Toshiba AF-74CSROUS 7.7-Quart Air Fryer review: a smart and roomy air fryer

The Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer has a large capacity, making for easier meal prep and fewer dishes, and is quite intuitive to set up and use.

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer on worktop
(Image: © Future)

Top Ten Reviews Verdict

The Toshiba 7.7 Qt. Air Fryer is a true time saver and the ultimate convenient kitchen appliance. It has thoughtful details, design, and a powerful frying function with smart technology to prevent overcooked food.

Pros

  • +

    Spacious bin

  • +

    Handles on the sides

  • +

    Smart sensing technology to prevent overcooking

Cons

  • -

    Small learning curve to figure out which settings to use

  • -

    Heavy

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This is the optimal product if you haven’t jumped on the air fryer trend. Its additional design features and intelligent temperature and cooking time sensing will impress experienced air fryer users. The Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer has a large capacity, making meal prep easier and requiring fewer dishes. It is also quite intuitive to set up and use.

As someone trying to prevent chemical exposure to my five kids, I appreciated the non-toxic metal interior and composition that comes in contact with the food. Also, the product helps train you on exactly what to do with a large sticker at the top decoding the various buttons’ meanings, so you can get used to how to use it without guessing whether to push the chicken or fish button.

Keep reading to see what I thought, and head to our guide to the best air fryers.

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer open drawer

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer open drawer (Image credit: Future)

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer: Key specs

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PowerElectric; 1700 Watts
Capacity7.7 QT
Weight12.3 lbs
FunctionsPreset menus, a memory function, and Heat-Q Technology

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer open draw and grill

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer open draw and grill (Image credit: Future)

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer: Setup

The Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer arrives nearly wholly set up, with just the tiny tray to add to the bottom of the frying bin. Some substantial tape holds the drawer in place, but aside from those two steps, it was ready for use upon arrival. It did take a bit of trial and error to determine which direction the tray inserts into the basket, but it wasn’t a barrier to getting started quickly.

I immediately noticed that the tray insert had a feature I hadn’t seen in other air fryers: padded bumpers that prevent clanking and ensure a more secure fit when you insert the tray. This nice-to-have feature makes the process slightly quieter and means the tray doesn’t scratch the inside of the bin.

With an easy-to-use key on a large sticker on top, you can jump right into cooking your food without any previous knowledge of what to do next.

  • Score: 9 out of 10

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer side handles

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer side handles (Image credit: Future)

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer: Design & Features

If you’ve ever tried to move an air fryer, you know they can be bulky and unwieldy. Enter the transport handles. While it might seem like a tiny feature, the transport handles on each side of the fryer midway make it much safer to move it around or throw it in the car to transport to a friend or relative’s dinner party. Similarly, the tray comes in and out with a handle, which is helpful for quick removal without grabbing a corner of the tray to remove it.

When you pull out the bin to check or remove your food, the drawer doesn’t have a track to support the bin's weight, so the bin flops down if you pull it out too far. Thus, you have to remove the bin entirely to access the food. Some competitors have a track that supports the bin even when pulled out. While this isn’t a big problem, you should be a bit more prepared to set the hot bin on a heat-proof surface if you remove the drawer.

There are 12 preset options to cook specific types of food, called “preset menus,” like fries, wings, chicken legs, etc., but you can also easily customize your cooking time and temperature however you want. This is more than other air fryers I have tested, and it gives buttons that aren’t as common but are still helpful. For example, it offers a “memory button” shaped like a heart that helps you quickly access your favorite settings you have used in the past. So, if I plan on making my kids chicken nuggets multiple times per week, and I want to quickly set my exact temperature and time again, this is much simpler than setting it again every time.

The Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer has multiple safety features, including an auto shut-off if it overheats, which didn’t happen during testing. In addition, the fryer won’t start if the drawer is misaligned, so you can correct it and start again. The product is large, well-made, and sturdy, and it looks sleek and modern with a matte black finish and a silver handle.

  • Score: 8.5 out of 10

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer heat controls

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer heat controls (Image credit: Future)

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer: Performance

As a mom to five kids, I constantly look for bigger, roomier, and more helpful kitchen appliances. This air fryer allows me to cook just one batch of food rather than using it multiple times for one meal, which is a huge time saver. It has a roomy, rounded, square-shaped bucket, and the tray insert doesn’t steal too much space height-wise like other options I’ve tried. However, there is still sufficient room below the tray to drain excess liquid, grease, and fat from the food — the company shares that your food will have 90% less fat than other cooking methods.

I was surprised to see how long this air fryer took to preheat, but it seems it’s simply being more “honest” or precise than others that appear to start instantly (but are preheating anyway without calling it that). So, a few minutes of patience will allow you to start cooking your food at the proper temperature.

