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Black+Decker CTO6335S vs Instant Omni Plus 18L Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
- Performance (50%)7.0/10
- Design (25%)6.6/10
- Usability (25%)6.1/10
- Performance (50%)8.1/10
- Design (25%)9.7/10
- Usability (25%)8.4/10
It’s our duty to announce that it wasn’t fair to pit the Black+Decker CTO6335S against the Instant Omni Plus 18L. In addition to being one of our best toaster ovens, the Instant showed excellent performance in our tests of roasting a whole chicken and baking french fries. The Black+Decker put up a good fight in the bread toasting department but lost it all in the rest.
The Black+Decker uses 1500 Watts of power to run four nichrome heating elements. It is built for a larger capacity as well. Meanwhile, the Instant has a higher power rating of 1800 W, one more nichrome heating element than its competitor, and a stronger convection system which justifies its alter ego as an air fryer.
Although not perfect, the Instant’s status bar and automatic reminders offer greater convenience than the Black+Decker. The smart programs also run across a wider temperature range than the Black+Decker. To top it off, the Instant’s touchscreen is more responsive than the Black+Decker’s buttons, though the screen’s contrast levels could use some improvement.
The Instant has four tray levels to better utilize its cooking space compared to the Black+Decker’s two. Moreover, the Instant comes with a rotisserie kit and air fryer basket to accommodate more cooking methods. The Black+Decker doesn’t have an interior light like the Instant even though its interior is black.
Despite the one-sided outcome, both ovens have their place in the kitchen for both novice and experienced cooks. The Black+Decker CTO6335S is a decent large-sized option if you’re on a budget while the Instant Omni Plus 18L is a pricier, high-performance unit that focuses on convenience.
BLACK+DECKER CTO6335S Countertop Convection Toaster Oven Performance
- Toast (40%)7.0/10
- Pizza (25%)6.8/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)7.7/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)5.6/10
- Toast (40%)7.3/10
- Pizza (25%)8.6/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)8.4/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)9.3/10
Toast
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: 4/7
- Cooking Time: 5m 10s
- Second Batch: 3m
- Convection: No
With our Toast test, we were able to determine that level 4—5 minutes 10 seconds on the timer—was the best option scoring a 7/10. Levels 3 and 5 respectively had a lighter and darker than ideal, although even, surface color.
The toast level 4 of the Black+Decker scored a 7/10 for color. The four pieces had areas of different colors ranging from golden brown to just slightly golden. This was probably due to uneven heating of the elements and the convection fan not running.
Despite the color, the first batch was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside so we gave it a 7.5/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined that it would go great with eggs benedict and omelet.
Even with the automatic toast time adjustment feature, the quality of the second batch was reduced in every aspect. The color was lighter and the texture was less crispy so we had to give it a 6/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, lower the toast level by one.
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: 2/5
- Cooking Time: 5m 25s
- Second Batch: 4m 1s
- Convection: No
Using the steps of our Toast test, we determined that level 2—5 minutes 25 seconds on the timer—was the best option scoring a 7.3/10. In comparison, the level 1 and 3 had a more uneven while being lighter and darker surface color respectively.
The Toast Level 2 of the Instant Omni Plus 18L produced four pieces with an 85% even golden brown color. Since the fan couldn’t be deployed, the toast had some darker spots and lighter areas resulting in a 6/10.
The first batch of toast was nicely crispy while still soft and moist inside and we gave it an 8/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined it would be excellent with omelet and eggs benedict but not so good for sandwiches or soup.
This is one of the few ovens with a smart program that automatically deducts time to reach certain temperatures when the oven’s already hot. Thus, the surface color of the toasts was quite consistent throughout multiple batches. In addition, due to its extra crispiness, the second batch was determined to be good enough for soup.
If you want the second batch to be similar to the first, remember to lower it by one level. Overall, the score for consecutive usability was 7/10.
Pizza
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 7m 30s
- Convection: Yes
The Black+Decker did an ok job of baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza earning it a 6.8/10.
Compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label, it took 7m 30s to bake the pizza, which was fairly solid. However, after comparing it to other toaster ovens in our Pizza test, we could only give it a 7.5/10.
The crust had a good golden brown color but was soft and a little dry — possibly due to the longer cooking time. Thus, it could only get a 7/10.
The toppings were mostly dry with an uneven coloring, plus the cheese wasn’t melty so it got a 6.5/10.
In the end, our chef gave the pizza a 6.5/10 for taste.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 3m 50s
- Convection: High
The Instant Omni Plus, having a very strong convection system, did not seem ideal for baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza resulting in an 8.6/10.
