There are so many toaster ovens with different features and options that choosing one that’s right for you can be tricky. Our buying guide and list of the top 6 best toaster ovens will help you to pick a model that’s the best fit for your needs.
A toaster oven is a small versatile appliance that can be used for a variety of cooking tasks. It offers a fast, economical and convenient way of cooking food as compared to a big conventional oven. This tiny appliance takes up very little counter space and you can use it to cook a mouthwatering meal for your family within minutes.
Some toaster ovens even combine different appliances into one device, allowing you to carry out different cooking tasks at the same time.
Let’s get started and take a look at the top 6 toaster oven reviews on our list.
Toaster Oven Review Comparison
| Image | Product Name | Dimensions | # Slices | Our Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Breville BOV800CRNXL Smart Oven with Element IQ | 16.2 x 18.5 x 11.2 in. | 6 | 5 / 5 | See It |
 | Cuisinart TOB-40 Custom Classic Toaster Oven Broiler | 15.6 x 13 x 8.9 in. | 6 | 4.9 / 5 | See It |
 | BLACK+DECKER TO1313SBD Toaster Oven | 11.28 x 16.4 x 9.43 in. | 4 | 4.8 / 5 | See It |
 | Panasonic NB-G110P Flash Xpress Toaster Oven | 14.5 x 13.5 x 13.5 in. | 4 | 4.6 / 5 | See It |
 | Hamilton Beach 22708 Toastation Toaster and Mini Oven | 9 x 16 x 8 in. | 2 | 4.5 / 5 | See It |
 | Oster TSSTTVDGXL-SHP Extra Large Digital Countertop Oven | 21.5 x 24 x 16.7 in. | 14 | 4.4 / 5 | See It |
Top 6 Best Toaster Ovens of 2017
Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven
*** TOP Pick ***
The Breville BOV800XL may be the right choice for you if you have space and are willing to pay a bit more for the best. This convection toaster oven features Element IQ technology and has five quartz heating elements providing 1800-watts of heating power.
It’s rather large, so measure your kitchen counter to see if it will fit with a minimum gap of 4 inches on both sides.
- This dependable toaster oven makes it easy for you to toast evenly, reheat leftovers, bake yummy pizza pies and roast succulent meat.
- It can accommodate a 13-inch pizza or 6 slices of bread.
- The backlit, easy-to-read LCD display changes from blue to orange during preheating and cooking.
- It has 9 preset cooking functions: cookies, pizza, broil, roast, bake, bagel and toast, reheat and warm.
- It has a nonstick interior, and its body is made of reinforced steel.
- The convection setting can decrease the cooking time by as much as 30 percent.
- Its magnetic auto-eject rack pops out halfway when you open the oven door, making it easy for you to take out hot food.
- You can select one of the preset functions or adjust the settings according to your needs.
- This smart toaster oven can remember your preferred settings.
- It includes an enamel baking pan and an enamel broil rack, both of which are 12 x 12 inches in size.
- It comes with a one-year limited warranty.
The Breville BOV800XL is known as a smart oven because Element IQ technology provides the right amount of power at the right time and for the right duration, so you will get food that’s cooked perfectly.
To sum up, this toaster oven has a sophisticated heat distribution system that cooks food faster and more evenly than comparable models. Nine different menu settings allow you to pick the best setting for the food you are cooking.
Cuisinart TOB-40N Classic Toaster Oven Broiler
The Cuisinart TOB-40N has a classic design with clean lines, a stainless steel finish, a cool-touch handle and a glass door. Toaster ovens tend to get hot, so the cool-touch handle is a big help and the front removable crumb tray is easily accessible.
- Loading and unloading food is easy thanks to its auto slide-out rack.
- The rubberized dial controls are easy to grip, though you may find it hard to read the functions if your eyesight isn’t what it used to be.
- It provides 1800 watts of heating power and has broil, bake, toast and bagel settings.
- The full-size interior allows you to toast up to six slices of bread or bake an 11-inch pizza.
- Always Even shade control technology regulates the temperature and adjusts the timing to ensure that your bread is toasted to the shade you select every time.
