I made s'mores in 4 different appliances, and an open flame produced the worst results

I'm more of a generic-brand person — Target carries a generic pack of chocolate bars that are cheaper and, in my opinion, better than Hershey's. But I wanted to stick to the most iconic and recognizable s'mores supplies to make this comparison as fair as possible.

I picked up a box of Honey Maid graham crackers, a package of Hershey's chocolate bars, and a bag of Jet-Puffed marshmallows.

I own and somewhat regularly use an air fryer, but I wouldn't say I'm a superfan. Sometimes I think it's more of a hassle to get it out than just turning on my oven.

But I think air fryers work particularly well when you're just trying to heat something up quickly (like day-old pizza), or when you want a nice golden-brown finish. I'm solidly on team golden-brown marshmallows, so I was fairly confident I'd get good results.

I turned my air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and placed two graham crackers stacked with three squares of chocolate and one marshmallow into the basket. I popped them right in without preheating.

After just about two minutes, I checked on the marshmallows, and they were absolutely perfect. They puffed up nicely and had a large golden-brown surface area.

I have a smaller air fryer, so I had to be careful to remove the s'mores without breaking anything or burning myself. Luckily, a pair of kitchen tongs did the trick.

When I went to take a bite, the marshmallow and melted chocolate immediately started oozing out of the side of the graham cracker. This is one of the main reasons making s'mores outdoors over a fire is really best because you aren't risking dropping sticky marshmallows all over your counters.

But the damage was pretty minimal — I only ended up with a little marshmallow on my thumb.

The slight mess was totally worth it for the incredible, caramelized flavor. I loved how chewy the texture of the marshmallow was, especially in contrast to the crunchy graham crackers and gooey chocolate.

The only thing that would've made the air-fried s'more better was having the marshmallow golden brown on all sides instead of just the top.

It was fast, easy, and required minimal cleanup — although I could see it being a massive pain if my marshmallows had expanded a little more and stuck to the basket.

The air fryer also had the added benefit of not making my kitchen that much hotter, especially considering I only had to have it on for a couple of minutes. I don't have central air-conditioning, so this is a major plus in the summer.

You're pretty much always going to get exactly what you expect out of a microwave s'more. They're nostalgic, quick, and (if everything goes to plan) won't get you in trouble for ruining the microwave.

I've tweaked my method a bit over the years, but for this test, I decided to stack the whole s'more on a plate and set the microwave for 30 seconds — with the intention of keeping my eye on the expanding marshmallow.

I ended up microwaving the s'more for 20 seconds. I think anywhere between 15 and 20 usually does the trick, you just want the marshmallow to puff up and the chocolate to melt a little.

But stacking the top graham cracker was a mistake. It threw off the balance and caused the whole thing to tip over as the marshmallow expanded.

Luckily, I was able to act quickly enough to smoosh the s'more together without getting any marshmallow stuck to the plate.

Biting into the microwave s'more wasn't too messy, and I was pleasantly surprised by how melty the chocolate got.

The textures were pretty much there, but the flavor was a little one-dimensional. Without the caramelization of a golden-brown marshmallow, it was very sweet.

This was by far the easiest method, and it added zero extra heat to my kitchen, which I appreciated.

It may not be as flavorful and chewy as a roasted marshmallow, but I have a soft spot in my heart for a good microwave s'more. It's a reliable method when you just need a sweet treat quickly.

On a hot summer day when I don't want to add to the heat of my apartment, microwaving is the best option.

The open flame of a gas stove may seem like the most obvious replacement for a real bonfire. But, from past experience, I didn't have high hopes for this method.

The only thing I could find in my kitchen to hold the marshmallow was a fork, which likely wasn't the absolute safest option, but it did the trick — and I walked away with all my fingers intact.

I prepped my graham cracker and chocolate nearby and turned the stove up to high heat.

Almost immediately, my marshmallow caught fire and started to char. I understand that some people live and die by sticking their marshmallows right in the flames, but I'm not a fan.

Even though the initial char happened pretty quickly, I spent about two or three minutes moving the marshmallow around trying to get it to cook more. It caught fire a few more times before I finally gave up.

I quickly smooshed my marshmallow in between the prepared graham crackers and chocolate, and barely anything oozed out of the sides.

Although this was nice from a cleanup perspective, I was skeptical about the textures if the marshmallow didn't cook through and the chocolate didn't melt.

Even though I got a good char on the marshmallow, about half of it was still raw, which made for a pretty subpar s'more. I also didn't like the added char flavor — it was way too overpowering.

You should definitely (safely) use a gas stove if you're trying to incinerate your marshmallow. But for me, this isn't a good method.

I wanted the marshmallow and chocolate to be meltier, and I could've done without the char flavor.

Plus, standing over the stove in a hot kitchen wasn't all that enjoyable.

Going into this taste test, I would've said oven s'mores are my favorite non-campfire option. I used to make pans of them in college, and they were always a hit.

I prepped two graham crackers stacked with chocolate and a marshmallow and put the top graham crackers on the sheet next to them. Then I moved all the extra pans out of the broiler — which we pretty much solely use as kitchen storage — and let it heat up for a minute or two.

Like any good quirky New York apartment, my oven kind of works. There's no way for us to tell when it's preheated, and it rarely cooks things evenly. This ended up being quite a hurdle for the oven s'more.

I kept them under the broiler for almost four minutes, which is longer than I usually do. But from the side view I had, it didn't look like the marshmallow was ready. Unfortunately, both the marshmallow and the top graham crackers ended up a little burnt.

There was still a hint of golden color on the marshmallows, but they weren't as puffy as the air-fryer version.

I also fully accept that it was my fault for putting the top graham crackers in the oven. I thought making them the same temperature would help the finished product, but it was a big mistake.

After assembling the oven s'more, I went in to take a bite, and almost everything oozed out very suddenly. I caught most of the spillage on the plate, but some splattered onto my stove.

The messiness made the eating experience pretty unenjoyable.

The flavor was certainly better than the charred stove version, but it wasn't as caramelly as the air-fryer s'more.

Turning on the broiler made my kitchen super hot, and the messy end product wasn't worth it.

I think if I'd left the loose graham crackers off the pan and taken the s'mores out 30 seconds sooner, I probably would've been happier. But my oven just isn't reliable enough to make this my go-to method.

Air-frying was the clear winner. The marshmallow was perfectly cooked, and even if it was a little messy to eat, the speed and ease of the method made it absolutely worth it.

I'm also going to continue using my microwave when I need a super low-effort dessert. The flavor isn't perfect, but I know what I'm getting out of a microwave s'more.

I still think oven s'mores are the right answer if you have to make a lot for a party or get-together, but I have to watch my broiler like a hawk if I want the best results. And it might not be worth it to heat up my whole kitchen in the summer.

As expected, roasting a marshmallow over a gas stove isn't for me. I won't be risking my fingers again for a charred, undercooked s'more.

This story was originally published in August 2023 and most recently updated on August 14, 2024.

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