If you are a breakfast person, then you must like the taste and crunchiness of toasted bread. The enjoyment of biting into the crisp slices of toast gives me a great feeling as if I’m eating something really good. If you too are a fan of toasted bread, then you must get yourself a toaster oven. Gone are the days for dedicated toasters, as now, you’d see toaster ovens taking place of traditional toasters simply because they are fast, efficient and do a lot more than just toasting slices of bread. A toaster oven can be used to baking frozen pizzas, cookies, roasting chicken and whatnot. If you are fed up with your old toaster and want to buy something exciting, something that can get you a lot more than crispy slices of bread, then you need to check out the best toaster oven consumer reports in which I have discussed seven of the best toaster ovens that are available on the market today.
Reviews Of 7 Best Toaster Ovens
1. Mueller Austria Toaster Oven 4 Slice
Coming straight from the beautiful European country ‘Austria’, Mueller is a world famous brand for making kitchen appliances and this toaster oven further consolidates that claim. Sporting a natural convection system, the toaster oven offers more cooking features to play with.
With the ability to cook between 150 degrees Fahrenheit and 450 degrees Fahrenheit gives you the freedom to cook an assortment of dishes inside the unit. The oven comes with four functions, which are, toasting, baking, broiling, and warming. The role of the warming function is to ensure that the food stays warm until you decide to consume it.
The inclusion of ‘Stay-On Function’ allows you to cook the food real slow in order to get a much better texture and flavour. The toaster oven can be easy to clean, courtesy of a removable crumb tray. With this toaster oven, you can make four perfect toasted slices of bread at a time or a 9-inch pizza. The only drawback of the unit is that the handle also gets very hot, thus making it impossible for you to touch during the cooking process.
2. Panasonic Toaster Oven NB-G110P FlashXpress
If you are looking for a compact yet highly efficient toaster oven, then pay attention to Panasonic Toaster Oven NB-G110P FlashXpress. This unit fits easily into limited counter space, offers fast cooking options and is easy to use and control. Being a small unit, it can only toast 4 slices of bread at a time, so if you were looking for more toasted slices of bread, then this toaster may disappoint you. However, if 4 slices of toasted bread are your only requirements, then this toaster oven is fulfilling it perfectly. You don’t have to preheat the oven, thanks to the quartz and ceramic heating element, this toaster oven is equipped with.
When it comes to cleaning, you just need a damp cloth because that’s how you can wipe down the interior of the unit. There are a few drawbacks in the unit as well like the absence of ‘Cancel’ button, so once you’ve set a certain mode, you can’t change that until the timer gets to zero. Moreover, there is no ‘Broiling’ option in the unit, so if you needed that option in the first place, then you better give this unit a pass.
3. Cuisinart TOB-135 Deluxe Convection Toaster Oven
Cuisinart TOB-135 is a multipurpose Toaster Oven, which can easily toast six slices of bread, a 4 lbs chicken and 12-inch pizza at a time. Although the taste of pizza won’t be as good as the pizza baked in wood fired pizza oven, but it will still be delicious. Being a versatile toaster oven, you will get to choose from 9 preset cooking functions which are, toast, bake, warm, bagel, broil, defrost, reheat, convection broil and convection bake.
Equipped with an 1800-watt motor, the toaster oven can cook the food quickly as well as efficiently. Dedicated buttons and dials are provided on the front panel of the unit to control all the functions. The unit sports a backlit LCD digital display on which you can check the mode, temperature, and timer. A solid stainless steel construction, beautiful design and wide range of features make Cuisinart TOB-135 Toaster Oven an excellent choice for multitaskers, as the company has always made versatile products, check out Cuisinart portable tabletop gas grill.
4. Oster Extra Large TSSTTVDGXL-SHP Digital Countertop Convection Oven
This is a large toaster oven, so the first thing that you need to make sure is that you have decent counter space available to accommodate this unit. If you have, then you will be able to enjoy lip-smacking delicacies made inside this toaster oven.
Despite being used mainly for cooking frozen pizzas, but you can use it to bake, broil, toast, roast, reheat and warm assortment of dishes. The unit is capable of toasting nine slices of bread at a time, which shows how big it is. The digital display and touchpad look the same as you’d find in a microwave.
The food is cooked rather quickly, courtesy of ‘Turbo Convection Fan’. You can set the timer for up to 90 minutes, plus the temperature can be set between 200 degrees Fahrenheit to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The unit incorporates two cooking racks, so if you have something large to cook, then you can take out one of the racks to accommodate that large chunk of food.
The exterior of the unit doesn’t get hot, so you won’t be experiencing any accidental burns in this toaster oven. The company offers a standard 1-year warranty on the unit, so if anything happens to it, you can get in touch with the company’s representatives. Coming to the drawbacks of the unit, then I’ve found two; absence of broiling rack and inaccurate temperature. The device runs around 13 degrees hotter than the defined temperature, so you will have to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
5. Black+Decker TO3250XSB Convection Toaster Oven
Perhaps the best convection toaster oven on my list, Black+Decker has constructed an exceptional toaster oven, which not just lives up to its reputation, but exceeds it convincingly. Due to ‘Convection’ function, the food can be prepared rather quickly, thus satisfying your hunger in less time and saving some power in the process.
The inclusion of ‘Convection’ also protects the machine from catching fire because of the presence of quartz radiant heating elements. The unit can accommodate a big chunk of foods quite easily due to its large-sized interior.
Just like all other toaster ovens, this one too has a few shortcomings like the inclusion of old-fashioned analog control and outdated knobs for adjusting temperature and time. Along with that, it is a big and heavy unit, so if you don’t have decent counter space, then you may come across problems finding the right space to keep this unit.
