REASONS TO BUY
Accurate temperature controls
Easy clean-up
Nice looking
REASONS TO AVOID
Food sticks to trays
Poor dried meat outcomes
Cosori Food Dehydrator Machine Review
This high performance, middle capacity dehydrator is the best-looking machine of the lot
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
RELATED: Best Food Dehydrators of 2023
Our Verdict
The Cosori Food Dehydrator Machine has accurate time and temperature settings in an average capacity machine. The interior cleaning is relatively easy, and the exterior has a nice, modern-industrial look. Our only gripe is the trays are made of tightly woven metal wire, and food likes to stick to them. If aesthetics are a key factor in your kitchen appliance purchase decisions, then this machine has your name on it.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Cosori Food Dehydrator Machine | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  | |||
| Price | $160 List $159.99 at Amazon | $150 List $127.49 at Amazon | $110 List $85.69 at Amazon | $120 List | $80 List $59.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
|||||
| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Accurate temperature controls, easy clean-up, nice looking | Metal trays, easy clean-up, digital interface | Consistent morsels, compact storage dimensions | Budget-friendly, minimal counter space, solid performance | Easy to clean, economic, simplistic controls |
| Cons | Food sticks to trays, poor dried meat outcomes | Temperature settings in 10 minute increments, inaccurate on high heat settings | Counterintuitive controls, trays could be easier to clean | Small temperature range, questionable durability, handle prone to accidental opening | Poor temperature regulation, flimsy trays |
| Bottom Line | This high performance, middle capacity dehydrator is the best-looking machine of the lot | A modern-looking machine with intuitive controls, metal trays, consistent heat, and primo outcomes | This reliable dehydrator offers adjustability and compact storage for those with limited space | Great performance paired with a great price, it excels in all metrics | This affordable stackable dehydrator offers copious square footage that is easy to clean |
| Rating Categories | Cosori Machine | Magic Mill Food Deh... | Presto 06301 Dehydro | Elechomes 6-Tray Dryer | Hamilton Beach 32100A |
| Dehydrating (25%) | |||||
| Temperature Accuracy (25%) | |||||
| Ease of Cleaning (25%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (25%) | |||||
| Specs | Cosori Machine | Magic Mill Food Deh... | Presto 06301 Dehydro | Elechomes 6-Tray Dryer | Hamilton Beach 32100A |
| Outside Dimensions | 13.4" x 17.8" x 12.4" | 18" x 14" x 13" | 14.5" x 15" x 7.25" | 11" x 11" x 11" | 10.5" x 13" x 11" |
| Capacity | 6 sq ft | 7.6 sq ft | 3.25 sq ft | 6.5 sq ft | 3.75 sq ft |
| Tray Dimensions | 12" x 13" | 13" x 12" | 15" diameter | 10.2" diameter | 10.5" x 13" |
| Number of Trays | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Tray Material | Stainless steel | Stainless steel | Plastic | Plastic | Plastic |
| Power Consumption | 600W | 480W | 750W | 400W | 500W |
| Temperature Range | 95-165 F | 95-165 F | 90-165 F | 95-158 F | 100-160 F |
Show full specification detailsHide full specification details
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Sleek and chic. This machine is a worthy countertop appliance.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Quality and Consistency
We define quality by the texture, evenness, and flavor of the final dehydrated product. With the exception of beef jerky, the Cosori produced high-quality dehydrated food in our testing. While our beef jerky issues would likely be resolved by tweaking the recipe, the fruit and veggies came out tasty, evenly dehydrated, and had an appealing mouthfeel. This was the result time and again in our testing iterations.
Trays big enough to accommodate large food items.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Easy and Accurate
The Cosori has an intuitive three-button temperature and timing set-up with a numeric readout. Our tests indicate that, across a wide range, the internal temperature almost exactly matches the setting values. This contributes significantly to the quality and consistency discussed above.
Clean-Up
Generally speaking, dehydrators are a bit of a pain to clean. The food has time to drip and conceal, and it's all happening in a contained space that can be challenging to remove depending on the internal shape of the dehydrator. Not so with this machine. Our tester was delighted with how easy it is to guide food bits and juices out of the stainless steel interior. The one catch is that the wire racks have some food adherence issues. Fortunately, the racks can be removed, soaked, and scrubbed.
Cleaning is a necessary and often difficult part of owning a food dehydrator.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Value
The Cosori is not an inexpensive machine. However, it is easy to use, easy to clean, delivers quality foods, and looks nice. As such, we would describe this product as being worth the money spent.
Temperature accuracy and consistency are critical for high-quality outcomes.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Conclusion
Many of the dehydrators in this review have a plain look, but not the Cosori. This machine sports brushed steel with black plastic trim. Offering more than just an attractive exterior, this model produces quality dehydrated food. As such, it may earn a permanent place on your kitchen countertop. Despite some of the recipe issues and the difficulty of cleaning the metal trays, the Cosori is a solid product. If the average tray square footage and external dimensions meet your needs, you can't do much better.
—
Nick Miley and Michelle Powell
You Might Also Like
Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by Testing.
GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. Our experts test thousands of products each year using thoughtful test plans that bring out key performance differences between competing products. And, to assure complete independence, we buy all the products we test ourselves. No cherry-picked units sent by manufacturers. No sponsored content. No ads. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison.
Learn More