- Its specially coated nonstick interior is easy to clean.
- Besides the oven rack that’s included, you will also get a baking/drip pan and a broiling rack.
The Cuisinart TOB-40N features automatic shut-off, which prevents accidental fires and keeps you safe. To sum up, this toaster oven does what it’s meant to do, looks good and makes life easier for you in the kitchen.
BLACK+DECKER 4-Slice Toaster Oven
*** TOP Value Pick ***
The BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD features Even Toast technology and is designed to toast up to 4 slices of bread at a time. Even though it’s smaller than most toaster ovens, it can accommodate a 9-inch pizza. This stainless steel toaster oven will complement any kitchen counter.
It does a great job, providing even and easy toasting performance even though there is one heating element at the top and the bottom.
- It features a 30-minute timer with precise settings, and you can use the optional stay-on function to keep the oven warm after the timer ends.
- You can have a clear view of the food while it’s cooking through the durable glass window.
- It comes with a baking and broiling pan that fits perfectly, so it’s easy to load and remove food. A toasting rack is also included.
- The baking pan and broiling rack can be stored in the oven conveniently when they are not being used.
- A removable crumb tray makes it easy for you clean the toaster oven.
- It features 4 modes with keep warm, broil, bake and toast settings.
- When you use the warm and broil modes, only the upper element is turned on.
- Both heating elements are turned on when you use the bake and toast modes.
It’s best to use the BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD for broiling small items. A plastic knob is provided at the back to ensure that the oven will not be placed too close to the wall. To sum up, this is a great choice if you are looking for a small and dependable toaster oven.
Panasonic NB-G110P Flash Xpress Toaster Oven
The Panasonic NB-G110P is designed to make cooking simpler for you. It’s so easy to use that you can use it without having to refer to the manual. This compact toaster oven has a small footprint, so it will not take up much space on your kitchen counter.
Its square inner tray can accommodate 4 slices of bread or a 9-inch pizza. It features Flash Xpress technology with two powerful infrared lights and can cook your food up to 40% faster than other toaster ovens.
- A large digital display keeps you informed about the temperature on the inside.
- This smart oven automatically calculates the ideal cooking time and temperature for a variety of foods.
- It offers preset cooking functionality with 6 menu options that have illustrated preset buttons.
- Cooking times are automatically calculated for bread (bagels, waffles, toast), frozen food (hash browns, pizza) and reheat (leftovers, breads, rolls).
- It has 8 heat levels with a temperature range of 250˚ to 500˚, which provide precise control over the amount of heat that’s applied to food.
- The temperature can be set using soft-touch buttons.
- The bright digital timer features up and down arrow touch buttons that allow you to set the cooking time for up to 25 minutes.
- A pleasant reminder beep lets you know as soon as your food is ready.
- If you want to see how your food is cooking, simply press a button to turn on the interior light.
- It has a front removable tray and the nonstick interior is easy to clean.
The Panasonic NB-G110P comes with a baking tray for cookies, pizza, and cakes. To sum up, this smart toaster oven is designed to make cooking faster, easier and more convenient for you.
Hamilton Beach 22708 Toastation Toaster and Mini Oven
The Hamilton Beach 22708 is a compact 2-in-1 toaster and mini oven that does not occupy much kitchen counter space. There is an actual toaster on the top of the oven, which has the same functionality as a regular toaster.
The Toaststation will help you to save time as well as energy. You can use it to heat fresh or frozen pastries, waffles, bagels, breads, or pizza quickly. The inside of the oven is just right for baking or reheating chicken nuggets, pizza, appetizers, etc.
- This toaster oven can accommodate two 16-inch slices of pizza or two 5-inch pizzas.
- You can cook up a delicious pizza in the oven while you are toasting 2 slices of bread, or use it as a toaster without turning on the oven.
- Electronic oven temperature and toast shade controls help to ensure that you will get consistent results every time.
- It features a removable crumb tray that allows easy cleanup.
- Automatic shut-off helps to prevent accidental fires.
- It’s easy to cook a variety of foods by switching cooking modes with a sliding lever.
