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Cuisinart TOA-60 vs Oster TSSTTVMNDG-SHP-2 Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
- Performance (50%)8.7/10
- Design (25%)9.2/10
- Usability (25%)7.1/10
- Performance (50%)7.0/10
- Design (25%)6.2/10
- Usability (25%)6.6/10
With a number of similarities in their features, the Cuisinart TOA-60 and Oster TSSTTVMNDG-SHP-2 made for an interesting comparison. Let’s dive into why the Cuisinart triumphed in every aspect.
In terms of performance, the Cuisinart consistently excelled in all of our tests. One of the strengths of this oven was its steady and stable temperature. A strong power output of 1800 W, six nichrome heating elements, and a strong convection system contributed to this.
The Oster was able to hold its own in baking pizza and roasting a whole chicken. However, the oven’s lower power of 1200 watts in conjunction with its large capacity hindered its ability to bake french fries.
Although both ovens have two tray levels, it was tricky to get the toast done right on both sides for the Oster while it wasn’t a problem for the Cuisinart. Moreover, the baking rack of the Cuisinart can be placed either way up.
Both ovens have an interior light and a slide-out crumb tray which are always useful. Besides the standard baking rack and pan, the Cuisinart comes with an air fryer basket while the Oster has a broiling rack.
Despite both being simple to use, the control dials of the Cuisinart provide more reliable interactions than the flat buttons of the Oster. The extra functions do make the Oster more beginner-friendly.
Cuisinart TOA-60 Performance
- Toast (40%)8.1/10
- Pizza (25%)9.6/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)8.5/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)9.2/10
- Toast (40%)6.2/10
- Pizza (25%)8.0/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)7.8/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)6.0/10
Toast
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: 1/2 Medium
- Cooking Time: 4 m
- Second Batch: 4 m
- Convection: Low (default)
During our Toast test, the Light toast level—around 2 minutes 30 seconds on the timer—gave no color and the Medium one—around 5 minutes on the timer—was too brown even though the color was even. We determined that right in the middle of Medium and Light toast level—around 4 minutes on the timer—was the best option scoring an 8.1/10.
Toasting bread for 4 minutes with the Cuisinart produced 4 pieces with a beautiful golden color throughout thanks to the deployment of the convection fan. This oven was the first one to score a 9/10 for even toast surface color.
The first batch of toast was quite crispy yet very soft inside, worthy of a 9/10. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined they would be great to go with sandwiches, omelet, and eggs benedict. For soup, however, they didn’t cut the mustard but that could be rectified with the extra crispiness of a second batch.
While the second batch had a brown color, it had a few dark spots so it got a 6/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, remember to lower it down to Light—around 2 minutes 30 seconds.
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: 2/6
- Cooking Time: 6m 43s
- Second Batch: 4m18
- Convection: No
Using the steps of our Toast test, we determined that level 2—6 minutes 43 seconds on the timer—was the best option, scoring a 6.2/10. In comparison, the toast at level 1 had a very light color, and the toast at level 3 had a dark brown color, with some dark patches.
The Toast Level 2 of the Oster produced four pieces with a golden brown color on the top. However, due to the unideal tray position, the toast was dark brown on the bottom. Even though the color was even, the big difference between the top and bottom resulted in a 6/10.
Due to the long cooking time, the first batch of toast was crispy outside but a bit dry inside, so it got a 7/10 for taste. Our head chef, Tuyet Pham, determined they would go well with eggs benedict, omelet, and soup, in particular, but not with sandwiches.
Even though this oven automatically deducted the toast timer to 4m 18s, the second batch was still significantly darker and drier. The color was also uneven, ranging from golden brown to dark, so it got a 5/10 for consecutive usability.
Pizza
- Function: Bake with high convection
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 3m 30s
- Convection: High
The Cuisinart baked a very appetizing 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza scoring a 9.6/10 despite using only the included baking pan.
Compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label, it only took 3m 30s to bake the pizza which was extremely fast. In comparison to other toaster ovens in our Pizza test, it deserved a whopping 10/10.
The crust came out a tempting golden brown with some nicely charred spots—if a little soft due to the short cooking time. Thus, it got a 9.2/10.
The pizza itself also had excellent even coloring all over from the good convection system. Thanks to the high and steady temperature, the melted cheese was also perfectly caramelized earning it a 9.8/10.
After tasting, our chef gave the pizza a 9.5/10.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 6m 50s
- Convection: Yes
The Oster did very well in baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza, but the evenness in caramelization could be improved. Thus, it received an 8/10 in total.
It only took 6m 50s to bake the pizza as opposed to 10 minutes on the label. In comparison to other toaster ovens in our Pizza test, it got a solid 8.2/10.
The crust had a nice golden brown color and since it was neither too soft nor too dry, it scored an 8/10. The cheese was melty and the toppings’ caramelization was about 80% even, so we gave it another 8/10. For its taste, our chef gave the pizza one final 8/10.
Whole Roasted Chicken
- Function: Bake with high convection
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 50m
- Convection: Yes
Following our Whole Roasted Chicken test, we placed a 3 lb chicken inside an air fryer basket on top of a baking pan and it fit without a problem. Although the air fryer basket had plenty of space, the pan was quite rigid so we had to be extra careful when taking it out to flip the chicken.
Unfortunately, while cooking the chicken, fat splashed everywhere inside the oven leading to some smoking. All things considered, the Cuisinart earned an 8.5/10 for this test—on par with a good toaster oven that uses a rotisserie kit like the Instant Omni Plus 18L.
It took 50 minutes to roast, which is shorter than average and deserving of a 9/10.
Despite not having a rotisserie kit, we were able to achieve adequately crispy skin with an even golden brown color scoring a 9.5/10. We did it by spreading the chicken out and flipping it after the first 40 minutes of cooking.
High convection and flipping helped the chicken to be thoroughly cooked without any pink spots in just 50 minutes. However, the internal temperature was a little too high at 205-207°F compared to the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F, so it got an 8/10.
Due to being spread out, the wings were extremely crispy and deliciously fall-off-the-bone. However, the wings and the breast ended up a little dry so our chef gave the chicken an 8/10 for taste.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 350°F.
- Cooking Time: 1h
- Convection: Yes
Thanks to the Oster’s large capacity, we placed a 3 lb chicken on top of its broiling rack which is then set on top of the baking pan before we perform our Whole Roasted Chicken test. The overall score was 7.8/10.
The oven was able to roast the chicken in 1 hour, which was the standard amount of time needed, and deserved an 8/10. Thanks to the broiling rack and the oven’s convection system, the skin got an even golden color throughout. However, even with those advantages, the skin wasn’t able to crisp up much, so it got a 7/10.
The chicken was fully cooked, but its internal temperature was a tad high at 190-192°F, so we gave it an 8.8/10. The meat was soft and juicy throughout, so it earned a 7.5/10 for taste from our chef.
Baked French Fries
- Function: Bake with high convection
- Temperature: 400°F
- Cooking Time: 12m
- Convection: High
The Cuisinart baked some excellent french fries scoring a 9.2/10.
It took only 12 minutes to cook 12 oz of french fries which was very fast. In fact, it’s the fastest one throughout our Baked French Fries test so far so it scored a perfect 10/10.
Due to the shorter cooking time than ideal, the color wasn’t entirely even but was good enough for a 9.5/10.
The fries were crispy and golden on the outside while moist on the inside thanks to the strong convection and the air fryer basket. Thus, we gave it a 9.2/10 for texture.
Our chef gave it an 8.7/10 for taste.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 400°F
- Cooking Time: 20 m
- Convection: Yes
The Oster left a lot to be desired in baking french fries, thus scoring a 6/10.
The oven took 20 minutes to bake 12 oz of french fries. In comparison to other toaster ovens in our Baked French Fries test, it scored a 7.3/10.
