I tried out the Salter DuoWave - a microwave which also works as an air fryer

Price on writing: £187 | Buy now from Currys

Our verdict

• Performance: 13/15

• Quality and durability: 12/15

• Ease of use: 10/15

• Value for money: 13/15

• Heating and cooking results: 8/10

• Programmes and features: 7/10

• Capacity and size: 8/10

• Ease of cleaning: 6/10

• Overall score: 77/100

I was keen to try an air fryer microwave as I don’t have enough counter space in my kitchen for both appliances. This combination of the two is great, and I use it around four nights a week to make part of a family dinner. 

We’re a family of four (including two teenagers), so it’s not big enough to make a whole meal in, but it's ideal for cooking sides. We eat mostly vegetarian food, and when we have chips, nachos, tofu, jacket potatoes and chickpeas, I'll use the air fryer function. This really excels at making things crispy, performing much better and faster than my oven, and I still have all the essential microwave functions too.

However, I do find the controls a little over-complicated; it’s not the most intuitive design and I do find myself referring back to the instruction manual quite often. But it does the job of two appliances in one so fitting all the controls onto one panel means making compromises. 

My main bugbear with this air fryer microwave hybrid is its height. On the outside it’s about the same size as a standard microwave, but inside, the air fryer’s heating element means there’s less space. This means some things, for example packets of rice or lentils, have to go on their side, and cleaning around the element can be a tricky job when food splashes up.

Overall though, I've been impressed by the air fryer. The microwave function also works perfectly, and apart from the height issue, I can’t fault it.

Cooking in the Salter DuoWave Air Fryer Microwave: how easy is it to use?

The Salter DuoWave in action (left) and the control panel (right)

The DuoWave is plug and play, so after unboxing it, I just had to clear the space on my shelf, plug it in and it was ready to go. 

That said, operating the DuoWave is slightly confusing, and I’ve found myself leaning on the manual more than I’d like. Some buttons have dual functions, so you need to toggle between presets and temperature controls using the same dial, which can feel a bit clunky at first. It comes with 10 presets - reheat, potato, meat, vegetable, pasta, fish, soup, pizza, chicken and popcorn, but as it's my first time using an air fryer, I do tend to opt for the temperature settings as I understand them better! 

Switching between air fryer and microwave modes is far easier and more intuitive, though. My only gripe here is that the microwave doesn’t ‘pause’. If you open the door to stir halfway through, you have to start from scratch - selecting microwave > power > time all over again.

On the plus side, it runs quietly in both modes, just a single beep at the end to let me know it’s done. I also love the eco-off button, which allows you to turn it completely off when not in use, rather than just on standby. 

Read next: Best slow cookers, tried and tested

Salter DuoWave Air Fryer Combination Microwave performance: how were the results?

Chips and hash browns cooked in the DuoWave (left) and the shallow cooking basket (right)

Overall, I was impressed. As a microwave, the DuoWave performs very well - reheating, defrosting and cooking just as reliably as my old, small Daewoo model. When I reheated soup, the bowl was hot with a few cold spots, but no worse than any other microwave I’ve used.

Where the DuoWave really stands out is the air fryer. Oven chips, chickpeas, coated tofu, jacket potatoes and nachos all came out crispier and quicker than in my fan oven - and I didn’t have to turn them as much either. In fact, if I use the basket without greaseproof paper, I don’t need to turn food at all for an even, crispy finish.

The included wide, shallow basket is perfect for chips. In my oven, chips usually need longer than the packet suggests (especially if I’ve crowded the tray or got other food in at the same time). In the DuoWave, they cooked within the recommended time and came out evenly crispy all round. I also love that it automatically switches to a ‘cool’ mode at the end, which keeps chips warm without overcooking them until I’m ready to plate them up.

It's also easy to switch between functions in the middle of a recipe. For example, I defrosted frozen spinach in the microwave for a tart, then crisped it up under the air fryer straight after. As the settings revert back after each use, it’s not an issue to switch between functions during the same recipe. 

