Top 7 Best Toaster Ovens of 2019 – Buyer’s Guide & Reviews
Edited by Kori Perten on August 22, 2019 — Written by Luna Regina
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A toaster oven is a vital part of any kitchen. Whether you’re toasting bread, melting cheese on a pizza, or even baking a small tray of cookies, a toaster oven can accomplish it all. But with a large variety of models out there, it can be tough to pick the one that best suits your needs.
That’s where we can help. To aid in your decision, we reviewed a number of highly-rated and popular models, seeking toaster ovens with a solid balance of performance and value. We consulted user reviews to find out which features matter to most consumers, so you can trust that our pick for the best all-around toaster, the Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven, is an ideal blend of convenience, reliability, and outstanding performance.
Read on for our list of the seven best toaster ovens on the market, as well as a couple of tips for shopping for one.
Is a Toaster Oven Worth it?
For those who cook a lot, a quality toaster oven can definitely make life easier. If you don’t have a full-size oven—which tends to require a generous budget and counter space—then you’ll find a toaster oven especially useful. But the countertop appliance also has value as a standalone cooking device, regardless of whether it’s taking the place of a full-size oven or simply in use as a secondary way to heat food.
Here are a few reasons why:
First, toasters come in different sizes to suit a variety of tasks. Small toaster ovens can perfectly brown your morning toast and handle single servings of food, while mid-size toaster ovens can be particularly effective at reheating leftovers and cooking frozen meals.
Larger toaster ovens are a great solution for cooking food that takes up more real estate, like a pizza or several pounds of chicken. If you’ve ever thought a toaster oven seemed redundant, you probably haven’t considered the versatility of having the option to choose a big model over a small one, or vice versa. Of course, no matter the size of the toaster oven, it should be able to handle three basic tasks: toasting, baking, and defrosting.
Because toaster ovens are generally smaller than full-size ovens, most require much less time to preheat. This means you don’t have to wait up to half an hour to begin cooking or baking. Within just a few minutes, your toaster oven should be hot enough to prepare a whole batch of muffins.
Opting to use a toaster oven over a standard oven can also have an impact on your energy consumption., The machine can produce similar results to a full-size oven with just half the energy, which means using one is a great way to keep down your electricity bill (and environmental footprint).
If you decide a toaster oven isn’t what you need, you might want to take a look at our reviews for the Best Microwave Ovens and the Best Wall Ovens.
How to Find a Good Toaster
The first thing most people consider when shopping for a kitchen appliance is the price. We know that you likely have a budget, so we always consider value for money.
But of course affordability means very little if the appliance doesn’t work well, so we’ve evaluated toasters based on cooking performance and ease of use, as well as ease of cleaning and maintenance.
Our general benchmark for cooking performance is based on the most common use for a toaster oven: toasting bread. However, we also consider how a toaster oven handles other foods, such as bagels, muffins, and pizzas.
Additionally, we pay close attention to each unit’s size and feature set, as it’s important to ensure that your toaster oven fits both your space and intended use.
Here is a list of the most important characteristics to consider when choosing a toaster oven:
Price
Toaster ovens range in price from as low as $30 to as high as $1,000. Different price sectors typically offer different feature sets.
If you’re just looking for something basic to help with breakfast, there’s no need to pay for more advanced features. However, pricier toaster ovens with convection settings tend to offer all sorts of fancy cook modes. These models can often serve as alternatives to a full-size oven.
If you are particularly interested in stylish design, lots of power, and greater energy efficiency, a high-end toaster oven may be worth the investment.
Capacity And Size
The size of your toaster oven will likely dictate its energy consumption and food capacity. As such, before you choose a toaster oven, it makes sense to think about how much food you’d like to be able to fit in the oven, as well as how much counter space you can spare.
A toaster oven’s capacity and be measured by how much it could hold of two common toaster meals: pieces of toast and 9-inch frozen pizzas.
For those who intend to use the oven for one- or two-person dishes, reheating, or other simple tasks such as baking a few cookies, a smaller unit may be a smart choice.
But if you’re going to cook for family, friends, or customers, you might need to invest in a larger unit: the kind that can handle a 13-inch pizza.
Useful Accessories
The majority of toaster oven models include a crumb tray, oven rack, andbaking pan. However, sometimes toaster ovens can include a lot more, and the number of additional accessories may depend on how much you’re willing to spend. Some deluxe convection ovens include multiple racks and extra baking pans.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that any removable parts will require regular cleaning to remove the bits of food that get stuck to them while cooking. To simplify this process, look for a unit with trays and racks that you can easily remove.
