Table of Contents
The best toaster ovens
Do you want a device that can work as an air fryer, convection oven, and can even bake cookies?!
If yes, that should be the reason enough to buy a toaster oven. The best thing about these ovens is their small and lightweight design. Though, from the looks of it, it looks as if it is a small microwave but it can do almost everything that a traditional large oven can!
Whether you want to fry some nuggets, roast some vegetables, or even just warm something up, a toaster oven can do it all! The cherry on the top is that they cook food faster than the traditional oven. So, you can get a fully cooked meal within a few minutes.
Best overall
Oster Large Convection Toaster Oven
Oster Large Convection Toaster Oven
It has all the necessary features; a wide temperature, range, seven cooking settings, and a clear view, that you need in a toaster oven. It has the potential to replace your full-sized oven!
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Oster’s Toaster Oven is a six-slice convection unit that is perfect for those who are looking for a fast, efficient, and toastier way of cooking food. It can fit pans as large as 12.5 x 10.5 x 2 inches. It can fit a 12-inch pizza plate as well! Overall, the dimensions of the oven are 16.29 x 19.72 x 11.33 inches with a 31.5 inches long cord. Furthermore, the convection technology gives you a wide range; 150-450 degrees Fahrenheit.
We also like the digital controls since it offers seven different cooking settings. Both, the temperature range and cooking setting give you the freedom to cook or bake whatever you want! Moreover, you can easily see the interior and check on your food while it is cooking. The front door is clear and gives the perfect view. However, we did not like the buttons; you have to press them really hard.
Best air fryer combo
Ninja DT251 Foodi Smart XL Pro Air Toaster Oven
Ninja DT251 Foodi Smart XL Pro Air Toaster Oven
The unit offers 10 different types of cooking styles to you. Whether you want to air fry some chicken pieces or toast some bread, this unit does everything without leaving room for error.
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Offering 10 different ways to cook food, the Ninja DT251 Foodi Oven is definitely worth investing in. You can air-fry, air-roast, broil, toast, bake, dehydrate and reheat anything in this powerful and super-efficient 1800-watt unit. The built-in smart thermometer lets you control the amount of heat and makes sure that the food comes with the right amount of crisps each time.
This one requires you to preheat the oven for a bit but don’t worry it isn’t much! It just needs 90-second to preheat so that the food you place inside the tray cooks to perfection within minutes. The oven is 17.09 inches in length, 20.22 inches in width, and 13.34 inches in height. The digital display handle works perfectly. Unfortunately, while it takes minutes to make food, it takes much more time to clean.
Best premium
Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven Convection Toaster Oven
Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven Convection Toaster Oven
The toaster oven is perfect for everyday use. If you are looking for a unit that can toast, bake, and cook food then this is the one. Furthermore, it is lightweight so you can easily transport it from one place to another.
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The Stainless Steel Breville BOV800XL Smart oven is made up of stainless steel and weighs less than a pound. Hence, if you are looking for a compact and lightweight unit, then this one is ideal for you. It possesses an Element iQ System which gives you the high performance and cooking versatility that you might expect from a high-end traditional oven.
It has oven nine different cooking functions and the smart algorithms of the Element iQ System ensure you have the optimal cooking environment each time. It uses 1800 watts of energy and might require preheating for some meals. It is 15.7 x 18.5 x 11 inches and dimensions and has room for a six-cup muffin tray, six slices of bread, and a 13-inch pizza tray. However, we would have liked it if it had slow cooking and air fry setting.
Best under $100
Toshiba AC25CEW-BS Toaster Oven
Toshiba AC25CEW-BS Toaster Oven
If you are looking for a small, high-performing, and affordable unit, then this is the oven. It has spectacular features like 10 cooking settings and a removable crumb tray, baking pan, and rotisserie kit, and lifter.
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Available in black and silver stainless steel, the oven is a 16.21 pounds unit that offers a large interior. It is enough to place six slices of bread, four-pound chicken, and a 12-inches pizza, cookies, or casserole tray/dish. With 10 cooking settings and an adjustable temperature range of 150-450 degrees Fahrenheit, the oven can satisfy all of your daily and special cooking needs.
It comes with six accessory items; a removable crumb tray, baking rack, baking pan, rack clamp, a rotisserie kit, and lifter. Furthermore, the interface is pretty simple and is easy to understand. The display is bright and easy to read. Although, if you are someone who has weak eyesight, it might be difficult to read the labels.
Best for baking
Panasonic NB-G110P FlashXpress Compact Toaster Oven
Panasonic NB-G110P FlashXpress Compact Toaster Oven
The auto-shutoff feature was our favorite. If you are baking a casserole or cookies, you need to make sure that they are cooked perfectly without getting burnt and this feature helps you with it.
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Panasonic NB-G110P FlashXpress Oven is a small-sized compact toaster oven that has two infrared oven heating elements and requires no preheating. So if you do not like to wait before cooking our food, this unit is ideal for you. On the front, you will see six touch-button controls that allow you to cook food in different styles; you can reheat, defrost, toast, and bake waffles, bread, and other food items.