- The extra-wide bread slot can accommodate the halves of a thick bagel, an English muffin or a pair of hot dog buns.
- It uses 73 percent less energy than a conventional oven.
- It can toast 24 percent faster than a leading toaster oven.
- Features a vintage look and reminds one of an old-style radio.
- It’s smaller than many other toaster ovens, so it’s ideal for you if you have limited space in your kitchen.
The Hamilton Beach 22708 will help you to avoid clutter on your kitchen counter. To sum up, you can use this versatile 2-in-1 toaster oven to make toast in the morning and it can also to cook your dinner.
Oster TSSTTVDGXL-SHP Digital Countertop Oven
The Oster TSSTTVDGXL-SHP is an extra-large toaster oven that’s designed to handle more than the usual toaster oven can. It’s perfect for you if you want to cook a proper meal for your family, not only pizza, French fries or toast.
It can accommodate a 16-inch pizza and has digital controls with defrost, pizza, toast, broil and bake settings.
- This is a good choice if you want to cook entire meals and don’t possess a full-size oven.
- It offers unlimited possibilities and you can use it to cook a scrumptious rack of baby back ribs, a small turkey or a chicken.
- This unit is much more energy-efficient than a full-size oven for cooking small or medium-sized meals.
- It can provide energy savings of more than 50 percent as compared to a conventional electric oven.
- It features a stainless steel finish, a 90-minute timer with auto shut off, an easy-clean interior and a temperature range of 200˚ to 450˚.
- Convection technology helps to ensure that your food will be cooked completely and evenly, without any frozen centers or burnt edges.
- There is an LED display and touch controls that are easy to use.
- It’s a big help at times when you need to cook a lot of food and there isn’t any space left in your regular oven.
The Oster TSSTTVDGXL-SHP comes with an integrated broil rack, a durable bake pan, and two oven racks.
To sum up, this extra-large unit is capable of doing a lot of things, but you may not be able to use it to cook up a huge feast for a large family party. You can use it to cook a delicious meal for a small family.
Toaster oven buying guide
This buying guide provides essential information about the things you need to consider before investing in a toaster oven.
Facts about toaster ovens
- A toaster oven can be used for warming / reheating, roasting, browning, broiling, baking and toasting.
- It’s a big improvement over a conventional pop-up toaster because it can perform a variety of cooking tasks.
- You can also use a toaster oven to toast big bread products like bagels.
- It can reheat leftovers without making them soggy, as a microwave oven tends to do.
- The increasing popularity of microwaves has reduced the role of toaster ovens, but they still have their place.
- Microwaves offer quick, convenient cooking and warming but they can’t cook food the way toaster ovens do.
- A toaster oven can complement a microwave oven, pop-up toaster, and a full-size conventional oven.
Advantages of using a toaster oven
A toaster oven is much smaller than a conventional oven, so it can help you to save kitchen counter space.- You can use a toaster oven for most of your cooking and reheating needs, except boiling water.
- A toaster oven can do everything a full-size conventional oven can, though it has a smaller capacity.
- It’s also smaller, cheaper, heats up faster, uses less power and is easier to clean than a full-size conventional oven.
- If you are short of space, you can use a toaster oven and do without a microwave oven, pop-up toaster and conventional oven.
- Since there is less space to heat, a toaster oven can reach cooking temperature much faster than a conventional oven.
- Leftovers that are reheated in a toaster oven are more like freshly cooked food than those warmed in a microwave, which may be half burnt and soggy.
- A toaster oven takes longer to reheat food than a microwave oven, but it may be worth the wait.
- Cookies and muffins that are heated in a toaster oven are more like freshly baked ones than those heated in a microwave oven.
- Toaster ovens with convection provide faster and more even cooking and browning.
- Toaster ovens with convection cost a lot less than conventional ovens with convection.
- A toaster oven with a bagel mode usually makes bagels that are much tastier than those made in slot toaster.
- If you serve large groups of people, you can cook side dishes in a toaster oven while you are cooking your main course in a conventional oven.
- A toaster oven can maintain a much lower temperature than a conventional oven, and its keep warm function can be very useful if you are serving several dishes.