Cooking Features
Each oven allows you to choose from a variety of different cook modes, each of which is intended for a specific cooking task. Cook modes primarily include toasting (of course), broiling, baking, and reheating.
Some advanced models include additional functions, such as food-specific settings that take the guesswork out of cooking things like a bagel, muffin, or pizza.
One function that can make a big difference in cook quality is convection, which is generally found only in higher-end units. Convection uses a fan and exhaust system to circulate hot air inside the toaster oven, which makes for faster, more even cooking. It’s not a necessary feature for everyone, but it’s definitely nice to have—especially if you like to bake.
Reviews of the Best Toaster Ovens for 2019
If you’re starting to get excited about all the things you can do with a toaster oven, you’ll love our list of recommendations:
If you’re seeking a toaster oven with a large capacity and wide range of presets, we highly recommend the Breville Smart Oven Pro.
Pros
Low energy consumption
Intuitive, versatile controls
Durable
Easy to clean and use
Cons
Expensive
Exterior gets hot during use
Why You’ll Love It
This digital convection oven, which can accommodate six slices of bread and a pizza of up to 13 inches, is definitely pricier than many other models. But we’re talking about the best, not the cheapest. Here’s why the Breville Smart Oven Pro is worthy of consideration.
The Smart Oven Pro includes various cooking functions designed for different types of food, including sandwiches, cookies, pizzas, and chicken breasts. These functions allow you to set the time, temperature, and cooking method (broil, toast, bake, warm, refrozen, slow cook) for some of the most common toaster meals without having to mess with other knobs and dials or rely on guessworks to find the best settings.
The oven uses the Element IQ heating system to transfer heat across five quartz elements for precise and stable cooking with even heat distribution. With 1,800 watts of power, the oven is able to heat up quickly, getting your meals to the table in no time.
Other convenient features enhance the Smart Oven’s usability, such as an interior oven light for clear visual monitoring, a legend display for easy control, and a non-stick cavity coating to simplify clean-up.
Potential Issues
With ten preset options, new users may be a little overwhelmed at first. However, once you get the hang of it, you’ll find that the presets make cooking faster.
Bottom Line
The Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro is an ideal medium-size model that does quite well across all cooking tasks. We’re especially impressed by its ability to customize its cooking functions to a greater degree than most competitors. So if money is no object, this machine is a no-brainer.
Included accessories: three baking trays, a single rack, a baking pan, a broiler pan, and a nonstick pizza pan.
This Black+Decker is a smart choice if you’re looking for a convection toaster oven with conventional controls and a large capacity.
Pros
Simple, intuitive controls
Heats quickly
Good value
Useful accessories
Cons
Poor at broiling
Short cord
Why You’ll Love It
The Black+Decker Convection Oven has several enhancements that set it apart from a standard toaster oven. Its convection function, in particular, adds major appeal. Many owners praise the convection fan, which they say is much quieter than what you’ll find on other models, such as the Hamilton Beach.
In addition to convection baking, the oven is also good at broiling, toasting, reheating, and keeping food warm. To give you the best possible cooking experience, it features state-of-the-art electronic controls with four settings for specific types of food.
User reviews praise the fact that the interior light comes on when the machine is running, and many seem to appreciate the oven’s 60-minute timer, which automatically shuts everything off when the bake time is done. Extreme versatility is the name of the game for this large capacity toaster oven.
What else?
This is a durable kitchen appliance, fashioned from sturdy stainless steel that should more than meet your needs for years to come. Its extra-wide interior can accommodate up to eight slices of bread or a 12-inch pizza. It’s also roomy enough to fit most standard oven pans with handles.
Potential Issues
A common user complaint for this model is a dislike for its old-fashioned analog controls. However, this is simply a matter of preference. Many users say they prefer knobs over digital interfaces, as knobs allow you to quickly turn to the desired temperature and time.
This model is one of the biggest and heaviest on the market, so make sure your countertop is roomy enough to accommodate its bulk before you make a purchase. If you have a small kitchen or counter space concerns, this may not be the toaster oven for you.
Finally, the oven’s exterior can get hot during use, so again, it works best in a roomy, airy kitchen.
Bottom Line
The Black+Decker TO3250XSB Convection Oven is a solid unit. Though it may be a little bulky for a small kitchen, its spacious interior allows for many cooking options, which means it’s sure to be a lifesaver for many families.
Included accessories: a bake pan, a broiling rack, and a removable crumb tray.
With 4,734 customer reviews and a 4.4 out of 5 star rating, the Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven is currently the best-rated toaster oven on Amazon. Like Breville’s Smart Oven Pro model, the device is a bit on the expensive side, but if you don’t mind paying for quality, it won’t let you down.
