Breville
Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro
- Bottom Line
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With 1 cubic foot of interior space, this air fryer toaster oven can fit a 14-pound turkey, making it big enough for holiday dinners.
- Pros
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It made nearly flawless chicken wings with crispy skin and juicy meat in less than half the time as a standard oven. Its pizza setting cooked a frozen pizza perfectly, and the toast setting only needed 3 minutes to get bread golden brown. Its temperature is highly accurate, registering within a couple of degrees of its setting on an oven thermometer.
- Cons
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It gets pretty messy when cooking greasy foods like chicken wings and bacon because they often splatter all over the bottom and door.
About the product
We tested the Breville Smart Oven to see if it’s as smart as they say
Air fryers have become all the rage among home chefs because they let you cook crispy foods with little to no oil — and in less time than traditional ovens. But if you don’t have countertop space for a dedicated air fryer, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is the ideal alternative. Not only does it air-fry, but it also offers 12 other cooking modes, so it can replace an air fryer, toaster oven and more.
While it is similar to the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer, it offers an upgrade on its versatility with two additional cooking functions and a larger capacity. The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro can hold up to nine slices of toast compared to the previous model’s six. In addition, it can accommodate a standard 9-by-13-inch baking pan, a 13-inch pizza and even a 14-pound turkey.
But how does the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro compare to other air fryers and air fryer ovens overall?
The BestReviews Testing Lab put the Pro to work, evaluating its ability to prepare common air-fried foods, like frozen french fries, chicken wings and hot dogs, as well as the effectiveness of its other cooking functions. We examined how evenly it cooked, how much noise it made when in use, how hot its exterior got and how difficult the cleaning process was, so we could determine just what type of kitchen it would work best in. Ultimately, we found the Breville Pro excelled at air-frying, toasting and baking, but we were a bit disappointed by its cleanup process.
What is the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro?
Product specifications
Type: Oven air fryer | Capacity: 1 cu. ft. | Dimensions: 21.5” L x 17.1” W x 12.7” H | Weight: 38.9 lb | Material: Stainless steel | Control Type: Knob | Number of Functions: 13 | Temperature Range: 80 to 480 degrees
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is an oven air fryer that offers 12 other cooking functions in addition to air-frying. It has baking, roasting, broiling, toasting and reheating settings, like most toaster ovens and countertop ovens. However, it also has presets for bagels, pizza and cookies to make preparing these basic foods as easy as possible. In addition, because its temperature range goes as low as 80 degrees, the oven can dehydrate, proof dough and work as a slow cooker, making it one of the most versatile countertop ovens on the market.
While the oven has an LCD display that shows the cooking mode, temperature and time, it features selection and control knobs and a start/stop button. During testing, we found that the knobs made it easy to operate and allowed us to precisely set the time and temperature. The oven took up quite a bit of space on the countertop in our testing area (its footprint is about 21.5 by 17 inches) and required clearance of 4 inches on each side and 6 inches on top. However, its large size also increased its capacity, so we could fit an entire 2-pound bag of frozen french fries in the air-fryer basket.
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro’s stainless steel design has a brushed finish that looks great on the counter. That’s a good thing because it weighs over 38 pounds, making it difficult to take in and out of a cabinet. The oven doesn’t offer much of a cleaning challenge, but its components are not dishwasher-safe, which increases the cleanup time.
Pros
- Versatility: With 13 cooking presets, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro isn’t just for air-frying french fries and chicken wings. It can toast bread, bake cookies, cook pizza, dehydrate fruit, proof bread dough, roast chicken and more. Depending on your cooking needs, it can eliminate other countertop appliances, such as an air fryer, a toaster oven, a dehydrator and/or a slow cooker.
- Accurate temperature: During testing, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro registered an accurate temperature within a few degrees of the selected temp on our oven thermometer. It automatically preheats, too, and usually doesn’t take more than two to three minutes to reach temperature.
- Even crisping: The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro performed well during our air-frying tests, so foods like french fries, chicken wings and hot dogs were crispy all over while being tender or juicy on the inside.
