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Instant Omni Plus 18L Air Fryer Toaster Oven vs Black and Decker 4 Slice Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
- Performance (50%)8.1/10
- Design (25%)9.7/10
- Usability (25%)8.4/10
- Performance (50%)6.1/10
- Design (25%)4.6/10
- Usability (25%)5.5/10
The Instant Omni Plus 18L Air Fryer Toaster Oven is a medium-sized digital unit while the Black and Decker 4 Slice Toaster Oven (TO1760SS) is a small analog one without convection. The first contestant is the winner thanks to its convenient features of design and usability as well as overall efficiency.
The Hamilton has a basic design and three simple control dials with a stay-on function. On the other hand, the Instant has an LCD touchscreen with smart programs, audio cues, toggles, and cooking presets. It’s also equipped with a slide-out crumb tray, interior light, and tray-level indicators on the glass door.
Moreover, the Instant has a higher power draw, more heating elements, and a strong convection system. As a result, it consistently produced much greater results than the Black+Decker in all of our cooking tests, including toasting bread, baking pizza, roasting whole chicken, and air-frying fries.
Instant Omni Plus 18L Performance
- 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 (40%)7.1/10
- Pizza (25%)5.6/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)6.1/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)3.2/10
Toast
- 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.
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: 3/4 to Medium
- Cooking Time: 4m
- Second Batch: 4m
- Convection: No
At the beginning of our Toast test, we turned the toast knob to the Medium Toast icon/setting—around 4 minutes 10 seconds on the timer—which resulted in four slightly burnt pieces of bread. We then chose the setting between Medium and Light, which was around 3 minutes 25 seconds on the timer, but that wasn’t enough time to get an even surface color.
Finally, we figured that around 4 minutes on the timer would yield the best possible result, with a total score of 7.1/10. Since it used an analog control knob, it was quite tricky to precisely choose 4 minutes, and we had to use an external timer.
On this setting, the Black+Decker produced four pieces of toast with a brown-colored top. However, the bottom was slightly charred in some areas and lacked color in others, so we gave the toast a 6.5/10 for even surface color.
Fortunately, the toast was crispy on the outside while still soft and moist on the inside, deserving a 7.5/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham concluded that it would go great with omelets and eggs benedict, but not so much with soups or sandwiches.
For some reason, despite the identical toasting time, the second batch had a more uneven surface color than the first. The toast had a slightly darker color and crispier texture, which is more suitable for soups, and scored a 6.8/10 for consecutive usability.
Pizza
- 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.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 13m
- Convection: No
The low power output of the Black+Decker held it back in our Pizza test, where a high temperature of 450 °F was required; it scored a 5.6/10. The oven took 13 minutes to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza, which was longer than our time limit of 10 minutes, resulting in a 0/10.
Fortunately, the other aspects were quite solid, even though the oven’s internal temperature couldn’t be maintained at 450 °F. The crust had a nice golden color but it was a bit soft, so it got a 7/10.
The toppings had reasonably even caramelization throughout and the cheese was slightly melted—enough to score another 7/10. Taking the crust and toppings into account, our chef gave the pizza one last 7/10 for taste.
Whole Roasted Chicken
- 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.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 1h 30m
- Convection: No
During our Whole Roasted Chicken test, the 3 lb chicken touched the upper heating element’s guard. This heavily seared the middle part of the chicken and made a mess inside the cooking chamber. If you were to roast a chicken in this oven, we recommend cutting open the chicken or chopping it into pieces beforehand.
The final test score of 6/10 made us speculate that the oven’s lower output also hindered its performance, even though the required temperature was only 350°F. The Black+Decker took 1 hour 20 minutes to roast the chicken, compared to the standard one hour, so it got a 6/10.
The skin had almost no color, except for the areas near the upper heating element, and was still very soft; we could give it just a 5/10. That being said, increasing the cooking time further would reduce the score for the skin and risk overcooking the chicken.
The only upside to the long cooking time and low oven temperature was the doneness of the chicken. The meat had no pink areas and the chicken’s internal temperature was 185°F–187°F, which was very close to the USDA recommended 165°F–180°F.
This partially helped maintain the juiciness of the meat, but the unappetizing skin gave our chef no choice but to give the chicken a 5/10 for taste.
Baked French Fries
- 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.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 400°F
- Cooking Time: 30 m
- Convection: No
While conducting our Baked French Fries test, the Black+Decker’s weakness in maintaining a high temperature became more apparent, and it scored a 3.2/10.
To start with, it took 30 minutes to bake 12 oz of frozen fries; this was way longer than our limit of 25 minutes and resulted in a score of 0/10. Despite the long time duration, the fries had almost no color, so we could only give it a 4/10.
The same can be said for the texture of the fries which was not crispy, earning it another 4/10. Overall, the fries appeared more boiled than oven-baked, so our chef had to give it one last 4/10 for taste.
Instant Pot Omni Plus Toaster Oven Design Review
- Exterior (25%)9.5/10
- Interior (30%)9.5/10
- Build Quality (50%)9.0/10
- Exterior (20%)4.0/10
- Interior (30%)1.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)7.0/10
In the Instant Pot Omni Plus 18L Box
- 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.
- Model: TO1760SS
- Warranty: 2 years (US and Canada only)
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Removable Crumb Tray
The Black+Decker toaster oven is simply positioned with two foam pads inside the packaging. To the same degree, its two accessories are wrapped in a carton sheet and duct-taped to the oven. There is a simple user manual inside the box.
Exterior
- 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.
