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Hamilton Beach 31401 Countertop vs Breville BOV450XL Toaster Oven Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
- Performance (50%)5.1/10
- Design (25%)3.6/10
- Usability (25%)4.6/10
- Performance (50%)6.8/10
- Design (25%)6.4/10
- Usability (25%)6.2/10
The battle between the Hamilton Beach 31401 4-Slice Toaster Oven and the Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Toaster Oven was as one-sided as it could be, with the latter being the winner. At around double the price, the Breville—our best-to-buy small toaster oven—simply had higher scores in every aspect.
When toasting bread and baking pizza, the Hamilton actually managed to keep up with the Breville. However, the Hamilton quickly lost all of its edges when it came to roasting a whole chicken and most of all, baking french fries where it undercooked the bird.
We attributed these weak performances to the Hamilton having only two quartz heating elements and a lower power output of 1200 W. In comparison, the Breville had four quartz heating elements and 1800 W of power.
Design-wise, the Hamilton had nothing more than a standard design. Meanwhile, the Breville had a non-stick interior coating, a slide-out crumb tray, and a control panel with many more features compared to the Hamilton. In all honesty, however, the Breville’s extra cooking functions and toggles weren’t that much more useful than the basic Hamilton.
Overall, if you want the best performances out of a small unit, go for the Breville BOV450XL. If your budget is tight, on the other hand, the Hamilton can still do the job.
Hamilton Beach 4-Slice Toaster Oven Performance
- Toast (40%)7.7/10
- Pizza (25%)5.5/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)1.0/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)4.0/10
- Toast (40%)7.8/10
- Pizza (25%)5.5/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)6.6/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)6.5/10
Toast
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: Medium
- Cooking Time: 4m 15s
- Second Batch: 4m 15s
- Convection: No
With our Toast test, we determined the best option was right at the position of the Toast icon—around 4 minutes 15 seconds on the timer, scoring a 7.7/10. Turning the knob halfway down would result in no color and turning it halfway up nearly burnt the toast.
With 4m 15s, the Hamilton Beach produced 4 pieces with a light golden brown color on the top and golden on the bottom. Although that was great, the top and the bottom were quite different and they were both only about 80% even throughout. Thus, we gave it a 7.5/10.
The first batch of toast had a nice balance of crispiness on the outside and softness on the inside, deserving an 8/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined it would go well with pretty much everything including eggs benedict, omelet, and especially sandwiches. It wasn’t as suitable for soup but the second batch was.
The second batch got crispier and more even in color. However, it also became browner so we gave it a 7.3/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, remember to only turn the knob to ¾ to Medium—around 3 minutes 40 seconds.
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: 4/7
- Cooking Time: 3m
- Second Batch: 2m 36s
- Convection: No
After following our Toast test procedures, we determined that this oven’s toasting level 4—3 minutes on the timer—was the best option, giving it a score of 7.9/10. At level 3, the bread was very lightly toasted and at 5 was darker than ideal and had a more uneven surface color.
At toast level 4, the Breville produced 4 pieces with mottled light golden to golden-brown color which looked quite appetizing. The color was not evenly distributed due to the oven’s lack of a convection system, though, so we gave it an 8/10.
The first batch of toast was nicely crispy outside while still soft and moist inside, deserving an 8/10 score for flavor. Our head chef, Tuyet Pham, determined they would go well with pretty much anything including an omelet, eggs benedict, and particularly sandwiches.
Even though the oven automatically adjusted the timer to 2 minutes 36 seconds, the color of the second batch was a bit darker. Also, the second batch was crispier than the first which made it more suitable for soup.
Overall, it’s a 7.5/10 for consecutive usability. Remember to reduce the heat by one level if you want the same result. Thanks to its high wattage, this oven has the fastest cooking time for toast among the toaster ovens we’ve tested thus far.
Pizza
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 10m 30s
- Convection: No
The Hamilton didn’t perform well in baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza scoring a 5.6/10.