A cooking time of only 3m 50s was extremely fast compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label. After comparing it to other toaster ovens in our Pizza test, it was more than enough for a 10/10.
The crust, although golden brown, was a little soft with some lighter and darker areas due to the short cooking time plus strong fan. It got an 8/10.
The entire surface was a little too dry due to all the convection. In addition, while the cheese was nicely melted, caramelization wasn’t even due to the short cooking time. Thus, the final score for the toppings was 8.2/10.
Our chef gave the pizza an 8.5/10 for taste.
Whole Roasted Chicken
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 1h
- Convection: Yes
Following our Whole Roasted Chicken test guidelines, we placed a 3 lb chicken on a broiling rack on a baking pan of the Black+Decker with plenty of space to spare. The abundance of space gave it some advantages over smaller units like the Breville BOV450XL despite a lower power output. Overall, the Black+Decker received a 7.7/10 for this test.
It took the oven 1 hour, the standard amount of time, to roast the chicken to a desirable color so we gave it an 8/10. The skin came out a light golden color but it was uneven despite being flipped after the first 40 minutes. In addition, it was soft, so it got a 6.5/10.
The chicken was thoroughly cooked but the internal temperature was a tad bit high at 189°F-192°F compared to the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F so we gave it an 8.8/10. The meat was very juicy but the lack of roasted aroma and crispy skin resulted in a 7.5/10 for taste from our chef.
- Function: Roast
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 50 minutes
- Convection: Yes
Following our Whole Roasted Chicken test, we chose a 3 lb chicken and it fit without a problem scoring an 8.4/10.
However, cleaning up was a big hassle as there wasn’t enough space below to use the drip pan. Worse still, during cooking fat splashed everywhere inside the oven causing the heating elements to smoke.
The roasting time was 50 minutes which was shorter than average and worthy of a 9/10.
The rotisserie kit and high convection together produced perfectly golden brown crispy skin deserving a 9.8/10. One thing to note is that due to the meat being considerably moist, the skin lost its crispiness in a relatively short time span.
The smooth rotation and high convection also allowed the whole chicken to be thoroughly cooked without any pink spots in just 50 minutes. The internal temperature was only a little higher than the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F at 178-190°F, so it got a 9/10.
The meat was almost fall-off-the-bone. Unfortunately, with it being so moist—to the point of softening the skin, our chef could only give it a 7 for taste.
Baked French Fries
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 400°F.
- Cooking Time: 25m 50s
- Convection: Yes
With a score of 5.6/10, the Black+Decker left a lot to be desired in the Baked French Fries test. In comparison, the same-sized Cosori CO130-AO did a much better job with its higher power output and air fry basket.
This oven took 25m 50s to bake 12 oz of fries which was just a bit too long over the limit of our Baked French Fries test. Thus, it failed our cooking time section. Coloring was uneven among the fries ranging from nicely golden to almost none so they could only get a 7/10.
The textures were also uneven and, worse, none was particularly good. The golden fries were only a little crispy and the ones that lacked color were soft. Overall, it was a 6.8/10 for this test.
Our chef gave the resulting fries a 7/10 for taste.
- Function: Air Fry
- Temperature: 400°F.
- Cooking Time: 15m
- Convection: High
The Instant Omni Plus was excellent at baking 12 oz of french fries with a score of 9.3/10.
After performing our Baked French Fries test on different toaster ovens, we came to the conclusion that the ideal cooking time for baked french fries was 15 minutes. However, it wasn’t the fastest one on our list so it scored a 9/10.
The strong convection combined with the air fryer basket produced evenly golden fries worthy of a 9.8/10 for color.
What helped the color also baked perfectly crispy fries while retaining a nice amount of moisture. This earned the oven another 9.8/10 for the texture of baked french fries.
Our chef gave the fries a 9/10 for taste.
Black and Decker CTO6335S Design Review
- Exterior (20%)5.0/10
- Interior (30%)7.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)7.0/10
- Exterior (25%)9.5/10
- Interior (30%)9.5/10
- Build Quality (50%)9.0/10
In the Black and Decker CTO6335S Convection Toaster Oven Box
- Model: CTO6335S
- Warranty: 2-year limited (not applicable in Latin America)
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Broiling Rack
The packaging has some eye-catching illustrations and information as well as was able to keep the oven and its three accessories in place. However, there are only two foam pads on the sides to cushion the oven while the accessories are positioned with duct tape.