Pros
Cooks quickly and evenly
Extra-large capacity
Simple to use and clean
Element IQ technology
Cons
No interior light
Pricey
Large footprint
Why You’ll Love It
In terms of performance, the Smart Oven is able to complete most cooking tasks relatively well, whether you’re baking a small batch of muffins, or a 13-inch pizza, six slices of bread or a 4-pound roast chicken. It can bake, toast, broil, and reheat food better than any of its competitors.
The Smart Oven cooks using Breville’s unique Element IQ technology. This means that the machine uses five heating elements as needed to ensure an even cook. By delivering the right power at the right time, it not only speeds up the cooking process, but also reduces energy consumption–something that many homeowners will appreciate.
With nine preset programs, the Smart Oven gives you the flexibility to cook your food for optimum enjoyment, time and time again.
Potential Issues
Unfortunately this unit doesn’t come with an interior light. It’s not a dealbreaker, but at this price point we think it would be nice to have one.
Breville’s exchange policy has received some complaints, so if you’re going to buy a Smart Oven, just be aware that it might take some time before you can get a defective unit replaced.
Bottom Line
The Breville BOV800XL seems worthy of consideration. Its lofty price buys you appropriately premium design and features. If you’re looking for a top-notch model that’s easy to use and convenient to clean, the BOV800XL will not disappoint. However, if you have limited counter space, then a smaller model like the Panasonic Flash Xpress might suit you better.
If you like Breville but also want to do air frying, consider the Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven with Air Fry.
Included accessories: three baking trays, a single rack, a baking pan, a broiler pan, and a nonstick pizza pan.
The Smart Oven Air with Element IQ is ideal for air frying fans, especially those who frequently find themselves multitasking in the kitchen or preparing food for a small family.
Pros
Useful LCD display
13 cooking functions
Large capacity
Super convection technology
Air fry & Dehydrate presets
Cons
Expensive
Quite noisy
A little bit bulky
Why You’ll Love It
This compact, convenient unit seems to have it all—an LCD display, up to 13 cooking functions, an improved two-speed convection fan, and six independent quartz heating elements for precision cooking.
So how does this model differ from the BOV800XL model?
This model includes almost all the features you’ll find in our original Breville Smart Oven pick. However, the Smart Oven Air has a roomier interior. It can toast nine slices of bread, roast a 14-lb turkey, and fit either a 9×13-inch pan or a 12-cup muffin tray with ease.
The Air Fryer model offers several notable improvements in design and feature set. These new additions include a dehydration feature (ideal for drying fruits, vegetables, or meat), an air fry feature that helps reduce the fat content of fried foods by up to 75%, larger 16-inch casserole dishes, eight rack height positions, and a super convection fan setting that reduces the cooking time by 30% while enhancing the fan speed for better crisping.
Potential Issues
This oven is basically twice as expensive as the BOV800XL—probably because it’s jam-packed with so many features and improvements.
The convection fan seems to be slightly louder than its previous iteration when running continuously.
Due to the oven’s larger size, it can be a bit of a pain to move around, and it akes up a lot of space on the kitchen counter. Be mindful if you have a small space or like to rearrange a lot.
Bottom line
Despite its high out-of-pocket cost, this is a good product to try. Its 1800W motor is strong and very powerful, promising to deliver speedy results, and it has lots of cool functions to play with. If money is no object, it is—without a doubt—one of the top toaster ovens on the market.
Included accessories: An air frying basket, a removable crumb tray, a pizza pan, two racks, a black pan.
Cuisinart has long been known for its consistently high-performing kitchen products, and the Cuisinart TOB 260N1 is no exception.
Pros
Toasts quickly
Good at broiling
Easy to use and clean
Dishwasher-safe parts
Automatic sliding rack
Multitude of cooking functions
Cons
Exterior gets hot
Quite expensive
Why You’ll Love It
There’s a lot to like about this oven. It has a large capacity but a relatively small footprint, thus saving crucial counter space. When it comes to selecting functions, it’s smart enough to present a full range of menu options, including convection settings and programmable cooking functions.
With 1800 watts of power, it heats up quickly and toasts bread evenly on both sides. On top of that, it employs sophisticated-yet-user-friendly internal temperature compensation technology, which suggests the ideal cooking time based on the number of toasts. It also comes with a speed convection button, which lets you cook without waiting for the oven to heat up first.
If you feel like your food needs a little bit more cooking time, the convenient +30 button allows you to add 30 seconds to any function during cooking or toasting—infinitely handy.