- Generous capacity: The large size allows it to make a lot of food, including a 14-pound turkey, so it’s ideal for families and entertaining a group.
Cons
- Countertop space: The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is large, measuring 21.5 inches long, 17.1 inches wide and 12.7 inches high, so it takes up quite a bit of real estate on the counter. It may be difficult to find a spot for it in smaller kitchens.
- Longer cleanup: Its air-frying basket, wire rack, broiling rack, pizza pan and roasting pan are not dishwasher-safe, so it takes longer to clean than other countertop ovens.
- Price: While it’s highly versatile and can replace several other countertop appliances, it is considerably more expensive than similar countertop ovens, so it won’t fit all budgets.
Who is it for?
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is a highly versatile appliance with several specialized cooking functions, so it’s ideal for home cooks who use different cooking methods. It can replace an air fryer, toaster oven, dehydrator and slow cooker to maximize countertop space. Its capacity is large enough for big families and entertaining, too.
How we tested
To see how well and efficiently the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro cooks food, we performed tests with some foods commonly prepared in air fryer ovens. We cooked the same foods in a standard oven to see how cooking times and results compared.
Air-frying french fries
When preparing frozen french fries, we relied on a basic recipe we found online because the package did not have air-frying instructions. We tossed them with light olive oil and salt to taste before adding them to the oven’s air fryer basket and air-frying them for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. We shook the fries to ensure they cooked evenly and then air-fried them for another five minutes.
The french fries cooked for a total of 15 minutes.
Air-frying chicken wings
To prepare the chicken wings for cooking, we tossed them with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika, so they were fully coated. We added them to the oven’s air fryer basket and air-fried them for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. After flipping them over, we cooked the wings for another 10 minutes.
The chicken wings cooked for a total of 20 minutes.
Air-frying hot dogs
We prepared the hot dogs for cooking by making several vertical cuts down each. We placed them in the oven’s air fryer basket and cooked them for six minutes at 400 degrees. Next, we put each hot dog in a bun and returned them to the air fryer for another two minutes to finish cooking and toast the buns.
The hot dogs cooked for a total of eight minutes.
Air-frying Brussels sprouts
We tossed the Brussels sprouts with a small amount of olive oil, sliced garlic, salt and pepper before adding them to the oven’s air fryer basket. We cooked them at 375 degrees for five minutes and then tossed the sprouts to ensure even cooking. We returned them to the oven for another six minutes.
The Brussels sprouts cooked for a total of 11 minutes.
Air-frying bacon
We placed the bacon inside the oven’s air fryer basket but positioned the roasting pan on the wire rack beneath it to catch the grease during cooking. We cooked it at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Price and where to buy
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro regularly costs $449.95. You can find it on Amazon.
Cooking performance
We air-fried several popular foods in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro to see how crispy and flavorful the finished product was and how efficiently they cooked. In particular, we considered how the foods compared to the same recipes prepared in a conventional oven.
Air-frying french fries
The frozen fries we made cooked for 15 minutes in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, which was nine minutes less than in a standard oven. We found the fries made in the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro were very crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside. The ends of smaller fries were slightly browned, but we found most to be evenly cooked. On the other hand, while the oven-baked fries we prepared were crispy on the outside, they were fairly dry inside, so their texture was off.
We were impressed by the taste of the fries made in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro. We only added a pinch of salt before air-frying them, but they were still flavorful, especially when compared to the oven-baked fries. Those fries were somewhat bland because they were slightly overcooked on the inside.
Air-frying chicken wings
The chicken wings we prepared in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro took nearly 30 minutes less to cook than those we made in a standard oven. However, they developed a crispy skin with a juicy interior. With only some basic seasonings, such as garlic powder, onion powder and paprika, they turned out very flavorful and nearly perfect.
While the wings prepared in the oven took 46 minutes to cook, the skin was not as crispy as those made in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro. Additionally, the meat was not as juicy as the air-fried wings, either. That likely affected their flavor because they were blander than the Breville wings.
