The Best Toaster Ovens in 2023 Tested and Reviewed

Toaster ovens are on the rise as a popular alternative to the all-to-familiar full-sized ovens or wall ovens. They are typically smaller, preheat faster, and use less energy than other members of their family while offering the same functionality. A good toaster oven can accomplish it all—toast bread, roast meat, bake cookies, or even reheat leftovers.

However, with a plethora of models out there, it can be tough to pick the best toaster oven for your needs. That’s where we can help.

When Should You Buy a Toaster Oven?

If these reasons check out on your list of priorities, then you should consider purchasing a toaster oven.

1. Rapid Cooking Time

Because they are generally smaller than full-sized ovens or wall ovens, most toaster ovens require much less time—up to half the amount—to preheat.

An average full-size oven take approximately 15 minutes to reach 350°F, ≅ 20 minutes to 400°F, and ≅ 25 minutes to 450°F. Meanwhile, the average toaster ovens take around 7-8 minutes to reach 350°F, 10-11 minutes to 400°F, and ≅ 15 minutes to 450°F.

2. Efficient Energy Consumption

Opting to use a toaster oven over a traditional oven can also have an impact on your energy consumption. Most toaster ovens can produce similar results to a full-size oven using just about half the energy; a great way to reduce your electricity bill and environmental footprint.

These machine can have a variety of power ratings ranging from 800 W to 2200 W depending on their assembly. On the other hand, full-sized ovens can have their power output ranging from 2000 W to 5000 W.

The power output is equally divided between the working heating elements. For example, in a 1000 W oven with one upper and one lower heating element, each will use 500 W when baking whereas the upper heating element will use 1000 W when broiling.

3. Various Sizes

• Small toaster ovens (LxWxH): around 14"x11"x8"
• Medium toaster ovens (LxWxH): around 19"x16"x11"
• Large toaster ovens (LxWxH): around 20"x16"x12"
• Extra-large toaster ovens (LxWxH): over 20"x16"x12"

Compared to wall ovens which are usually 24"-27"-30” wide, toaster ovens come in various different sizes. Thus, you should have no trouble finding one that fits your limited counter space, number of servings necessary, and aesthetic preference.

There are small units whose dimensions are around 14"x11"x8" (LxWxH), which can fit four slices of bread or a 9-inch pizza. Medium units can be 19"x16"x11" fitting 4-6 slices or an 11 to 12-inch pizza. Meanwhile, large units can get as big as 20"x16"x12", accommodating 6-8 slices or a 12 to 13-inch pizza.

Finally, we have extra-large units which can be anything over 20"x16"x12". They have a much bigger capacity than large-sized units and often have more than four tray levels.

Note that manufacturers have not yet standardized toaster oven sizes and these measurements are only a basic guideline.

How We Test Toaster Ovens

Hands-on experiences with testing the products brought us perspectives that our team at Healthy Kitchen 101 could never think of by simply reading up information.

How We Pick the Best Toaster Ovens

Our hands-on experience combined with knowledge from different experts allowed us to be thorough when designing our tests. We also consulted user reviews to find out which features matter to most consumers and applied them to our scoring table.

Thus, rest assured that only the candidate with the highest score all-around can become our pick for the best toaster oven in every aspect. According to our results so far, the Cosori CO130-AO has an ideal balance of performance, design, and usability—our scoring criteria.

Reviews of The Best Toaster Ovens in 2023

If you’re starting to get excited about all the things you can do with a toaster oven, you’ll love our list of recommendations.

1. Best Overall: Cosori CO130-AO Convection Toaster Oven

$199.99 at AmazonView On Walmart

The shiny stainless steel Cosori CO130-AO Air Fryer Toaster Oven has some of the highest scores among our tested units. This large toaster oven consistently produced great foods, including toast of course. It’s also friendly to users of all culinary levels. In combination with its reasonable price, it became our choice for the best toaster oven to buy.

Making Consistently Great Foods

The Cosori didn’t have the highest score in making toast like the Ninja DT 201 or the Cuisinart TOA-60. However, its toast score is still in the second-highest tier. The four slices of bread mostly had a beautiful golden brown color. They also had a crispy surface and soft, moist interior.

As a matter of fact, most of the oven’s performance scores are in the second-highest tier. Compared to our other top choices which excelled in some and under-performed in other foods, the Cosori is cemented as our best-to-buy pick.