Disadvantages of using a toaster oven
- A toaster oven has a much lower capacity than a full-size conventional oven.
- Although most toaster ovens can accommodate a 12-inch pizza, they only have space for one 8 x 8-inch pan or half a batch of cookies.
- The lower capacity makes it harder to bake a meal for more than two people in a toaster oven.
- A toaster oven can take twice as long to make toast than a slot model, but you can bake multiple slices of bread at a time.
- A toaster oven may toast bread inconsistently as compared to a slot model, though many people may not notice this.
- The side of the bread that’s in contact with the rack toasts differently as compared to the other side.
- When you toast more slices of bread at a time, the slices at the sides may be a little lighter than the ones at the center.
- Before cooking a microwave meal in a toaster oven, you need to take it out of its plastic container and place it in an oven-safe dish.
- Some trial and error will be needed to figure out how to cook a frozen meal properly in a toaster oven.
- It takes a lot longer to cook these meals in a toaster oven than in a microwave.
- A conventional oven provides superior broiling performance than a toaster oven.
- You can’t put a mug full of water into a toaster oven to make tea, as you can in a microwave oven.
Types of Toaster Ovens
A wide variety of toaster ovens are currently available with different specifications and features. Once you know about the different types of toaster ovens, you will be able to decide on which one is suitable for your needs.
There are two types of toaster ovens — countertop models that can be placed on top of your kitchen counter and those that are mounted under a cabinet. If you have limited space in your kitchen, you can look for a compact countertop model with a smaller footprint.
Standard toaster oven
A standard toaster oven is just what you need for basic toasting, warming, and baking.
Its heating coils are turned on and off by a thermostat control to maintain a steady temperature. It may have digital or manual controls, a timer that allows automatic shut off and a broiling option.
Most standard toaster ovens are capable of toasting 2 to 4 slices of bread at a time. Bigger ovens can toast up to 6 slices of bread at a time.
These models have adjustable darkness settings and may also have a push lever like a pop-up toaster. Some of them have an automatic ejection tray that opens the door when the toast is ready. Others slide the tray out when you open the door, providing easy access.
Convection toaster ovens
A convection toaster oven has a fan on the inside that blows hot air over the food as it cooks. This prevents the formation of hot spots in the oven and food is cooked and browned evenly.
Faster cooking allows you to set a lower temperature and helps to save energy. Several convection toaster ovens allow users to use conventional or convection settings. These advanced models also offer more cooking options.
Infrared toaster ovens
Infrared toaster ovens heat food directly instead of heating the air that surrounds it. They cook food quickly and evenly, providing outstanding crisping and browning. There’s no need to preheat the food because infrared technology provides heat instantly.
Infrared toaster ovens are more energy efficient because they provide faster cooking without preheating. Cooking is up to 50% faster as compared to an oven with regular electric heating coils. There’s no need to defrost frozen food before you cook it.
Some infrared toaster ovens look very different as compared to the usual toaster ovens. A few offer preset options that do away with the need to set the cooking timer.
Rotisserie toaster ovens
Rotisserie toaster ovens come in different capacities, and they can usually cook between 1 and 4 chickens at a time. Bigger models are capable of handling a turkey.
Regular ovens include rotisserie cooking as a high-end feature, and toaster ovens include rotisserie cooking as a special feature. Some ovens are designed to be used only for rotisserie cooking, but it’s more common for the rotisserie to be an added feature in a complete toaster oven.
High-end models often combine convection with rotisserie cooking. Some ovens offer standard or convection cooking along with infrared rotisserie options.
Combination toaster ovens
A combination toaster oven may combine a standard or convection toaster oven with a pop-up toaster. Another model features a toaster and a coffee maker, side-by-side.
A small frying pan may be added on top, which you can use to cook bacon or eggs, toast bagels or bread and brew coffee at the same time. One model features a steamer on top of a toaster oven and another adds a steamer to a frying pan, toaster oven, and coffee maker.
One toaster oven features a grill press for meat or sandwiches and another combines a rotisserie with a steamer and a toaster oven. Although multitasking features offer versatility and convenience, all of them may not turn out to be useful.
