Cuisinart TOA-70 Air Fryer Toaster Oven Review 2026

Countertop ovens promise a lot. Most deliver half of it. The Cuisinart TOA-70 arrived in my kitchen with a bold claim printed right on the box: eight cooking functions, a real grill plate, and enough room for a whole chicken.

I cooked with it for weeks. I burned one batch of toast. I roasted a bird that came out better than anything my full size oven has produced this year.

This review covers everything I learned. You will read about the unboxing, the dial layout, the air fry results, the grill plate that nobody talks about, and the three things this oven genuinely does poorly.

In a Nutshell:

• The air frying is excellent. Six quartz heating elements plus a top mounted fan produce crisp fries, crackling chicken skin, and pizza crust in under four minutes. This is the TOA-70’s strongest skill by a wide margin.
• The toasting is only average. Four slices brown nicely on top. The undersides show blotchy light and dark patches. Six slices fit, but they do not toast evenly. If perfect toast is your priority, this is not your oven.
• The dual sided grill and griddle plate is a real bonus. It sears steak on one side and cooks eggs or pancakes on the other. The ceramic coating is PTFE and PFOA free.
• Controls are fully analog. Four knobs, one light button, no display, no presets, no beeping app. Simple to learn, but you get no automatic preheat and no second batch timer adjustment.
• Capacity is decent, not huge. It swallows a 12 inch pizza or a 3 pound chicken. The interior measures roughly 12.4 by 12.4 by 6.7 inches, about 17 liters.
• Price sits near the $180 to $220 range. That is premium territory for an analog oven, and that is the main reason to hesitate.

What Is the Cuisinart TOA-70 Air Fryer Toaster Oven?

Last update on 2026-07-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I believe will add value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

The Cuisinart TOA-70 is a 1800 watt countertop convection oven with a built in air fryer and a grill function. Cuisinart sells it as an 8 in 1 machine. The functions are air fry, grill, bake, convection bake, broil, convection broil, toast, and warm.

It replaced the wildly popular TOA-60 in Cuisinart’s lineup. The company kept the analog dials and the brushed stainless housing. It changed the parts that mattered. The heating elements switched from nichrome to quartz. The convection fan moved from the side to the top. A grill and griddle plate joined the accessory kit.

The oven measures about 12.25 inches deep, 15.75 inches wide, and 13.75 inches tall according to Cuisinart. Add an inch or two once you count the door handle and the rear spacers. The unit weighs around 16 to 23 pounds depending on which model variant you buy.

Temperature runs from 200°F to 450°F. The timer covers 1 to 60 minutes with auto shutoff. Cuisinart backs the oven with a 3 year limited warranty in the United States and Canada.

One detail confuses buyers. There are two interior finishes. The TOA-70BKS uses a nonstick coated interior. The TOA-70BKSNAS and the stainless models use a fully stainless steel interior. Check the exact model code before you click buy if coatings matter to you.

Unboxing Experience and First Impressions

The box is heavier than it looks. Cuisinart packs the oven in molded foam with the accessories tucked into a separate cardboard tray above the unit. Nothing rattled. Nothing arrived bent.

Inside the box you get the oven, an oven rack, a baking pan, an air fryer basket, the dual sided grill and griddle plate, and the instruction manual. There is also a registration card and a reusable cable tie already wrapped around the power cord.

My first reaction was about weight distribution. The TOA-70 feels dense and planted. The stainless casing does not flex when you press it. The door swings with a firm, damped motion instead of the loose clatter you get from budget toaster ovens.

The knobs impressed me immediately. All four turn with a smooth, slightly resistant action. There is no wobble. Cheap ovens give you knobs that spin like a broken radio dial. These feel engineered.

The accessories surprised me most. The griddle plate has real heft and an angled surface that drains grease into a channel. The air fryer basket uses a fine mesh design rather than widely spaced bars, so small food does not fall through.

Setup took four minutes. I wiped the interior, removed a protective film from the door, ran the oven empty at 450°F for 15 minutes to burn off the factory smell, and opened a window. That first burn off produces a noticeable odor. Do it before you cook anything.

Design and Build Quality

The TOA-70 looks like a small commercial appliance. Brushed stainless steel covers the exterior. Vents run along the sides, the back, and the bottom to feed the convection system.