The fries had an uneven color, ranging from almost none to golden and brown on the ends, so they got a 6.8/10. The fries were very soft so they could only get a 6/10 for texture. Our chef gave the fries a 5/10 for taste.
Cuisinart Air Fryer TOA-60 Design Review
- Exterior (20%)9.0/10
- Interior (30%)9.5/10
- Build Quality (50%)9.0/10
- Exterior (20%)7.0/10
- Interior (30%)6.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)6.0/10
In the Box
- Model: TOA-60
- Warranty: 3 years (US and Canada only)
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Air Fryer Basket
The user manual provides numerous recipes with all the ingredient measurements, specific cooking functions, temperatures, and times. The package also comes with a simple instruction to register your Cuisinart for premium customer service, special offers, and more. Within the warranty period, the manufacturer has their own satisfaction guarantee policy.
- Model: TSSTTVMNDG-SHP-2
- Warranty: 1-year limited (US and Canada only)
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Rack Clamp
- Removable Crumb Tray
- Rotisserie Kit and Lifter
- Air Fryer Basket
The packaging includes two foam pads to keep the oven firmly in place and the three accessories are wrapped in carton sheets to avoid scratches during transportation. The oven also comes with a user manual.
Exterior
- Weight:21.0 lbs (9.5 kg)
- Length:16.3" (41.5 cm)
- Width:15.2" (38.5 cm)
- Height:13.6" (34.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:Cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Slide-out
With its simple design, the slide-out crumb tray of the Cuisinart really stands out. The side handles make it easy to carry. It also has two buffers on the back to prevent the oven from being too close to the wall.
Our measurements of the oven’s footprint of 16.34" x 15.16" x 13.58" pretty much coincided with the manufacturer’s 16" x 15.5" x 14" with marginal differences being less than an inch.
- Weight:12.1 lbs (5.5 kg)
- Length:19.7" (50.0 cm)
- Width:15.2" (38.6 cm)
- Height:11.6" (29.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Black
- Door Handle:cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Slide-out
The Oster has air ventilation holes on all sides of the convection system, which is a plus. In addition, having a slide-out tray is always helpful because it makes it easier to clean the oven.
Although the back buffers aren’t very sturdy, the bottom stands are and they also act as oven-carrying handles. Our measurements of the oven’s footprints were 19. 68" x 15.19" x 11.61" which were only slightly different in terms of width to the manufacturer’s provided 19.72" x 16.29" x 11.33".
Cuisinart TOA-60 Control Panel
- Type:4 control knobs
- Temperature:200°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 - 60 minutes
- Indicator Light:Yes
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:Yes
- Convection Toggle:No
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:No
- Audio Cues:No
The control panel is completely analog with four control knobs and a light toggle
- Type:LCD display + 15 buttons
- Temperature:150°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 minute - 90 minutes
- Indicator Light:Yes
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:Yes
- Convection Toggle:No
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:No
- Audio Cues:No
The Oster has an LCD digital display and 15 buttons, including 8 functions, 2 to adjust time, 2 to adjust temperature, a light toggle, a clock feature, a stop and a start button. The built-in clock is something you rarely see in a toaster oven, but we’ve seen some comments about it, usually pointing out that the clock is ahead of time by 5 minutes.
Cooking Functions
- Toast (Light - Medium - Dark)
- Air fry
- Bake with low / high convection
- Broil with low / high convection
- Warm (200°F)
If you know your way around the kitchen, the bake and broil functions with low or high convection will be all you need.
- Toast
- Bake
- Convection Bake
- Broil
- Warm
- Defrost (150°F)
- Pizza (400°F)
You can only adjust the temperature on the Bake and Convection Bake functions, which should be good enough for experienced cooks. Other functions have their temperature predetermined by the manufacturer, which can be useful for beginners in the kitchen.
