Toaster ovens have turn into an important kitchen equipment due to their versatility. Having the ability to toast, bake, and broil totally different dishes makes them excellent for all sorts of recipes. Panasonic and Breville make a few of the very best models on the market, however we have examined many more to convey you the most effective toaster oven of 2023.
Deciding which type you want is the first step to find the perfect toaster oven in a sprawling sea of choices. There are air-frying toaster ovens, freakishly quick fashions and enormous countertop ovens that may almost exchange your full-measurement oven. Now you can tailor this small equipment by measurement, type, cooking functions and even good-residence connectedness.
Countertop toaster ovens have gotten smarter and more precise than in years past, and you may depend on a very good model to bake a small batch of cookies or personal pizza. However with so many to choose from, there are sure to be some over- and beneath-performers in the category. I hauled in 10 models — and extra bags of bread than I care to admit — in a mission to seek out the perfect toaster ovens in 2023.
Finest toaster ovens
Panasonic FlashXpress NB-G110P
Finest toaster oven total
The Panasonic FlashXpress lived up to its moniker, toasting bread to a fair golden-brown medium in simply two and a half minutes. That’s the fastest time of any on the list, doubtless due to the infrared heating ingredient, so it may be the perfect toaster oven for many who prize speediness.
I actually favored the FlashXpress’ easy display and massive buttons, and its easily-removable crumb tray. Most of the opposite finest toaster ovens of this measurement are double the burden. It has a watch-pleasing and vaguely futuristic design. This toaster can be unusually light, weighing just 7.5 pounds.
On the downside, the FlashXpress has no convection mode, so it isn’t the perfect for baking a tray of cookies or more concerned roasting and broiling. It also may not be massive sufficient for everyone, and solely holds one rack at a time. However even now, a number of years after we first reviewed it, the Panasonic FlashXpress is easy to advocate as the very best toaster oven for basic toasting, baking and warming food.
Read our Panasonic FlashXpress review.
Breville Mini Good Oven BOV450XL
Best toaster oven with convection
The race for the general greatest toaster oven was a true picture finish between the Panasonic FlashXpress and Breville’s succesful Mini Good Oven. Each toasted 4 slices of bread evenly, with doneness presets that deliver on their promise. The Breville, just like the FlashExpress, additionally held its temperature nicely and preheated rapidly.
The slightly dearer Breville does sport just a few functions that the Panasonic would not, the most important being broil and convection modes. A thoughtful “a bit extra” button offers your food another minute of cooking time if it’s needed with out having to reset this system. Breville’s Mini Sensible oven has three levels at which you’ll slide a tray in, and the dials and settings enable for more precision than most ovens.
Although normally the Breville Mini Sensible Oven is priced at $160, which is about $10 dollars more than the FlashXpress generally sells for, it is simple to find it on sale. It additionally weighs 15 pounds, which is twice as much as the FlashXpress, but nonetheless in no way heavy.
Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven SP101
Greatest toaster oven with air fryer function
If it’s a countertop oven that doubles as an air fryer you seek, this Ninja model is likely the most effective toaster oven for you. The Foodi features properly as a toaster, quickly and evenly toasting bread and blasting a frozen empanada to golden-brown perfection, but it also sports a mighty air-frying function that is on par with nearly any we’ve tested.
The Ninja’s MSRP is $50 more than the Panasonic and $40 greater than Breville, however in the event you have been planning to buy an air fryer, you’d save cash general, not to say space on the counter. Speaking of countertop space: The Foodi smartly flips upright on a again hinge. When locked within the up position, it is no more than eight inches from the again to front.
One drawback is the Ninja’s interior size, but I think that is additionally why the air fryer mode works as nicely because it does. The Ninja is brief — about 6 inches tall — so you’re considerably restricted in what you possibly can put inside. It also makes things a bit clumsy when you are loading meals in and taking it out, and it is more durable to see while it’s cooking.
It typically lists for $240, however can usually be found for closer to $200, which I view as stable worth contemplating the standard, versatility and efficiency of this countertop oven.