- Weight:5.7 lbs (2.6 kg)
- Length:15.6" (39.5 cm)
- Width:11.6" (29.5 cm)
- Height:8.9" (22.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:Cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Removable
The Black+Decker has a basic stainless steel casing and a back buffer to prevent the oven from getting too close to the wall. Our measurements of 15.55" x 11.61" x 8.86" showed a slight difference in the length and height of the oven compared to the manufacturer’s 16.9" x 11.63" x 9.07", but that wasn’t an issue. The large cool-touch door handle provides a good grip.
Control Panel
- 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.
- Type:3 control knobs
- Temperature:150°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 Black+Decker has 3 control dials, one each for temperature, functions, and timer. The oven will start running when you turn the timer dial and the indicator light glows red.
Cooking Functions
- 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.
- Toast
- Bake
- Broil
- Warm
The Black+Decker serves the three basic functions of a toaster oven: Toast, Bake, and Broil. If you know your way around the kitchen, Bake and Broil are all the functions you’ll need.
The Warm function maintains the oven at around 150°F, which is the common lowest temperature for most analog ovens. However, that’s a bit higher than most digital ovens’ warm function, which maintains around 100°F–-120°F.
Interior
- 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.
- Heating Elements:2 quartz
- Convection Fan:No
- Lighting:No
- Tray Levels:1
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The TO1760SS has only one tray level, while most other same-sized units, including the Mueller MT-175, have at least two. Moreover, it doesn’t have an interior light or a convection system: two common weaknesses of small toaster ovens.
The oven has two quartz heating elements, which may not distribute heat as evenly as four or more will do. Nonetheless, they are easier to clean and more energy-efficient than the more common nichrome variety. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.
These heating elements use infrared light to cook, which makes the process quicker. They cool down faster too, but are not as durable.
Capacity of the Instant Pot Omni Plus 18L
- 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.
- Length:10.8" (27.5 cm)
- Width:8.7" (22.0 cm)
- Height:6.7" (17.0 cm)
The Black+Decker has a standard capacity for a small oven—10 liters, 4 slices of toast, a 9-inch pizza, and barely enough for a 3 lb chicken. This was one of the rare occasions where the cooking chamber’s volume that we measured matched the manufacturer’s stated capacity.
Power Cord
- 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.
- Length:25.6" (65.0 cm)
- Type:3-prong plug
- Power:1150 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
The power cord has a good length for household use—roughly 25.59". However, the oven doesn’t have any storage space for it.
Accessories
- 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.
- Length:10.8" (27.4 cm)
- Width:8.3" (21.2 cm)
- Height:0.6" (1.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking rack fits perfectly with the guide, which helps prevent accidents when placing food in the oven.
Accessories
- 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.
- Length:9.0" (22.9 cm)
- Width:7.9" (20.0 cm)
- Height:0.6" (1.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking pan rests on the supports of the baking rack, which saves a bit of space in the cooking chamber. However, this means the pan will be shorter in length than the rack.
The pan does the job of catching any meat juices and drippings. This helps prevent any mess and the risk of fire from dirty heating elements. However, it doesn’t have a good coating and thus sustained some stubborn stains after our Whole Roasted Chicken test.
Accessories
- 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.
- Length:10.7" (27.2 cm)
- Width:7.7" (19.5 cm)
- Height:0.8" (2.0 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
Crumbs can be quite a hassle to clean up, but the removable crumb tray makes it easier to remove them from the oven’s floor. Nonetheless, be careful, as some crumbs may still fall to the bottom of the oven as you take the tray out of the oven.
Accessories
- Length:14.6" (37.0 cm)
- Width:11.0" (27.9 cm)
- Height:2.0" (5.1 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The air fryer basket has a good elevation to help with heat circulation around the bottom of the food.
Build Quality
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.
The Black+Decker has a sturdy build and is made from durable stainless steel. The dials turn smoothly and are polished for aesthetics and easy cleaning.
The oven, equipped with a tamper-resistant screw to prevent removal of the outer cover, contains no user-serviceable parts. This means you need to refer service to qualified service personnel if an issue crops up and not attempt self-repair.
Instant Omni Plus 18L Usability
- User Control (30%)9.9/10
- Ease of Use (50%)8.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)7.0/10
- User Control (30%)6.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)5.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)6.0/10
User Control
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.
There are a few things to keep in mind when using Black+Decker’s three simple control knobs. For the timer knob, always rotate past 10 minutes and then rotate back to the desired time when setting it to less than 10 minutes.
It’s also tricky to accurately adjust time and temperature. Normally, you can use an oven thermometer and an external timer to get around this. However, if you check the pointer, you'll find that the temperature knob of this unit is off by around 50°F. Evidently, when we set the temperature to 450°F for our pizza test, the oven heated up to only around 405°F.
Ease of Use
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.
The manufacturer claims the Black+Decker has the EvenToast Technology™ which toasts bread 30% more evenly. However, we didn’t notice an increase in evenness in our Toast test. Their Natural Convection technology certainly didn’t change the fact that this unit doesn’t have the convection fan that comes with several advantages.
With three control knobs, it’s very simple to readjust cooking settings. The cooking cycle finishes when the timer reaches O (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; however, be vigilant as the door can slide all the way down on the rare occasions when the oven is tilted. Opening the door doesn’t turn off the oven, unlike some other models.
Cleanability
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.
While the interior of the Black+Decker didn’t have a non-stick coating like the Breville BOV450XL, it was easy to clean because there were no tricky nooks and crannies. The removable crumb tray made it easy to clean up the crumbs, though we still had to tilt the oven to remove the last of them.
During our Whole Roasted Chicken test, the chicken touched the upper heating element’s guard and left some permanent discoloration there, even after we cleaned up the burnt bits. There were also some permanent stains on the cooking chamber’s ceiling.