For some reason, the user manual doesn’t specify the predetermined temperature for the Warm function. Nonetheless, we were able to measure it to be around 180°F, which was unfortunately quite high for its purpose. Other toaster ovens with the Warm function usually maintain around 80°F-100°F.
Interior
- Heating Elements:6 nichrome
- Convection Fan:Yes
- Lighting:Yes
- Tray Levels:2
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:Tray Level 2
For the Cuisinart, its convection fan runs as standard with most cooking functions except for Warm. It runs on the low setting for Non-Convection settings and on a high setting for Convection settings.
In addition, the oven has two heating elements at the bottom and four at the top which allows for more even heat distribution. It also has an interior light that you can turn on and off with a switch. It only has two tray levels but you can make use of the rack-up and down positions.
- Heating Elements:4 nichrome
- Convection Fan:Yes
- Lighting:Yes
- Tray Levels:2
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The Oster has four standard nichrome heating elements but only two tray levels—unlike the similar-sized Cosori CO130-AO that has three. In addition to a convection system, it has internal lighting which is always useful, especially when you can choose when to turn it on and off.
Capacity of the Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Oven
- Length:12.6" (32.0 cm)
- Width:11.4" (29.0 cm)
- Height:7.1" (18.0 cm)
Besides a 12-inch pizza or a 4-pound chicken, the TOA-60 is one of the few that actually fits 6 pieces of toast even though just barely. We measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be roughly 17 liters which coincided with the manufacturer’s provided capacity.
- Length:14.2" (36.1 cm)
- Width:12.6" (32.0 cm)
- Height:9.4" (24.0 cm)
Its spacious interior can accommodate 6 slices of toast, a 12-inch pizza, and more than a 3 lb chicken. While the manufacturer didn’t state the exact capacity, we measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be around 28 liters.
Power Cord
- Length:29.5" (75.0 cm)
- Type:2-prong plug
- Power:1800 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
Even though the power cord length is enough for household use—roughly 29.52", it doesn’t fully wrap around the two back buffers.
- Length:26.0" (66.0 cm)
- Type:2-prong plug
- Power:1300 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
Since the power cord is positioned at the bottom of the oven, it may have some inconvenient bends. The length of roughly 25.98" is adequate for household use but not enough to wrap around the back buffers.
Accessories
- Length:12.6" (32.0 cm)
- Width:11.0" (27.9 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.
- Length:14.2" (36.1 cm)
- Width:15.0" (38.1 cm)
- Height:0.2" (0.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The rack fits perfectly with the guide rails and helps reduce the chance of an accident when you put food in the oven.
Accessories
- Length:12.4" (31.6 cm)
- Width:11.0" (27.9 cm)
- Height:0.9" (2.2 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking pan has a coating but is not completely non-stick so you may end up with some stubborn stains after a hefty roast. It does, however, easily catch any meat juice and drippings from the air fryer basket. Thus, it prevents mess and avoids any danger of fire from dirty heating elements.
- Length:12.9" (32.7 cm)
- Width:10.5" (26.7 cm)
- Height:1.2" (3.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel with enamel coating
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
The baking pan goes hand-in-hand with the broiling rack to catch the drippings and meat juice. Its enamel coating makes it more resistant to stains and caramelized bits but it is not advisable to put the baking pan in the dishwasher.
However, it’s slightly smaller than the oven’s capacity and therefore, does not make the most of the space. Nonetheless, it still does the job of preventing any hot mess from dirtying the heating elements which can lead to fire danger.
Accessories
- Length:11.1" (28.2 cm)
- Width:9.4" (24.0 cm)
- Height:2.2" (5.7 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The air fryer basket’s decent elevation really helps to circulate heat around the bottom of the food.
- Length:10.9" (27.7 cm)
- Width:8.5" (21.7 cm)
- Height:1.2" (3.1 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
The broiling rack has an elevation from the baking pan to allow for heat circulation around the food. However, it’s not firmly attached to the baking pan, so be careful when you move this combo around. In addition, the rack doesn’t have a coating, which may make it prone to caramelized bits, stains, and discoloration.