Editors’ notice: This model was tested beforehand as a part of CNET’s checklist of best air-frying toaster ovens.
Breville Good Oven
Greatest giant toaster oven for power customers
If you do not have an actual oven otherwise you simply really do not like using it, this massive fella can take on a lot of the duties of a full-measurement oven. The Breville BOV800XL isn’t low cost at round $280, and there’s nothing “sensible” about the good oven in a cloud-related sense, however it capabilities about as well as you possibly can presumably count on from a countertop convection oven.
On high of that, the oven is sturdy, enticing and has an easily removable crumb tray, and it’s packed with further cooking settings and modes that you simply would possibly actually discover useful, including convection cooking. It additionally preheats extremely quick, holds the heat effectively and has intuitive controls.
It is a contender for being one of the best toaster oven for those who want a side oven for additional tasks. A very comparable model of this oven with an air fryer perform referred to as the Smart Oven Air is accessible for around $350.
Learn our full Breville Smart Oven evaluation.
Comfee Toaster Oven CFO-BB101
Finest budget toaster oven that will get the job carried out
Editor’s word: The Comfee CFO-BB101 has been discontinued. As an alternative, we have since tested the $forty Black & Decker 4-slice which offers even toasting performance at a wallet-pleasant price.
If you’re looking for a basic toaster oven for your morning staples, the Comfee is straightforward, small and does essentially the most fundamental toaster duties well. It also held heat more persistently than every other oven, possible on account of its small dimension and lack of a convection fan, which strikes hot air around.
The Comfee clocks in at $45, which just may make it the perfect toaster oven possibility for those on a budget. However it’s reasonably sturdy and toasted four slices of bread evenly in about 4 minutes. Don’t expect something in the way in which of fancy cooking modes, and it features easy manual dials to manage the time and temperature.
My largest complaint with this toaster is the rack placement. However should you need one thing fast and don’t wish to spend a lot, the small but mighty Comfee is a stable price range toaster choice. I also wouldn’t count on to make use of this oven for years. The tray is able to slide in both close to the highest or the underside but not in the center of the oven, which does trigger some prime-to-backside unevenness, however it wasn’t sufficient to essentially trouble me.
Other toaster ovens we tested
Hamilton Beach 31123D: This digital toaster oven cooked 4 slices of toast evenly and has a sloping “Simple Reach” door that lifts up to assist avoid burning your hand on scorching glass. Overall, this basic toaster oven performed properly and is a extra price range-pleasant alternative to the Panasonic FlashXpress and Breville Mini Good Oven.
Oster TSSTTVMNDG: This unit cost $120 however felt cheaply made as quickly as I lifted it out of the box. And if it’s only a primary toaster oven you search, there are definitely higher and cheaper choices.
GE Digital Air Fry Toaster Oven G9OAAASSPSS: This larger toaster oven sports a good air fryer mode and did well in most of my testing. For an air frying toaster, I favor the Ninja Foodi.
Balmuda Toaster: This trendy $299 choice uses each conventional heating elements along with steam to keep bread and different gadgets moist whereas cooking. The oven appears great and did an above-common job with toast. The dials have been also clunky and never very intuitive. The toasting performance was passable, although it did not brown as evenly as different models, and it takes a protracted six minutes to toast bread to medium. It takes longer than others to toast bread, and that i wasn’t in love with the dials and display. It is also tremendous quick and holds heat effectively, however it’s very small and thus hard to advocate at such a bloated price. It is not a nasty machine, however it costs $220. Positive enough, one of many wire racks had already broken unfastened in transit.
How we take a look at toaster ovens
I set out to cook a wide number of widespread toaster oven fodder. With the exception of the toast exams, the place I checked out each toaster oven’s particular person settings for gentle, medium and darkish toast, I used standardized temperature and cook occasions, and followed the recommendations on the box for whatever I was cooking wherever attainable.
Toasting capabilities: Velocity and consistency
Making toast is likely one of the important tasks for a toaster. I hauled in a whole lot of bread to see how fast and evenly every oven made this breakfast and sandwich staple. I mean, it is proper there in the identify.
