Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 Microwave Oven with Air Fryer, Convection Bake, FlashXpress Broiler, Inverter Microwave Technology, 1000W, 1.2 cu ft with Easy Clean Interior - NN-CD87KS (Stainless Steel)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this 4 in 1 home chef oven. It fits nicely on my counter, the convection ,broil , air fry and microwave all work great. The sensor reheat is so easy. From refrigerator to microwave - hit sensor and the microwave figures the time. I’ve read reviews that it is complicated to use. It is NOT complicated! If you’re concerned, just watch a YouTube video and read the instructions before using. It’s actually quite intuitive. There are a number of quick settings you can use. One is popcorn. The microwave actually determine the size of the bag and determines the time needed. It comes out perfect with both the small and large bags. This home chef 4 in 1 is a space saver and has become my go to appliance. Well worth the money!

This is the best oven I've ever used. This is the best microwave I've ever used. It is a great air fryer and decent broiler. However, this 4 in 1 device does have an extremely high learning curve, which is why I think some people got frustrated and gave it lower ratings. Let's put it this way, after a while of experimentation and following the instructions extremely closely, we're able to perfectly roast a 5lb chicken in 1.5 hours crispy like KFC, bake pumpkin pie with cream brulee like crust, warm up nachos that stay crispy in a couple minutes, and BBQ skewers or cook bacon wrapped hot dogs in 30 minutes. The point is once you dial in your recipes, they are perfect each time! You can also program different microwave power and different time intervals like for warming up a bowl of soup where I warm up at 500 Watts for 5 minutes and 1000 Watts for 1 minute so that it doesn't just leave the edges hot with cold soup in the middle. There are a few downsides: There is a huge learning curve because the interface isn't very intuitive and it takes time to learn how to use each accessory for the food you usually cook, so it takes time reading the manual and experimenting with different recipes. It can be difficult to clean if you wait a long time between cleanings, but there are good instructions on how to steam clean and wipe down everything. The rack did start to change color over time, especially with bacon, but the manufacture was able to reimburse us for a replacement and now we just use foil on the rack to protect it. It is a slower broiler than a toaster oven because there is only 1 heating element at the top so things like toast and skewers only get toasted on one side, but doubling the broiling time and flipping the food solves this issue. Also, we did accidently have butter explode while trying to warm up butter, so now we just microwave on low 300 Watts for a couple minutes to melt perfectly. Despite these downsides, after the learning curve is over with, the food that comes out of this machine is perfect each time like restaurant style so it more than makes up for any inconvenience! The results are so good that I don't even use my full sized oven or dedicated microwave anymore unless there are times where I have to bake or microwave two things at once, but that is very rare. Stick with this machine and after a little experimentation, you won't be disappointed.

I have had this unit for 1-1/2 months (purchased July 10, 2020) and this is a very nice microwave unit from Panasonic. This replaced my 38+ year old Panasonic microwave that died almost 2 months ago. I did a lot of research and decided to purchase this unit that would allow me to additionally air fry and convection cook. I would have given this product 5 stars, but I have encountered a major design flaw. Now, it is too late to return. This model, Panasonic NN-CD87KS Home Chef 4-in-1 Microwave Oven, use a humidity sensor to detect steam from the food to determine if the food item is cooked. That should be wonderful, but it is not because this model has a major design flaw that can be turned on immediately from an accidental bump to the START button without setting any cook parameters (time, power level, or food type). By pressing the START button, it will power on and start if there is no food or liquid to heat, and it would display SENSOR mode cooking. I have accidentally turned on my new microwave several times by accidentally bumping the START button, and I would immediately press STOP/RESET to abort the accidental heating of an empty microwave. Long term microwaving an empty unit would damage the magnetron of the microwave oven. In the last couple of weeks, I have made it a habit to place a cup of water in the microwave after using it. If I accidentally bumped it, it would heat the water to produce the necessary steam to allow the humidity sensor to turn the microwave off. Note that the water in a ceramic mug was boiling for over 30 seconds before the sensor would shut the microwave off. This microwave would not be safe with young children, or even teens and adults walking pass the unit where the START button could be easily depressed with backpacks, sports equipment bag, etc in a narrow kitchen. If you have pets, such as a dog who is capable of pawing up to the kitchen counter, or able to poke their nose up to dinner plates on the food counter when you are not looking, these pets could accidentally turn this microwave model on. I wonder how many other microwave models has this design flaw of one touch to turn on. My apologies for hurried, unprofessional video. In addition, the labels for each control button is too small to see. This review was sincerely submitted.