Compared to the recommended 10 minutes on the label, the oven took only a tad bit longer at 10m 30s. However, this meant that it failed the cooking time criterion with 10 minutes being the time limit for our Pizza test.
For the most part, the crust didn’t have a good toasted coloring and was soft so it got a 6/10. The toppings had pretty good caramelization but some darkened areas of the cheese lowered the score to 7.5/10. After tasting the pizza, our chef gave it a 7/10.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 10m 30s
- Convection: No
The Breville oven did not agree with the 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza we tried to bake. We gave it a score of only 5.5/10.
This oven took 10m 30s to bake the pizza which was only slightly longer than the recommended 10 minutes on the label. However, 10 minutes was the time limit of our Pizza test, so it failed the cooking time section.
The crust had a nice golden color but was soft and dry—a possible consequence of the long cooking time. Therefore, we could only give it a 7/10.
The toppings were mostly dry with uneven color. Plus, the cheese wasn’t well melted, so it received a 6.5/10.
After tasting, our chef gave the pizza a 7/10.
Whole Roasted Chicken
- Function: Rotisserie
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 1h 30m
- Convection: No
This was one of the rare occasions where an oven failed the entirety of our Whole Roasted Chicken test. Our speculations concerned the instability of the heating elements and the fact that the chicken grazed the upper safeguard during cooking.
After 1h 30m—our time limit, the oven wasn’t able to roast the chicken to a desirable outcome and failed the first criterion. After roasting, the skin had no noticeable caramelization and barely enough for a 5/10.
The chicken reached an internal temperature of 176°F which was quite good. However, the meat itself was undercooked and still pink in a lot of areas. Thus, it was another failure. Due to the meat being undercooked, our chef couldn’t taste it to give a score.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 1h 5m
- Convection: No
The Breville could barely fit the 3 lb chicken for our Whole Roasted Chicken test and scored a 6.9/10. The chicken grazed the safety guards that protect the upper heating elements while we were putting it in. During the roasting, quite a bit of grease splashed inside the oven and caused the heating elements to smoke a little.
The oven took 1h 5m to cook the chicken which was just 5 minutes longer than what we consider standard, so it got a 7.5/10.
After roasting, the skin had a quite even coloring although a bit too light, and remained soft. We awarded it a 7/10. In addition, the skin on the back got stuck to the baking pan during roasting.
The chicken’s internal temperature was 168-171°F which was very close to the USDA recommendation. However, there were a few pink spots near the bone, so we gave it a 7/10.
Even though the meat was juicy, the unappetizing chicken skin was enough that our chef lowered the score to 6.5/10 for taste.
Baked French Fries
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 400°F
- Cooking Time: 30 m
- Convection: No
The Hamilton Beach wasn’t suitable for baking 12 oz of french fries scoring only a 4/10.
There were no noticeable changes to the fries after 30 minutes of baking in this oven. Due to our time limit of 25 minutes, this constituted a failure in the cooking time section of our Baked French Fries test.
There was no change in the fries’ color so they received a 5/10. The oven basically thawed and heated the fries so they were very soggy scoring another 5/10. Our chef could only give the fries a minimal score of 5/10 for taste.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 400°F.
- Cooking Time: 25 m
- Convection: No
The Breville did an acceptable job of baking 12 oz of french fries, scoring a 6.5/10.
It took 25 minutes, the limit of our Baked French Fries test, so this oven got a 5/10.
Except for a few golden pieces, the fries mostly lacked color. They only deserved a score of 7/10.
The fries had a variety of textures, none of which were good. The golden fries were dry and yet only slightly crispy. Also, the ones that lacked color were really soft, so it was only a 6.5/10.
Our chef gave the fries a 7/10 for taste.
Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel Toaster Oven Design
- Exterior (20%)4.0/10
- Interior (30%)1.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)5.0/10
- Exterior (20%)6.0/10
- Interior (30%)4.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)8.0/10
In the Hamilton Beach Countertop Toaster Oven Box
- Model: 31401
- Warranty: 1-year limited in the US and 5-year limited in Canada
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Removable Crumb Tray
Inside the packaging are the Hamilton Beach oven, a baking rack, a baking pan, a removable crumb tray, and a simple user manual.