However, baking is not its strong suit. I tried a focaccia for Eurovision night and while the top browned beautifully, the middle didn't cook through. I ended up transferring the bread to the oven with foil on top in order to rescue it. The same happened when I added eggs to nachos; the DuoWave just couldn’t cook them through. So while it excels with shallow, crispy dishes, it’s not a replacement for my fan oven, especially for bread or baking.

Read next: Best dual air fryers

Salter DuoWave Air Fryer Microwave: design and style

The interior of the DuoWave

I love that the DuoWave functions as two appliances in one. Space is at a premium in my kitchen, and it fits perfectly in the spot my microwave used to be - on a shelf in my larder. So the footprint is brilliant.

Inside, however, it’s shorter than a standard microwave due to the heating element, so some pouches (think rice, lentils, etc.) have to go on their side to cook. Also, when I make porridge in my Sistema rice cooker, the lid sits very close to the heating element and it does occasionally overflow. Porridge dries like cement, so this makes it very difficult to get off the heating element. If I could change one thing it’d be this - adding just a couple of centimetres to the height would make a real difference.  

I've experienced the same when reheating something and it spits - any splashes of food landing on the heating element need to be cleaned to avoid a burning smell when using the air fryer function.

In terms of capacity, it’s just right for making chips as an accompaniment for a family meal, warming up a mound of nachos with toppings, or crisping up enough tofu to go with a stir fry. It’s not big enough to make a full meal for four, though. 

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Is the Salter DuoWave Air Fryer Microwave Combination easy to clean?

The little feet on the metal basket get sticky very quickly, and they don’t seem to get properly cleaned in the dishwasher. Due to this, I clean them with some degreaser spray and a cloth, which is quite fiddly. The basket itself acts like a cheese grater on my Scrub Daddy, shredding it up, so that has to go in the dishwasher. 

The tray and glass microwave plate are straightforward to clean, and I do these in the sink. 

As mentioned above, the trickiest part is the heating element. When porridge bubbled over onto it, cleaning was awkward - I had to scrub gently with warm soapy water. Food splatters do need removing promptly though, otherwise they leave a burning smell. The height inside makes it harder to reach than in a standard microwave, so spillages take a little more effort.

Read next: Best air fryer for two people

Price: is the Salter DuoWave 2-in-1 Air Fryer and Microwave worth it?

I think £200 is excellent value for an appliance that works as both an air fryer and a microwave. While it won’t be replacing my fan oven any time soon, it’s great to have extra back up for bigger meals, and it makes a mean skin-on fry. It’s replaced my microwave, and I can’t think why you’d need a second air fryer in addition to this one - it does the job of both really well.

Best suited to small kitchens or limited counter space, I think it's ideal for those who want to use an air fryer for the odd meal, or people who are air fryer-curious but don’t want a whole extra appliance.

How we tested the Salter DuoWave Air Fryer Microwave

Mumsnet editor Poppy O'Neill put the Salter DuoWave through its paces in her kitchen, whipping up a variety of treats with it including chips, tofu, porridge, nachos, chickpeas and more. She tested both the air fryer and microwave settings thoroughly over a period of four months.

The Salter was then scored against MNHQ’s core home review criteria (each marked out of 15):

• Performance

• Quality and durability

• Ease of use

• Value for money

Poppy also rated it out of 10 for these product-specific measures:

• Heating and cooking results

• Programmes and features

• Capacity and size

• Ease of cleaning

These results were then combined to give an overall score out of 100.

About the author

Poppy O'Neill is a Content Editor at Mumsnet and a mother of two. She researches and reviews the products Mumsnetters swear by, with a particular focus on home essentials, laundry and fans. From a highly-recommended heated clothes airer to the best heated throws money can buy, and Mumsnet's favourite dehumidifier to the steam generator iron that'll cut your ironing time in half, she loves to deep-dive into research and find the very best products on the market.

With an MA in Creative Writing and a PGCert in Lifestyle Journalism, Poppy's written about parenting topics for The Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Mirror and The Sun. She's a best-selling, award-winning author, and her books for children and parents have been translated into 12 languages.