The Cosori, however, has one of the highest scores when it comes to our Whole Roasted Chicken test alongside the Ninja DT201. The oven took only 40 minutes to roast the chicken to a beautiful color. That was the fastest time we’ve had so far.

The skin was mostly golden with some appetizing golden-brown color at the wings and the tips. What impressed us most was the near-perfect doneness in such a short amount of time.

Well-Designed Automatic Preheat Phase

The Cosori has an automatic preheat phase which engages for the Pizza, Bake, Roast, Broil, Cookies, and Air Fryer functions. If the oven’s already hot, the function will recognize that fact and reduce its preheating time.

This toaster oven is one of the rare units that actually preheat to the input temperature. Most other toaster ovens, even on this list, simply heat to a hardwired preheat temperature that cannot be adjusted.

Practical Cooking Functions

The ones that impressed us the most were Warm, Dehydrate, and Ferment which can keep the oven as low as 140°F, 100°F, and 80°F respectively. Looking at a number of recipes, these temperatures fit their intended purpose, which means this oven can act as a family-sized dehydrator and dough proofer.

On top of the many practical cooking functions, the ease with which you can adjust time and temperature makes this oven, overall, simpler to use than many other digital/smart toaster ovens, including on our list.

Price at time of publish: $189.66

Key Specs

Read our full Cosori CO130-AO Air Fryer Toaster Oven review.

2. Best Convection: Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Oven

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The silver stainless steel Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven showed consistently excellent cooking performances thanks to the constant deployment of its convection system. This was our main reason for choosing it as the best one out of the convection toaster ovens we tested.

More impressively, this is a completely analog toaster oven of which category usually doesn’t perform as reliably as digital models. Straightforwardness and simplicity make this oven ideal for seasoned home cooks who are willing to spend a bit more on an effective, robust, and lasting toaster oven.

Excellent for Baking Pizza

The Cuisinart baked a very appetizing 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza in only 3m 30s which was extremely fast. The crust came out a tempting golden brown with some nicely charred spots—if a little soft due to the short cooking time.

Thanks to the good convection system, the pizza itself also had excellent even coloring all over. The evenly melted cheese was also perfectly caramelized from the high and steady temperature. All together to result in a nearly perfect-tasting pizza with one of the highest scores among the toaster ovens we tested.

Excellent for Baking French Fries

The Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven baked some excellent fries in only 12 minutes which was very fast. In fact, it’s one the fastest units out of all the toaster ovens we tested so far.

Due to the shorter cooking time than ideal, the color wasn’t entirely even but was still very good. The fries were crispy and golden on the outside while moist on the inside thanks to the strong convection setting and the air fry basket. Thus, our chef gave one of the highest scores among the toaster ovens we tested after tasting the fries.

Great for Roasting a Whole Chicken

The Cuisinart took 50 minutes to roast a 3 lb chicken, which is shorter than average. Despite not having a rotisserie kit, we were able to achieve adequately crispy skin with an even golden brown color. We did it by spreading the chicken out on an air fryer basket and flipping it after the first 40 minutes of cooking.

The high convection setting 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.

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, according to our chef.

Read our full Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Air Fryer Toaster Oven review.

Price at time of publish: $181.86

Key Specs

3. Best Air Fryer: Instant Omni Plus 18L Air Fryer Toaster Oven

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The silver stainless steel Instant Omni Plus 18L Air Fryer Toaster Oven has an outstanding air frying capability shown in our performance tests. Thus, it became our choice for the best air fryer toaster oven. Its smart programs, status bar, automatic reminders, and recipe app suit people who are all about convenience, smart technologies, and overall efficiency.

Excellent in Baking French Fries

The Instant Omni Plus was excellent at baking/air frying fries with its air fryer basket and air fry setting deploying the convection system on high. The strong convection combined with the air fry basket produced evenly golden fries in only 15 minutes.

What helped the color also baked perfectly crispy fries while retaining a nice amount of moisture. With the near-perfect color and texture, the fries received equal praise from our chef after tasting them. This test fortified the oven’s place as our best toaster oven for air frying.

