Dash Kitchen Appliances Are It and Here's Why

Welcome to Skimm Tested, where we put products to the test and then give 'em a report card. (Check out all of our tried-and-tested faves here.)

The assignment…

To test a slew of products from well-known appliance maker Dash. Its items are colorful, compact, and ideal for home chefs who love to get busy in the kitchen.

Dash Air Fryer ($49.95)

Straight A’s in…

• Ease of use. If you’ve never used an air fryer, you’ll get the hang of this one quickly. All you need is a small bit of oil (we like to use avocado oil spray) with whatever you’re frying up, then set the temperature and the time. The fryer will ding when your food is ready. Plus, its non-slip feet make it stable no matter where you’re placing it.

• Effectiveness. We’ve found that it consistently works well to cook crispy, flavorful vegetables, potatoes, and proteins with significantly less oil than we’d use to fry or saute them traditionally. 

• Size. If we’re being honest, the main draw of the Dash air fryer is how compact and lightweight it is. It’s perfect for servings for one- or two-person households, and it’s easily portable. So if you’ve got a tiny kitchen and don’t have the space to keep this out all the time, storing it on a shelf and taking it out when you need it won’t be a workout. Have multiple people in the home? Dash also makes a “family-sized” air fryer.

• Cleanup time. Because you’re not using a ton of oil, there’s no big mess to deal with. Just pull out the basket, lift the grate out of it, and wash by hand. Nothing tends to get stuck to the grate, and cleaning it up with a standard dish sponge and soap gets the job done quickly.

Room for growth…

• Dial precision. Not a dealbreaker by any means, but the mark on the timer dial can be a bit difficult to see, which may be tricky for anyone who is visually impaired. 

• Crispiness with thicker cuts of food. For best results, we’d rec using thinner cuts of food for optimal crispiness — e.g., shoestring fries versus potato wedges, or small broccoli florets versus larger pieces.

Dash Waffle Maker ($12.99)

Straight A’s in…

• Efficiency. Considering its size, the Dash mini waffle maker, like most of the line's appliances, heats up incredibly fast. It’s ready to go in under five minutes and can cook waffles to completion in under two.

• Ease of use. We’re truly impressed with how easy it is to never overcook your waffles. There’s a tiny indicator light that illuminates once you close the filled machine. From there, it’s really about watching until the light clicks off. Once that happens, you can easily pop out the waffles with a fork. They’re just fluffy enough, not overly dry.  

• Size. Did we mention this thing is tiny? ’Cause it is. It’s perfect for those living in apartments or anyone who has dedicated their cabinet space to a couple larger appliances (like a blender or Crock-Pot), but still wants a waffle maker in their home. 

Room for growth…

• Ease of cleaning. The waffle maker is corded, so washing is a bit of a hassle. The textured griddles aren’t detachable, so once the machine cools down, you can use a wet, soapy paper towel to wipe it down. Other than that, it’s a tad difficult to get in between the nooks and crannies to really get a thorough clean. 

• No fill line. Since the Dash mini waffle maker is quite tiny — the nonstick griddle surfaces are 4 inches in diameter — it’s easy to overpour. When that happens, batter flows out from the sides of the maker, which we admit, is a bit annoying. The learned trick is to always under-pour your batter, even when you’re certain you could add more.

Dash Griddle ($12.99)

Straight A’s in…

• Variety. The Dash mini griddle can do a lot, which makes it a clear staple for any kitchen. You can make pancakes, cook eggs, make grilled cheese, and even bake single-serve cookies. Less pans on the stovetop = a cleaner kitchen.

• Efficiency. Like its sister griddle above, it heats up quickly and remains hot throughout the entire time you’re using it. Things cook within minutes so we never really waited long for our breakfast. (Huge plus in the morning when you’re trying to make it to work.)

• Ease of cleaning. This appliance is actually easier to clean than the option above. Since the griddles are flat, it’s quick to wipe down and you’ll always be able to notice if there’s any residue left behind. 

Room for growth…

• No fill line. Apologies if we sound like a broken record, but like the waffle maker, the Dash mini griddle doesn’t have a fill line. If you’re breaking a single egg into the machine, you won’t have trouble with this. If you’re pouring pancake batter, we’re gonna get on our soapbox about under-pouring again. 

• Nonstick feature. Most (if not all) Dash appliances are said to be nonstick. While we don’t believe this to be untrue, we still spray the mini griddle with nonstick cooking spray so items pop out swiftly. It’s more a precautionary habit, but we wanted to make the note that some pancakes have lightly stuck without spray.  

Dash Toaster Oven ($24.99+)

Straight A’s in…

• Portability. Think of the Dash toaster oven as the adult’s version of your childhood Easy-Bake Oven. It’s that small and lightweight, and extremely easy to carry around or move from shelf to countertop. Tiny kitchen dwellers, this one is sure to fit into whatever space you’re working with. It’s also great for RVs or dorms.

• Effectiveness. This appliance is small but mighty. We’ve used it to warm up a single-serving quiche, toast bagels and bread, warm tortillas, and toast an English muffin breakfast sandwich, and it’s proven to work quickly and heat things up evenly. One big win for energy efficiency if you’re just prepping smaller meals or snacks. 

• Ease of cleaning. The toaster oven features a rack, baking tray, and crumb tray, all of which are removable and dishwasher-safe to boot. 

Room for growth…

• Size. Yes, all of Dash’s products are designed to be compact and ideal for single servings — but the toaster oven could stand to be just a tad bigger, or perhaps include two racks rather than one. It’s just big enough to toast one side of a bagel or a single piece of bread.

• Gets hot to the touch. Be careful not to touch the sides of the toaster oven when in use because it can tend to get quite hot.

• No temperature control. Rather than being able to set this to a designated temperature, it’s controlled instead by a timer and has a consistent temperature of 400ºF. So you may have to play around with the settings a few times to figure out how much time is ideal for whatever you’re toasting or warming. 

More about the brand…

Plays well with…

• Anyone who loves to cook but doesn’t want full-sized appliances clogging their kitchen cabinets. 

• Those with children who are looking to have a fun family moment when it comes to weekend breakfast. 

Gets extra credit for…

• Creating appliances with a lil’ flair — like this heart-shaped waffle maker and one that makes a bunny-shaped pancake. Colors are bright, patterns pop, and overall, Dash makes kitchen appliances feel fun. 

How we did our homework…

• We had two Skimm HQ’rs use the Dash products over the course of weeks (and, in the case of the air fryer, many months). They made pancakes, waffles, fried eggs, heated up sausage patties, toasted bagels, air-fried meat and veggies, and more. They reviewed each appliance, paying attention to how efficiently each worked, how quickly they heated up, and how long it took to cook whatever food they were making. 

• They also noted how easy appliances were to clean and store, since the compact nature of Dash products is a huge selling point for the brand. They read reviews online and incorporated anecdotal evidence from others who have tried the Dash line as well. 

Footnotes…

• Dash offers tons of baking tools, like a bread maker and handheld mixer, along with prep items like mixing bowls. 

• Dash is also available at Target.