Most low-finish toaster ovens use a constructed-in kitchen timer to set the broiling, toasting and cooking time. Greater-end models with an LCD display will normally let you dial into a selected doneness degree when you are toasting. Usually, those timers include a few preset options for toasting: medium toast, darkish toast and in some instances, a setting for gentle, barely toasted bread, too. You’ll sometimes get about six or seven settings to choose from with those, every with preprogrammed toasting occasions. That is more exact than turning a timer knob, and price it if you are a stickler for the proper shade of golden brown.
For my purposes, I toasted four slices of thin, white sandwich bread in each toaster oven on medium. The purpose of this test was to see how evenly each oven toasts in all areas of the oven and how properly-calibrated the medium toast setting is. Evenness is particularly vital when you’re making breakfast for a group. Ideally, you will need all of them to come out wanting as close to identical as potential.
I toasted four slices of white bread on medium to test how evenly every toaster cooks and the calibration of its doneness setting.
I additionally tested two items of bread on the bottom doneness setting (mild) and the very best (darkish), to see how nicely these presets were calibrated. After each of the three toast checks, I photographed the outcomes and made certain to let the toaster oven cool to room temperature before testing once more.
For total evenness, the results were surprisingly uniform across the board, with the exception of the Cruxgg, which toasted extremely unevenly. The Balmuda additionally toasted four slices of bread evenly. The Hamilton Seashore, Panasonic’s FlashXpress and Breville Mini Good Oven were amongst the top finishers with mostly even cooking and a solid medium shade.
The Panasonic FlashXpress’ nicely-calibrated darkish toast setting delivered a proper darkish with out burning the bread.
The FlashXpress also had the most precisely calibrated settings. The Breville and Balmuda also nailed the sunshine and dark toast cycles when i put them via their paces. The light setting delivered barely-there toasting whereas the darkish setting produced correct dark pieces of toast without burning them.
In addition to the Cruxgg, which burned the toast, even when set to medium, none of the doneness presets have been too far out of whack, although toast made in the Hamilton Seaside was, oddly, about the identical coloration for darkish as it was for medium.
Cooking times
Pace was additionally an element. I think we can all agree that, on a busy morning, the much less time you need to look forward to toast the better. I noted the time it took for each toaster to complete a cycle on each of the three settings: light, medium and darkish.
When it comes to pure pace, the infrared Panasonic was the fastest, dwelling up to its FlashXpress nickname. The slowest was the clunky Oster, which took properly over six minutes to hit medium, followed by the GE, which took nearly five minutes and was still underdone. It toasted to a nice medium in just 2.5 minutes. The Balmuda additionally toasted 4 slices in beneath three minutes, whereas the Breville Mini Smart oven did it in three.
The $299 Balmuda toaster makes use of a bit of steam to keep things moist.
Temperature consistency and accuracy
When you plan to make issues like cookies and pizza or use your toaster to make more difficult recipes, you will need an oven that holds its heat persistently over time. To check the consistency of each oven, I tested how much fluctuation every oven experienced when set to 300 degrees Fahrenheit over the course of quarter-hour. I used a RisePro thermocouple thermometer to measure the best temp, the lowest temp and the typical temp over the course of that period.
I ran every toaster oven for 15 minutes at 300 levels F to measure the temperature accuracy and consistency.
All of the ovens carried out pretty effectively in this test, with the exception of the Cruxgg. The Balmuda Steam oven can solely be set to 350, 400 or 450 degrees F, so I ran the same take a look at at 350 F. It also did nicely, operating a median of just 12 degrees above the target temp. The Breville Sensible Mini and Panasonic FlashXpress each held an average temp of 310, just 10 degrees greater than the target temp which is an efficient mark for any oven.
In a shocker, the $45 Comfee toaster oven fluctuated the least — solely 15 degrees from begin to complete — inserting first in the consistency check, but that is probably going because it is each small and has no convection fan to stir the air up. The Comfee was fairly correct too, although it ran a median of 22 levels hotter than the temp I set it for. See full outcomes beneath.