Cuisinart added two rear buffers that stop the oven from sitting flush against a wall. On the older TOA-60 these were separate tabs. Here they are molded into the base. That small change adds rigidity and gives you a place to wrap the cord.

The door handle stays cool to the touch. Side handles let you lift and reposition the oven without grabbing hot metal. A slide out crumb tray sits under the cooking chamber.

Inside, six quartz heating elements do the work. Four sit on top and two sit on the bottom. Guards cover them, which protects the glass tubes from grease splatter.

The convection fan mounts on the ceiling of the chamber rather than the side wall. This top down airflow is the single biggest reason the TOA-70 air fries so well. Hot air pushes down onto the food from directly above instead of blowing across it.

There are two rack positions. A safety hook on the upper level lets you slide the rack partway out to flip food without the whole tray tipping.

A door safety switch cuts the heating elements when you open the door. The timer keeps running, so remember that. The build quality here justifies the price more than the feature list does.

Control Panel and the 8 Cooking Functions

Four dials handle everything. From left to right you get Time, Temperature, Function, and Toast Shade. One button toggles the interior light.

The Function dial covers Warm at 200°F, Broil, Convection Broil, Toast, Bake, Convection Bake, Air Fry, and Grill. You choose your function, set your temperature, then turn the timer to start cooking. The oven begins immediately.

The Toast Shade dial only matters in Toast mode. Light equals about 2 minutes 30 seconds. Medium equals 5 minutes. Dark equals roughly 6 minutes 50 seconds. Having a dedicated toast dial is genuinely better than the shared timers on most analog ovens.

There is no automatic preheat. There is no digital display. There is no audio cue during cooking, though a clear ding sounds when the timer finishes.

The lack of a display is a mixed blessing. You cannot monitor a countdown at a glance. You also never worry about phantom power draw, and you never lose your settings during a power flicker.

The interior light deserves credit. Press the button and you can watch your food brown through the glass without opening the door. Opening the door kills both the light and the heat.

One practical note. Because the oven starts the second you turn the timer, you should set the function and temperature first. Turning the timer first means the oven begins heating at whatever settings were left from last time.

Top 3 Alternative for Cuisinart TOA-70 Air Fryer Toaster Oven

Last update on 2026-08-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I believe will add value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection AirFryer Toaster Oven

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Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Fry Oven DT201

Last update on 2026-06-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I believe will add value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro BOV900BSS

Air Frying Performance

This is where the TOA-70 earns its keep. I ran three separate air fry tests and the oven passed all three.

Frozen french fries went in at 400°F for 15 minutes. I tossed them once at the 10 minute mark. They came out evenly golden with crisp edges and fluffy interiors, and I used zero added oil. A few tips darkened slightly. Nothing burned.

Pizza was the standout. A 9 inch thick crust pizza on Air Fry at 450°F finished in 3 minutes 30 seconds. The crust browned around the rim, the bottom crisped through the basket, and the cheese caramelized without scorching.

A 3 pound whole chicken took 40 minutes at 350°F on Air Fry. I started it breast up, flipped it at the 20 minute mark, and pulled it when the thighs read around 190°F. The skin was so crisp that pieces flaked off when I lifted the bird with tongs.

Chicken wings work beautifully. The oven handles up to 3 pounds at once. Space them out on the basket and give them a flip halfway.

The mesh air fryer basket sits high enough that hot air reaches the underside of the food. Slide the baking pan underneath to catch drips. This keeps grease off the lower heating elements, which matters for both cleaning and fire safety.

If you buy this oven for one reason, buy it for air frying.

Toasting Performance

Here the story changes. The TOA-70 toasts adequately, not brilliantly.

Four slices on the Medium setting take 5 minutes. The tops emerge a handsome golden brown. Flip them over and you see the problem. The undersides show patchy light and dark areas, which points to uneven heat from the two bottom elements.

The taste is still good. The crust crisps while the center stays soft. Toast from this oven works fine for sandwiches, eggs benedict, or dunking into soup.

Six slices technically fit. They toast far less evenly than four. The outer slices lag behind the center ones. If you regularly make toast for a family of four or more, this oven will frustrate you.

