Are French Door Air Fryers Just Fancy Toaster Ovens?

If you haven't taken a dive into the wide world of air fryers yet, it can seem a bit daunting. There are a ton of different models and brands and styles — and on top of that, you may be confused as to how you can even fry food with air anyway. But as magical as these little appliances are, the actual process isn't much of a mystery, and there's even a new kind of air fryer on the market that can make cooking with one easier — and literally more transparent.

French door air fryers combine the glass doors of a toaster oven with the convection cooking of an air fryer. But that doesn't mean these new fryers are just more expensive toaster ovens. A French door air fryer isn't a toaster oven in the same way that a standard air fryer isn't just a convection oven. They're all distinct appliances, and the French door air fryer stands out for its multi-zone cooking ability and signature glass doors, which allow easy monitoring of in-progress meals as opposed to the opaque basket-style air fryers we're all familiar with.

Still, the French door-style air fryer does look awfully similar to a toaster oven. But a key difference between an air fryer and a toaster oven is how they distribute heat. Air fryers work by circulating very hot air throughout a heating chamber to quickly cook food without much (or any) oil. A toaster oven, much like a larger conventional oven, usually has only one or two elements which radiate heat. You can still do a lot with a toaster oven, from reheating sandwiches to making hard shell tacos, but if you want that crispy, fried texture on your veggies or chicken, an air fryer will do the job nicely.

A French door air fryer is definitely more expensive than your average toaster oven, too. A quick comparison on Amazon will show you that a French door air fryer made by Emeril Lagasse will cost you about $190 while a Black+Decker toaster oven runs for around $80. 

But, for that about an additional $100 in price, you get utility. You can flat out cook more in a French door-style fryer (compared to a basket-style one) as they come with multiple racks, similar to a conventional oven, and you can see your food without needing to open up your air fryer, much like a toaster oven. At higher price points, you can even get air fryers with multi-zone cooking capabilities, which means that you can set different sides of the fryer to separate settings. That feature isn't exclusive to French door air fryers, but the design certainly makes it easier to accomplish.