The baking tray is attached to the front oven door so as you pull the handle to open the door, the rack comes out towards you. You can easily take the food out without burning your fingers! Besides this, it also has an auto shut-off feature which keeps your food from overcooking or getting burnt. However, there is one major flaw in this unit; you cannot bake anything longer than 25 minutes. So, if you are baking something that requires a longer time, you would have to set the temperature after every 25 minutes.
Best ease of clean
Hamilton Beach 31127D Easy Reach Toaster Oven
Hamilton Beach 31127D Easy Reach Toaster Oven
The oven is the easiest to clean. Its unique door moves upwards rather than downwards which gives you plenty of space to easily clean the interior as well as the exterior. Furthermore, this setting also helps you to take the food out safely.
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Hamilton Beach 31127D is an 11.4-pound stainless steel toaster oven that offers bake, toast, and broil options to you. The unit also adorns a timer, auto-shutoff features, and an optional stay-on setting. The most unique aspect of the unit is its doors; they completely move out of the way so that you can easily pull out the food without burning your hands. This also makes it easy to clean.
It can fit almost six slices of bread, a nine-inch bake pan, and 12 inches of pizza pan so you have a spacious interior where you can cook anything you want; whether it’s the main dish or snacks. We liked how the unit had small knobs to control the temperature, cooking, and timer settings. While the timer itself works perfectly, its ticking is loud and can be a bit annoying.
Best design
Oster Digital French Door Toaster Oven
Oster Digital French Door Toaster Oven
This toaster oven is the most spacious one that we have ever seen. It can fit on any countertop and it does not heat the counter surface at all while it is working. Furthermore, it has two racks and two compartments which means you can cook a lot of food in it at the same time!
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This mighty toaster oven has two doors and it is ideal for people who want larger space to cook more items simultaneously. It is 2 x 19.5 x 13 inches in dimensions which is the largest among all the units that we have included in this list. The unit has turbo convection baking technology that ensures that your food is cooked quickly without any burnt bits.
It has a small interior light which gives you perfect visibility of the food while it is cooking. It also has double racks, a single-pull door for both compartments, a digital panel, and a built-in 90-minute timer! All of the trays and the racks are removable for easy cleaning. While the single pull doors are convenient, they do have a major flaw as well -you need to open them all the way, or else, they will close. And sometimes, this can cause burns on your hands if you are not careful.
Best affordable
BLACK+DECKER TO1313SBD 4-Slice Convection Toaster Oven
BLACK+DECKER TO1313SBD 4-Slice Convection Toaster Oven
The unit is one of the most affordable toasters that we have seen. The EvenToast technology, four cooking functions, and the timer make it the ideal toaster for people with budget constraints.
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With EvenToast Technology, this toaster oven is ideal for toasting bread and baking pizza. The compact oven offers four functions; you can bake, broil, toast, and keep the food warm in this one. It also includes a 30-minute timer to make things easier for you.
It also includes a crumb tray which you can easily remove after each session. Just take the tray out and dump the debris in the dustbin and voila! The unit is clean. Though the unit has high-level performance, it is a bit small. It is 16.4 x 11.3 x 9.4 inches in size so if you have a large family, this one isn’t for you.
Best convection toaster
BLACK+DECKER CTO6335S Countertop Convection Toaster Oven
BLACK+DECKER CTO6335S Countertop Convection Toaster Oven
The unit has even air circulation which makes it the best convection toaster oven among all of its competitors. It cooks each food to perfection; it keeps the exterior crispy and toasty while the interior is soft and juicy.
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If you are looking for a toaster oven that lets you cook in several different ways then this one is for you. It offers eight different one-touch functions with firm yet easy-to-push buttons. The interior can easily fit a 12-inch pizza tray or casserole dish easily.
The dual position rack makes sure that there is enough room to put all of the food inside the unit at once. Lastly, the hot air evenly circulates around the food so make sure that the food cooks perfectly. Whether you have place muffins, pizza, or bread, it will have the perfect cook each time. The interface and the controls are easy to read and use however, the words start fading away after a few uses.
Best for small space
Hamilton Beach 2-in-1 Oven Toaster
Hamilton Beach 2-in-1 Oven Toaster
The 2-in-1 oven is ideal for people who want a unit that can work like a toaster as well as an oven. You can put a few slices of bread on the top while you cook sausages at the bottom!
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Hamilton Beach 2-in-1 toaster oven is made from stainless steel and has dimensions of 12.05 x 17.8 x 10.24 inches. The unit works not only as an oven but also as a toaster! There is a slot at the top of the unit in which you can easily fit two slices of bread or bagel easily.
The interior is spacious; it has two racks and can easily fit a 9-inch pizza tray. Furthermore, it includes a 60-minute timer and an auto shut-off function which shuts the oven off the moment the food is cooked perfectly. Moreover, the stay-on setting is ideal for cooking multiple batches of cookies or muffins! The enclosure does get hot when it is on, so you might have to use protective gloves.