Great for Roasting a Whole Chicken

Not limited to air frying, the Instant Omni Plus can tackle all cooking tasks thrown at it, including rotisserie. The oven took 50 minutes to roast a 3 lb whole chicken using a rotisserie kit, which was shorter than average.

The rotisserie kit and high convection together produced perfectly golden brown crispy skin. 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 entire chicken to be thoroughly cooked without any pink spots in just 50 minutes. Also, the internal temperature was only a little higher than the USDA recommendation.

The meat was almost fall-off-the-bone. Unfortunately, with it being so moist—to the point of softening the skin, our chef didn’t give too high a score for taste.

Easy-to-Operate User Control

The Instant Omni Plus 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 cycle.

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.

Read our full Instant Omni Plus 18L Air Fryer Toaster Oven review.

Price at time of publish: $233.55

Key Specs

4. Best Large: Ninja DT201 Foodi XL Pro Convection Toaster Oven

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The stainless steel Ninja DT201 Foodi XL Pro Air Convection Air Fryer Toaster Oven not only had one of the largest capacities but also one of the highest overall scores among our tested units. As an excellent family-sized toaster oven, its performance shines all the more when it comes to large feasts with its 2-level even cooking feature. Thus, it was chosen as our best large toaster oven.

Excellent for Roasting a Whole Chicken

The strengths of the Ninja really shined through in roasting a 3-pound whole chicken in an air fryer basket with one of our highest scores so far. While this oven isn’t designed to accommodate a rotisserie kit, its performance showed that it could provide the same results.

With our Whole Roasted Chicken test, we were also able to confirm the manufacturer’s claim that food in this oven didn’t need to be turned, especially when using its air frying basket.

The oven took only 40 minutes to cook the chicken all the way through and to create an appetizing-looking and crispy skin. It was one of the fastest cooking times among our contestants.

The skin was evenly golden from the bottom to the top. It also crisped up nicely around the tips of the wings and drumsticks as well as areas with a lot of fat.

However, it would seem the surface of the chicken cooked so quickly that a lot of the fat didn’t get rendered out from the skin. Thus, while the outer layer of the skin was crispy, the inside was soft.

Checking with a meat thermometer, we found the chicken’s internal temperature to be quite high compared to the USDA recommendation. After carving the chicken, we found no pink spots in the meat.

With such a short cooking time, the meat remained delightfully juicy. Also taking into account the skin's texture, our chef gave the chicken a really high score for taste.

Family-Sized Capacity

The Ninja has the largest cooking chamber out of all the units we’ve reviewed so far, comfortably accommodating up to nine slices of bread, a 12-inch pizza, or a 12-pound turkey. By combining the control panel with the oven door handle, the Ninja also maximizes space for its cooking chamber.

The cooking chamber has four tray levels with engraved numbers 1-4 from the bottom up. To utilize the number of tray levels, the unique ‘2-level’ button suggests the best rack positions for simultaneously cooking two trays of food. With this, the toaster oven makes it possible roast a tray of meat and a tray of vegetables at the same time.

Premium Usability

The control panel of the Ninja is far from simple but the digital display presents all the information in a way that’s pleasing to the eye and not at all complicated. In addition, its buttons are really straightforward.

Each cooking function on the Ninja has its own temperature range to match the function’s purpose. What’s special about this model is that each function deploys a specific convection level and a specific number of heating elements, each tailored to the dishes stated in the recipe booklet.

Whenever you select a function, the oven will display the optimal oven rack position. As you cycle through functions, you’ll notice the tray-level recommendations change for the best results.

Read our full Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Fryer Toaster Oven review.

Price at time of publish: $281.93

Key Specs

5. Best Value: Toshiba AC25CEW-BS Convection Toaster Oven

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The black stainless steel Toshiba AC25CEW-BS Toaster Oven is our best value choice. It’s a medium-sized oven with good all-around performance, design, and usability at a very low price. Technically though, it doesn’t excel at anything or offer anything unique.

Good All-Around Performance

The Toshiba AC25CEW did well in all of our performance tests with a fast preheat time and good temperature precision. It performed best in baking pizza and actually had one of the best scores among the toaster ovens we tested.

With only 5m 15s of baking, the crust wasn’t dry and turned out a beautiful golden brown with some nicely charred spots. In addition, the melted cheese was also nicely browned, so the pizza got a high taste score from our chef.

