Toaster ovens are a must-have for small kitchen spaces! They provide the ability to make all your favorite dishes and offer relief from overheated kitchens during the summer. They can become indispensable when it comes time to whip up sides or make those quick snacks you crave without turning on an entire conventional oven. A simple purchase of a trusty and reliable little powerhouse that doesn’t take up too much space is sure worth its weight in gold!
For this guide, I put eight toaster ovens through their paces, creating 32 pounds of succulent roasted chicken, eight dozen decadent chocolate chip cookies, a variety of pizzas, and four delicious loaves of bread. My journey was expertly guided by Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore, “The Electrified Cooks” authors behind the new cookbook ‘Toaster Oven Takeover’ – highly recommended for anyone wanting tasty treats at lightning speed!
I’ve been testing kitchen appliances for four years to help you find the best product for your needs and budget. After putting all of my careful thought into it (and many objective tests!), check out this guide if you want more insight into how exactly I tested those toaster ovens!
Here are the best toaster ovens in 2022
Best toaster oven overall: Cuisinart Digital AirFryer
This top-rated toaster oven gets rave reviews from professional cooks and home chefs – no wonder it’s the best pick! The Cuisinart Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven is truly a master of all trades! Not only does it toast and bake with consistent heat, but its air fryer and dehydrating capabilities make this appliance an optimal choice for any kitchen.
Best budget toaster oven: Black+Decker Crisp ‘N Bake Air Fry
Get the Black+Decker Crisp ‘N Bake Air Fry Toaster Oven for an unbeatable price; you won’t be sacrificing performance with its speedy preflight and precise temperatures. A must-have appliance for any budget!
Best large-capacity toaster oven: Breville Smart Oven
The Breville Smart Oven is the perfect appliance for big households or anyone looking to get gourmet-level results. From 9 slices of toast, 12 cookies, and a whopping 12″ pizza – this immense capacity wonder has it all! With its energy-efficient design and superior heating capabilities, your family will be blown away by every meal that comes out of the oven.
Best combination toaster oven: Anova Precision Oven
This combination toaster oven is a cook’s dream, offering everything from baking to air frying and even sous vide! Use your phone to control the appliance and its internal temperature – never worry about overcooking again!
Best small toaster oven: Hamilton Beach Countertop Toaster Oven
For those looking for a mid-sized miracle in the kitchen, look no further than Hamilton Beach Countertop Toaster Oven. Not only is it affordable and space efficient, but its heat-up time will have you creating culinary masterpieces with ease!
Best toaster oven overall
The Cuisinart Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven is the perfect combination of convenience and innovation. The air fryer/dehydrator combo offers fast, even cooking every time while conserving kitchen space – a true multi-tasking marvel!
Our review of the Cuisinart Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven (Model TOA-65) impressed us! With an effortless setup and a user-friendly backlit digital display, this toaster oven is easy to use – turn the knob and press it select settings. In no time, you’ll be able to enjoy perfectly cooked meals with minimal fuss!
Cuisinart TOA-65 Digital AirFryer Toaster Oven
- This toaster oven has many functions, including air frying, baking, broiling, and dehydrating.
- It is .6 cubic feet with a large viewing window and interior light.
- The low-temperature setting allows for slow cooking and braising.
- It comes with an oven light, rack, dishwasher-safe baking pan, and AirFry basket, and it has a nonstick easy-clean interior.
Pros
- Pros: With convection cooking and air frying capabilities, it can accommodate a 12-inch pizza with ease. The consistent heat delivery ensures that whatever you cook – be it pizzas, chicken, or cookies
Cons
- Cons: Temperature settings appear to be inaccurate, did not toast evenly
Best budget toaster oven
The Black+Decker Crisp ‘N Bake Air Fry Toaster Oven is a budget-friendly appliance that doesn’t skimp on performance. Enjoy swift preheating and precise temperatures to cook delicious meals in no time!
Black+Decker’s Crisp ‘N Bake Air Fry Toaster Oven will mesmerize you from the moment it arrives. This budget-friendly oven offers a roomy interior, convection cooking/air frying, and intuitive analog knob controls for ease of use. Plus, with its “stay on” timer option that makes long cooks more effortless than ever before – Black+Decker has once again knocked it out of the park!