Air-frying hot dogs
The hot dogs made in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro took just eight minutes to prepare, 11 minutes less than those made in the conventional oven. They developed a pretty crispy skin, though we would have liked them to be slightly crispier. The interior of the hot dogs was juicy, and we found that the buns were toasted without getting too brown or burning.
While the oven-made hot dogs we prepared had a somewhat crispy skin, they shriveled up a bit. The interior of the hot dogs wasn’t as juicy, either, so we found those made in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro had better flavor.
Air-frying Brussels sprouts
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro took 15 minutes less to fully cook the Brussels sprouts than the standard oven. Their exterior was mostly crispy with slight caramelization in areas, but a few spots were soggy. They still had a nice flavor, though.
We found that they were a significant improvement over the oven-roasted Brussels sprouts. These veggies weren’t as crispy and didn’t caramelize like those we prepared in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro.
Air-frying bacon
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro excelled at cooking bacon, which was fully cooked in just 10 minutes. We prefer our bacon extra-crisp and found that the Breville got it almost perfect. It was slightly chewy in a few spots, but the flavor was excellent.
Cooking bacon in a standard oven took more than double the time that the Breville did. While it got very crispy, it was much greasier than the air-fried bacon because it sat in its drippings as it cooked. In the Breville, most grease dripped from the bacon and collected in the roasting pan we placed beneath it, so the finished product didn’t need much blotting after cooking.
Other cooking results
In addition to our air-frying tests, we made a frozen pizza in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro and were impressed with the results. We used the Pizza function, which had a preset temperature of 375 degrees and a cooking time of 20 minutes. The finished pizza had a crisp crust and perfectly melted and slightly browned cheese.
We also used the Toast setting to make two slices of toast that came out a perfect golden brown on the “5” darkness setting in just a few minutes. We also found the Reheat function worked well, reheating a serving of chicken and rice in 10 minutes without drying out the food.
Ease of use
With a straightforward display and design, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is easy to use. However, because it has so many functions, it may take a few uses to figure it out.
Control panel
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro has an LCD display showing the cooking mode, time and temperature. During testing, we found that the display made it easy to see the settings at a glance to monitor cooking.
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro has three knob controls to choose settings and set the time and temperature. The first knob allows you to select the cooking function or setting, the second knob controls the temperature and the third kob sets the cooking time. However, unlike other air fryers with knob or dial controls, we found that this model allows for precise time and temperature setting on the LCD display, so the food cooked fully and evenly.
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro features a push button to start and stop the oven, so it was easy to use during testing. It also has several buttons along the side:
- An interior light button to turn it on and off
- A convection fan button to turn it on and off
- A phase-cooking button to start one cooking function after another
- A frozen button to cook foods from frozen
- A conversion button to switch between temperatures in Fahrenheit or Celsius
Adding and removing food
During testing, we found that it was very easy to add and remove food from the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro. Unlike other air fryer ovens we tested, its air fryer basket and wire rack were stable, so they didn’t wobble when weight was added or removed from the oven.
The oven’s interior is also fairly spacious, measuring 16 inches long, 13.5 inches wide and 7 inches high. That allowed us to easily maneuver the basket, racks and trays to add and remove food, even when using a pot holder or wearing an oven mitt. Even better, when we opened the door, the top rack or basket automatically came out a few inches due to magnets on the door. That meant we didn’t have to stick our hands inside a hot oven to remove the food when it was done. The accessories also slid smoothly along the grooves inside the oven, so we never worried about the food falling or slipping off while moving it.
Cooking
Cooking in the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro isn’t difficult, but it can be slightly confusing initially because of its many functions. However, we found that the markings on the door that detail the recommended rack position for each cooking function made it easy to use the oven. The mesh basket is for air-frying and dehydrating, while the wire racks are for baking, roasting and broiling.
Once we had the rack in the correct position, we only had to turn the select/confirm knob until our desired setting appeared on the LCD display. The various cooking functions have preset times and temperatures, but we could turn the knob for each setting to adjust them as necessary.