The scores for making toast and roasting chicken are in the second-highest tier. The oven didn’t score as high in baking/air frying fries but didn't do too badly, either.

Valuable Design Features

The Toshiba has a light weight but sturdy construction and a large capacity for its size. Of the six accessories, the removable crumb tray and the rotisserie kit are rare for this price range. It also stands out for having many air ventilation holes on each of its five sides to complement its convection system.

Easy to Use

The Toshiba has a clear LCD screen and three simple knobs making it intuitive to use. However, there’s nothing particularly convenient besides the accessories. In addition, if you want to readjust the function during cooking, you need to press stop and repeat all the inputs.

The ten cooking functions are useful for beginner home cooks, especially the Defrost and Reheat functions. In addition, the Rotisserie and Keep Warm functions can help them make a nice roast just like experienced cooks.

Read our full Toshiba AC25CEW-BS Digital Convection Toaster Oven review.

Price at time of publish: $117.12

Key Specs

6. Best Small: Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Oven

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The brushed stainless steel Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Toaster Oven is a strong candidate if you’re looking to invest in a small unit that requires little kitchen counter space Breville toaster ovens are known for their high build quality from the material to assembly and some unique features; and this model is no exception. Unfortunately, there were minor drawbacks in performance that prevented it from being perfect.

Great for Toasting Bread

The Breville Smart Oven performed great in toasting bread, so we would say it accomplished its main goal. Thanks to its high wattage, this machine has the fastest cooking cycle for toast among the toaster ovens we tested thus far.

At the optimal toasting level, the oven produced four slices of bread with mottled light golden to golden-brown color that looked quite appetizing. The color was not evenly distributed due to the oven’s lack of a convection system to circulate hot air, though.

The first batch of toast was nicely crispy outside while still soft and moist inside. 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. Remember to reduce the heat by one level if you want the same result.

The oven was able to produce acceptable results in roasting a whole chicken and baking fries. However, it showed a weakness in baking pizza.

High Build Quality

The Breville Smart Oven has a durable stainless steel casing with a slide-out crumb tray and tray-level indicators on the glass door. Its cooking chamber is more spacious than most small models and has a non-toxic non-stick coating.

The oven uses 1800 W of power which is plenty enough for four quartz heating elements. However, the absence of a convection system hindered its performance.

Unique Features

Besides the basic features, the Breville Smart Oven has a few interesting presets for pizza, cookies, and reheating. The LCD screen combined with a function dial allowed for easy readjustment of the cooking settings during use.

As for the oven’s unique features, we found the Temperature Conversion button useful, especially for international users. On the other hand, the FROZEN FOODS and A BIT MORE buttons didn’t live up to their advertising claims.

It was easy to clean up the toaster oven, especially the non-stick interior and even the caramelized bits on its accessories.

Read our full Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Toaster Oven review.

Price at time of publish: $154.13

Key Specs

7. Best Budget: Black+Decker CTO6335S Large Countertop Toaster Oven

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For its price, the silver stainless steel Black+Decker CTO6335S has quite impressive scores in design, usability, and especially performance. In addition, other contenders of the same price range are usually medium-sized or small while this oven is large. These are the reason why we chose it as our best budget pick.

Good Performance Scores

The Black+Decker CTO6335S had pretty good performance scores in cooking foods except for baking frozen french fries. We assumed, due to the oven’s large capacity, this could be improved if the oven ran on 1800 W instead of 1500 W.

It did best in roasting a 3 lb whole chicken where the cooking chamber still had plenty enough space. This test only required 350°F which was not a high temperature. In addition, the convection system helped with heat distribution.

Sturdy Build

The Black+Decker CTO6335S has a sturdy construction and a durable stainless steel exterior. Its interior has a coating for easy cleaning. A few things that stood out to us were the quartz elements and the baking pan plus broiling rack combo. Unfortunately, the door and buttons are a bit dodgy.

Simple Control Panel

The Black+Decker CTO6335S is easy to operate thanks to an LCD and 13 buttons. However, it doesn’t have any features to increase convenience. This applies to its automatic preheat phase which isn’t very useful.

Read our full Black+Decker CTO6335S Convection Toaster Oven review.

