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NuWave is a company dedicated to making unique air fryers, convection heaters, and other versatile kitchen gadgets. One of their most unique products is the NuWave Bravo. Made to cook great meals right from your counter, you have to wonder if the NuWave Bravo is everything they say it is. Our NuWave Bravo review will help you find out if this is really worth your time and money.
We’ve done lots of other air fryer oven reviews, like our Best Air Fryer Oven collection. So, will our NuWave Bravo review show this as the great oven they say it is, or is there a better air fryer for your kitchen?
Features
The first thing you have to check with an air fryer oven is the features. You want it to be as versatile as your kitchen oven (preferably even more versatile). The NuWave Bravo XL, sometimes known as the NuWave Bravo 20801, comes with 12 different preset options for cooking nearly any ingredient. The presets include:
- Air Fry
- Bake
- Broil
- Roast
- Toast
- Grill
- Dehydrate
- Reheat
- Defrost
- Waffles
- Pizza
- Bagel
Those are just the presets. You can also manually change the time and temp (more on this later), and there is a handy menu for searing, changing the top or bottom heating elements, setting a delay timer, and more.
The fan has three different speeds so even greasier ingredients (think burgers and steak) won’t cause a lot of smoke. Worried about overcooking or undercooking? This comes with an internal probe. Stick it in the meat and the NuWave Bravo XL will immediately shut off once it reaches the desired temperature.
This is one of the most versatile and feature-rich air fryer ovens we’ve reviewed, but you have to think about more than just the features. Presets are great, but what about the size or power? Keep reading to find out.
What Can it Cook?
There’s a danger to presets if you think about it. Many people believe that they can only make the items that are listed there. The Bravo oven doesn’t say anything about burgers or chicken, so can it make them?
The presets are helpful when making certain meals, but you can always manually change the time and temp to suit your needs. You can make nearly anything as long as the food fits and the temperature is high enough. So go ahead, make air fryer chicken, baked sweet potatoes, broiled steak, and so on. If you can make it in an oven or air fryer, then you can make it here.
Our NuWave Bravo XL review found that this is basically a little oven, so treat it as such. The presets are good when you’re making that specific ingredient, but otherwise just set the time and temp and prepare for tasty food.
Size and Capacity
This is incredibly important when it comes to air fryer ovens. These do a good job of replacing full-sized ovens as long as they are big enough for your needs. So, how large is the NuWave Bravo XL Smart Oven, and how much can you fit in it?
The Bravo XL measures out to 20 x 13.5 x 11 inches with an internal capacity of 1.0 cubic feet. What does that mean?
If you like cooking larger cuts of meat, it means you can fit either a 6lb roast or a whole 10lb chicken in there. What about flatter ingredients, like pizza, bread, or burgers? You can fit a 13” pizza. You can also fit either 6 slices of bread for toasting or 6 burgers for roasting, air frying, broiling, or however else you want to cook them.
In general, we would say the Bravo oven is good for couples and small families. Larger families can use it for making snacks or appetizers, but it likely won’t be enough for 5+ people unless you’re willing to cook in shifts.
While this is large by air fryer oven standards, there are bigger models if that’s what you need. For those who want even bigger ovens, here are a few recommended products:
Yedi Air Fryer Oven XL | Instant Vortex Plus | Innsky Air Fryer Oven |
  |   |   |
Capacity: 12.7 Quarts | Capacity: 10 Quarts | Capacity: 10.6 Quarts |
| | |
Power and Temperature
The only way an air fryer oven can effectively replicate the oven experience (aside from being large) is having good power and high temperatures. You need to cook food and you can only do that if the oven gets hot enough.
Don’t worry, our NuWave Bravo reviews found that this oven gets the job done. It reaches a maximum temperature of 450 degrees. Not only that, but you can easily change the temp between 100-450 by 5 degree increments. You’ll have no problem dehydrating, baking, air frying, and more.
Some air fryers make it tough to change the temperature, but you’ll have no problem with the Bravo. Just turn the knob and select the right temperature for your meal.
Now, the temperature is good, but what about the power? Lower power would force you to wait around for the oven to come to temp. It also means it would lose more heat if the front is open or if you place cold food inside.
The Bravo XL is a strong 1800W. This is similar to the Emeril Lagasse 360 air fryer, and it’s on the higher tier of air fryer ovens. You should have no problem keeping a high temp, plus the Bravo should preheat very quickly.
Build Quality
Part of the reason why I love air fryer ovens is because I adore the aesthetics. They’re just like real ovens, but smaller. When it comes to design, the Bravo is top notch and looks great. However, it’s not just the design, you need to consider how well the Bravo is made.
The NuWave Bravo XL’s body is brushed stainless steel. That looks great, is very durable, and can take a lot of punishment. The heat-resistance tempered glass door is equally strong and can take heat for many hours. You get both top and bottom heating elements, and you can even switch between them for consistent cooking.
While we’ll touch on the accessories more in the next section, you get many here and they’re all just as impressive. You get a nonstick enamel baking pan, stainless steel tray, heavy-dry cooking racks, and a silicone pad. These are all made from tried and true materials that are used by experienced cooks and professionals.
The NuWave Bravo has excellent build quality and is ideal for long cooking sessions.
NuWave Bravo XL Accessories
What NuWave Bravo accessories do you get with this oven? You actually get a tremendous number of accessories. Many other air fryer ovens only come with a few extra goodies, but you’re getting a lot here. The Bravo oven accessories include:
- Internal Temperature Probe
- Enamel Broiling Rack/Baking Pan
- Air Fryer Basket
- Cooking Racks (2)
- Pizza Peel
- Pizza Cutter
- Bravo Recipe Guide
While you should never buy an air fryer oven based solely on its accessories, this definitely sweetens the pot and makes this an even more attractive product. It’s already a top-tier contender is every other category, so this makes it look even better.
Final Verdict
Our NuWave Bravo review found that this is an excellent air fryer oven that definitely deserves a space in your kitchen. It has 12 presets, manual temperature settings from 100-450 with precise controls, a great design, brushed stainless steel exterior, lots of accessories, and tremendous power.
The size is also fantastic at 1.0 cubic feet. While this may not be ideal for larger families unless you’re willing to cook in shifts, it’s great for cooking big meals for couples and smaller families, and it’s a wonderful supplement for your full oven.
We couldn’t recommend the NuWave Bravo XL enough. It’s a strong, versatile, and durable air fryer oven that is one of the best we’ve ever seen.