What to look for in a good toaster oven
Buying a toaster oven is an easy task. To make the task even easier, we came up with a few aspects that you need to evaluate before purchasing a particular unit.
Dimensions of the toaster oven
Before even beginning your search for a toaster oven, check if you even have the space for the unit in your kitchen. While these small units are ideal stand-ins for traditional ovens, they do need counter space. Hence, check the dimensions of the place where you want to place the unit and while searching for the oven, check the dimensions of the oven so that they can easily be placed in the space you have chosen for them.
Features
Toaster ovens come in many shapes and sizes. You will see many unique and new features in each toaster oven you put your eyes on. So, while you start your search for the perfect unit, make a small list of all the features you want in your oven. This will help you narrow down your search and quickly find one you actually like.
Most units come with a crumb pan and a baking rack. However, if you are okay with spending some additional cash you will also find units that offer accessories like broiler trays, upscale pizza stones, and other advanced features.
Furthermore, there are additional features like built-in timers, alerts, and automatic shut-off that give you more control over the toaster and also ensures your safety.
Temperature & heating element
Most toaster ovens come with an adjustable temperature range so that you can cook, bake, air fry, and reheat food using the same device. Hence, check whether the unit you are choosing has advanced heating elements or not.
For this, you need to evaluate your needs. If you only want the toaster to reheat food or make toast, then a primary toaster oven is perfect for you. However, if you want to broil, bake, and cook food as well, find a high-end toaster that has these features.
Ease of use
No one wants a complicated unit on which you have to spend hours just understanding how to operate it. Hence, while looking for a toaster oven, find one which is intuitive and you can easily see all of its features on its front panel. Is the display straightforward to comprehend? If yes, buy the toaster.
Moreover, check whether the unit is easy to clean. Check whether the removable components of the unit are dishwasher-safe or not. Furthermore, evaluate if you can easily take the trays and racks out and if it is easy to clean around the heating element.
How to clean a really dirty toaster?
It isn’t a difficult task if you know exactly what to use. We have researched thoroughly and found out that the following steps clean toaster ovens most effectively.
Supplies you need:
Water
Dish Soap
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Non-abrasive sponges
Coffee filters
Cleaning cloth
Antibacterial wipes
How to clean a toaster oven effectively:
– Unplug the oven from the electrical source and remove all of its components (trays, racks, etc).
– Fill the sink with water and dish soap.
– Place the racks and trays in this solution for about 20 minutes. Clean them with the cleaning cloth and allow them to air-dry.
– Use the cleaning cloth to brush off all the grime off the oven’s surface.
– Mix half a cup of water and vinegar. Add dish soap to it.
– Dampen the cleaning cloth in this solution and then wipe the inside of the oven thoroughly. – Make sure to stay away from the heating element; you can either lift it up or remove it to wipe below it. Check the instructions manual to know exactly how to clean around the heating element.
– If the burnt food bits and grime are not coming off, use a solution of water and baking soda to clean it. Make a paste using both these ingredients and let it sit on the dirt for a while.
– Once the grime becomes soft, use the non-abrasive sponge to clean it.
– Though you can use the window cleaning products on the glass door, most users prefer a homemade solution (One-part vinegar and two parts water with a tablespoon of lemon juice). Wipe the glass door with coffee filters and the solution to make it squeaky clean.
– Clean the outside with dish soap and water solution. Just dampen the cleaning cloth and wipe off all the dirt.
– Air-dry all the components and you’re done!
FAQ
Is a toaster oven worth buying?
Yes, they totally are, especially if you have to cook small amounts of food at the tie. They are easy to clean as well as maintain and honestly, allow you to cook food without much hassle. It is definitely a wise investment. However, if you are planning to cook large amounts of food frequently, a large traditional oven would be better.
What should you never put in a toaster oven?
There are many things that you shouldn’t use while putting food inside the oven. Some of these include:
– Paper towels and plates
– Plastic lids and containers
– Cardboard
– Styrofoam
Furthermore, check the instructions manual and look for the things that the manufacturer has recommended to use and not to use in the toaster oven. Many manuals tell you exactly the type of pans, dishes, and accessories to use.
Does a toaster oven need to preheat?
Preheating a toaster oven is not necessary, however, some dishes might require doing so. The reason is simple, some dishes require you to cook them at a specific temperature hence if that is the case, you might need to preheat. Otherwise, you can use put the food in and toast/bake it.
Final verdict
Toaster ovens are a worthwhile investment. They are small, convenient, and easiest to maintain. They do not take much space and allow you to immediately bake, toast, reheat food. Make sure to check its features, durability, and ease of use while you are evaluating different types of toaster ovens. These will help you to select the best oven for your needs.
We have included the best toaster ovens that you can find in the market and we are sure that all of these will cater to your requirements perfectly. So, check them out and let us know which one you brought!