Price at time of publish: $86.01

Key Specs

Other Toaster Ovens Up For the Competition

Not everyone can be the winner in the battle of toaster ovens. Nonetheless, without the weaker competitors, it would be harder to gauge the products that perform well. Not to mention, some of the weaker units are still solid choices on their own.

The toaster ovens that didn’t make the cut:

• Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro —A medium-sized stainless steel toaster oven with attention to features of design and usability at a high price. Hence, it’s only suitable for someone prepared to invest in a high build quality, easy-to-operate control panel, and easy-to-clean accessories—including a nonstick pizza pan. The main flaw that it has is many of its features fail to actually increase convenience.
• Oster TSSTTVMNDG-SHP-2 Digital — An inexpensive, robust, large toaster oven. Its helpful accessories and various cooking function make it simple to use for everyone. While the oven had a good performance score, it could have been higher if not for the low power output of 1300 W.
• Mueller MT-175 Small Countertop — A small, lightweight, easy to operate, easy to clean, and energy-efficient toaster oven. At an inexpensive price, it can serve one or two people and save your limited counter space. It can toast bread, bake pizza, and roast chicken quite well but not bake frozen french fries.

Things to Keep in Mind When Buying a Toaster Oven

The first thing most people consider when shopping for kitchen appliances is the price. However, we all know affordability means very little if the appliance doesn’t perform well. Also, the most expensive toaster ovens aren’t necessarily the best ones.

Thus, it boils down to value for money—our focused approach. As such, in our toaster oven buying guide, we’ve identified a number of desirable features including size and capacity, a convection system to circulate hot air, cooking functions, heating elements, accessories, convenience, and, last but not least, price.

What Can Be Cooked in A Toaster Oven?

A toaster oven is an all-in-one kitchen appliance serving multiple purposes, combining air fryers, dehydrators, and dough proofers. You can use it for cooking almost everything, from broiling steak to dehydrating fruits and vegetables. Some of its top uses have been incorporated into our test. Check out six common uses for your toaster oven, including reheating leftovers and warming plates before serving.

How to Clean A Toaster Oven

The best way to ensure a longer lifespan for your product is by cleaning it regularly. After trials and errors of cleaning numerous machines, we figured out the steps to guarantee success. Check out how we make cleaning toaster ovens after use straightforward and consistent each time.

Why Trust Us?

What separates us from other product reviewing platforms is that our basis revolves around hands-on experimentation as a team. Our testing criteria prioritize user experience with all kinds of products. Based on the authentic appraisal and helpful information from our reviews, you can confidently decide how good a toaster oven is for you.

With the culinary expertise of our head chef, we developed our performance tests through the most commonly cooked foods in a toaster oven. Simultaneously, the Research, Testing, and Review (RTR) team scored the features of design and usability through our interactions with the products during use.

In our How We Tested Toaster Ovens article, you can follow our tests step by step and see how we were able to finalize the scores you see in our reviews. Seeing is believing, so our entire testing process is illustrated with original videos and photographs. Our tests are to be performed the same way on every toaster oven, which means you can reliably replicate them as well.

After being tested, the many toaster ovens are employed in the kitchen of Healthy Recipes 101 for intensive and extensive use. This is how we maintain a constant flow of feedback on the quality and performance of the products as well as the do’s and don’ts when using them.

Our Expertise

Alan Nguyen is a reviewer for Healthy Kitchen 101. On top of making homecooked meals as a hobby, he has prior experience working in both restaurant and military kitchens. Behind the kitchen counter was where he learned to utilize an array of equipment for cooking delicate portions as well as cooking in bulk.

Along with the Research, Testing, and Review (RTR) Lab of Healthy Kitchen 101, he began the quest to find the best toaster ovens by sifting through hundreds before narrowing down to 18 distinctive models.

The team then purchased the machines and put them through a series of comparative tests regarding cooking performance, design, and user-friendliness to find the best toaster oven for every budget, culinary purpose, and home interior.

Most notably, our performance tests required roughly 90 hours of development and execution time. The process includes toasting over 50 packs of white bread (That’s over 500 slices of toast!), baking more than 20 nine-inch pizzas, not just 20 three-pound whole chickens, and something over 15 pounds of frozen french fries.

• Updated Aug 20, 2022:

  Added new rankings based on our testing methodology.

• Updated Apr 22, 2023:

  Add a Youtube video detailing How We Test Toaster Ovens