- Model: 140-4002-01
- Warranty: 1 year (US and Canada only)
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Rotisserie Kit and Lifter
- Air Fryer Basket
Besides keeping all the accessories in place, the packaging also has interesting illustrations for the key information on the Instant Omni Plus 18L. You can quickly access the download page for the Instant Pot App thanks to the QR code on the package and the user manual.
Their website provides the full manual, how-to videos, FAQs, and more. You’ll also need to go there to register your product and activate your warranty.
Exterior
- Weight:12.9 lbs (5.8 kg)
- Length:19.3" (49.0 cm)
- Width:13.4" (34.0 cm)
- Height:10.6" (27.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Slide-out
Despite its large size, the Black+Decker only has air ventilation holes around the side where the convection fan is. The two buffers on the back to keep the oven from being too close to the walls are quite sturdy. Also, a slide-out crumb tray is always a nice touch.
Our measurements of the oven’s footprint were 19.29" x 13.38" x 10.62" which were a lot different in terms of length and height compared to the manufacturer’s 22.8" x 13.4" x 15.5".
- Weight:25.4 oz (721 g)
- Length:16.5" (42.0 cm)
- Width:15.8" (40.0 cm)
- Height:13.9" (35.3 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:Yes
- Crumb Tray:Yes
An example of the Instant Omni Plus 18L’s clever design is the slide-out crumb tray not to mention its two strong base stands as well as air ventilation on two sides and the back. For safety, it has two buffers on the back to prevent the oven from sitting too close to the wall and a cool-touch door handle.
To accommodate its many cooking functions, there are tray-level indicators on the glass door. Our measurements of the oven’s footprint of 16.54" x 15.75" x 13.90" were quite different from the manufacturer’s 12" x 12" x 13.89" in terms of length and width.
We could explain that the difference in width was because we also took the dial and the back buffers into account but not the difference in length. Nonetheless, we didn’t find this to be a problem.
Control Panel
- Type:LCD display + 13 buttons
- Temperature:200°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 minute - 2 hours
- Indicator Light:Yes
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:No
- Convection Toggle:Yes
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:Yes
- Audio Cues:No
The control panel consists of an LCD digital display, two buttons to adjust time and temperature, a timer toggle, a convection toggle, eight buttons for functions, and a start/stop button.
- Type:black LCD digital touchscreen + one master-control knob
- Temperature:150°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 - 60 minutes
- Indicator Light:Yes
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:Yes
- Convection Toggle:Yes
- Rotation Toggle:Yes
- Automatic Preheat:Yes
- Audio Cues:Yes
This oven has a black LCD digital touchscreen and one master-control knob. The display includes the cooking status bar, functions, and toggles for Light, Convection, and Rotation. Besides the automatic oven preheat feature, it features an audio cue to turn food halfway through the input cooking time.
Audio cues include the beeps when you plug in the oven, select a function as well as adjust time and temperature, and when the oven finishes cooking. According to some reviews we’ve seen, they can be a bit loud, especially for households with children and/or pets. However, they can be turned off by pressing and holding the control knobs for 5 seconds until the screen displays S OFF.
Cooking Functions of the Black and Decker CTO6335S Digital Convection Toaster Oven
- Cookies
- Pizza
- Frozen snacks
- Potato
- Bake
- Broil
- Toast
- Bagel
The eight cooking functions are useful for beginners and experienced cooks can freely adjust the time and temperature of each to their liking.
- Air fry (180°F - 450°F)
- Broil (350°F - 450°F)
- Bake (180°F - 450°F)
- Roast (180°F - 450°F)
- Dehydrate (85°F - 175°F)
- Reheat (120°F - 360°F)
- Warm (170°F - 300°F)
- Toast (level 1-5)
Even though there’s no Rotisserie function, the oven comes with a tailored rotisserie kit and a Rotation Toggle. Besides making dried fruits, herbs, and meat jerky, the Dehydrate function is also ideal for proofing bread dough at 85°F and Low Convect.
Interior
- Heating Elements:4 quartz
- Convection Fan:Yes
- Lighting:No
- Tray Levels:2
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The Black+Decker only has two tray levels but you can make use of the flippable rack to effectively create two more levels. The oven has a convection system but no internal lighting—unlike the Ninja DT201—which can be an inconvenience considering the interior is black.
The oven has quartz heating elements that use infrared light to cook. They have their own safety guards to prevent direct contact with baking pans and trays.
Compared to the more common nichrome heating elements, they produce more heat and cool down faster. They are also more energy-efficient and easier to clean but don’t last as long in terms of durability. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.