IQ adjusts the cooking time based on your preferred temperature. For example, if your wings get hotter than expected, the cooking time will be reduced. A built-in sensor detects the temperature of the food and the cooking area, so you are much less likely to burn or undercook your food if you use the preset buttons that trigger this function.

While it can be difficult to gauge an air fryer’s “power” or efficiency, I found it to cook the food sufficiently in the expected time and was powerful enough to cook many types of food. The company promotes its accuracy as a 1% variation in temperature, a solidly reliable statistic that feels reassuring enough when your guests are showing up soon, and you don’t need surprises.

The cleanup on this air fryer was easy, and the tray didn’t cause excessive sticking or residue left behind — though I am a fan of using a cooking spray to ensure this isn’t a problem anyway. Also, the brand shares the lining is non-toxic. It’s simple to pop the tray out and hand wash the bin and the tray or throw them in the dishwasher.

  • Score: 9 out of 10

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer meat cooked

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer open drawer with cooked meat (Image credit: Future)

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer: User reviews

Users of this Toshiba air fryer appreciate its power. Many note that the food tastes better than anything their microwave or other air fryers could produce (or reheat). They also like the ease of cleaning up and note that the capacity is excellent for a family.

An Amazon reviewer appreciated being able to transfer the food from the air fryer without having to use additional utensils, saying, “I researched several brands of air fryers, and Toshiba had many advantages, but a small but significant issue was that I could dump the food out of the drawer without the grate falling out. Several others show the food being removed with tongs because of the grate.”

A couple of reviews noted some confusion with the dials and buttons on this air fryer, saying there was a bit of a learning curve to know which temperature and mode worked best for certain foods. One Amazon review said, “There is an online manual with the listing, and I’d suggest that people review it before using it or complaining that it is too complicated.”

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer open drawer with cooked meat

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer open drawer with cooked meat (Image credit: Future)

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer: Price & Value

The Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer is available on Amazon for $58.49 and at Target for $89.99.

  • Score: 9 out of 10

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer top view controller

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer top view controller (Image credit: Future)

Would I buy the Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer?

With its large capacity, the Toshiba 7.7 Qt. Air Fryer is a great kitchen appliance for families of 5-7 people. It features smart technology to prevent overcooking and thoughtful design elements such as transport handles and a tray removal handle. If you have it, it's worth the counter space. It's usually $130, but it's sometimes on sale for $50 during Black Friday.

It's a great choice if you're looking for a reliable air fryer with a single function. However, you'll need to look elsewhere if you want a combination product with multiple cooking methods.

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Test results
AttributeNotesScore
Setupnearly complete assembly upon arrival; easy to use; minor learning curve with tray orientation9/10
Design & featuresthoughtful design and robus features; transport handles, preset cooking options, and safety mechanisms; need for caution when accessing the bin8.5/10
Performancelarge cooking capacity; intelligent cooking technology; easy to use; preheating takes longer than expected9/10
Price & valueaffordable, with feature-rich design9/10

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer in box

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer in box (Image credit: Future)

How does the Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer compare?

If you’re looking for a larger air fryer with similar features, the Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 is an additional option, coming in at a 10 QT capacity. This air fryer has two 5 QT drawers, Ninja’s Smart Cook System, and six cooking functions. It’s also another excellent option for large families or cooking for large groups.

For those who don’t need an air fryer as large or lack counter space, the smaller Toshiba 5.5 QT Air Fryer offers the same features as the 7.7 QT but at a smaller price and size. Like its larger counterpart, it has eight cooking modes, as well as Toshiba’s Heat-Q and Menu-IQ Technology.

At a similar price point is the Chefman TurboFry Touch Air Fryer. This air fryer has an 8 QT capacity and is around $70 on Amazon. It has a dishwasher-safe basket and a “shake alert” halfway through cooking to ensure that foods crisp to perfection. Similar to the Toshiba, it has automaticshut-offf and digital control,s and reviewers appreciate the ease ofcleaningh the appliance.

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer box

Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer box (Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Toshiba 7.7 QT Air Fryer

I tested the air fryer by cooking numerous side dishes and main dishes for my family for seven weeks. I chose various foods, from raw meat to breaded meat that needed to be warmed up or “crisped.” I cooked vegetables, warmed up waffles that weren’t “crunchy” enough for my picky toddler, and more. I analyzed the cooking time, final product, and ability to program the air fryer to do what I needed.

Find out more about how we test.

Alexandra Frost
TTR Contributor

Alex Frost is an experienced journalist and product reviewer. She has tested a variety of products during her writing career, ranging from appliances to mattresses. As a mom of 5 kids under the age of 10, she’s able to utilize busy family life in her product testing for durability and efficiency. She has had product pieces published in New York Times Wirecutter, Forbes Vetted, USA Today and many others.