Review of the COSORI 12-in-1 Toaster Oven (CO130-AO)

After every holiday season, your refrigerator is probably bursting with leftovers. But after a week of eating turkey sandwiches and stuffing, you’re eventually going to have to start cooking again. In that spirit, we’ll be stepping out of our ordinary milieu and looking at a toaster oven. But the CO130-AO Toaster Oven and Air Fryer is far from your ordinary, run-of-the-mill toaster oven. It offers a wide variety of functions. In fact, it could almost replace your conventional oven altogether. We’re about to run you through all the details of just how powerful this little machine is.

Kitchen-Friendly Design

The COSORI CO130-AO toaster oven is a stainless steel monster. It measures 20.1 inches in width, 16.3 inches in depth, and is 12.1 inches high. The inside is also stainless steel, and the door is made of heat-resistant tempered glass. This makes it exceptionally easy to clean. That said, the steel construction makes it fairly heavy. At 24 pounds, the CO130-AO is tough and durable, but it’s a beast to move around.

Then again, how often do you plan on moving your toaster oven, anyway? Find a spot for it, then set it down and plug it in. It sits on little rubber feet, which provide enough clearance to sweep out crumbs from underneath it. If you spill something, you can always lift up one side and then the other to clean. All in all, the durability is worth the weight.

The front of the unit features an intuitive control panel. At the top, there’s a clean LCD display that shows you the current temperature and the time remaining. It also shows the power status, the fan setting, and the light/dark setting for the toaster feature. Down the left side of the display, it shows which of the 12 cooking modes is currently being used.

Underneath, there are three small steel buttons. The first allows you to switch between centigrade and Fahrenheit. The next two change fan modes and start or end the cooking cycle. There are two large dials underneath. The first switches between cooking modes, while the second adjusts the time and temperature. Unlike most toaster oven dials, there are no markings. Changes you make are updated on the digital LCD display.

The inside of the CO130-AO toaster oven is very roomy. It’s 14.2 inches wide, 13.9 inches deep, and 9.8 inches high. That’s large enough to bake a medium pizza, or to make six slices of toast at the same time. The trays and racks are stainless steel, just like the exterior, which makes them easy to wash. They can be positioned at three different heights, depending on what you’re trying to do. And if you’re looking for ideas, COSORI has decided to sweeten the pot. They include a recipe book in the kit, just as a thank you for buying their toaster oven.

One thing we should point out is that the CO130-AO draws a maximum power of 1800 watts. This isn’t an insane amount of power, but it’s a lot. It will just about max out a standard 15-amp outlet. As a result, you’ll want to be careful about any other devices you’re running on the same circuit. For example, if the fan and heating elements are running, a microwave on the same circuit might trip your breaker.

Cooking Basics

The COSORI toaster oven has 2 different fan settings. These can be used to adjust the intensity of the cooking, particularly in the air fryer mode. That said, turning the fan down low can save a bit of power. And if you’re using one of the CO130-AO ’s general baking features, you’ll be better off on that setting. Even on low, there’s plenty of heat to go around. The CO130-AO ’s 5 heating elements ensure that you’ll have consistent heat from all directions.

When using the CO130-AO as a standard toaster oven, the temperature is adjustable from 80 to 450 degrees. This covers just about any conceivable recipe. In addition, the basic timer is adjustable from 0 minutes up to 24 hours. You can give your breakfast a quick warmup, or you can slow-cook a recipe all day. And while 24 hours may seem like a lot, some functions require it. We’ll get to that in just a second.

We should point out the obvious here. The CO130-AO gets hot while it’s running. This is to be expected from any toaster oven. However, you don’t want to put any plastic objects on top. You’ll also want to keep the sides clear of anything that could melt. Depending on your temperature settings, this may or may not be necessary. But it’s important to keep in mind.

For more cooking options, take a look at our review of the best smart slow cookers. Whether you want to let your dinner stew all day or whip up a roast chicken in an hour, we’ve got you covered.

12 Preset Options

As we’ve mentioned, the CO130-AO has 12 different cooking options. To clear things up, we’ve made a helpful list to explain what each of them does.
Toast. This should be self-explanatory.

• Bagel. Like many toasters, the CO130-AO’s bagel mode is designed to toast only the inside of the bagel. This retains the unique texture of the outer crust.
• Pizza. In this mode, the toaster oven will operate at a set temperature. However, it will apply slightly more heat from the bottom elements, ensuring a crispy crust.
• Bake. In this mode, heat will apply evenly from all directions. Set the time and temperature, and use the CO130-AO as you would use an ordinary oven.
• Roast. Similar to the baking mode.
• Airfry. In airfry mode, the CO130-AO turns the fans all the way up to blow hot air over your food. This is a healthy – and delicious! – way to prepare French fries and similar dishes.
• Broil. Just like a standard oven broiler, the CO130-AO will apply heat from the top elements only.
• Cookies. The purpose of this mode is questionable. Like many “smart” microwave features that claim to make the perfect baked potato, the standard bake mode is generally better.
• Rotisserie. This is one of the tastiest ways to prepare a small roaster chicken. We’ll take a closer look in the next section.
• Dehydrator. The dehydrator mode allows you to use the CO130-AO as a food dehydrator. Follow the time and temperature instructions in your recipe, and your jerky or homemade potato chips will come out delicious.
• Ferment. If you’ve ever thought about making homemade yogurt, now you can. And you won’t even need to spend extra money or counter space on a yogurt maker.
• Warm. Use the warm mode to simplify holiday cooking. If you need to keep a bowl of green bean casserole warm while the turkey finishes, now you can.

Of course, no breakfast is complete without a hot cup of coffee. If you struggle with getting your coffee prepared while your eyes are still sleepy, why not upgrade your coffee maker? We’ve looked at the best smart coffee makers on the market, to ease you through those rough morning hours.

Rotisserie Attachment & Extras

When we first looked at the COSORI toaster oven, we felt like the rotisserie attachment deserved its own section. This is because the other options fall into two categories. They’re either very basic, or they’re advanced enough that anyone who’s interested has already done their own research. But the rotisserie mode falls right in the middle.

The first thing you should know is that the rotisserie mode will not function without the drip tray installed. This is a safety feature, to prevent drippings from pooling around the bottom element and causing a grease fire. However, this somewhat reduces the clearance available for your chicken to rotate freely. COSORI advertises that their toaster oven will work with up to a 5-pound chicken, and this is true. But chickens come in all different shapes. One 5-pound chicken will be wider or narrower than others. To make sure your roaster has enough clearance, tie it up tightly with food-safe twine. Be particularly careful of the wings. They can splay out as they cook, and cause problems later on. Tie your chicken up thoroughly, and you’ll be just fine.

For finer cuts of meat, consider a sous vide cooker. These cookers boil your food inside of a plastic bag, to prevent any moisture from escaping. We’ve reviewed some of the best, and we stand by all of our choices.

Final Verdict

As you can see, the COSORI CO130-AO is a lot more than just a toaster oven. It’s basically a kitchen in a box. Whether you want to roast a rotisserie chicken, prepare homemade yogurt, or air fry some homemade fries, it does the job. Oh, and it also makes a great slice of toast.