Second batches behave unusually well for an analog oven. Because the timer does not auto adjust, I expected burnt bread. Instead the second round of four slices came out darker and crisper but still edible. The quartz elements heat the bread surface directly rather than superheating the chamber air, which seems to prevent runaway browning.

Here is the practical fix. For a second batch, turn the Toast Shade dial down to Light. You will match the first batch almost exactly.

Bagels toast well because the cut side faces the top elements. Frozen waffles do fine too. Plain sliced bread is the weak spot, and it is worth knowing before you buy.

Grilling and Griddling With the Dual Sided Plate

The grill plate is the feature that separates the TOA-70 from every other Cuisinart toaster oven. It is also the feature most reviews skip.

The plate is cast metal with a ceramic nonstick coating that contains no PTFE and no PFOA. One side has raised ridges for searing. The other side is flat for griddling.

The ridged side handled steak and vegetables well. I got visible grill marks on chicken breast and zucchini. You will not get open flame char, and you should not expect it. What you get is a proper sear with defined marks, cooked entirely indoors with no smoke alarm drama.

The plate is angled so grease drains toward holes on one edge. Set the baking pan below to catch it.

The flat griddle side cooks eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese, and bacon. Preheat it inside the oven for several minutes before adding food. A cold plate gives you pale, sad pancakes.

The plate measures roughly 8.5 by 9.1 inches. That is small. You will cook two burger patties or one large steak at a time, not dinner for six.

One honest caution. I tried air frying a whole chicken on the grill plate first and the skin never crisped properly. Use the basket for air frying and save the plate for direct contact searing. They are not interchangeable.

The plate is dishwasher safe, though hand washing preserves the ceramic coating longer.

Baking and Roasting Results

Baking on the TOA-70 works well once you accept the size limits. The chamber fits a 9 by 11 inch pan comfortably.

I baked cookies on Convection Bake at 325°F. The batch browned evenly across the tray, which is more than I can say for my old side fan toaster oven. Rotating the pan once at the halfway point produced near perfect uniformity.

Roasted vegetables are a strong use case. Toss potatoes, carrots, and onions with oil, spread them on the baking pan, and run Convection Bake at 400°F. The top mounted fan browns the exposed surfaces without drying the interiors.

Cakes and quick breads need attention. Convection can dome the top before the center sets. Drop the temperature by 25°F from your recipe and use plain Bake instead of Convection Bake for delicate batters.

Roasting meat is a highlight. Pork tenderloin, salmon fillets, and bone in chicken thighs all cooked faster than in a full size oven and used a fraction of the energy.

The temperature holds steady during cooking, which is not a given at this price. The oven does not swing wildly between cycles.

Preheating takes about 5 to 8 minutes to reach 400°F. There is no preheat indicator, so use your own timer. I set my phone for 6 minutes before loading anything that needs an accurate start temperature.

Capacity and Counter Space

Cuisinart lists the interior at 0.6 cubic feet. Measured directly, the usable chamber runs about 12.4 inches wide, 12.4 inches deep, and 6.7 inches tall, which works out to roughly 17 liters.

That fits a 12 inch pizza, a 3 pound chicken, 3 pounds of wings, or six slices of bread. It does not fit a full sheet pan, a 9 by 13 casserole dish, or a Thanksgiving turkey.

For a couple or a small family of three, capacity is fine. For a household of five, you will run two batches for most meals.

Counter footprint is the bigger issue. Cuisinart’s listed dimensions of 12.25 by 15.75 by 13.75 inches do not include the door handle or the rear spacers. Measured with those included, the real footprint is closer to 16 inches deep and 16 inches wide.

The 13.75 inch height matters more than most buyers expect. If you have standard upper cabinets 18 inches above the counter, the TOA-70 fits, but clearance for the vents and the opening door gets tight. Measure your space before ordering.

The power cord runs about 27.6 inches. That is enough for typical counter placement but short if your outlet sits behind other appliances.

The oven draws 1800 watts. Do not share the circuit with a microwave or a kettle. Tripping a breaker mid roast teaches this lesson the hard way.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Cleaning is easier than I expected, and this is a legitimate strength.

The stainless interior wipes down with a damp cloth and a little dish soap. After roasting a chicken, fat splattered across the walls. It came off with one pass. The polished surface resists baked on residue better than textured coatings do.

