made, thoroughly tested, and most importantly: tasted! I want you to enjoy my food as much as I do!
- Guava Margarita: Easy Guavarita Drink Recipe! - April 22, 2024
- Air Fryer Avocado Egg Rolls (Cheesecake Factory Copycat) - April 21, 2024
- Strawberry Horchata Chai: Dutch Bros Copycat Recipe - April 20, 2024