- Model: BOV450XL
- Warranty: 1-year limited
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
On the packaging were some illustrations and basic information, and the oven was couched nicely between two foam pads. Breville’s user manual explains in detail how each oven function works.
The default accessories, a baking rack and baking pan, were packaged in a fitted carton box. You can opt to buy a separate 11” pizza pan and/or a broiling rack to cover more cooking methods.
Exterior
- Weight:5.4 lbs (2.4 kg)
- Length:15.0" (38.0 cm)
- Width:12.2" (31.0 cm)
- Height:8.5" (21.6 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Removable
The Hamilton Beach has a stainless steel exterior, a back buffer to prevent the oven from being too close to the wall, and a cool-touch door handle. However, the back buffer isn’t designed to wrap the power cord around, unlike many other toaster ovens.
- Weight:10.0 lbs (4.5 kg)
- Length:15.7" (40.0 cm)
- Width:14.2" (36.0 cm)
- Height:8.9" (22.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:Yes
- Crumb Tray:Slide-out
The small size didn’t stop Breville from designing a sturdy stainless steel outer shell. The shape of the back buffers makes it easy to wrap the power cord around them once things have cooled.
Also, the tray-level indicators on the glass door and the slide-out crumb tray are always nice touches. However, the oven’s exterior doesn’t provide good grip points to carry the oven.
We measured the oven’s footprint to be 15.74" x 14.17" x 8.86" which was slightly different in terms of height from the manufacturer’s 16.1" x 14.2" x 10.4".
Control Panel
- Type:3 control knobs
- Temperature:100°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 minute - 30 minutes + stay-on
- Indicator Light:Yes
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:No
- Convection Toggle:No
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:No
- Audio Cues:No
The Hamilton Beach has three simple control knobs for Temperature, Function, and Timer. Even though the timer is only from 1 minute to 30 minutes, it has a stay-on position. 1 minute to 30 minutes, it has a stay-on position.
- Type:LCD display + 1 control dial + 8 buttons
- Temperature:120°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 minute - 2 hours
- Indicator Light:No
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:No
- Convection Toggle:No
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:Yes
- Audio Cues:No
The control panel consists of 1 control knob for 8 functions and 4 buttons to set the time, temperature, and/or toasting mode. The digital display and the Start/Cancel button both shine blue when the oven’s plugged in and red when it’s cooking.
Beyond the standard stuff, you’ll find 3 unique buttons: Temperature Conversion (°F-°C), Frozen Foods, and A Bit More. The latter adds a specific amount of time depending on the cooking function.
The LCD screen will display ‘E01’ or ‘E02’ when there is a non-resettable issue with the appliance. When this happens, immediately unplug the cord from the wall outlet and call the Breville Customer Service Center.
The ‘E03’ shows up when the oven temperature exceeds its design limit. Should this occur, unplug your oven, allow it to cool for 15 minutes, then plug it back in.
The ‘E04’ appears when the room temperature is below the set minimum. If this happens, unplug the oven and move it to a warmer area.
Cooking Functions of the Hamilton Beach 31401 Toaster Oven
- Toast
- Bake
- Broil
If you know your way around the kitchen, the bake and broil functions will be all you need. The temperature knob has a Min setting which can act as Keep Warm and maintain the oven at around 100°F.
- Toast (7 levels, 4 slices maximum)
- Bagel (7 levels, 4 slices maximum)
- Bake (1h 30m maximum)
- Broil (High and Low levels, 20 minutes maximum)
- Pizza (55 minutes maximum)
- Roast (1h 30m maximum)
- Cookies (55 minutes maximum)
- Reheat (370°F maximum)
For safety reasons, all cooking functions have a predetermined timer limit after which the oven stops cooking. If you want to continue cooking, simply operate the oven in standard mode. The High setting of the Broil function does the job faster than Low and you’ll need to experiment with it to learn how quickly it cooks.