The Black+Decker toaster oven was one of the most consistent in our two-hour test, landing it squarely in the middle of the pack. With a thermostat that accurately hits 347 degrees during testing – just 3 degrees shy from its 350-degree target average – this model is an excellent choice for those wanting reliable temperature control with every use.
Black+Decker Crisp ‘N Bake Air Fry Toaster Oven
- The Air Fry Technology cooks food with high-intensity hot air, resulting in a deep-fried taste without the extra fat.
- There are five available cooking methods: bake, broil, toast, keep warm, and air fry.
- The toaster oven has a large capacity and can fit six slices of bread or a 12” pizza.
- The 60-minute precision timer features stay-on functionality for longer baking tasks.
- The Bake function lets you make pizzas, frozen snacks, and much more! It’s great for reheating leftovers without turning on the big oven.
Pros
- Pros: Fast preheating, accurate temperature settings, even cooking, features air frying/convection cooking, the timer has a stay-on function
Cons
- Cons: Uneven toasting, was among slowest to roast a chicken
Best large-capacity toaster oven
The Breville Smart Oven is a kitchen essential for large families and avid bakers. With plenty of space to cook full-size pizzas, nine slices of toast or 12 cookies at once – you can truly experience the convenience and ease that this oven has to offer!
The Breville Smart Oven (Model BOV800XL) soared to the top of our list with its capacity for nine slices of toast and 12.5-inch pizzas while maintaining a surprisingly compact size! It’s no wonder why this is one smart oven that consistently receives rave reviews.
Breville Smart Oven Convection Toaster Oven
- The Breville Smart Oven with ElementiQ System is for the home cook who needs a convection countertop oven with high performance and versatility.
- Using five independent quartz elements, intelligent algorithms steer power to where and when needed to create the ideal cooking environment for perfect results every time.
- The Smart Oven’s convection setting reduces cooking time by up to 30%. An inbuilt fan circulates the hot air within the oven, which speeds the cooking process by raising hotter air and sinking colder, less dense air for quicker heating.
- The oven has nine versatile functions: Toast, Bagel, Bake, Roast, Broil, Pizza Cookies Reheat, and Warm.
- Large 18.5 x 15.7 x 11 interior with enough room for six slices of bread; 6-cup muffin tray; 13-inch pizza made to perfection.
- LCD indicates when pre-heat has completed; automatically begins countdown on cooking time
Pros
- Pros: It allows you to fit lots of food, so it can accommodate a variety of meals from nine slices of toast or pizza parties where everyone gets their pie – all cooked evenly and consistently thanks to convection cooking/air frying technology. The backlit digital display looks great while providing plenty of functions and sub-functions that make preparing your favorite dishes easier than ever!
Cons
- Cons: Temperature settings were consistently higher than what we measured, slow to preheat
Best air fryer-convection combination toaster oven
The Anova Precision Oven is the one-stop solution for all your cooking needs! With features ranging from baking and toasting to air frying and sous, vide – this appliance offers maximum versatility. Plus, its smartphone-controlled interface lets you keep an eye on how well-cooked each meal turns out.
Are you looking to take your cooking game up a notch? The Anova Precision Oven is the perfect tool for you. It’s packed with features like air-frying and convection, plus it also offers sous vide without any extra packaging – so no more hauling out vacuum sealers! This oven delivers cutting-edge kitchen convenience in one stylish package.
PRECISION™OVEN
- The Anova Precision Oven is a combi oven that can steam, roast, air fry, crisp, and cook sous vide-style meals without using a bag.
- The easy-fill water tank requires no external plumbing – add distilled water.
- The controlled steam injection delivers perfect sourdough loaves, beautifully bright veggies, and bagless sous vide meals.
- The Anova Precision Oven delivers precise temperature control. It continuously monitors doneness using the detachable Food Probe and wet bulb sensor – allowing for cooking sous vide style meals up to 50% faster with or without using a vacuum-sealed bag.
- Use the Anova Oven app to remotely set and monitor your cooking progress from anywhere – browse our ever-growing library of free recipes and start cooking with the tap of a single button (save all your favorites to make over again).
Pros
- Pros: This oven is the perfect addition to any kitchen thanks to its incredible combination of sous vide, air fryer/convection cooking, and intelligent WiFi connectivity! Its accompanying probe thermometer adds a layer of convenience that makes roasting easier.