First, this is a great appliance. Had a Panasonic microwave for years 10+ years that worked flawlessly and would still have it except that the door opening button/mechanism broke. That’s how I ended up in the market for a new one, and Panasonic was my default first choice. We also had an old, beat up toaster oven that lived in our pantry and we would have to drag it out and set it up on the counter to use it. It was the right tool for many jobs where a microwave just wouldn’t do the food justice: reheating pizza, poultry or fish with the skin, or pretty much anything that should be crispy. It made a super useful small oven for when I wanted to cook or heat something too small to warrant heating up the whole over (and house). As convenient as this item was, it didn’t get as much use as it would have if we had the counter space to keep it out and ready to go all the time (we don’t). So, when I saw Panasonic was making combination units like these… it was a natural fit! When I saw this particular unit, it checked all the boxes. A microwave AND a toaster oven? Having a second mini oven just sitting out on my counter is super awesome. We use this thing all the time to roast and reheat and even do some baking. Not only is this a “toaster oven”, it’s a CONVECTION oven. This thing makes awesome chicken wings and does a great job crisping up things. But it’s got more. It’s got a broil option and an AIRFRY option. What? The broil is really just “toast”, but it gets the job done. Well. Some jobs. It can make toast and does “broil”, but the element is under-powered. I’ve tried broiling steaks, pork chops, etc… it never really works out how I imagine it will. I’ve had no luck getting a decent crust to form, or even anything remotely resembling a sear. This might be because the bottom plate still spins on the broil setting and this is probably because the heating element is only proving direct heat on about half space. Whatever the reasons, the result is that long before you will get good browning, the meat will be cooked through. This is disappointing to say the least. It’s actually, I would say, inferior to a standard toaster over or convection toaster oven in these use cases. The next let down, and it is more of a mixed bag here, is the air fry function. Now, a thinking human might ask a basic question here: “what exactly is ‘airfrying’”? And the answer from what I can tell appears to be: marketing. See, if you’re unfamiliar with the concept, there no such thing as frying something with air. Frying requires fat. Now, the idea is that you can emulate/simulate/mimic the results of deep frying a food in fat by instead coating it in a thin layer of far (coat it with some oil by tossing in a bowl or use a spray) and then subjecting it to dry heat where the air is moving very fast. If that sounds a lot like convection, that’s because it is. Most air fryers have much smaller compartments that the spacious interior of this unit. That helps allow the fryer to get all the air on the inside moving quickly enough and maintain the temperature of that air even at higher temps. On this Panasonic, the only difference that I can tell of the Air Fry mode is 2 fold: 1) supposedly the unit runs the convection fan at a higher speed/more consistently, and 2) there’s no temperature control at all. That second part is quite odd to me. I’ve not seen any other air fryer on the market without a temperature control. I guess on this unit the temperature is cranked all the way up for the Air Fry setting? It’s hard to know, you see, because neither the manual, nor the marketing materials are clear on just exactly what it’s doing differently in this mode. But, I can tell you this: it’s not a particularly effective “air frier” compared to other options out there. I don’t have first-hand experience here, I’m just going based on the many Air Frier recipes and videos I’ve tried to follow and gotten nothing close to the results promised, and in some cases the results I clearly observed in the videos (of the recipe creator who is of course using a uni-tasker air frier). This is not to say that the air fry function on the unit doesn’t sometimes prove useful and offer good results for me—just that calling this an air frier and expecting it to stand up to dedicated air frier appliances is a bit of an overstatement. For me, this is a let down, but not a deal breaker by any means. To summarize: f you’re looking at this because you primarily want an air frier and are intrigued that this might also eliminate your need for a separate microwave on your counter, stop now and reconsider. Or try one out first before you commit to the admittedly high price tag here. Be prepared to be disappointed and end up returning it. If, on the other hand, you are looking primarily for a great microwave and you think having the other features would be nice, then definitely consider this. Just be aware that you may still end up wanting/needing to buy a