- Heating Elements:4 quartz and 1 nichrome
- Convection Fan:Yes
- Lighting:Yes
- Tray Levels:4
- Rotisserie:Yes
- Safety Hook:No
The Instant Omni Plus has four golden quartz heating elements. These pipes use infrared light to cook, which produces more heat and also cools down faster.
They are also easier to clean and more energy-efficient but don’t last as long in terms of durability. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.
Featuring safety guards, the heating elements are kept out of direct contact with baking pans and trays. The oven even includes a coil nichrome heating element at the top, specifically for broiling.
To top it off, this oven has a powerful and not noisy convection system as an interior light. In addition to 4 tray levels, you can make use of the baking rack with its rack-up and down positions.
Capacity
- Length:14.2" (36.0 cm)
- Width:12.6" (32.0 cm)
- Height:7.9" (20.0 cm)
The CTO6335S can comfortably fit 6 slices of toast, a 12-inch pizza, and a 3 lb whole chicken. While the manufacturer didn’t state the oven’s capacity, we measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be around 23 liters.
- Length:13.8" (35.0 cm)
- Width:12.6" (32.0 cm)
- Height:8.7" (22.0 cm)
The Instant Omni Plus can comfortably fit a 12-inch pizza or a 4-pound chicken which is true to its description. However, it can’t quite fit 6 slices of toast. Moreover, when roasting only a 3-pound whole chicken with the rotisserie kit, there wasn’t enough space to fit a baking pan below. This wasn’t the case with a larger unit like the Cosori CO130-AO.
We measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be roughly 24.6 liters—a lot different from the manufacturer’s provided capacity of 18 liters. However, this could be because we measured from the cooking chamber’s walls to walls whereas the manufacturer stopped before reaching the heating elements.
Power Cord the Black And Deck Convection Toaster Oven
- Length:24.8" (63.0 cm)
- Type:3-prong plug
- Power:1500 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
Even though the length of 24.8" is enough for household use, the power cord protrudes from the bottom of the oven reducing the usable length. In addition, it’s not long enough to wrap around the two back buffers.
- Length:2.8 ft (0.9 m)
- Type:3-prong plug
- Power:1800 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
The power cord is roughly 33.46"—more than long enough for household use. However, the cord can’t fully wrap around the two back stands as they are too high up.
Accessories
- Length:14.2" (36.0 cm)
- Width:10.0" (25.4 cm)
- Height:0.9" (2.2 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking rack can be placed in the oven either way up, effectively adding two more tray levels for the oven.
- Length:12.4" (31.5 cm)
- Width:11.4" (29.0 cm)
- Height:0.9" (2.4 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The rack fits perfectly with the guide which helps prevent accidents when placing your food in the oven.
Accessories
- Length:13.3" (33.8 cm)
- Width:10.2" (25.8 cm)
- Height:1.2" (3.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking pan is large and, being 100% compatible with the broiling rack, it catches all the drippings. This prevents any hot mess from dirtying the heating elements thus mitigating that potential fire hazard. However, it’s not 100% non-stick so you may have some stubborn stains to deal with after a heavy roasting session.
- Length:13.8" (35.0 cm)
- Width:12.4" (31.5 cm)
- Height:1.8" (4.6 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
Thanks to its perfect size, the baking pan does a great job of catching the meat juice and drippings from the air fryer basket. Thus, it helps prevent making a mess and avoid the danger of fire from dirty heating elements. Keep in mind that the dishwasher can damage the enamel coating.
Accessories
- Length:11.7" (29.7 cm)
- Width:8.7" (22.0 cm)
- Height:0.7" (1.9 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
The broiling rack is designed to fit the baking pan perfectly while the holes are there to help with air circulation around the food. It doesn’t have a coating though so it may be prone to stains, caramelized bits of food, and discoloration.
- Length:13.4" (34.0 cm)
- Width:11.4" (29.0 cm)
- Height:0.9" (2.4 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The rotisserie kit does a perfect job of securing a chicken thanks to the 4-pronged forks with adjustable angles.
The structure of the forks isn’t very strong so parts can get bended although not by much.
Build Quality
The Black+Decker CTO6335S is equipped with a tamper-resistant screw to prevent removal of the outer cover. However, the bottom tray can easily slide out and the door can also open if you tilt the oven.
Throughout our tests, we noticed that the oven’s large capacity is somewhat counteracted by its power output of 1500 W. We speculated on its ability to perform more efficiently if it were 1800 W.
The Instant Omni Plus 18L is a well-built and intricate piece of equipment, to say the least. It provides a helpful cooking status bar, smart programs, and automatic features. The oven does consume a lot of electricity so make sure your outlet can provide and handle 1800 W.