Build Quality
The build of the Cuisinart TOA-60 nails simplicity and durability from the materials to the user controls. That does, however, make it a little heavier than some of the same-sized ones we’ve tested including the Toshiba AC25CEW-BS and Instant Omni Plus 18L.
It’s also a little taller due to the convection fan being top, rather than side-mounted. Nonetheless, the slide-out crumb tray and carrying handles show attention to convenience.
Though it is made from durable materials and has a sturdy build, the Oster isn’t heavy for its size. The digital display is clear, but the flat buttons can be irresponsive at times; this seems to be a common problem for Oster units, as the Oster TSSTTVFDDG also suffers from it.
Throughout the testing procedure, we found that the oven’s power output of 1300 W may have offset its large capacity. Our speculation was that its performance efficiency could increase with 1800 W.
Cuisinart TOA-60 Usability
- User Control (30%)7.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)7.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)7.5/10
- User Control (30%)6.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)6.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)9.0/10
User Control
The Cuisinart has seven settings to choose from including both Broil and Bake with high and low convection. The four control knobs for Time, Temperature, Functions, and Toast are as straightforward as possible.
For the Oster, the temperature can be adjusted in increments of 10°F. The timer can be adjusted in increments of 30 seconds when it’s below 10 minutes and in increments of 1 minute after 10 minutes. The convection fan isn’t all-applicable, but you can adjust time and temperature according to your preference on Convection Bake.
Ease of Use
The safety hook for tray level 2 allows you to partially slide out the baking rack or tray to reposition the food during cooking. However, this feature makes it quite tricky to remove the tray or rack.
Although the oven has good heat insulation, the casing can still get quite hot to the touch after 400°F, especially after a long cooking time. After the oven finishes cooking, you will hear a very clear ding.
Opening the oven door stops it from cooking while also turning off the light but doesn’t stop the timer. Having no digital display, you can freely leave this oven plugged in and not worry about power consumption.
The Oster doesn’t beep with each press of a button which isn’t normally an issue. However, because the buttons weren’t always responsive, we had to check the display with each press and this required us to do so more than once.
One thing to keep in mind is that the oven requires you to press Cancel before changing the cooking function. After the cooking cycle finishes, the digital display will show END and the oven will sound 4 beeps 3 times. You’ll then need to press Cancel before performing further inputs.
The oven’s exterior only gets hot to the touch after a long period of cooking at a high temperature (> 400°F). The door can easily be kept partially open, but it doesn’t stop the cooking process, unlike some other ovens.
The built-in clock will keep ticking as long as the oven’s plugged in, but the power consumption should be minimal. Thus, it’s up to you to keep the oven plugged in or to remove it.
Cleanability
We cleaned the Cuisinart following our toaster oven cleaning guide. The internal and external coating of the oven made it easy to clean. It does have some tricky nooks and crannies but all in all, they’re not too difficult.
Cleaning up the crumbs was extremely easy thanks to the slide-out crumb tray but we still had to tilt the oven to remove all the crumbs. We thought the fishnet design of the air fryer basket might make it difficult to clean any caramelized bits of food but that didn’t happen.
During the roasting of a whole chicken, fat splattered everywhere inside the oven. It left some stubborn stains on the insulators at the ends of the heating elements. Even with a paste of baking soda and water, we weren’t able to remove them.
Fortunately, there were no drippings on the crumb tray so no worries of oxidation. In addition, we’re happy to report that the gaps between the heating elements and internal walls were large enough to clean.
The Oster has an internal and external coating. There are no tricky nooks and crannies. The slide-out crumb tray made cleaning up the crumbs very easy but we still had to tilt the oven to remove all of them.
Although some grease splashed inside the oven during our Whole Roasted Chicken test, we could easily clean it up using the instructions in our toaster oven cleaning guide. The baking pan, even with the enamel coating, sustained some stubborn burnt bits and stains that required brushing with a paste of baking soda and water.