Is Breville’s Pricey Joule Air Fryer Toaster Oven Worth Buying?

I love toaster ovens. I use mine to toast my daily bread (or bagel) and, now, many come with a myriad of other handy functions (air frying, anyone?). And, if the marketing material is to be believed, the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro is the Hummer of toaster ovens; it can toast, slow cook, bake, broil, roast, dehydrate, proof, and, yes, supposedly air fry to crisp and golden perfection. It also boasts connectivity to an app that uses the same technology as the Joule sous vide app (though, it should be noted up front that this machine does not have an immersion circulator function, and these are two separate apps). I used this bulked-up toaster oven daily for more than a month to find out if it could make do on so many promises. 

Full transparency: Serious Eats collaborated with Breville to provide some recipes for its Joule app, but all opinions are our own, and we reviewed the oven as objectively as we would any other piece of gear.

Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro

$550 $450 at Amazon $400 at Williams Sonoma $400 at Sur La Table

The Tests

• Toast and Bagel Test: I have toast or a bagel every day, so I tested the oven’s toasting ability by tossing in various slices of bread (sourdough, white bread, baguette slices) and bagels. 
• Air Fryer Test: I used the toaster oven to air fry chicken wings, breaded chicken cutlets, frozen french fries, potato wedges, and more. 
• Dehydrator Test: I used the oven's dehydrate function to make dried blood orange slices for garnishing cocktails.   
• Convection Tests: I used the oven’s convection fan and super convection fan to cook all manner of items: pizza, casseroles, roasts, quiche, reverse-seared steak, fish, and more. 
• App Tests: I used the Breville Joule app that pairs with the oven, testing its “autopilot” recipe function and attempting Google Home connectivity. 
• Usability Tests: I noted how easy the machine was to use, program, and wipe clean. 

What We Learned

The Air Fryer Element Was Great

While we generally think a designated air fryer does a better job at air frying (the smaller capacity allows the device to heat up faster and really concentrate the air circulation around the food), the Breville actually air-fried quite well. French fries came out evenly golden and crunchy (and only required shaking the basket once), as did a very simple Breville recipe for air-fried chicken wings (it just required tossing the wings in baking powder and salt before placing them on a rack in the accompanying sheet tray); the wings came out very crispy, but still juicy and tender inside. Plus, the toaster oven comes with an air fryer mesh basket, ensuring air circulates all around your food. The only downside is the oven gets quite grimy, especially the glass door.

The App Was Helpful if You Want to Follow Its Recipes, But Could Be Improved Upon Overall

The Breville Joule app is useful if you want to use recipes it provides. I followed a recipe for Air-Fried Broccoli using the app’s “Autopilot” function, which is neat: After you give it permission and press start on the toaster oven, the oven automatically adjusts the function and temperature needed for various stages of the recipe. However, this can only be done using recipes in the app, and not all recipes have that function. I also found other app functions less useful, and in some cases, non-functional. For example, I couldn’t for the life of me connect the oven to my Google home assistant and mini, which would have allowed me to ask Google to preheat the oven, start toasting, etc. To be fair, it’s unclear whether this is the fault of me, the Breville app, the oven, or Google. The app is also notification-heavy. While I appreciated notifications when roasting, air frying, baking, and dehydrating, I found them less necessary when I was, say, toasting a bagel (I heard the oven beep). However, you can easily turn the notifications off under your phone’s notification settings. And some might like the notifications; if you’re hearing impaired, a visual reminder could be quite welcome.

Super Convection Cut Down Cook Time 

The “super convection fan” function consistently slashed cooking times by 10 to 15 minutes. This was a lifesaver on nights when I started dinner a wee bit late, or when prep took longer than I thought. Instead of having to run out the door to my fitness class without eating, I just set the oven to “super convection fan” and still had time to have my cake (or quiche, air fryer chicken wings, or pizza) and eat it too. It’s a great feature, and really puts the “oven” in toaster oven. And it's held up over time—I've been using the oven and its super convection function for over two years, and it's still my weeknight dinner hero.

All Its Cooking Functions Worked Well 

I used the toaster oven nearly daily for a variety of tasks: toasting bread and bagels, roasting meats, baking desserts and pies, and air frying french fries, breaded chicken, broccoli, chicken wings, and more. All of the functions worked well, though I found that some items, like toast and baked goods, browned a little unevenly (they tended to get darker towards the back of the oven). I also found that the oven frequently collected condensation near the upper right-hand corner of the door. According to Breville, this is normal, and they’ve installed a small vent on the left-hand corner of some of their smart ovens to allow steam to escape. This is apparently an improvement from the past, when condensation would simply run down the machine onto the countertop.