The meticulous design shows in the bottom tray, safeguards for heating elements, and cooling fan for its mainboard. However, the bottom tray can easily slide out if you tilt the oven. Also, during our roasting of a whole chicken, the hot drippings created some oxidation on the crumb tray.
Black+Decker Countertop Convection Toaster Oven Usability
- User Control (30%)8.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)5.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)6.0/10
- User Control (30%)9.9/10
- Ease of Use (50%)8.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)7.0/10
User Control
The Black+Decker has 8 functions but the convection toggle is only applicable to Bake. There’s an indicator light for when a function starts and stops — which are two separate buttons on the control panel.
For all functions except Toast and Bagel, you can push the increment and decrement buttons once to change the temperature in increments of 5°F and hold to change in increments of 25°F. After pressing the Timer button, the same goes for cooking time but in increments of 1 minute and 10 minutes. For Toast and Bagel, simply choose a level from 1 to 7.
Unfortunately, even though the label shows a stay-on function, we couldn’t find it in the control panel or the user manual. A small thing we didn’t like about the buttons was that they sometimes didn’t respond well.
The Instant Omni Plus 18L has 8 settings to choose from but can serve more than 10 functions. Although the LCD display could be improved with better contrast, it’s not a big problem.
The master-control knob can be confusing for first-timers but it should take little effort to get familiarized with it. The temperature can be adjusted in 1°F increments by turning the knob slowly and in 10°F increments by turning the knob fast. Also, the timer is specified by the minute.
If you want to readjust the setting during cooking, simply tap the feature and adjust it with the knob. Don’t tap Cancel as it will reset your inputs and repeat the automatic preheating.
The convection setting is applicable to almost all except for toast. One thing to note from the manual is that most recipes recommend reducing the temperature by 25°F when convection is on.
The convection fan speeds can toggle between high and low which is not very common for ovens, especially at the same price range. The two exceptions are Air Fry which always uses High Convect and Warm using Low Convect.
Ease of Use
For all functions except for Toast and Bagel, the Black+Decker has an automatic preheat feature. This will always heat the heating elements to 350°F, which takes around 4m 20s, before starting the actual timer. Then, the internal temperature will gradually stabilize around your input temperature.
One thing to note is that you cannot change the temperature or time during the automatic preheat cycle. You can only do so once the oven reaches the selected temperature.
Keep in mind that the oven’s exterior gets hot to the touch quite quickly. In addition, it doesn’t turn off upon opening the door, unlike some others. The door also can’t be opened partially.
This oven beeps with each push of a button and does so three times when it finishes cooking. The oven always remembers the last selected setting until it’s unplugged. It’s advised to unplug the oven after you finish using it as the digital display doesn’t turn off after a period of no interaction.
When you adjust temperature and time for a function, the Instant Omni Plus saves your setting for next time use. After the oven finishes cooking, it will beep and automatically switch to Keep Warm mode until the display shows End.
After a period of no interaction, the digital display will show the word OFF similar to when you’ve just plugged it in. You’ll then need to push the knob once to turn it on. It’s advised to unplug the oven after you finish using it.
The light automatically turns off after 30 seconds of no interaction and turns on 30 seconds before finishing cooking. Opening the oven door pauses the cooking but the light stays on for another 30 seconds. Closing the oven door resumes the cooking but it will go into stand-by mode resetting all inputs after 5m30s.
Taking the rotisserie kit out of the oven can be a bit tricky even with the lifter. However, with a bit of practice, it’ll be no problem at all. The oven has good heat insulation, so the casing doesn’t get too hot to the touch at 350°F and 400°F but be careful at 450°F.
Cleanability
We cleaned the Black+Decker following our toaster oven cleaning guide. With the oven having an internal and external coating, cleaning was quite straightforward.
However, even with the slide-out crumb tray, we still had to tilt the oven to get all of the crumbs out. In addition, some of them got stuck inside the heating element safeguards and we had no way of getting them out.
We cleaned the Instant Omni Plus 18L following our toaster oven cleaning guide. Despite having an internal and external coating, it still wasn’t easy to clean due to some very tricky nooks and crannies. The small gaps between the heating elements and internal walls didn’t help either.
Most of the mess came from the considerable fat splatter from roasting a whole chicken. It left difficult stains on the heating elements and their safeguards which were already tricky to clean.
With the removable oven-bottom tray, cleaning up the crumbs was extremely easy but we still had to tilt the oven to get all of the crumbs out. On the bright side, having thought it would be difficult to clean caramelized bits of food from the air fryer basket due to the fishnet design, we were happy to find this wasn’t the case.