NuWave Brio Air Fryer Review 2023 – Is It Worth It

Ivy Smith February 1, 2023 in Kitchen & Food, Air Fryer - 12 Minutes

Read Time:10 Minute, 10 Second

It can be stressful to shop for new kitchen appliances. More than anything, you want to know that you are getting the most durable machine for your money.

Recently, I was searching for an affordable air fryer that I could give to friends for the upcoming holiday season. Fortunately, I was able to examine the Nuwave Brio 6 quart Air Fryer, and I’ll be analyzing its performance in a number of different ways throughout the rest of this article.

The NuWave Brio Air Fryer is a fantastic air fryer, and I wholeheartedly endorse it to anyone looking to bolster their kitchen’s air frying capabilities while on a budget. It offers a ton of value and outperforms every cooking metric I tested. The digital display and incremental controls allow it to operate quietly, produce incredibly high-quality food, and have amazing precision and temperature control.

Table of Contents

Pros & Cons of NuWave Brio Air Fryer

Pros

Cooks food fairly evenly
A lot of cooking options
User-friendly
Wide temperature range
Comes with a temp probe and basket divider

Cons

Inaccurate temperatures
Presets can be overwhelming
Hard to clean
Inconsistent cooking performance

How Does the Nuwave Brio Air Fryer Look/Feel/Sit?

With a wider temperature range of 50°F to 400°F and more than 100 presets, the Nuwave Brio Air Fryer is a convection oven that can also be used as an air fryer under the right conditions.

When placed on the counter, the basket-style air fryer in question resembles something resembling a pod or rounded cube. Its size is comparable to that of a stand mixer or bread maker, and thanks to its sleek, glossy black finish, it stands out dramatically on my light granite countertop.

The machine is very sturdy and has a nice wide base. It feels well made and locks into position with a satisfying click. The display is a calming shade of blue, and the controls are digital. Even from a short distance away, it is simple to read what is being displayed. Even when tucked away beneath an overhead cabinet, the fryer’s angled top makes it simple to operate the controls without having to pull it out.

You can find a time/temperature guide for various food types and recipes on top of the display. You can use this guide to get advice on various foods, and the recipe guide found in the user manual also has a wealth of information on cooking techniques, hacks, and complete air fryer-specific recipes.

It is fairly large and would occupy a lot of room in a cabinet. Storage is an option, but some people might prefer to leave it on the counter after each use. Should you decide that storing it is the best option for you, it is lighter than it appears to be and is very simple to move around.

Also Check: 20+ Instant Pot Air Fryer Recipes 2023 – Tasty & Delicious

How Easy is It to Set Up?

It was very light and simple to move onto my countertop, making setup quick and simple. It does need at least 2″ of clearance between the back of the machine and any other equipment or walls it may be placed in proximity to. The machine is otherwise ready to use right out of the box, with the exception of the cardboard insert that is placed between the basket and the frying chamber when it is delivered.

Prior to the first use, I like to quickly rinse all of my kitchen appliances with hot water. This is where I encountered the one setup difficulty. I had to think for a moment before I figured out how to get the frying basket out of the removable cooking chamber. It is fastened to the handle with a spring-loaded button release. However, it took me a minute of fiddling with the release to get it to engage for the first time. Once I figured out how to release the basket properly, it was a breeze.

Read More: Can You Put Water In An Air Fryer

The 1800w motor on the Nuwave Brio 6 qt. Air Fryer is ready to use. However, because not all homes can provide that level of power, the The Nuwave Air Fryer has wattage control settings that let you reduce the device’s power consumption. This will change the suggested cooking times and temperatures for recipes, so you’ll need to experiment and use a thermometer to check that your cooked foods are the right degree of doneness. I didn’t experiment with lower wattages because my kitchen can supply 1800w of power, but having the option to adjust for various power requirements was a nice touch.

NuWave Brio Air Fryer Performance

Cooking Performance

We cooked chicken breast, tater tots, sweet potato fries, onion rings, donuts, and onion rings while paying close attention to texture, evenness, and cook time during our cooking performance testing. The Brio’s performance varies significantly from one food item to another. It consistently produces an ok texture. The donuts are too soft, but the onion rings are delicious and crunchy.

As far as evenness goes, the Brio does quite well except for the donuts, whose innards are consistently undercooked. Unexpectedly, the chicken breast is evenly cooked despite taking much longer than the manual recommends. Additionally, the sweet potato fries take a lot longer than expected and never get completely crisp. All of the food we prepared in the Brio had a distinct flavor from the manufacturing oil, which gave our taste-test samples a peculiar flavor.