Temperature consistency
Testing the convection and bake functions
To check each toaster’s power and capability to cook extra substantial foods, I baked three pizza bites positioned on a rack in numerous parts of the oven. This was to check how accurately each toaster melts cheese and one other take a look at of how evenly the cooking is unfold out across the oven. The box recommends baking a frozen pizza at 425 levels F for 18 minutes, so that is what I did in each toaster oven.
In addition to pizza bites, I cooked a frozen Jamaican meat pie in every oven as directed by the box: 25 minutes at 400 F. This take a look at was designed to see how properly an oven would cook a denser frozen food with out burning the skin. We’ve all bitten into what appears to be completely browned and previously frozen food solely to seek out it still frozen in the center. Not enjoyable.
Within the Jamaican patty test, all the ovens heated the frozen meat pies by means of the middle, but the Breville and Balmuda produced the most effective browning on the outer pastry shell. The hand pie that emerged from the Balmuda Oven (see below) was nearly overcooked (and perhaps it can be for some folks) however that’s just how I like mine.
The Balmuda Oven delivered a hot middle and lovely browning on this frozen Jamaican beef patty.
The FlashXpress simply slightly overcooked the patty, while the Cruxgg burnt it nicely past edibility. Not surprising, considering each ovens both ran cool in the temperature consistency and accuracy take a look at. While all of the ovens produced meat pies that had been scorching in the middle, the least outer browning came from the Hamilton Beach toaster and Oster.
The Hamilton Beach ran just a little cooler so it is no surprise the Jamaican patty had much less browning than other ovens I tested.
Toaster buttons and show
I discovered the toaster ovens with digital shows best to program because you dial into your most popular degree of doneness on a six- or seven-point scale slightly than guesstimating with a timer knob. My favorite display was on Breville’s Mini Sensible Oven, which was simple and simple to make use of with dials that accurately modify the cooking time for both doneness and variety of slices. I also favored the Panasonic FlashXpress’ show which is barely simpler than the Breville with fewer special modes but more packages for specific gadgets like one for frozen waffles, frozen pizza and even hash browns. This mannequin also has an “a bit extra” button and a cool-down mode to stop cooking faster.
The Breville Mini Smart Oven had my favourite display out of the bunch.
In reality, I don’t find toaster oven cooking programs very useful, and i rarely use them. Since each brand, be it frozen pizza, waffles or mozzarella sticks, range in dimension and density, it is usually finest to follow the instructions on the field.
My least favourite show was on the Oster, which had one-dimensional backset buttons and a wonky digital display screen that provides little or no data. The super-low cost Comfee Toaster has manual dials and no show. The buttons would often not react and required a forceful push, typically two. They usually make a ticking sound as well, which may be annoying. Manual dials are difficult to set accurately both for temperature and time.
Testing how straightforward every toaster is to wash
This was much less of a cooking check and more of a cleansing take a look at, but one that’s near and expensive to my coronary heart. Because these sheets are mostly fitted to the oven, you are type of stuck using that one till you change the toaster totally, so it is good when they arrive clean and do not stain or collect gunk after just a few sessions. Each toaster oven comes with an aluminum baking sheet with a nonstick coating, but some are a lot easier to wash than others.
The baking tray that comes with the Panasonic FlashXpress was much easier to scrub than the one that accompanies the Hamilton Seaside.
After the pizza bites completed cooking, there was inevitably some spilled sauce and cheese left on the sheet. The simplest baking sheets to wash belonged to the Breville Mini Oven (which is black, so that most likely helps), the Panasonic FlashXpress and the $43 Comfee toaster. I allowed the pan to cool enough to handle without gloves and then scrubbed it vigorously for one minute utilizing a sponge, hot water and Dial dish soap.
The trays that got here with the Hamilton Seaside and GE Toaster remained the most stained after a minute of cleaning, with the rest falling somewhere in the middle.
Toaster oven specs
Make certain to think about the toaster’s measurement fastidiously before you buy. Here’s the big Oster, large sufficient to roast a small rooster, subsequent to the itty-bitty Balmuda.
