Tefal Easy Fry 10-in-1 Multifunctional Air Fryer Oven review: For more than basic air frying

Tefal’s Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven has been designed for those who long for increased air-frying capacity, as well as more functionality from a countertop appliance. While basket-style air fryers offer some of the same modes, such as dehydrating and roasting, it’s Tefal’s cavernous capacity that allows it to function more like a conventional oven. However, with a claim of a 50% faster cooking time when compared to a Tefal convection oven and no need to preheat, there are inevitably some compromises when compared to a standalone air fryer. Nonetheless, its mega capacity, ease of use and great results are enough to offset most quibbles, if you have a big enough budget.

Tefal Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven review: What do you get for the money?

Packing in a 20l cavity means that Tefal’s Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven is fairly big. Imagine a slightly taller, deeper countertop microwave with a drop-down door measuring 35.3 x 41 x 34.8cm (WDH). It’s a similar weight to microwave, too, at 10.78kg. With the required 15cm gap around it for ventilation, the Easy Fry Oven took up most of the depth of a standard worktop with the door down. 

It’s also worth noting that to slide accessories on and off the lower support inside, I had to position it towards the edge of the worktop, otherwise the handle would collide with the surface and prevent the door opening fully. Overall, though, it feels robust and the £250 price, though higher than a basic air fryer, is similar to larger models.

There are four accessories included: a baking tray, wire rack, a crumb tray to keep the cavity clean when toasting, and a wire air-frying basket. Each one slides onto one of three sets of supports, depending on the recommended level. In this respect, it’s similar to the Tower Xpress Pro Combo 10-in-1 air fryer, which also functions more like a mini oven. When using the lower level on its own, there’s enough space inside for a 3kg chicken. The instructions provide some cooking guidance but it’s fairly limited and can be confusing, although recipes are accessible on the Tefal app. 

A clear user-friendly menu of seven preset functions includes everything from grilling and baking to roasting and pizza, with a “keep warm” setting activating after some of them have finished. There are also two manual modes for toasting bagels and reheating food. These are set using two control knobs: one scrolls through the menu, while the other sets the time and temperature with a touchscreen button to switch between the two. When off, the display is invisible, meaning that the oven looks fairly sleek: a plus point given that it takes up a decent chunk of worktop space.

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Tefal Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven review: What’s good about it?

While air frying may be the standout feature, it’s all the other functions and cooking space that the Tefal Easy Fry provides that add value. For example, you wouldn’t be able to easily toast bread and bagels in a standard air fryer drawer or even cook a medium-sized pizza. In this air fryer oven, though, there’s a shelf width of 29cm, giving you the option of toasting four slices of bread at a time or an 11in pizza.

The same is true for a whole chicken – most air fryers can fit in only a small one, while the Easy Fry will accommodate a bird up to 3kg, with some space for potatoes or other veggies around it. The oven is just as fast to cook as a standard air fryer, and even faster than a conventional oven, with no need to preheat. I cooked a chicken weighing 1.7kg on the roast programme at 200°C and it emerged perfectly cooked through with golden crispy skin after 55 minutes. While the chicken’s juices were clear and the bird cooked through, I noticed that some of the grease leaked through the bottom of the door seal and onto the worktop.

The oven also performed well cooking food from frozen in the air fryer basket. Hash browns came out crisp and brown, while still being soft in the middle after 20 minutes on the air fry programme at 200°C. As this took up only one level of cooking space, you could use the other levels for grilling sausages, bacon or black pudding for a full English breakfast. 

I particularly like how simple the Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven is to programme. Realistically, you could figure it out without using the instructions thanks to a clear menu and obvious icons. A less obvious advantage is the oven’s longevity, thanks to Tefal’s fantastic repairability policy, meaning that spare parts will be available for 15 years after purchase, which is far more comprehensive than many other brands.

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Tefal Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven review: What could be better?

If you’re buying an air fryer mainly to make healthier homemade chips from scratch, the oven will do that, but the method isn’t as simple as a standard air fryer because you’ll need to turn the food. I used the air fry programme to make fresh chips using washed and dried potato pieces lightly tossed in oil. The recommended temperature in the instructions was lower than the programme preset – 180°C compared to 200°C – which means you’ll always have to adjust it. Cooking time was longer than some air fryers (such as Zwilling’s air fryer) suggest, too: 25 to 35 minutes. However, you can cook up to 1.3kg of chips this way, which is a good capacity for a family. 

After 25 minutes, the chips were a mixed bag: some pieces were crisp and crunchy, while others remained soft but were golden brown. There were a few pale pieces remaining, both thick and thin, suggesting that most of the heat comes from above and doesn’t circulate as well under the basket.

Swapping an air fryer drawer, where food can be easily tossed in seconds, for a wire basket in a cavity meant that I had to turn the potato pieces individually halfway through cooking. I also found it disappointing that there’s no alert to remind you to toss the food on the air fry programme.

Another element that could be improved is that none of the accessories is dishwasher safe. While this is understandable for a baking tray with a non-stick coating, it’s not clear why a wire rack or wire air-frying basket can’t withstand dishwasher cleaning. The same is true for the crumb tray, as its primary purpose is keeping the cavity mess-free, rather than having any direct contact with food. The cavity also needs to be wiped down after every session, resulting in a moderate amount of cleaning up compared to an air fryer drawer, which can often be popped in a dishwasher.

I also found that after cooking chicken, grease and juices can end up on the oven’s elements, and the only cleaning advised for this is to brush any food residue away. This meant that the next time I used it, the oven created smoke.

Tefal Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven review: Should you buy it?

In some ways, the name of the Easy Fry Air Fryer Oven is misleading. While air frying is certainly a feature, potential buyers mainly looking to use it for that purpose might find it less user-friendly than a standalone basket air fryer. However, when viewed as a multifunctional appliance capable of toasting breakfast, roasting a chicken for Sunday lunch and catering for midweek meals, it easily lives up to expectations and may well delight busy households, especially as it does all this in a fraction of the time it would take in a conventional oven.

It’s also worth considering its huge worktop footprint and cost before you buy. Those with compact kitchens might struggle to find a spot for it, and when you can buy basic, standard-capacity air fryers on the high street for as little as £30, you’ll need to use all of the Easy Fry Oven’s features on a regular basis to justify its gut-busting price tag.