KitchenAid – Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry – Black Matte

This is my first countertop oven, and the bonus of having an Air Fryer basket was intriguing; having used one very frequently over the last year.
The open box experience was a bit frustrating, with many things taped to each other, but once you get past the odd pull of the many pieces of cardboard, the manuals, the included accessories, and the tape you’re ready to go!
Once unpacked, you’ll find a drip pan, which slides into the bottom and is easily removed for cleaning! After a light cleaning of the included air fry basket, and the included bake pan/rack, I was ready to make my first meal!
Being that this is a convection style heating oven, be prepared for a short “pre-heat” cycle similar to other similar appliances. The buttons and dials on the front of the oven are pretty straightforward, and if you’re not sure what temps or times to set, the included reference material will be extremely helpful.
One of the staples in my house, especially when I have my younger nieces and nephews over, is chicken nuggets! For my first entree, I used the air fryer basket that comes included with the oven. It slides into the top most rack, just make sure to follow the instructions and use some oil to prevent sticking. In my case, I took the basket over my sink and sprayed some oil from a can. Following the included reference packet, I set the appropriate turn dial to “Air Fry”, set the temp and time using the dial, then hit “Start.” The pre-heat cycle took a few minutes, so keep that in mind if you’re ever trying to make a super quick meal. In this case, at the higher temp, it took about 3-4 minutes to pre-heat, but your time may vary.
Compared to a more traditional air fryer, you can actually see inside to get a sense of how well the meal is being cooked. This resulted in fewer door openings, and less movement needed for the chicken to cook properly. In 10 minutes, it was done, and it was PERFECT! No burnt pieces, no dry ones either, just perfect! Clean up was a breeze! Simply pulled out the drip pan, and easily wiped away any residual oil that did drip down. The basket was also easy to clean, compared to my traditional air fryer, and was ready for another bake in just a few minutes.
For my next great cook off, I opted to make some bagels! After reading the manual, I set my shade to 3, as I like mine a little softer, and within a short few minutes, it was ready. There wasn’t any pre-heating on this one, you could just see the inside heating elements on. The bagel was made fairly well, and so I opted to make another half at the 4 shade setting, and it came out even better. Toast was just as easy to make, and does a much better job that my traditional toaster.
So far, I’ve used the oven to make some blackened chicken tenders, fish fillets, and some french fries. All while either following the included reference materials for temps/time, or the instructions on the packaging with all of them coming out perfect.
Overall, I’m really happy with the oven and my family is already using it more frequently than my other cooking appliances. If you’re in the market for a convection oven, with the added feature of air frying, this is the one for you! I’ve already eliminated my previous air fryer, put away my toaster, and I’m well on my way to becoming a bagel lover again.

THE BREAKDOWN:
If you haven’t had a chance to use and air fryer or even a countertop oven don’t miss out on this one. I own a basket style air fryer and an oven all in one air fryer similar to this one and this one hits all the marks.
This thing was easy to unpack and get started. It had 9 pre-set cooking functions to choose from. It has a dehydrate, proof, bagel, toast, air fry, bake, broil, reheat and keep warm. It is large enough to use a 9 X 13 pan which is also included along with an no flip air fry basket. One great thing to mention that comes with this product is the drip pan. This thing is a life saver, easy to put in and easy to take out and clean.
I have a family of 4 and I was able to create meals to feed the whole family quickly and easy. I especially love making crispy fries in 22 minutes! For those quick nights you can throw in chicken nuggets and fries at the same time and air fry them in under 30 min. For weekend big breakfast prep I can toast 9 pieces of toast at time.
One of the major advantages of using this countertop oven is that you don’t have to heat up your kitchen by using your electric or gas oven. The top and sides to do get very warm when using for extended periods of time. The last awesome thing I want to mention about this product is that it is very quiet, you can barely hear this running. I had another air fryer that is very loud, so this countertop oven is a blessing on the ears! One thing that I particularly don’t like about this oven is that it is big and bulky to set on my countertop. It is very pleasing to eye, but it is large and it doesn’t flip up like the other countertop oven that I own.
Overall, I found this countertop oven to be very nice, works well and is pleasing to eye.
PRO’s:
-Beautiful stainless/black look
-9 Pre-Set Cooking functions
-Very quiet while running
-Can accommodate 9 X 13 pan
-Doesn’t heat up your whole kitchen
CON’s:
– Large and bulky
– Wish this product could flip up to save space
SUMMARY:
Overall, I feel that this product worked very well, and I would recommend this to a friend if they are in the market for device like this. You won’t be disappointed if you pick this one up.

For me foremost, this thing has modern kitchen appliance looks that will make you want to put it out to call attention in your kitchen. The size is good enough to feed a family, 2-4 people. Between the air fryer feature, toasting, baking and even dehydrating, I have an appliance that i can tackle multiple things and it does it really really well. I’ve had fun with cooking and look forward to air frying even more and taking a healthier approach to the usual finger foods.

I really like almost everything about this oven: Size, speed of preheat, look, etc. the box looked really huge, but once I put the oven on the counter under a cabinet, it was not much bigger than the previous toaster oven, but instead is more square. The outside is very smooth and not many crevices to gather dirt, grime or crumbs.
Let’s talk performance. There is on selector buttonl which you spin to the function (toast, broil, dehydrate, etc.) . the second button changes the options. On toast, for example, you can change the number of slices, then click to toggle and switch the ‘doneness’ of the toast. then you push the start button and you’re done! On bake, you change the temp and the time the same way.
As mentioned, this really heats up quickly without heating up the kitchen— waaaaaay faster than a big oven. When the function is done, there is a dinger, but the volume is very low (thankfully! It’s not insistent like some dingers…).
The bottom drip tray is easy to pick up and wash in the sink. The chrome shelf and air fry basket slide in and out easily. the shelf is not ‘fixed’ like in most toaster ovens. So, you have to move it to the middle to toast bread or bagels, but insert it in the lower slot for baking in a dish! I tested the shelf strength with a heavy glass 2 quart casserole, loaded with au gratin potatoes. As you can see in my photo, you can pull the shelf out a long ways…. not tipsy at all! The light inside the oven comes on while in use and goes off when you;’re done. I like it! So simple to use.
And the biggest benefit? Yes! It holds a standard 13 x 9 pan of brownies!!!! I have wondered forever why toaster ovens ‘almost’ hold a brownie pan! This one does!
note- a small thing, but I saw that the box said “Kitchen Aid- An American Brand!” in three languages, but the oven was made in China.