Toaster oven shopping for information: Issues to think about
Past performance, there are a number of considerations to make earlier than buying a toaster akin to measurement, functionality, design and total value.
Size and capability
Consider each the counter space you have to devote to your toaster and what you may typically use it to cook and the way much of it you will be cooking. You probably have 4 children who all eat toast most mornings, a much bigger model will save you from having to cook in batches. If it’s simply you or one other home member, a smaller toaster mannequin is likely to be the higher pick.
Features and settings
You’ll also want to think about what you may be using your toaster oven for most often. When you like to broil things like hamburgers, ensure you get a toaster oven with a excessive top rack position just 2 or 3 inches underneath the heating elements. If you like toast along with your coffee every morning, prioritize a toaster oven with a exact preset. The Breville Mini Sensible Oven, GE and Hamilton Seashore are good examples of broil-friendly ovens.
Among the temperature controls are more imprecise than others which could also be a nuisance relying on how and what you plan to cook. The Balmuda can only be set in increments of fifty degrees, for instance, while the Panasonic FlasXpress in increments of 35 degrees. This didn’t bother me too much, nevertheless it does imply you can’t hit a precise 400 and thus may have to regulate for sure foods.
Design and construction
You’ll notice design flaws and clunky user interfaces, although, so if you possibly can, head to the shop and get your hands on the models you are zeroing in on before you purchase. For instance, the wire rack that got here with the Oster oven felt low cost. Open and close the doors, adjust the racks and look for the little issues. Upon closer examination, one of many wires had already snapped off in transit.
Another flaw to look out for is unusually brief cords, a baffling design flaw that is extra widespread than you might assume. The Comfee and Oster cords were both solely 2 toes lengthy while the remainder had been three toes or longer. It actually is not the worst failing for a toaster however, relying on your kitchen layout, might be an annoyance.
What about sensible ovens?
There are also a number of smart ovens to consider that may do your toasting and an entire lot extra. They’re nonetheless comparatively new to the market and in their early phases of design and manufacturing but a number of is perhaps value considering if you have got some further cash to play around with.
June Oven
I am most intimately familiar with the June Oven, which now sells a third-gen model for around $899 (although is currently bought out). Read my full assessment of the third-gen June Oven right here. It also affords cooking steerage and an abundance of settings to tweak in its companion app, however a premium subscription for that can run you another $10 monthly. It’s a really capable cooking machine that makes use of constructed-in cameras to establish what you are attempting to make and a probe thermometer to nail the internal temps of meat and fish.
The Brava Oven is a succesful connected cooker — however it prices $995.
Tovala Oven
The Tovala is one other, smaller good oven I’ve examined. I liked it and found it easy to operate, however would say it’s really only worth the cash when you plan to purchase a subscription for the Tovala meals it’s engineered to cook. Those run about $9 a pop and range from outstanding to only Ok. You simply put the meals in and press start. At $299 (and at the moment on sale for just $99), it is cheaper than the June oven but has fewer features and cooking modes. From there, the good oven automates your entire cooking course of. It doesn’t feature built-in cameras, for instance, as an alternative, this good oven makes use of a constructed-in QR code scanner to identify particular Tovala meal kits, in addition to up to 750 frozen foods from retailers like Trader Joe’s. I tried this oven. Learn CNET’s full overview of an earlier-gen Tovala Smart Oven for a breakdown.
Revolutions speedy, toaster retails for around $350. You can often find it on sale for less.
Brava
The third smart oven price mentioning comes from Brava, and it is the most costly of the three at $995. Among toaster oven upgrades, it’s a bit like Frankenstein’s monster — you get the identical infrared heating elements because the Panasonic FlashXpress, the identical constructed-in cameras as June, and the identical meals kit strategy as Tovala. Just like the sensible oven itself, those meal kits are awfully expensive, with dinner for 2 ranging from $28 to $45.
