The Breville Smart Oven and a standard air fryer both use convection technology to cook food, but they are built for fundamentally different purposes. A Breville Smart Oven is a versatile, premium countertop oven designed to bake, roast, toast, and broil with precision, while a standalone air fryer is a specialist appliance laser-focused on quickly cooking foods to be exceptionally crispy using high-velocity hot air and significantly less oil.
Here's a detailed comparison to help you decide which appliance is the right fit for your kitchen and cooking style.
Breville Smart Oven
The Breville Smart Oven is a high-performance countertop oven that aims to replace multiple kitchen appliances. Celebrated for its intelligent heating systems, durable construction, and sleek stainless steel design, it performs more like a compact, efficient version of a full-sized wall oven rather than just a simple toaster oven. It offers precise temperature control and multiple cooking functions, making it a favorite for home cooks who need versatility and consistent results.
- What it is: A premium, multi-functional countertop oven with advanced controls and smart heating technology.
- Key features: Smart Element IQ system that directs heat where it's needed, numerous presets (bake, roast, broil, toast, cookies), convection fan for even cooking. Some models, like the Smart Oven Air, include a dedicated air fry setting.
- Price: Typically ranges from $250 to $400.
- Dimensions: Larger than an air fryer, generally around 18-20 inches wide and 14-16 inches deep, with interior capacities up to 1 cubic foot.
- Materials/Construction: Features a sturdy stainless steel exterior, high-quality heating elements, and a durable non-stick interior.
- Pros: Extremely versatile with up to 10+ cooking functions. Provides very even and precise cooking. Premium build quality designed for longevity. Can handle larger batches of food and bigger items like a 13-inch pizza or a small chicken.
- Cons: A significant investment compared to most air fryers. Takes up more counter space. Cleaning can be more involved due to its larger size and multiple racks.
A Breville Smart Oven is for the home chef who wants a single, high-performance appliance to handle a wide range of cooking tasks with professional-level precision.
Shop this product: breville.com/us/en/products/ovens/bov860.html
Air Fryer (e.g., Ninja, Cosori)
An air fryer is a compact countertop appliance dedicated to making foods crispy with minimal oil. It circulates scorching hot air at high speed in a small chamber, creating a 'fried' texture through the Maillard reaction. Air fryers have become incredibly popular due to their speed, convenience, and perceived health benefits over traditional deep frying. Brands like Ninja, Philips, and Cosori offer a wide range of models focused on ease-of-use and fast results.
- What it is: A small, powerful convection oven optimized for 'frying,' roasting, and reheating food quickly.
- Key features: A cooking basket for optimal air circulation, fast pre-heating, simple timer and temperature controls, and common presets for fries, chicken, and other snacks.
- Price: Varies widely, from $80 for basic models to over $250 for larger, brand-name units.
- Dimensions: More compact with a smaller footprint, with capacities typically measured in quarts (from 2 quarts for singles to 6+ quarts for families).
- Materials/Construction: Typically made of a durable plastic housing with a non-stick coated metal basket and interior. Build quality can vary significantly between budget and premium brands.
- Pros: Unmatched speed for cooking and preheating. Produces exceptionally crispy results on foods like fries, wings, and vegetables. More affordable and energy-efficient for small tasks. Generally easy to clean, with many baskets being dishwasher-safe.
- Cons: Limited functionality, not ideal for baking or traditional toasting. Smaller capacity means you often have to cook in batches. The powerful fan can sometimes be noisy.
The air fryer is a perfect addition for anyone who loves crispy fried foods, prioritizes speed and convenience, and needs a device for quick snacks and weeknight meals.
Shop this product: ninjakitchen.com/products/all-air-fryers
Breville Smart Oven vs. Air Fryer Comparison
Cooking Functions & Versatility
This is the most significant difference. The Breville Smart Oven is a versatile workhorse, designed to toast bread evenly, bake cookies, roast vegetables, broil fish, and more. It can genuinely replace both a toaster and a standard oven for many tasks. Models like the Smart Oven Air even include a super convection mode for air frying, blurring the lines between the two appliances.
An air fryer is a specialist. Its excellence lies in air frying and reheating foods to restore their original crispiness. While you can bake simple things in it, it won't produce the same results as an oven due to the concentrated, high-speed airflow. It cannot toast bread evenly and struggles with delicate baked goods that can get blown around by the powerful fan.
