Stop the guesswork: Cuisinart’s Clearview air fryer gives you dinner in plain sight

Having covered the Cuisinart’s Clearview air fryer when it was first released in May, I was keen to get my hands on the new release to see whether it’s as smart as it looks. With a clear bowl and open viewing window at the top, it’s no surprise how the company came up with the name.

However, my first thought wasn’t how well it would cook, but how dirty the clear bowl would get with regular use. If the appliance is kept on your countertop, which is bound to be the most common scenario if you use an air fryer regularly, would it start to look grimy after a few uses?

So far, it hasn’t been a concern, and I’ve really valued having a clear view of what’s going on inside the bowl without needing to pause to check.

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Here I delve deeper into the Clearview’s performance and give you my verdict on how it stacks up.

Cuisinart Clearview review: Price and availability

I tested the Cuisinart Clearview 4-quart air fryer, which costs $139 at Amazon. You can also pick it up for $139 direct from Cuisinart. Cuisinart also produces a 9-quart version, but it has a slightly different design, and the cooking drawer only has a clear front. However, despite its larger capacity, it is a mere $20 extra, selling for $159 at Amazon.

How does the price compare with the Ninja Crispi? Although the MSRP is $179, you can currently pick up the Cyberspace Gray and Sage colorway versions of the Ninja Crispi for $159 at Amazon. That’s a pretty good deal, since you also get an extra 6-quart bowl included in the box.

The Clearview is still more expensive than the Cosori 9-in-1 Turboblaze Air Fryer, which is currently discounted to $89 at Amazon and features a 6-quart bowl and plenty more functionality.

Cuisinart Clearview review: Design

Although I have previously compared Cuisinart’s Clearview with the Ninja Crispi, they're not exact duplicates. Apart from the sloping front on the top, the Clearview takes on a similar form to most air fryers — you slide the basket inside. By comparison, the Crispi's heating pod is placed on top of the cooking bowl.

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Glass basket
The air fryer comes with a square glass bowl with two handles on either side. I found having two side handles, rather than one central handle (like most air fryers), made it easier to manage when sliding and removing it from the base unit.

A PFAS-free ceramic nonstick crisper plate sits neatly at the bottom of the bowl, but it can be removed if you’re heating something like a pasta bake or using it to store leftovers.

Of course, if you use your air fryer every day and also tend to store leftovers, you might need to invest in another glass bowl. Although spare bowls aren’t available right now, Cuisinart has told me you'll be able to pick one up in August.

Controls and functionality

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Controls and functionality
The digital control panel is pretty intuitive to use and easy to access. It doesn’t have as much functionality as other air fryers, but offers air fry, roast, grill, bake, recrisp and keep warm, which is enough for most standard needs.

However, I did miss the preheating and proofing functions I enjoyed using with the Cosori TurboBlaze air fryer. Although it lets you set two favorites, the temperature doesn’t go below 212º F (100°C), which is too high to proof dough.

Noise
For each cooking mode, I selected the highest temperature setting and monitored the noise output. The top temperature for air fry, roast, grill, and bake was 400ºF (200°C), and 300ºF (150°C) for keep warm.

The average noise level for air fry and roast was 67 dB (72 dB max), reducing to 64 dB for recrisp, and 56 dB for grill and bake. Keep warm measured an average of 41 dB.

I don’t think the Cuisinart Clearview air fryer is particularly noisy, and it sits in a similar range to the Ninja Air Fryer Pro 4-in-1, which takes the top spot in our buying guide.

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Let there be light
There is one standout element about this air fryer that really captured my interest and got my husband talking. Having a clear view of what’s cooking cancels out my grumble about the lack of settings. There’s no need to keep pulling out a basket to check how your food is cooking and wasting heat since you can instantly see the progress.

What’s more, apart from the almost panoramic view of the bowl, you can also view through the top window and illuminate everything. Press the 'light bulb' button, and the internal light will stay on for 45 seconds, unless you remove the basket.