The heating element guards did their job. No grease reached the quartz tubes and nothing collected on the chamber ceiling. This matters because exposed quartz elements are miserable to clean and can crack if scrubbed.

The crumb tray slides out from the front. It fits more snugly than the TOA-60 tray, so fewer crumbs escape into the base. Empty it weekly if you toast often.

All four accessories are dishwasher safe. The mesh air fryer basket released caramelized bits without soaking. The griddle wiped clean thanks to the ceramic coating.

Two honest complaints. The baking pan coating is not fully nonstick and shows staining after fatty roasts. Those stains are cosmetic and do not affect performance, but they do not scrub out.

The second issue is the glass door. Grease film builds on the inside of the glass and needs a dedicated wipe every few weeks or you lose your view of the food.

Never use abrasive pads or oven cleaner on the interior. A soft cloth, warm water, and mild soap handle everything.

What the Cuisinart TOA-70 Does Not Do Well

Every review should include this section. Here is where the TOA-70 falls short.

Toast evenness is mediocre. The bottoms of the bread brown unevenly. At full six slice capacity the problem gets worse. This is the most common complaint from owners and my testing confirms it.

There is no automatic preheat and no preheat indicator. You guess, or you use a separate timer. Digital competitors handle this for you.

No second batch adjustment. Analog timers do not know the oven is already hot. You compensate manually every single time.

The interior gets very hot very fast, and some users report burning. Owners of the nonstick interior variant have reported the oven running hotter than the dial indicates. If your first few bakes come out overdone, reduce the temperature by 25°F and adjust from there.

No rotisserie. At this price, several competitors include one.

Only two rack positions. You can adjust the rack slightly within each slot, but you do not get the four or five height options that larger ovens offer.

Quartz elements are less durable than nichrome. They heat faster and more directly, but they are glass tubes. Treat them carefully.

The price is high for an analog machine. Around $180 to $220, you are paying premium money for knobs and no screen. That is the fairest criticism of this oven. You are buying cooking performance, not convenience features.

Cuisinart TOA-70 vs TOA-60: Which Should You Pick?

Plenty of readers already own a TOA-60 or are choosing between the two. Here is the honest breakdown.

The TOA-60 is larger inside and cheaper, often by $60 to $80. It has seven functions instead of eight. It uses nichrome heating elements and a side mounted fan.

The TOA-70 is slightly smaller inside but adds the grill function and the dual sided grill and griddle plate. It uses quartz elements and a top mounted fan. It runs noticeably quieter, which Cuisinart improved after customer feedback on the TOA-60.

For air frying pizza and whole chicken, the TOA-70 wins. The top down airflow crisps better. For general convection baking of things like french fries spread across a pan, the TOA-60’s nichrome elements arguably distribute heat more gently.

For toast, the TOA-60 has a small edge because it can engage the convection fan during toasting. The TOA-70 does not.

For build quality, the TOA-70 wins. Better crumb tray fit, integrated rear buffers, lighter yet sturdier casing, and a door safety switch.

Buy the TOA-60 if you want maximum capacity per dollar. It remains one of the best value countertop ovens available.

Buy the TOA-70 if you want the grill plate, quieter operation, and the best air fry results Cuisinart currently offers in an analog oven.

Pros and Cons of the Cuisinart TOA-70

Last update on 2026-07-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API Some of the links on this website are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and services that I believe will add value to my readers. Thank you for your support!

Pros

• Outstanding air fry performance. Pizza in 3 minutes 30 seconds and chicken skin that shatters. The top mounted fan and six quartz elements are a genuinely effective combination.
• Dual sided grill and griddle plate included. The ceramic coating is PTFE and PFOA free, and the angled drain channel keeps grease off your food.
• Excellent build quality. Thick stainless casing, smooth precise dials, cool touch handle, and a door safety switch that cuts power when opened.
• Very easy to clean. Polished stainless interior wipes down fast, all four accessories are dishwasher safe, and element guards block grease.
• Quiet operation. Noticeably quieter than the TOA-60 and most competing air fry ovens.
• 3 year limited warranty with responsive Cuisinart customer support in the United States and Canada.