Performance & Results
For making foods crispy and browned, an air fryer has the edge. The small chamber and extremely powerful fan are designed specifically for that purpose, dehydrating a food's exterior faster than a larger oven can. This is why French fries, chicken wings, and battered items get that signature crunch.
The Breville Smart Oven delivers superior performance for traditional baking and roasting. Its intelligent heat distribution ensures cakes are cooked through evenly, toast is browned from edge to edge, and roasts have consistent color without dry spots. While its air frying function is very good, a dedicated air fryer often gets things just a little crispier due to its focused design.
Dimensions & Capacity
The Breville Smart Oven is a larger appliance that demands more countertop real estate. However, this size provides a more generous interior capacity. You can fit a 13-inch pizza pan, a quarter sheet pan for cookies, or toast up to nine slices of bread at once. This makes it ideal for family meals or batch cooking.
Air fryers prioritize a smaller footprint. Their cooking capacity is measured in quarts and is limited by the size of the basket. To achieve maximum crispiness, food must be cooked in a single layer, which may require you to cook in multiple batches for larger families, offsetting some of the speed advantage.
Price & Value
Without question, standalone air fryers are more budget-friendly. You can get a solid, well-reviewed model for a little over $100. They offer great value for their specific purpose: making food crispy and fast.
The Breville Smart Oven is a premium investment, typically costing two to three times as much as a high-end air fryer. Its value comes from its versatility and quality. By replacing your toaster and serving as a second oven, it can justify its price for serious home cooks who will use all of its features.
Which One Should You Choose?
Both appliances excel at what they do, but they are built for very different needs.
Choose the Breville Smart Oven if:
- You want one appliance to elegantly handle baking, roasting, toasting, broiling, and reheating.
- You value precise temperature control for perfect cooking results.
- You need the capacity to cook larger meals, like a small chicken or a 13-inch pizza.
- You are looking for a high-quality, long-lasting countertop oven and are willing to invest in it.
Choose an Air Fryer if:
- Your primary goal is to make crispy foods like fries, wings, nuggets, and roasted vegetables.
- You prioritize speed and convenience for weeknight meals and quick snacks.
- You have limited countertop space and want a more compact appliance.
- You want a budget-friendly way to get fried results without using a deep fryer.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the main difference between a Breville Smart Oven and an air fryer?
The main difference is versatility versus specialty. The Breville Smart Oven is a multi-function countertop oven designed for a wide range of cooking tasks. An air fryer is a highly specialized small convection oven optimized for speed and creating a crispy, "fried" texture.
Can a Breville Smart Oven air fry?
Yes, certain models like the Breville Smart Oven Air feature a dedicated air fry setting with a super convection fan. It performs extremely well, though some users find that a dedicated "pod-style" air fryer can get slightly crispier results on some foods due to its compact basket design.
Isn't an air fryer just a small convection oven?
Technically, yes. Both use fans to circulate hot air. However, an air fryer's smaller size, basket shape, and more powerful fan create a much more intense, high-velocity cooking environment that is far more effective at dehydrating food surfaces for a classic "fried" finish.
Which one is easier to clean?
Air fryers are generally easier to clean for everyday use. Most have a removable, non-stick basket and crisper plate that are dishwasher safe. A Breville Smart Oven has a larger interior, crumb tray, and multiple racks that require manual wiping.
Which appliance cooks faster?
For specific items like frozen fries or chicken nuggets, an air fryer is almost always faster. It preheats in just a few minutes and the concentrated heat cooks food very quickly. The Breville oven may take longer to preheat and cook, similar to a traditional oven.
Can an air fryer replace my toaster?
No, an air fryer cannot replace a toaster. Its powerful fan blows the bread around and cooks it unevenly, resulting in a piece of dried-out, patchily browned bread, not proper toast.
For reheating leftovers, which is better?
Both are excellent for reheating, far superior to a microwave. An air fryer specifically excels at reviving soggy leftovers needing a crispy texture, like pizza, French fries, or fried chicken. A Breville is better for evenly reheating things like casseroles or lasagna.
What can you cook in a Breville Smart Oven that you can't in an air fryer?
Many things! You can bake multi-layer cakes, pies, and cookies with consistent results, toast multiple slices of bread evenly, broil delicate fish, slow cook, and proof dough - functions an air fryer's design doesn't support well.
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