Features to look for in the best toaster oven
Temperature setting
Several toaster ovens provide temperature settings similar to those featured in regular ovens. You can use them to set the temperature of the oven based on what you are cooking.
Timer
A timer lets you set the precise amount of time you would like the toaster oven to cook for. This is useful while using the toast, broil and bake functions. If the toaster oven doesn’t include a timer, the shade setting can serve as the timer.
Interior light
An interior light makes it easier for you to view your food while it’s cooking. You can monitor the status and avoid burns while reaching in to take out food when the oven is hot.
Display
A display is very useful because it makes it easy for you to see the settings and the status at a glance. It may inform you about the date and time, shade setting and how much time remains.
Shade setting
Toaster ovens usually have a shade setting that allows you to choose how dark you would like your toasts to be. You can change the setting to toast bread perfectly according to your preferences.
Reheat
A toaster oven with a reheat setting warms up leftovers without any toasting or browning. You can reheat leftovers in your toaster oven without any loss of crunchiness. In comparison, food that’s reheated in a microwave oven may be soft or soggy.
Defrost
A defrost setting is provided in some toaster ovens, which allows you to defrost and toast bread at one go. If you like to store your bread in the freezer, look for a model that offers this feature.
Nonstick interior
A toaster oven with a nonstick or porcelain interior is much easier to clean. Food that bubbles over during cooking bakes hard and it’s difficult to remove. Nonstick drip pans make cleaning easy.
Accessories of the right size
A drip pan and baking rack are provided with most toaster ovens. If they are not provided, you need to buy accessories of the right size separately, since standard oven pans may not fit.
A crumb tray that can be removed from the front
A crumb tray that can be removed from the front rather than the back can be emptied while the oven is hot. There’s no need to move or lift the oven to reach the tray. A crumb tray that can be removed completely is easier to clean.
Automatic shut-off
Most toaster ovens have an automatic shut-off feature, which turns the appliance off automatically after a period of around 30 to 60 minutes. This is an important safety feature, which helps to prevent accidental fires.
Racks that pop out when the door opens
It’s much easier to remove food if the oven has auto-eject racks that pop out halfway when you open the door. It’s harder to pull a hot rack out of a toaster oven that doesn’t have this feature.
Audible alerts
A toaster oven that features audible alerts will let you know when your food is ready. See if the beeps are loud enough for you to hear, but not so loud that they startle or disturb you.
Presets for cooking common dishes
A unit that has several presets for cooking common dishes will make it easier for you to get started. See if the presets are easy to read and understand and you can cook dishes with a few clicks.
Easy-to-use controls
Look for a toaster oven with intuitive controls that are easy to understand and use. Too many controls and settings raise the level of complexity, causing frustration. A good toaster oven can be used to cook simple dishes as soon as it’s taken out of the box.
Points to consider before buying a toaster oven
- Think about what you usually cook and how many people you cook for.
- A unit with a capacity of 2 or 4 slices of bread may do if you have a small family.
- If you have a large family, you may need a six-slice toaster oven.
- A small toaster may do if you only want to toast bread. A larger unit will be needed for cooking a large pizza, chicken or beef roast.
- A toaster oven without convection may be adequate if you only want to use it for broiling or heating up pizzas.
- If you like to bake bread, a toaster oven with steam or convection is preferable.
- It’s much more economical to buy a toaster oven with convection than to replace your full-sized oven or range.
- Measure your counter and check the dimensions of the model you are considering to see if it will fit with sufficient space for ventilation.
- Browse through online customer reviews before you make up your mind about buying an appliance.
Wrap-Up
We hope this buying guide and list of the top 6 toaster ovens will help you to pick a model that’s just right for you. Look for special offers and discounts offered by online retailers to get a great toaster oven at an attractive price.
Resources
[1] wikihow.com : How to Cook With a Convection Toaster Oven [2] buzzfeed.com : 21 Toaster Oven Recipes [3] energystar.gov : ENERGY STAR Market & Industry Scoping ReportToaster Ovens [4] techgearlab.com : How To Choose a Toaster Oven
Toaster Ovens