Potential Issues
A few users complain that after several years of use, the oven became exceptionally hot during operation, both inside and out. Still, others claim the unit is warm to the touch, but not hot enough to cause a burn or any serious concerns. It’s something to watch out for, but doesn’t seem like a major dealbreaker.
Bottom Line
With many exclusive features, this model is well-equipped to cook food very quickly. Whether you’re hoping to spend less time in the kitchen or put food on the table in record time, this oven can get it done ASAP.
Included accessories: 2 oven racks, a baking/ drip pan, a broiling pan, a removable crumb tray, a 13 inch pizza stone, and a recipe booklet.
For those with limited counter space, the Panasonic Flash Xpress offers easy-to-use controls and fast cooking functions in a small package.
Pros
Super fast cooking
Bright light
Durable
Easy to use and clean
Cons
No broiling option
Doesn’t cook evenly
Why You’ll Love It
Due to its tiny size, this 4-slice toaster oven is not a great replacement for your traditional oven. It won’t fit food for more than a few people, let alone a whole sheet of cookies.
However, most of what this unit does, it does very well. And what it does is simple: typical toaster stuff, like toasting and reheating.
In user reviews, this toaster comes across as inherently usable. Users agree that it’s simple and intuitive to use, and that it heats food quickly and evenly.
Unlike many other models, the FlashXpress uses both quartz and ceramic heating elements, which facilitates near-instantaneous heating. This means you don’t have to worry about preheating in advance—once you turn it on and set the temperature, you can insert your food immediately.
For easy and effective cleaning, just wipe down the interior with a wet cloth. The FlashXpress’s small size makes it easy to clean by hand.
Potential Issues
A word of caution: there is no cancel button on this oven. Once you choose the cooking setting and press its button, you’re stuck in that mode. So if you tend to change your mind a lot, this may not be the toaster oven for you.
Another drawback is that the oven doesn’t always heat evenly, with slight differences in browning when you compare food at the back and front of the rack. To counter this, you can rotate the tray halfway through cooking to get more uniform heating.
Bottom Line
This oven lacks the fancy presets and settings of its more expensive brethren. However, if you want a small oven that gets things done quickly—sans the pre-heating—the Flash Xpress is absolutely a top pick.
Included accessories: A removable crumb tray, an oven rack, and an oven tray.
If our other picks have more features than you need or simply exceed your budget, we think that the affordable, no-frills Hamilton Beach Easy Reach Toaster Oven makes for a great alternative.
Pros
Compact design
Easy operation
Safe-open top
Can toast quickly
Cons
Limited timer (only goes to 30 min)
Loud convection fan
Accessories aren’t dishwasher-safe
Ineffective broiler
Exterior gets hot
This is not the cheapest toaster oven available on the market, but it does the job far better than others in its price category. This makes it a no-brainer for our budget pick.
Why You’ll Love It
While the Easy Reach lacks many of the features included in high-end models, such as digital controls and cooking presets, it can toast and bake. It heats food evenly, uses a small amount of energy, and cooks quickly.
Its small footprint makes it ideal for kitchens with limited counter space, but the oven is still large enough to fit four slices of bread or a 12-inch frozen pizza.
There are manual knobs for adjusting time, temperature (150-450°F), and a small selection of vital cooking functions (toast, broil, roast, bake). Plus, there’s a timer bell to let you know when your food is ready.
Potential Issues
The exterior of this oven tends to get extremely hot while it’s in operation, so be careful not to let any cords rest against the oven exterior as a safety precaution.
Users say the Easy Reach’s broil function isn’t all that effective, offering limited browning. And of course, the small size means the oven isn’t meant to accommodate large cuts of meat. A loud, unreliable timer and noisy convection fan also leave a bit to be desired.
That said, for the price, these are minor concerns.
Bottom Line
This cleverly-designed oven is notable for its simplicity and reasonable price. It does exactly what you want it to do—without breaking the bank. It can’t replace your full-size oven. But then, it’s not intended to.
Included accessories: an oven rack, a baking pan, and a crumb tray.
JJ
May 23, 2019 at 10:48 pmAmazing review. Thanks so much. Answered so many questions that’ll help make the choice for our family.
Luna
May 24, 2019 at 8:37 amThank you for taking the time to write such a lovely comment. I’m so glad this article was helpful.
Scopeprice
June 18, 2019 at 1:25 pmThanks a lot. This article is so helpful.
Stella Cruz
July 12, 2019 at 4:47 pmAppreciate the article. Now I know what to look for and what to watch for..