6. Hamilton Beach 22708 Toastation 2-Slice Toaster Oven
This is probably the best hybrid toaster oven that you can find in the market right now. Hamilton has always manufactured quality products, as you can check out Hamilton Beach electric smokeless indoor grill or coffee maker. While there is a small retro 2-slice toaster given at the top of the unit, but beneath that, you’ll see a large interior in which two large pizzas of 16-inch each can easily be baked.
There is a sliding switch given on the unit, toggling which, you can select the top slotted toaster or the toaster oven section. The absence of ‘timer’ may surprise you, but that’s how it is. You will have to set the timer separately whenever you want to use the oven. A baking rack has been provided in the toaster oven section, which barely fits two slices of bread, so if you were looking for a toaster oven in which multiple slices of bread can be toasted, then this is not the unit for you.
As soon as you open the oven door, the baking rack will come out a bit, thus making it easier for you to grab the food and preventing accidental burns. The unit is covered with a standard 1-year warranty. This unit has nothing extraordinary, but it isn’t as bad as other toaster ovens available at the same price range as this one.
7. Breville BOV860BSS Smart Toaster Oven
Breville BOV860BSS Toaster Oven can give any top toaster oven a hard time because it is packed with so many amazing features. With this toaster present in your kitchen, you can create a variety of dishes with perfection. Made up using cutting-edge technology and thoughtful design, this toaster oven will fulfil a majority of your food-related requirements at home. The unit is capable of toasting six slices of bread and baking one 13-inch pizza simultaneously. With 10 preset cooking functions like toast, roast, broil, bake, bagel, reheat, warm, pizza, cookies, and slow cook, you don’t have to look for instructions. The toaster oven sports a backlit LCD display on which you can see all the information such as cooking modes, temperature, and timer, etc.
You will also see three separate dials for function, time and temperature, which makes controlling these parameters quite easy. An auto shut-off feature has also been added for your benefit, just in case you forgot to turn off the device or left the food unattended. When food is ready, you just need to open the main door and the food will come out automatically, thanks to the auto-eject rack. This will also prevent the chances of accidental burns. The company offers a 1-year standard warranty on the product, so if anything happens to the unit in its first year, then you can get it fixed for free.
Do You Really Need A Toaster Oven?
Believe it or not, an efficient toaster oven can make your life easier to an extent that you can’t even imagine. Toaster ovens come in different sizes and designs just to serve the need of different users.
Small toaster ovens can be a perfect choice for those who want to enjoy morning toasts along with small servings of food, whereas large toaster ovens fulfill the requirements of those who want to bake large pizzas, roast chicken and other similar things. Then there are mid-size toaster ovens, which can be used to cooking frozen meals and reheating leftovers.
A toaster oven isn’t just used for toasting, but it is used to bake, roast, broil, defrost, warm and reheat food as well. Moreover, you don’t have to preheat a toaster oven, thus saving time and energy. Cooking in a toaster oven can save up to 50 percent of the energy compared to a regular oven, thus making the running cost of the product very less.
If you like multitasking and want a kitchen appliance that could complement that feature of yours, then invest in a toaster oven for sure. However, don’t finalize anything before you check out the top aspects to consider when buying a good toaster oven in the section below.
Things To Consider When Buying A Good Toaster Oven
A good toaster oven in the one that toasts a slice of bread in quick time and is also easy to control, clean and maintain. Along with that, it will fit your countertop, budget and cooking needs. Let’s delve into the details of the important aspects that you need to consider when looking for a good toaster oven.
Price
You will find a huge variation in the prices of toaster ovens, with the range starting from as low as $30 and going all the way up to $1000. The cheapest toaster oven will not have as many features as the most expensive one, plus the precision in cooking will also be absent.
If you just want a toaster oven for getting you slices of toasted bread every day, then you can invest in the entry-level toaster oven. If you want to toast bread slices, bake pizzas, roast chicken and do many other things, then you need a premium toaster oven, which is equipped with all the features that a toaster oven can possibly have.
Size And Capacity
The cooking capacity of the toaster oven depends on its size. The larger the size of the interior of the oven, more food can be cooked inside it and more will be the electricity consumption as well. If you want to buy a toaster oven for toasting bread slices, baking cookies and reheating food, then you can opt for small units with less cubic-foot capacity.
However, if your requirements are high and you want to try a whole lot of things in a toaster oven, then you should probably get a large toaster oven. But, make sure to check the counter space whether it can easily accommodate a large unit or not.
Accessories
Almost all the models that I have reviewed above come with a crumb tray, a baking pan, and an oven rack. The number of accessories can be increased with the increase in the budget allocated for a toaster oven, as some premium convection ovens are accompanied with extra baking pans or oven racks. An important thing to keep in mind regarding the accessories is that these should be easy to take out and clean, or else, they become more a liability than an asset.
Cooking Features
Companies will lure you by displaying a unique combination of settings through which a number of cooking tasks can be done easily, but you need to set your focus on the primary cooking functions such as toasting, broiling, baking and reheating. Once you’ve checked these functions, then you can look for other features such as preset food settings.
‘Convection’ is one of the most important features in my opinion as it ensures fast and even cooking of the food. However, if a toaster oven doesn’t have those primary cooking functions, then ‘convection’ function is also of no use.
Wrap Up
A toaster oven shouldn’t be bought just to toast the bread slices when you can bake, broil, defrost, reheat, warm and roast food in it. With such a large variety of toaster ovens to choose from, you should pay attention to the primary cooking functions whether those are there in the unit or not. After that, you need to check how easy or difficult it is to use the toaster oven. The seven products that I’ve reviewed in the best toaster oven consumer reports are quick, efficient and easy to use, so you can pick a toaster oven from the list and make a purchase.
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