Cons
- Cons: the temperature didn’t stay consistent during our test. Slow to preheat, bake, and toast.
Best small toaster oven
With its compact size and affordable price, the Hamilton Beach Countertop Toaster Oven is an unbeatable choice for anyone needing a quick-heating kitchen appliance. Its sleek design also ensures that it won’t take up too much counter space – making it perfect even if you have limited room to work with!
The Hamilton Beach Countertop Toaster Oven may be tiny, but it packs a big punch! It heats up to temperature quickly, which is excellent for those in a rush. We were also pleasantly surprised by its consistent cooking results, given its petite size – making this a perfect choice for anyone who wants quality performance without breaking the bank.
Hamilton Beach Countertop Toaster Oven & Pizza Maker
- The oven can fit four slices of toast or a 9-inch pizza, making it ideal for snacks or suppers.
- It uses up to 75 percent less energy and is 28 percent faster than a typical kitchen oven when reheating precooked frozen chicken nuggets.
- The adjustable temperature and included bake and broil pan make it easy to cook various foods.
- The 30-minute timer has a ready bell and auto shutoff for peace of mind.
- The stainless steel exterior is an attractive addition to your countertop
Pros
- Pros: Preheats quickly, affordable, small footprint, stay-on timer
Cons
- Cons: Took the longest to bake pizza, cookies, and chicken; only fit a max 9-inch pizza size
Other toaster ovens we tested
After rigorous testing, we narrowed down eight top-of-the-line toaster ovens for our guide. Unfortunately, not all of them made the cut, but those that did promise perfect toast every time!
What else we recommend and why:
Dash Chef Series 7-in-1 (Model DAFT2350GBGT01): The Dash Chef Series 7-in-1 toaster oven (Model DAFT2350GBGT01) has impressive features, such as convection cooking/air frying and speedy roasting. It baked delicious cookies and pizza with consistent results. Alas, it could have been better in any category – while satisfactory at toasting pieces of bread overall, parts of the chicken skin were charred after use; plus, preheating took longer than expected, accompanied by fluctuating temperatures during test runs.
Emeril Lagasse Power AirFryer 360 (Model S∙AFO-001): Satisfy your culinary dreams with Emeril Lagasse’s Power AirFryer 360. This model has a simple knob control system and backlit digital display for easy use, plus an included rotisserie spit to make roasting chicken easier than ever! We found that it preheats quickly and does excellent work on pizza, cookies, and even crispy-skinned chicken – but in our temp variance test, the results left much to be desired regarding toast.
What we don’t recommend and why:
Panasonic FlashXpress Compact (Model NB-G110P): The cute Panasonic FlashXpress Compact (Model NB-G110P) may look great in a child’s play kitchen, but it only partially holds up to real cooking needs. With only eight temperature settings and an annoying timer requiring multiple resets for longer cook times, this mini oven isn’t the most user-friendly option. To top it off, preheating takes forever, and we wouldn’t recommend counting on its performance if you plan to try your hand at baking cookies or roasting chicken – our attempts were far from successful!
Our toaster oven testing methodology
After hours of rigorous testing, I found that the toaster ovens in this guide lived up to their promise! They were a breeze to use and delivered precise results every time – preheating with lightning speed. If you’re looking for an alternative cooking option to your traditional one, these are worth checking out!
Here are the main attributes we look for and how we test them:
- Ease of use
- Temperature variance
- Preheating
- Cooking performance
Our Tests
- To test the toaster ovens, I evaluated how many Hillbilly Old Fashion Bread slices each model held and set the controls to toast the bread to a medium shade.
- In addition to evaluating how large of a pizza each unit could fit, I timed how long it took to bake the pizza and how even it turned out.
- I cooked a whole chicken (between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds) according to the recipe in “Toaster Oven Takeover.”
- I baked gluten-free chocolate chip cookies using homemade dough and evaluated how quickly and evenly they cooked.
Toaster oven FAQs
Benefits of using a toaster oven over a standard oven?
Roxanne Wyss suggests using a countertop-friendly and lightning-fast preheating toaster oven for an eco-friendly alternative to traditional ovens. With her co-authored cookbook “Toaster Oven Takeover,” Wyss proves that this compact appliance packs considerable culinary potential. Not only does it take up less space in the kitchen than standard models, but you also won’t have to bend over when baking – making your cooking experience more enjoyable!