If you're looking for a kitchen appliance that offers more than just basic cooking, the Breville Smart Oven Pro is an excellent option. While it isn't a dedicated basket-style air fryer, this convection toaster oven offers impressive versatility, making it a great addition to any kitchen. With its brushed stainless steel finish and range of useful cooking functions, it combines style with everyday practicality.
One of its biggest selling points is Element iQ technology, which uses five independent quartz heating elements to direct heat where it's needed most. This helps maintain consistent temperatures and deliver more evenly cooked food. Its convection fan is another standout feature, circulating hot air throughout the oven to improve cooking performance and reduce cooking times.
The Smart Oven Pro offers 10 cooking functions, including toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies, reheat, warm, and slow cook. This is where it really stands out from many traditional air fryers. Rather than being limited primarily to frying and reheating, it can handle everything from baking homemade cookies to roasting a chicken or preparing a slow-cooked meal.
Capacity is another advantage. The interior comfortably accommodates a 13-inch pizza, six slices of toast, or a roast chicken, making it suitable for everyday family cooking. The easy-to-read LCD display, interior oven light, and two-hour timer also make operation straightforward.
I particularly like that Breville has combined so many cooking options into one appliance without making the controls overly complicated. The stainless steel construction also gives it a premium appearance that looks great on a kitchen countertop.
The main drawback is that it takes up a reasonable amount of counter space and doesn't offer the dedicated air frying basket and specialised air frying function found in newer air fryer models.
Overall, the Breville Smart Oven Pro is a fantastic choice for anyone wanting a versatile countertop oven that can do considerably more than a standard toaster or air fryer.