dedicated air frier if that is something that’s important to you. This same point should be taken with the broil/toaster function. If you’re looking for something to sear cuts of meats, or if you toast bread a lot, this might not be the droid you’re looking for. If those features are just nice to haves that you think would be handy in some niche kitchen scenarios, then by all means consider this. I hope Panasonic improves on this design and concept, because it really is a nice overall appliance. It’s great microwave (though lower power than my last Panasonic—something which I’m occasionally reminded of when reheating large items). And it’s also a great convection oven, although preheat times are slow and heat loss when you open the door to put your food in is a big issue (it’s a problem with any oven really, but the small size here makes it a bigger problem, I think). But the notion of a single appliance on your counter that can microwave, bake, roast, broil, air fry, and everything else is an awesome one. I haven’t seen any competitor bring a unit to market with a broad a set of features. The combo cook modes are especially compelling (for example it can microwave and then automatically broil to crisp something up… something it does better in theory than reality, but does work well for some kinds of things like casseroles). I could see this being especially handy in an RV, cabin, or dorm room situation. This and an Instant Pot would be all you’d need! This is welcome addition to my kitchen as is, but a 2nd gen option needs to increase the wattage on the microwave, GREATLY increase the power of the broiler, and improve the air fry feature to better serve in that role and compete with actual air friers out there. Last note is that this thing comes with 3 accessories required for its use: a metal plate that the manual insists is required when using any of the non-microwave cook settings without ever explaining WHY this would be (it doesn’t SEEM like it should be… but I don’t know if I want to risk it to find out), a metal rack that puts the food more in the center of the oven, and a metal basket that the manual insists MUST be used when air frying and MUST NOT be used when baking/broiling etc. Again, without explaining why. What? I mean, that makes no sense. It would be really helpful, Panasonic (if you are listening), to explain to your customers the reasoning behind the instructions in cases where it’s not at all obvious. I mean, is this just a recommendation? Because it’s written as a requirement and even as a recommendation, I don’t see the rationale. I’ve used my basket in convection mode and nothing has exploded and I’ve used air fry mode with just the metal rack and it was fine… so… This does add a bit of complexity. The controls are also somewhat non-intuitive and you’ll have to actually read the manual if you actually plan to use the many features of this thing. The different rules for which things you need to use when cooking on which modes and which things not to use on which modes seems more cumbersome than it would be if it was explained why and increases the learning curve a bit. One last word of caution: if you are someone who uses a microwave lid (you know, those plastic covers that keep the food you’re heating from splattering inside the microwave), get rid of that. Eventually, sooner or later, you will leave that in the oven and forget it’s in there and preheat the convection oven only to find it’s melted (or worse). Since microwaves are things we have historically not had to worry about melting/combusting things, having one that is also an actual oven does require a slight shift of mindset and alertness when it comes to old habits. No one would ever leave a plastic lid in a real oven, but with a microwave one might do so without a second thought. So, yeah, just something worth consciously noting in your brain right from the get go, rather than waiting until you melt or ignite something. I, personally, am above such errors and mistakes, of course. This is in no way rooted in my own shameful “teachable moment”. Of course not.

While most of the reviews for this are very positive, there were enough bad ones that made me slightly hesitant. Especially these days when general product quality is on the decline due to corporate greed. The first time I saw a combination toaster oven / microwave at a friends house over 10 years ago, I was blown away -- I had no idea you could get both functions in a single appliance, and I've wanted one ever since. When I stumbled across this one, I just had to have it. We've had ours for a couple of months now, and it has worked very well -- no trouble at all. I recall some reviewers saying having to use a central knob to dial in the cooking time instead of a classic number pad was a pain, but I disagree. It was a tiny bit awkward at first, but we got used to it quickly enough. There are many other combination air-fryer/microwave/broiler