The Revolution Toaster
Heck, even plain previous sliced bread toasters wish to grab attention from sensible home techies. But no matter how you slice it, $350 is a whole lot of dough to drop on a slot toaster. Curiously, that one uses diamond-formed heating coils which can be faster and extra environment friendly than traditional toaster coils.I should admit, the Revolution worked extraordinarily effectively with lightning-fast velocity when i used it. The Revolution R180, a $350 toaster with a touchscreen on the entrance.
Toaster oven FAQs
What’s the best size for a toaster oven?
The size of your toaster is another large differentiator and one thing to rigorously consider. There are giant countertop ovens that can match a whole hen and itty-bitty fashions greatest for bread and the odd frozen waffle or personal pizza.
The smallest oven we toasted was the Balmuda which matches solely two slices of bread at a time with one rack place. The Breville Mini Sensible Oven has the flexibility to hold at the least two racks so you would, in theory, toast as many as eight slices of bread directly. Although I would in all probability recommend a big oven for one thing like that. Larger models just like the Oster TSSTTVMNDG-SHP-2 and GE G9OAAASSPSS might fit a small whole rooster.
Figure out what measurement you’ll want so you do not waste treasured counter house. If you get pleasure from using your principal oven for most baking, broiling and roasting then keep on with a smaller unit. For those who desire a countertop oven you actually cook with, consider spending a bit more on a much bigger unit.
What are the various kinds of toaster ovens?
There are several sub-classes of toaster ovens that perform a series of various cooking duties. One will seemingly go well with you higher than one other, however you’ll have to think about how and what you need to cook with it.
The most primary toasters such as the Comfee use an electric or infrared heating element from above and beneath to toast, warm and bake. These price range-friendly models are often small and finest for simple tasks like toasting bread or bagels, warming baked items and cooking the occasional frozen snack.
Most midlevel and premium fashions include a convection fan to circulate air and cook food more evenly. The majority of the toasters we examined characteristic convection cooking which usually bumps the price up to about $80 or extra. Convection cooking gives you more even heating for making cookies or pizza.
Fancier toaster ovens have special cooking modes together with broil, roast, dehydrate and air fry. Don’t count on the same kind of proficiency as with a giant oven. That stated, the Ninja Foodi oven (from previous testing) came the closest to imitating these high-heat cooking methods with any sort of success.
At the top of the pile are super tech-heavy toaster ovens also known as “good ovens.” These are the priciest of the bunch, and models from names resembling Tovala and Brava can cost up to $1,200. Sensible ovens usually embody built-in cameras, probe thermometers and advanced, integrated cooking applications you may control from your smart gadget.
Can a toaster oven save energy?
One argument in favor of countertop toaster ovens is that they use less energy than a full-measurement traditional oven. That is true — most full-measurement electric ovens will draw about 2,four hundred watts at medium to excessive heat, whereas the common toaster oven will draw around 1,500 watts. Meaning that every time you are using your toaster oven as an alternative of your full-measurement oven, you are slicing your vitality consumption by slightly over a third.
What does that mean in dollars and cents? Let’s stroll through the math. Assuming an vitality fee of $0.12 per kilowatt hour and an average use of 1 hour per day, the full-measurement oven will add about $105 to your energy bill annually. Unplug the oven and use a toaster oven as a substitute, and that yearly power price drops to $65.
Your actual savings will differ based mostly on use, and can possible be lots lower than $40. After all, most people who personal toaster ovens will proceed to use their full-size oven sometimes, if not more often than not, and hardly any of us will stop utilizing our ovens altogether. So let’s split the difference and say that utilizing a toaster oven as a substitute of a full-size oven a minimum of among the time can knock as much as $20 off of your yearly energy invoice, provided you are baking one thing just about on daily basis.
That’s still fairly good, but it’s also less than you may expect. If you have got a household to feed, or for those who prefer to make a number of batches of cookies at a time, then you’ll really get more worth from the total-dimension oven. Think about it — the typical 1,500-watt toaster oven presents about 0.6 cubic toes on the inside, while the common 2,400-watt electric oven affords about 5 cubic feet. The toaster oven is eighty five p.c smaller, but it’s solely using 35 percent much less power.