Some settings, like Bake, Roast, Pizza, Air-fry, Cookies and Slow Cook, have a preheat cycle, so they automatically preheated once we pressed the Start button. The oven dinged when the selected temperature was reached, so we knew when to add the food. The same alert sounded at the end of the cooking cycle to alert us that the food was ready.
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro also has a door sensor that pauses the time and turns on the interior light when the oven is opened during cooking. Once we closed the door again, the timer resumed, so the food could finish cooking. If the door is left open for more than 10 minutes, the oven automatically turns off.
Design
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is designed with both form and function in mind. Its high-quality materials also improve its durability.
Look and feel
With its rectangular shape, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro resembles many other countertop ovens. It’s pretty large, measuring 21.5 inches wide, 17.1 inches deep and 12.7 inches high, and requires 4 inches of clearance on either side and 6 inches on top. As a result, it may not fit in smaller kitchens, though we didn’t have a problem finding a spot for it in our testing area.
The oven has a brushed stainless steel finish, which matches many other kitchen appliances for a seamless look on the countertop. Its door has a bar handle that feels sturdy, making it easy to open and close the oven even when the exterior gets warm during cooking.
Durability
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is made of stainless steel and features a thick, heavy-weight construction that makes it highly durable. The oven weighs nearly 39 pounds, so it is very sturdy. We also found that the door’s pull bar is solidly connected and can hold up well to regular use.
Additionally, the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro’s accessories are also made of high-quality stainless steel or nonstick materials. We were especially impressed by the enameled roasting pan, which had a high-quality feel and hefty weight.
Controls and settings
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro’s LCD display is backlit, which makes it easy to read. The functions are listed with the most commonly used, such as Toast, Bagel, Bake and Air Fry, at the top and less frequently used functions, like Keep Warm and Dehydrate, at the bottom.
The oven’s knob controls are also thoughtfully designed. The function knob is at the top to make it easy to choose the desired function. The temperature and time knobs are just below it, while the Start/Stop button is right at the top beside the function knob. During testing, we found this layout was highly intuitive and made the oven easy to set, even when in a hurry.
Cleaning the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro
We didn’t find the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro particularly difficult to clean during testing. However, it took longer than some other models we tested because its accessories aren’t dishwasher-safe. Instead, we had to handwash the air fryer basket, wire racks, trays and other components with hot water and dish soap. They came clean pretty easily when we washed them after use, and the oven’s interior has a nonstick coating that we could quickly wipe clean, but the process took about 10 minutes.
We found that cleaning the window on the door could sometimes be challenging. When we cooked greasy foods like bacon, this area often got splattered, and even glass cleaner didn’t always do the best job removing the greasy residue. We often had to go over the window multiple times to get it clean.
How does it compare to other models?
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is similar to two other Breville air fryer ovens we tested, the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer and the Breville Joule Smart Oven Air Fryer. However, the Pro offers two additional cooking functions and is larger than the Smart Oven Air Fryer with a greater capacity. We also found that its cooking performance was more consistent than the Smart Oven Air Fryer, so finished foods were cooked more evenly.
The Breville Joule’s performance was similar to the Pro, and both models offer 13 cook settings. However, the Joule requires a Wi-Fi connection for its app, which alerts you when food is ready. You can also use the AutoPilot feature to automatically start prepping the oven for selected recipes in the Breville app. The Pro isn’t Wi-Fi compatible, but that may make it easier for those who want to avoid dealing with an app to air-fry some french fries.
Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro Review: Should you get one?
The Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is one of the most versatile air fryer ovens on the market. It air-fries well, but it can do many other things in the kitchen just as well, including toasting, baking and even dehydrating. For home cooks who like to employ different cooking methods, the convenience of having a single countertop appliance that can prepare a range of recipes with consistent, even results — and without getting the kitchen too hot, either — is certainly worth the investment.
It scores extra points for being large enough to fit a 14-pound turkey — if you have a big family or just like to entertain regularly, you’ll definitely appreciate that extra capacity.
However, its price is likely too steep if you won’t use all of the Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro’s features. It also takes up quite a bit of counter real estate, so it may not work in a smaller kitchen.