It Was Pretty Roomy For a Countertop Toaster Oven

This was actually one of the roomiest toaster ovens I’ve used (and I’ve used many). Compared to the Breville Smart Oven, it’s a bit larger (the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro is 2.5 inches longer, nearly 3 inches wider, and a few inches taller than the standard Breville Smart Oven). That said, we do wish that the toaster oven came with more than just a single sheet pan, and that the pan was flush and smooth rather than divoted, which captured food and grease and were hard to scrub clean. My advice: get a few quarter and eighth baking sheets.

It Has a Few More Bells and Whistles Than Our Winning Toaster Oven

The Breville Smart Oven Pro was our winner in our review of toaster ovens—and it’s a great choice. It sports a convection fan—same as the Joule Air Fryer Toaster Oven—and has 10 cooking functions, including toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies, reheat, and warm. What makes the Joule Air Fryer Toaster Oven different is its larger size, app connectivity, super convection fan (it’s higher-powered and creates more air circulation), and its air fryer, dehydrate, and proof functions. These features make it a slightly higher-powered oven with added versatility that I found quite handy.

The Verdict

Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro

$550 $450 at Amazon $400 at Williams Sonoma $400 at Sur La Table

Pros

The Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro Toaster Oven is a great buy if you want to squeeze the most you can get out of an appliance; I loved that I could bake, roast, air fry, toast, and dehydrate all in one machine (freeing up some much-coveted countertop space). The convection feature on this baby was also a fantastic time saver. I've been using this oven for over two years and it's still l toasting merrily along.

Cons

There are a few negatives, though. First, I didn’t find the app particularly helpful; functions like Autopilot, while nice in theory, didn’t really save me that much time or energy, and the notifications were more annoying than useful. I also couldn’t get the oven to connect to my Google Home, which would have been fun to try.

So, if you want to save $100, you could spring for the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro instead (our winning air fryer toaster oven), which is very similar to the Joule oven (minus the app connectivity). And if you’re looking for an even more no-frills (sans air fryer and a few other functions) pick, we also like the Breville Smart Oven, though it is smaller. 

But, overall, the Breville Joule Air Fryer Toaster Oven is still a fantastic, roomy oven that nailed toasting, dehydrating, air frying, roasting, and baking.

Key Specs

• Weight: 23 lbs
• Voltage: 120 Volts
• Wattage: 1800 Watts
• Dimensions: 21.5 x 17.3 x 12.8 inches
• Temperature range: 80°F to 480°F
• Accessories included: 13 inch non-stick pizza pan, 2 wire racks, 9 x 13 inch broiling rack, 9 x 13 inch enamel roasting pan, air fry/dehydrate basket
• Number of Presets: 13
• Presets: Toast, bagel, bake, air fry, broil, roast, pizza, cookies, proof, reheat, slow cook, keep warm, dehydrate
• Care: We recommend hand-washing the tray; the rest of the machine should be carefully wiped down with a damp cloth and mild spray solution, and dried. Take care not to touch the quartz heating elements. 
• Warranty: 2-year limited warranty

FAQs

Does the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro air fry well?

Yes, the air fryer function made crispy french fries, chicken wings, and more, and it was fast and easy to use. 

How do I clean the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro? 

Cleaning air fryer toaster ovens is generally straightforward, and the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro is no exception. The manual recommends unplugging the oven before washing. To clean the exterior body, use a soft, damp sponge with a non-abrasive liquid cleaner or mild spray solution. To clean the glass door, Breville recommends using a glass cleaner or mild detergent and a damp sponge. Stay away from metal scouring pads and abrasive cleaners, as they can damage the surface. When cleaning the interior (which features a nonstick coating to make it easy), wipe the walls with a soft, damp sponge and mild spray solution (just make sure to apply your cleaning solution to the sponge rather than directly the interior walls), then dry. Breville recommends avoiding cleaning and touching the quartz heating elements.  

Is the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro worth it?

While we loved using this toaster oven and found all of its functions performed well, the app isn’t quite up to our functional standards—yet. However, some might find app notifications, Autopilot, and recipes useful. And, of course, it’s still a fantastic toaster oven loaded with other great features (albeit at a slightly higher price point than our winning toaster oven).

Why We're the Experts

• Grace Kelly is a commerce editor at Serious Eats. 
• She tested equipment and ingredients for America’s Test Kitchen. She's worked as a journalist and has done stints as a cook and bartender. 
• She has written dozens of reviews for Serious Eats, including petty knives, tinned fish, fish spatulas, and tortilla presses, among others. 
• For this review, she used the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro for more than a month, examining its toast, air fryer, dehydrator, and convection oven abilities. She also used the app with the oven to see if it was useful.
• Grace has been using the oven for about two years since this story was first published, and she's had no issues with its functionality or performance.