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 (like air frying). And, if the marketing material is to be believed, the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro is the Cadillac of toaster ovens; it can toast, slow cook, bake, broil, roast, dehydrate, proof, and, yes, even 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 good on so many promises. 

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

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 and super convection fan modes 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 Function 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 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 that the oven gets quite grimy from the grease, especially the glass door.

The App Was Helpful for Recipes and Automated Cooking Modes

The Breville Joule app is useful if you want to use the recipes it provides. To test it, I followed a recipe for air-fried broccoli using the app’s neat “Autopilot” function. 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 (though Ashlee found in our countertop ovens review that an updated version of the app could also be used for creating custom cooking sequences that would act similarly).

I also found other app features 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 Mini, which would have allowed me to ask Google to preheat the oven, start toasting, etc. To be fair, it’s unclear whether this was user error, the Breville app, the oven, or Google. The app is also notification-heavy, and while I appreciated notifications when roasting, air frying, baking, and dehydrating, I found them less necessary when I was, say, toasting a bagel and all I needed was to hear 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, which was the basis for the oven's air fryer mode, consistently slashed cooking times by 10 to 15 minutes. This was a lifesaver on nights when I started dinner 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). It's a bit larger than the standard Breville Smart Oven (the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro is 2.5 inches longer, nearly 3 inches wider, and a few inches taller than the latter). That said, I 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. As it was, the included pan captured food and grease and was hard to scrub clean. My advice: get a few quarter and eighth baking sheets and use those instead.

It Has a Few More Bells and Whistles Than the Breville Smart Oven Pro

Breville Countertop Ovens Comparison
Specs	Breville Joule Air Fryer Toaster Oven	Breville Smart Oven Pro
Price	$500	$270
Presets	Toast, bagel, bake, air fry, broil, roast, pizza, cookies, proof, reheat, slow cook, keep warm, dehydrate	Toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies, reheat, warm, slow cook
Size	21.5 x 17.3 x 12.8 inches	18.9 x 15.9 x 10.9 inches
Temperature range	80° to 480°F	120° to 450 °F

The Breville Smart Oven Pro is our winner in our full toaster ovens review—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, air-frying super convection fan (it’s higher-powered and creates more air circulation), and dehydrate and proof functions. These features make it a slightly higher-powered oven with added versatility that I found quite handy.

The Verdict

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 toasting merrily along.

Cons

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 a smaller, even more straightforward pick (sans air-frying and a few other functions), we also like the Breville Smart Oven, though it is smaller. 

Overall, though, the Breville Joule Air Fryer Toaster Oven is 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, plus 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 to the interior walls), then dry. Breville recommends avoiding touching or cleaning the quartz heating elements.  

Is the Breville Joule Oven Air Fryer Pro worth it?

While I 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 ovens).

Why We're the Experts

• Grace Kelly is an editor at Serious Eats. She used to test equipment and ingredients for America’s Test Kitchen, and she has also worked as a journalist and 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.
• 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.