machines, but this one has a unique feature that no other manufacturer offers (or they don't advertise it if they do): the inverter-driven microwave. The last microwave I had was also a Panasonic with the inverter technology, and let me tell you, it's WAY better than the standard microwave. Why is the inverter better? When a typical microwave is set to cook at 70% of full power, for example, it will cycle the magnetron inside on and off at an interval that equates to 70% on and 30% off. So during the phase when it's on, it's full power. But with an inverter-driven microwave, setting it to 50% means the magnetron will stay on the entire time, but only output 50% of its full power. This makes melting butter, softening cheese, or defrosting meat far more effective. Okay, I went too far down the rabbit hole with the inverter feature -- there's so much more to this machine. I won't go into every detail, though. My next favorite feature is the ability to stage different modes to run in succession. For example: to warm up a frozen corn dog, I'll set Stage 1 to run the microwave for one minute, then Stage 2 will automatically switch to air fryer for eight minutes. In my old convection toaster oven, heating up a frozen corn dog would have taken 20 minutes. But in this machine, this feature gives you the best of both worlds: the fast cooking of a microwave, but also the crispy toastiness of an oven! My wife says that the air fryer seems a lot slower than the Instant Pot air fryer accessory that she'd been using. However, it does work, so the extra times really isn't a problem for us. I will tell you this, though: don't leave your hot food inside after using the broil or air fry functions because the steam that builds up inside the chamber will take away the crunchy/toasty texture! The only complaint I have is with the air fryer temperature selection: you can't dial in whatever temperature you want, you have to choose from one of three: 400°, 410°, or 425°. Um... what? Those are close enough in temperature that there's not much of a difference, I don't think. No 350°? No 375°? Who has ever wanted to cook anything at 410°? Of all the clever things this appliance can do, this just makes no sense to me. So we airfry everything at either 425° or 400°, regardless of what the food package instructs, because there's nothing we can do about that. But airfrying seems to work just fine, anyway. We haven't tried the stupid Kitchen+ app, and we probably never will. Even if its actually useful, I'm sure they'll require you to setup an account and supply a bunch of personal information before you can even use it, not to mention collecting metrics every time you use it, and I just hate that. If appliance manufacturers could integrate 99 cameras on their products to watch everything you do, they would. Sheesh. But I digress... Overall, my wife and I have used every major feature of this appliance pretty much daily, and other than the odd airfry temperatures, we have no complaints. I would recommend keeping the User Manual close-by for the first few months so that you have a handy reference of how to use some of the advanced features, as most of those aren't obvious just from looking at the appliance (but basic microwave, broil, and airfry operations should be simple enough for most people). And once you've performed some of those advanced operations a few times, you won't need the User Manual anymore.

For the trim kit, I purchased a used 24 inch trim kit (NN-TK81KCS) which saved $100. I had no problems with the used kit except that I needed a 30 inch kit which Panasonic does not offer. My solution was to also buy this kit...Cosmo COS-30BIMTK 30 in. Stainless Steel Microwave Oven Built-In Trim Kit ... so that I could use only the trim plate. You can see in the picture that the vertical measurements for the inside are the same as the Panasonic kit at about 13inches, but the inside width at 25inches leaves more than an inch and a half gap on either side this oven. Thankfully I had some trim left over from the cabinets to hide the openings. Overall the 30 inch cover plate from the Cosmo kit was a better fit for me. As for the oven itself, the microwave is sufficient at 1000w though we did notice a difference between this and the 1250w Panasonic we're switching from. This microwave steps down from 1000w to 800w, 600w, 440w, 300w, 100w, or keep warm. The previous microwave displayed an indication at what power you were cooking at. This one does not indicate the current power. Also the fan can run independently of the oven so that'll sometimes seem odd when compared to other microwaves. The air fryer is useful though we also noticed a bit longer of cooking time is required compared to the counter top air fryer. However, we are pleased with the evenness of the cooking. The convection oven is a useful feature as well. So far we've only used it to reheat foods, but it heats up quickly. Overall, this is a nice combo oven.