Read More: 7 Best Oils for Air Fryer

User Friendliness

Any air fryer’s user-friendliness is primarily influenced by its interface, basket accessibility, and adaptability. The Brio has a mostly intuitive digital interface. You might want to use both hands because, while the fry basket fits perfectly and is simple to remove, doing so requires a strong pull. This device has a wide range of uses. It has a wide temperature range and can be adjusted up or down in 5°F steps, giving the user a lot of control. There are four different modes—air fry, sear, grill, and warm—and 100 distinct presets, plus the option to store 50 of your own. Additionally, the wattage settings on this appliance are adjustable.

Ease of Cleaning

After preparing and enjoying a delicious meal, it can be difficult to find the motivation to clean. The fry basket can be separated into three parts for convenience; however, the Brio is not the easiest to clean. Quite a bit of food sticks to the non-stick coating because it is of poor quality. Furthermore, food is difficult to remove from the mesh screen at the bottom of the secondary basket. Although it disassembles easily, this air fryer needs to be scrubbed thoroughly to be cleaned properly.

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Temperature Accuracy

The Brio offers a wide temperature range from 50°F to 400°F range and rises in 5°F increments, but the accuracy is not particularly impressive. The Brio measures 295 degrees Fahrenheit at 300 degrees, and at 400 degrees, we measure a whopping 20 degrees hotter. Once you are aware of this information, you can make the necessary adjustments, but the accuracy is not very good overall.

Also Read: Can Air Fryers Cause Cancer

How Easy is It to Clean?

It was not too difficult to clean the Nuwave Brio 6 quart Digital Air Fryer. I took the cooking chamber out of the appliance and separated the baking rack and basket. The frying basket has a removable “baking rack” for a bottom that clicks into place and comes apart easily. Despite the fact that the cooking chamber, basket, and baking rack are all dishwasher safe, I decided to hand wash every piece. It is not practical to regularly do this, particularly if your top rack has restricted clearance, because the manual suggests washing all the parts, including the large cooking chamber and basket, on the top rack of your dishwasher.

The cooking chamber’s interior is non-stick, so you should be careful to wash it with a non-abrasive cleaner and sponge. In my experience, cleaning the interior of the cooking chamber only required a quick soak in warm, soapy water and the use of a non-abrasive sponge. I was able to scrub the stainless steel cooking rack and food basket a little more vigorously thanks to the sponge’s scouring side. Even the most stubborn, stuck-on pieces were easily removed by hand thanks to that and a brief soak in warm water.

Although the pieces are dishwasher safe, you should always wash them by hand due to their bulky nature. Overall, cleaning was very simple.

How Would I Improve the Nuwave Brio Air Fryer?

Overall, the Nuwave 6 Quart Brio Digital Air Fryer is a fantastic device. It has a clear design with simple, elegant lines. The controls are simple to use, and it is very simple to fine-tune your cooking process thanks to the digital temperature control with individual degree increments, a precise digital timer, and wattage settings. A few minor changes need to be made, but nothing that would seriously impair the machine’s overall performance.

The assembly of the cooking chamber/food basket is a little loose and, at times, loading it into the machine can be a chore. The cooking chamber can hang down a little due to the detachable basket, which makes it difficult to slide the chamber back into the machine when it is loaded with food. When the basket was full of food, it was occasionally difficult to load it efficiently back into the appliance.
Include brackets on the back of the machine to help maintain a proper distance from the wall and other cooking appliances. Despite the fact that it may seem straightforward, it is very simple to find this machine pushed all the way up against a wall or against the back of a countertop, which is not ideal for optimal operation and safety. Some of the models I’ve seen have little protrusions or brackets that keep the machine properly apart from other pieces of furniture or walls. Although including these would be nice to ensure proper operation, it is simple to simply pull it out a few inches each time you want to use it.
Including an internal temperature probe would be a nice option, but it is not something you see in value-priced options like the Digital air fryer by Nuwave. In any case, adding a temperature probe to the machine’s overall configuration would greatly increase its capacity for temperature control and help you further fine-tune your cooking technique.

Our Verdict

The Nuwave Brio boasts a larger temperature range of 50°F to 400°F and features more than 100 presets. Food is better kept separate thanks to the basket divider, though it is very challenging to clean. Although the wide temperature range is beneficial, it can lead to overcooked food, especially at higher temperatures, because of the lack of accuracy. Fortunately, it includes a probe to help you carefully monitor your culinary masterpiece. Without the key, navigating through the extensive selection of presets can be challenging. Additionally, while the basket can be easily disassembled for cleaning, the mesh material rips up sponges, and the non-stick material is ineffective.

The Nuwave Brio is simple to use, but it does not produce the best results. Although the temperature probe is useful, the lack of temperature accuracy is about as infuriating as trying to remove all of the food from the mesh basket and non-stick surface. Unfortunately, this air fryer is slightly overpriced given the quality of the food it produces.