Apart from the standard food selections I cooked in this air fryer, I also baked cupcakes (I’ll be reporting on this soon), and it was here that the viewing window and clear basket really made a difference.

Cuisinart Clearview review: Performance

Meatballs

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Meatballs are a regular on my family’s meal plan and are easy to cook in an air fryer. I placed 17 meatballs into the glass basket and selected ‘Air Fry’ mode on the control panel. On my U.K. model, it automatically sets to 180°C (350ºF) and 12 mins, but you can adjust the temperature and time by pressing the buttons on the left and right. The temperature can be altered in 5°C increments, and the time by one-minute increments.

You’ll also notice that the ‘Shake Reminder’ lights up and beeps when the cook is halfway through; if you’d prefer not to use it, just press the button to turn it off.

I adjusted the time to 10 mins, but kept the temperature at 180°C. I gave the meatballs a shake at five minutes, and they looked quite cooked, so I put them back in and adjusted the time to three minutes. I then checked their internal temperature with my Thermoworks meat thermometer to ensure they were cooked through, and then changed the setting to ‘Keep Warm’ until my pasta and sauce were ready.

Croissants

There’s nothing worse than a soft croissant, so I placed three decent-sized croissants in the basket and selected ‘Recrisp’. The automatic setting is 10 minutes at 180°C, but I reset it to three minutes to avoid a charred mess.

When the three minutes were up, I noticed slight charring on the tops of the croissants, but they were perfectly crispy and even more delicious when I added a generous helping of butter!

Crispy potatoes and fries

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Potatoes are one of the regular carbs that I cook in an air fryer. With my first batch, I cut the potatoes into small chunks, leaving the skin intact, then lightly coated them with sunflower oil. I then placed them in the basket and selected ‘Air Fry’, leaving them to cook at the automatic setting — 180°C (350ºF) for 12 minutes.

At halftime, I gave them a shake and noticed that they still had some time to go; it was only at nine minutes that I saw that they’d started to crisp. After 12 minutes had passed, they were still uncooked, so I increased the temperature to 200°C (400ºF) and cooked them for a further six minutes. At this point, they still lacked the extra crispiness that I prefer, but they were cooked inside.

It’s a case of adjusting the setting to suit your preferences. I do also think that preheating the air fryer would help to speed up the cooking.

I also cooked some frozen fries, straight from the freezer. For these, I followed the cooking results on the food packet and set the air fryer to 200°C for 15 minutes, giving them a shake midway through. The fries came out hot and perfectly crispy.

Having become more accustomed to how the air fryer works, I decided to preheat it to 200°C before cooking some chicken pieces coated in breadcrumbs. And this was exactly what the cooking instructions suggested. I then set the air fryer to ‘Air Fry’ at 180°C for 12 minutes. There was no need to increase the timing, and I could see the benefit of preheating

Roasted vegetables

Just in case you’re worried about my diet and think I only eat carbs and protein, I chopped up some zucchini and peppers. I then gave them a light coating with oil and placed them in the air fryer on ‘Roast’ for 10 minutes at 200°C — the standard setting is at 180°C for 25 minutes.

I gave them a shake at 5 minutes and, at the 10-minute mark, added an extra two minutes of cook time. They came out slightly charred and soft without being overcooked.

Cuisinart Clearview review: Verdict

Having eyes on what you’re cooking is the standout feature of this air fryer, and it’s not just a gimmick. It really helps you check on the progress of what you’re cooking without constantly removing the bowl, releasing heat and interrupting whatever else you’re doing in the kitchen. I also loved the light that illuminates your food, and while it’s not intentional, it added a bit of fun to using the air fryer.

If you have a family, you may find the bowl too small for your needs. If so, you can size up to Cuisinart’s 9-quart ClearView, but the sightline isn’t quite the same. However, overall, it’s a good little air fryer. And despite my early reservations about keeping the bowl clean, it’s been easier to keep spotless than my standard air fryer basket. It may not be as cute as the Ninja Crispi, but it gets the job done.