I've had this oven a month. The reason I wanted this oven was for the delay start, the inverter microwave and the three-stage cooking. Those are the reasons I'm keeping it (and the fact that it would be so hard to rebox), and I may regret it. Of course I expected the convection oven to work well, too, and it doesn't. I haven't tried the air fry or broil, but so far it seems like a very expensive microwave oven with a bad interface. I use a conventional or convection oven most every day and I have been unable to cook yeast rolls with good results. The fan being on top instead of in the back makes for an overcooked top and raw bottom. Even using a pizza pan on the rack over the rolls. as someone suggested. has not given good results and I've tried several times with different pan types. It shouldn't be this difficult! I'm a vegetarian, so I won't be testing meat, but I can't imagine cooking meat in the convection oven would be safe. I should mention that I'm not new at this, have had several microwave/convection ovens over the years, and the Toshiba 3-in-1 that I still have works great. I would purchase the 4-in-1 without hesitation if it had the delay start and inverter microwave, especially the delay start. I've never had a problem cooking yeast rolls in any of the countertop microwave/convection ovens I've had until this one. Everything that is a con on the Panasonic is a pro on the Toshiba, and the reverse is true. It seems the Panasonic was designed for people who defrost, reheat prepared food and don't actually cook from scratch, nor does it seem like it was tested in a real kitchen. The interface is more time-consuming than necessary. Pro Delay start Three stage cooking (although a pain since there's no favorite function) Inverter microwave Con Expensive Noisy No favorite choices, no way to save a program, so if you have a 3-section program you use frequently, you have to put it all in every time. (Toshiba has three favorite options but only two-stage programming.) Multistage programming not available with delay start Metal pan (included) needs to be used for convection cooking No touchpad / not enough choices (Microwave 12 min? Nope. 10 or 15. Convection 32 min? Nope. 30 or 35.) Probably need a flashlight (and some will need a magnifier) to see button labels Pressing button extreme amount of times for convection temp choices and have to start over if you miss the right one (14 times for 285F!) Cake function overcooked and dried out one-layer cake (50 minutes, seriously?!) No way to add time to convection once started Tray doesn't return to original position Button to open door rather than handle (something more to break) Designed for those who reheat or defrost, not for people who actually cook from scratch in an oven Items cooked from scratch with the convection oven are burned on top, bottom raw Three button presses or a button press and dial turn to microwave one minute (no one-minute button) Fingerprint magnet Cooling sometimes goes on longer than the actual cooking and the end beep notification doesn't repeat so the fan running seems like cooking is still in progress On another site Panasonic's answer to problems is always to use the live chat on their website. I tried that for the convection oven problem and after a long wait I was told they had no information on cooking for this model! It depends on what your priorities are whether this product will work for you.

My main reason for purchasing this was because of the air fryer option. Not too long ago I purchased the Instant Pot Vortex Air Frier, it was my first air fryer and I was so excited to use it only to be disappointed. It was expensive, yet very cheaply made and required constant cleaning! Since my current microwave was old I though this would be the perfect replacement and would allow me to also get rid of the space my Vortex was taking up on my countertop! I absolutely LOVE this microwave!!! I am still learning all the different features but after a couple weeks of trying different functions out here are my thoughts: First off, it is very pleasing to the eye! It has a nice sleek look and the inside is nice looking too. It shipped in a huge box and I thought “oh no this is too big for my space” but after unpackaging it I found it fit perfectly. Although I purchased this for the air fryer option, I have to say my favorite feature is the automatic reheat food function. You don’t have to set a time, just pop your food in and press the start button and it reheats your food to perfection!!! No having to constantly take your food out and mix it and put it back in over and over and have some parts over cooked! For testing out the cooking functions I used recipes from the Drop App (which is very handy by the way!) I started out with the easiest one I could find, the Udon Noodle Bowl that uses the microwave function. Everything in the dish was fresh (except the pre-cook Udon noodles) and in 5 mins it was done! Next I wanted to use the air fryer option, so I made the Teriyaki Glazed Salmon. It was really easy to make and turned out great. However, the salmon was a little funny looking when I turned it over due to it laying on top of the broccoli. I also used the Combo 2 feature to make baked potatoes to go with the salmon and they turned out just like they were cooked in the oven! I was also amazed at the fact the microwave was still clean after cooking/air frying and required nothing more than a little wipe with a cloth. My Vortex would have required a complete clean down! Now that I was feeling more comfortable with the unit, I decided to try something a little more challenging. I made the Plant Based Meat Lasagna, but I used regular ground beef since I am not a fan of plant based. This recipe uses the Combo 1, Microwave, and Convection bake functions. It sounds like a lot, but It was surprising easy. It would have turned out perfect if I had not of accidentally put my mozzarella cheese on before I was supposed to, but aside from my over cooked cheese on top it was delicious! I also air fried some chicken tenderloins and brussel sprouts. All in all, I am very impressed. It goes beautifully with all my other stainless steel appliances and so far has been fairly easy to use. Some of the cons I have is that after every use the fan still runs for a little (I am assuming to cool it back down) which can be a little noisy and like all other stainless steel appliances you have to constantly remove finger prints from it. The air fryer basket is very large and holds a lot, but it is not the easiest to clean. I also find it a little difficult to use the air fryer for things outside the recipes in the drop app, the owner’s manual gives time guides for a handful of items like frozen foods and meats but not for vegetables. Googling air fryer times the temperature are different and this doesn’t allow you to choose air fryer temperature so I did have to play around with the timing a bit. I have provide some images of the unit and things that I have cooked. I would definitely recommend this and it would be a great unit for a college student who lives in a dorm!