Interior
- Heating Elements:2 quartz
- Convection Fan:No
- Lighting:No
- Tray Levels:2
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The 31401 has 2 quartz heating elements that cook food using infrared light. To avoid direct contact with baking pans and trays, each one has its own safety guard.
Compared to the more common nichrome heating elements, they produce more heat and cool down faster. In addition, they’re easier to clean and more energy-efficient but not as durable. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.
Nonetheless, the oven suffers from a lack of internal lighting and a convection system, similar to most small units like the Mueller MT-175. Moreover, having only two heating elements may not distribute heat evenly as having four.
- Heating Elements:4 quartz
- Convection Fan:No
- Lighting:No
- Tray Levels:3
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The Breville’s interior has a non-stick coating, 4 heating elements, and 3 tray levels (quite rare for its size). However, it has no internal lighting or convection system.
The oven uses 4 quartz heating elements, each with its own safety guard to prevent direct contact with baking pans and food. Unlike the more common nichrome style, these don’t heat the air in the oven, but rather radiate the infrared heat directly to the food or pan.
Overall, they produce more heat and cool down faster than nichrome. In addition, they’re easier to clean and are more energy-efficient but not as durable. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.
Capacity
- Length:10.9" (27.8 cm)
- Width:9.4" (24.0 cm)
- Height:7.1" (18.0 cm)
The Hamilton Beach, with only two tray levels, can accommodate 4 slices of toast, a 9-inch pizza, or barely a 3 lb chicken. We measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be roughly 12 liters which coincided with the manufacturer’s stated capacity.
- Length:11.5" (29.2 cm)
- Width:11.0" (27.9 cm)
- Height:6.7" (17.0 cm)
The BOV450XL had enough space for four slices of toast, an 11-inch pizza, or barely a 3 lb whole chicken.
We measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be 13.86 liters compared to the manufacturer’s provided capacity of 12.74 liters. However, it could just be because we measured from the cooking chamber’s walls to walls whereas the manufacturer stopped before reaching the heating elements.
Power Cord of the Hamilton Beach 31401 Countertop Toaster Oven
- Length:29.9" (76.0 cm)
- Type:2-prong plug
- Power:1200 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
The power cord is long enough for household use.
- Length:40.9" (104.0 cm)
- Type:3-prong plug
- Power:1800 W
- Rated Output:110 V - 120 V ~ 60 Hz
The power cord is roughly 40.94"—plenty of length for household use—and can be wrapped around the back buffers for storage. The plug also has a nice little handle which makes it easier to grab.
Accessories
- Length:10.9" (27.8 cm)
- Width:8.8" (22.3 cm)
- Height:0.9" (2.3 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. Unfortunately, by burning a batch of toast, we left some extremely stubborn burnt bits on some rods.
- Length:11.5" (29.2 cm)
- Width:10.3" (26.3 cm)
- Height:0.3" (0.7 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The rack fits perfectly on the guide rails, which helps prevent accidents when placing your food in the oven.
Accessories
- Length:9.3" (23.5 cm)
- Width:8.1" (20.5 cm)
- Height:0.7" (1.8 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking pan rests on the supports of the baking rack to catch any drippings and meat juice, preventing any mess and the risk of fire from dirty heating elements. However, it doesn’t have a good coating and sustained permanent stains after our Baked French Fries and Whole Roasted Chicken test.
- Length:10.6" (27.0 cm)
- Width:10.6" (27.0 cm)
- Height:1.2" (3.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel with enamel coating
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
Although the baking pan is a bit smaller than the rack, it still has more than enough space for a 3 lb chicken. Thus, it keeps most of the mess off the heating elements.
However, even with the enamel coating, the chicken skin still stuck to the pan during our roasting test. Also worth noting is that the dishwasher can damage this coating.
Accessories
- Length:10.9" (27.8 cm)
- Width:8.1" (20.5 cm)
- Height:0.8" (2.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
Without a tray, falling crumbs are quite a hassle to clean up. However, some can still fall to the bottom of the oven as you remove the tray.