Cons

• Uneven toast. Bottoms brown in patches, and six slice batches are inconsistent.
• No preheat indicator, no display, no presets. Every setting is manual guesswork at first.
• No second batch timer adjustment. You must dial down the toast shade yourself.
• Runs hot on some units. Several owners report food browning faster than the dial suggests.
• No rotisserie and only two rack positions.
• Expensive for an analog oven. Digital competitors at similar prices offer far more convenience features.
• Baking pan stains after fatty roasts and never fully recovers its finish.

Who Should Buy the Cuisinart TOA-70?

This oven suits specific people very well and other people poorly. Be honest about which group you fall into.

Buy it if you air fry constantly. Wings, fries, frozen snacks, roast chicken, and reheated pizza all come out excellent. This is the oven’s core strength and it beats most competitors at twice the price point in raw results.

Buy it if you want indoor searing. The grill plate genuinely works for steak, burgers, and vegetables. Apartment dwellers without balcony grills will use it constantly.

Buy it if you prefer knobs over screens. Some people want an appliance they can operate without reading a manual. Analog controls never glitch, never need firmware, and never lose settings.

Buy it if you cook for one to three people. Capacity fits that household size comfortably.

Skip it if perfect toast is your main goal. A dedicated toaster costs $40 and does that job better.

Skip it if you want smart features. No presets, no app, no probe, no display. Look at digital models from Ninja or Breville instead.

Skip it if you have limited counter space or low cabinets. Measure twice. The real footprint exceeds the listed dimensions.

Skip it if you are on a tight budget. The TOA-60 delivers most of the cooking ability for meaningfully less money.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Cuisinart TOA-70 interior nonstick or stainless steel?

It depends on the model code. The TOA-70BKS has a nonstick coated interior. The TOA-70BKSNAS and the standard stainless versions have a fully stainless steel interior. Check the exact code on the listing before you order if this matters to you.

How many watts does the Cuisinart TOA-70 use?

The oven draws 1800 watts at maximum. Plug it into its own outlet on a dedicated circuit whenever possible. Sharing a circuit with another high draw appliance can trip your breaker.

Can the Cuisinart TOA-70 fit a 12 inch pizza?

Yes. The interior measures roughly 12.4 inches square, so a 12 inch pizza fits with very little margin. A 9 inch pizza on the air fry basket gives you better airflow and a crisper bottom crust.

Does the Cuisinart TOA-70 have a preheat function?

No. There is no automatic preheat and no preheat indicator light. Set the temperature, wait about 6 to 8 minutes for 400°F, then load your food. Use a separate timer for accuracy.

Why does my toast come out uneven?

The two bottom quartz elements do not distribute heat perfectly across the full width. Toast four slices instead of six, position them in the center of the rack, and rotate the rack once if you want more consistency.

Is the Cuisinart TOA-70 loud?

No. It is quieter than the TOA-60 and quieter than most air fry ovens. You hear a soft fan hum during convection cooking and a clear ding when the timer ends.

What is included in the box?

You get the oven, an oven rack, a baking pan, a mesh air fryer basket, a dual sided ceramic grill and griddle plate, and the instruction manual with recipes.

How long is the warranty?

Cuisinart provides a 3 year limited warranty in the United States and Canada. Register the product after purchase to simplify any future claim.

Can I leave the Cuisinart TOA-70 plugged in?

Yes. Because the oven is fully analog with no display, it draws essentially no standby power. Unplug it only if you will not use it for an extended period.

Is the TOA-70 worth the upgrade from a TOA-60?

If your TOA-60 still works, probably not. If you want the grill plate, quieter operation, and better air fry crisping, the upgrade makes sense. Otherwise the TOA-60 remains excellent value.

Final Verdict

The Cuisinart TOA-70 is a very good air fryer that happens to include a mediocre toaster. That framing helps set expectations correctly.

Buy it for the crisping. The pizza, the wings, the whole chicken, and the seared steak on the grill plate all justify the price. The build quality is genuinely premium and the cleaning experience is painless.

Do not buy it expecting smart convenience. You are getting four dials, no screen, and no hand holding. For many cooks that simplicity is the appeal. For others it is a deal breaker.

Prices and availability change often, so check current listings before you decide.