Say Goodbye To Kitchen Counter Clutter — The Midea Flexify Is Worth The Hype

Who has time to let an oven preheat? Life is busy, so getting a hot meal on the table every night is only practical if you have a few shortcuts up your sleeve. That's why we all rejoiced over the invention of the air fryer. One simple countertop appliance can cook an entire meal to crispy perfection in a fraction of the time. Not to mention, oven-style models do more than just air fry, which is why I was excited to test out the Midea Flexify Air Fryer Oven. 

The Midea Flexify packs everything we love about air fryers into one sleek package. Its 10 functions make it just as easy to roast a whole chicken as it is to air fry your favorite frozen appetizers. It may even allow you to ditch several individual appliances, including your slow cooker, dehydrator, toaster oven, and pizza cooker, in favor of a single appliance. Imagine the extra space you'll uncover in your pantry or kitchen cabinets when you declutter your crowded kitchen by replacing single-use appliances with this one device. Flexify is unique with its French doors and large 26.4 quart capacity. I tested several functions on this air fryer oven to see if it will be your meal-time savior.

Upon opening the box, I noticed that the Flexify was securely packed with sturdy styrofoam to keep it from shifting. All of the parts were free quickly — it was easy to unpack with no tape or fasteners to mess with. My first impression was that all of the trays and accessories seemed sturdy. I was excited to see that it came with a baking sheet that fits right into the grooves. Bring on the cookie dough! 

The owner's manual isn't super detailed, but it suggests that you hand-wash the parts before using them. Once everything was washed and dried, I did the initial burn-off cycle. I'll admit I've never done this with previous air fryers, but it seems to be a standard recommendation if you actually read the owner's manual. For the Flexify, it's a matter of choosing the bake setting and letting it run at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. I noticed a slight burning smell, but it didn't set off any smoke alarms or cause any major discomfort. 

After that, the Midea Flexify French Door Air Fryer Oven was ready to go. There was no assembly or complicated steps required besides washing and the quick burn cycle. Once you slide the baking sheet and baking rack into the grooves inside the oven, it's ready to go.

At a whopping 26.4 quarts, the Midea Flexify is large enough to hold a 12-inch pizza, whole chicken, or 14 chicken wings. I'm a fan of crispy pizza, so I was excited to try my favorite Trader Joe's frozen pizza in the oven. The roughly 9-inch pizza fit onto the rack easily. I also roasted a whole chicken with a tray of potatoes and carrots underneath with room to spare.   

However, the size could be an issue in small kitchens. Even though it's designed to be compact, the air fryer oven takes up a substantial amount of counter space. The French doors make it impossible to tuck the air fryer oven into a corner or against a wall because you need clearance for both doors to swing open. I had to slide the appliance over a few inches so the door didn't hit the wall. The cord is relatively short for safety purposes, so you'll also need to choose a location that's close to an outlet. 

The appliance comes with a baking sheet, oven rack, and air fryer basket, all of which are decent sized. One drawback about the air fryer basket is that it's not wide enough to fit into the slots by itself, which means you need to combine it with the oven rack. With only one air fryer basket in the set, it's difficult to air fry a lot at once without crowding the food. I would love to see a wider air fryer basket design that slides into the slots along with a second basket for more air-frying space.

The Flexify offers 10 cooking functions: air fry, roast, bake, broil, toast, pizza, reheat, slow cook, dehydrate, and warm. The pizza setting automatically selects the temperature and time based on the pizza size. Both frozen pizzas I tried came out crispy and delicious. For even browning, I recommend rotating the pizza 180 degrees halfway through cooking.

For the air fry setting, I cooked tater tots, steak fries, and a frozen chicken patty. They turned out browned and crispy. I did learn quickly that you need to watch the time or set a second timer if you want to flip your food halfway through cooking. My old air fryer dings halfway through as a reminder, but the Flexify doesn't have any type of signal. My fries and chicken were darker and crispier on one side even with the convection function running.

I also tried a few other modes, including the toast setting, which browned bread evenly and quickly. I dried apple slices with the dehydrate mode. They turned out delicious and the process was quick and simple. The warm setting kept my tater tots crispy while I finished cooking the rest of the meal on the stove. I got mixed results using the bake mode for frozen cookie dough. The cookies didn't spread as well as they do in the oven and turned out crumbly. Finally, the roast mode seemed to take longer to cook a whole chicken than the oven, and the exposed heating elements caught enough grease to set off my smoke detector. I would probably head straight for the oven with my next whole chicken.

I'm a sucker for an aesthetically-pleasing appliance, and the Flexify delivers. Let's face it, the digital screen looks fancy, so it's a win if you like having the latest gadgets. The digital display is also easy to read. You can quickly see what temperature you're choosing and how long you're cooking the food. It also has clearly labeled buttons and a control knob that are straightforward to understand. 

If you normally toss the manual without giving it a second glance, you might want to hold onto this one, at least while you're getting to know the air fryer. While the controls are easy to use, the steps to choose the ideal setting for your food aren't always intuitive. Take the pizza setting, for example. You select the Function button and turn the knob to the Pizza setting. It defaults to the temperature and time settings for a 9-inch pizza. I had to check the manual to figure out how to switch to other pizza settings. It turns out you have to choose the Confirm button and then turn the Select knob to change to a 6-inch or 12-inch pizza. You can then press the Temp/Time button to change those settings manually.

In general, the process is to first select the mode you want to use. To adjust the temperature or cooking time, you press the Temp/Time button and turn the knob. Then, you press the Start button. After the preheat period (for functions that have it), you have to select the Start button again to initiate the actual cooking period.

The Midea Flexify Air Fryer Oven wins major points for its stylish appearance and French-style doors, which allow for wide access to the inner compartment. Plus, the doors don't catch crumbs in the nooks and crannies like the flip-down door on my previous air fryer does. I like the digital display, and the buttons are sturdy and easy to use once you learn how to adjust different settings. It's worth noting that the buttons and outer surfaces get warm during cooking — they don't burn you, but they're noticeably warm.

This air fryer oven cooks quickly as promised, which saves time in the kitchen. The roasted potatoes and carrots were my favorite food out of the appliance, with the frozen pizzas coming in a close second. I was impressed with the air fryer basket — it was sturdy and none of the food I cooked stuck to it, which made clean-up easy. And we all know how important easy air fryer cleaning is to ensure the entire process is convenient. Making the accessories dishwasher-safe would be an added benefit, but all of the racks seemed to clean well with the exception of the baking sheet, which had some darker spots from the chicken and roasted veggies.

Overall, the Flexify is a versatile appliance that you could use in place of other gadgets. I'll still hold onto my slow cooker and stick with my oven for cookies, but I'm excited to try even more cooking modes and recipes with the Flexify. Not only does it look beautiful on my counter, but it's easy to use and cuts down cooking time significantly.