Build Quality
The Hamilton uses durable material but its construction isn’t very sturdy. Even though the control knobs turned smoothly, they felt a bit loose.
The Breville is well-constructed and durable with a high power rating of 1800 W. All of its parts fit nicely and work smoothly, especially the LCD display and the buttons.
Thanks to the good insulation of the casing, the oven gets hot to the touch only after cooking for a long period of time at high heat.
Hamilton Beach 31401 4-Slice Toaster Oven Usability Review
- User Control (30%)7.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)3.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)5.0/10
- User Control (30%)8.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)4.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)9.0/10
User Control
Even though the Hamilton Beach only has three simple control knobs, there are a few things to keep in mind. For the timer knob, when setting it to less than 10 minutes, always rotate past 10 minutes and then rotate back to the desired time.
It’s also tricky to precisely adjust time and temperature but we didn’t find this to be an issue. You can use an oven thermometer and an external timer to get familiar before eye-balling it.
The Temperature Conversion button is a nice touch for international users. The cooking time can be adjusted in increments of 1 minute and the temperature in increments of 5°F. For some reason, this differs from what the user manual states.
The manual says that the FROZEN FOODS button adds the right amount of additional time needed to defrost the target foods in the Toast, Bagel, Pizza, Cookies, and Bake functions. However, we didn’t find it very useful since cooking time depends heavily on the food quantity and personal preference.
The A BIT MORE button, where each press adds a pre-set amount of time to each function, has a similar problem. It only seemed useful when the oven was still cold and we wanted to skip the preheating phase.
Ease of Use
With three control knobs, it’s very simple to readjust cooking settings. The cooking cycle finishes when the timer reaches Off. When this happens, the oven will ding once and shut off. As it has no digital display, you can freely leave this oven plugged in without worrying about power consumption.
It’s easy to keep the door partially open to let food cool down but be careful as the oven’s exterior gets hot to the touch quite quickly. However, opening the door doesn’t stop the oven, unlike some others.
The Breville has an automatic preheating phase that lasts 1m 45s. Our tests saw it reaching around 180°F in that time. The temperature alert will sound when the oven reaches your selected temperature. Then, it will sound three times at the end of the cooking cycle.
It’s very easy to adjust cooking settings during use, especially compared to an analog unit like the Mueller MT-175. However, even though this oven doesn’t turn off upon opening the door, the door won’t stay partially open – it’s all or nothing.
According to the manufacturer, the Element iQ System’s smart algorithms focus power where and when it’s most needed, creating ideal cooking conditions every time. However, we didn’t notice a significant difference in performance when comparing it to other ovens of the same size/wattage.
If it’s not actively cooking, the oven will go into STANDBY mode after 10 minutes with no interaction. Although unplugging the oven resets your customized setting, Breville recommends doing so anyway after you finish using it.
Cleanability
The Hamilton Beach oven’s exterior and interior were easy to clean following the steps of our toaster oven cleaning guide. Due to the chicken touching the upper safeguard during cooking, there were some caramelized bits stuck to it. Nonetheless, they were easy to remove with just dish soap and a sponge.
We accidentally burnt a batch of toast during our test and it caught fire which led to some discoloration on the oven’s exterior. Luckily, we were able to remove most of it with an all-purpose cleaner.
What surprised us the most, however, were the permanent stains left on the baking pan. Even after we applied a paste of baking soda and water and then scrubbed it with diluted vinegar, the stains didn’t budge at all.
We cleaned the Breville in accordance with our toaster oven cleaning guide. Thanks to the stainless steel exterior and non-stick interior, it was very easy to clean. Removing crumbs was also easy thanks to the slide-out crumb tray, although we still had to tilt the oven to get the last of them out.
The upper heating elements got stained by smoke from splattered grease during our roasted chicken test. Fortunately, we had no problem removing the stains by brushing the elements with a paste of baking soda and water. We were also able to easily scrub the burnt chicken skin off of the baking pan.