Overwhelmed by toaster oven choices!
June 25, 2015 9:17 AM Subscribe
I thought this would be a really simple thing, but I just went to amazon to order a toaster oven and was totally surprised at the sizes and options. Do you love your toaster oven? Toasty requirements inside.
I had no idea there were so many toaster oven options out there!
Here are our requirements:
1. Not huge. I don't have a ton of countertop real estate to dedicate to it, and we are a 2 person household. Mostly will be used for toast (2 slices at a time), reheating lunch, and maybe some baked potatoes. I do not need to be able to cook thanksgiving turkey in the thing.
2. Doesn't beep at you all the time about everything. My parents toaster is whiny and beepy and it makes me mental.
3. Price is not a huge deal, will be happy to pay for something that lasts forever.
4. Not super complicated and easy to use.
Thats it! Guide me metafliter!
I had no idea there were so many toaster oven options out there!
Here are our requirements:
1. Not huge. I don't have a ton of countertop real estate to dedicate to it, and we are a 2 person household. Mostly will be used for toast (2 slices at a time), reheating lunch, and maybe some baked potatoes. I do not need to be able to cook thanksgiving turkey in the thing.
2. Doesn't beep at you all the time about everything. My parents toaster is whiny and beepy and it makes me mental.
3. Price is not a huge deal, will be happy to pay for something that lasts forever.
4. Not super complicated and easy to use.
Thats it! Guide me metafliter!
We have a Breville at work and it's been here for 3 years which basically means that it's not only virtually indestructible but also that it is very very VERY easy to use.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:28 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by poffin boffin at 9:28 AM on June 25, 2015
Fourthing the Breville. I have only been disappointed once in a Breville appliance (my blender) and that was after it worked beautifully for a couple of years.
posted by bearwife at 9:37 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by bearwife at 9:37 AM on June 25, 2015
I didn't buy the Breville and I regret it.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:40 AM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 9:40 AM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have a DeLonghi convection toaster oven (pretty sure it's this model) and I love it. It's not tiny, but it's actually a smaller footprint than the Breville recommended by Sweethome.
posted by radioamy at 9:45 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by radioamy at 9:45 AM on June 25, 2015
May I tag on a consideration? We have a Kitchenaid toaster oven like this one, and it's fine (disqualified for beeping probably) and seems well-made. We've had it for a number of years and it seems durable, but there are some additional features I'd like, and I'm wondering if anyone can speak to them:
- Easy way to clean the door.
- Smooth/excellent door closing/opening.
- Cool on top
- As little plastic as possible - this is why we bought this oven. The Breville looks like it's got a metal body -- does it?
posted by amtho at 10:01 AM on June 25, 2015
- Easy way to clean the door.
- Smooth/excellent door closing/opening.
- Cool on top
- As little plastic as possible - this is why we bought this oven. The Breville looks like it's got a metal body -- does it?
posted by amtho at 10:01 AM on June 25, 2015
This infrared toaster oven is the best thing in my kitchen (and I have a lot of good things in my kitchen). Mine is about fifteen years old, and the model was discontinued for a number of years, but they brought it back because of people like me who refuse to buy a regular toaster oven now that we've used an infrared oven. Toast is fast and perfect, and we use it for a lot of other things, as well, especially in the summer when we don't want to use the regular oven. It is not huge like the toaster-convection ovens but it is just a great little appliance. We had something burn out on ours after about ten years, but we were able to buy the part and my husband fixed it. Every other toaster oven I've ever owned eventually caught fire. Buy this one.
posted by xeney at 10:12 AM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by xeney at 10:12 AM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
The Breville looks like it's got a metal body -- does it?
Ours does, and subsequently gets very hot on the top, as our sad collection of melted plastic silverware (who the fuck keeps a basket of plastic silverware on top of a toaster over i ask you. morons, that's who.) can attest to.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:13 AM on June 25, 2015
Ours does, and subsequently gets very hot on the top, as our sad collection of melted plastic silverware (who the fuck keeps a basket of plastic silverware on top of a toaster over i ask you. morons, that's who.) can attest to.
posted by poffin boffin at 10:13 AM on June 25, 2015
America's Test Kitchen chose the Breville Smart, with the caveat that the Breville Smart Mini is pretty much as good, but smaller and $100 cheaper.
posted by General Malaise at 10:15 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by General Malaise at 10:15 AM on June 25, 2015
We have a trio of hardworking Brevilles (the Smart Mini) at the office, so when our crappy Black & Decker finally died I lobbied for one enthusiastically - My wife balked at the price, then finally broke down (we had a gift card or credit to Macy's I think) and after the first use she turned to me and said, "It pains me to admit it, but this thing is AWESOME"
posted by jalexei at 10:19 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by jalexei at 10:19 AM on June 25, 2015
Response by poster: Ok, so it looks like Breville is the winner, I just need to figure out what size. Does anyone have the one that has the slow cooker option? We don't have a slow cooker, but I've always been intrigued, but not enough to buy one appliance just for a couple recipes. Does it work as well as an independent slow cooker?
posted by zara at 10:41 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by zara at 10:41 AM on June 25, 2015
The toaster you need is the Black and Decker Toast r Oven. I can personally vouch for the older model, which I own.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/201376507294?nav=SEARCH
The thing I love is that you can either use it as a straight up oven (the temperature dial) or set the toast level and just hit the toast lever. There's no timer, but I hate timers in toaster ovens anyway. The footprint is tiny, it's about 12-14 inches across and 8 deep. It is perfect for bagels or other thick toastables, and reheating pizza.
My wife had a giant, expensive toaster oven monstrosity in college that was pretty useless as a toaster and took up a ton of space (think a short microwave) she had to grudgingly admit that my little black and decker was the superior appliance.
I think the price on this eBay listing is a bit high, but it was the first online listing I could find. Pm me if you have any questions.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 10:46 AM on June 25, 2015
http://m.ebay.com/itm/201376507294?nav=SEARCH
The thing I love is that you can either use it as a straight up oven (the temperature dial) or set the toast level and just hit the toast lever. There's no timer, but I hate timers in toaster ovens anyway. The footprint is tiny, it's about 12-14 inches across and 8 deep. It is perfect for bagels or other thick toastables, and reheating pizza.
My wife had a giant, expensive toaster oven monstrosity in college that was pretty useless as a toaster and took up a ton of space (think a short microwave) she had to grudgingly admit that my little black and decker was the superior appliance.
I think the price on this eBay listing is a bit high, but it was the first online listing I could find. Pm me if you have any questions.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 10:46 AM on June 25, 2015
I personally wouldn't try to combine a slow cooker and a toaster oven. Most slow cooker recipes call for a much larger-volume vessel than that thing is going to hold.
If you want a slow cooker, they're really cheap and you can just stash it in a cabinet when you're not using it.
posted by radioamy at 10:51 AM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
If you want a slow cooker, they're really cheap and you can just stash it in a cabinet when you're not using it.
posted by radioamy at 10:51 AM on June 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I got a Breville as well after waiting and waiting and waiting for some damaged box ones to show up at my local BBB and then used a 20% off coupon to boot.
PRO TIP: Do NOT dishwasher the cookware that comes with it. The "roaster" pans did not survive.
posted by tilde at 10:53 AM on June 25, 2015
PRO TIP: Do NOT dishwasher the cookware that comes with it. The "roaster" pans did not survive.
posted by tilde at 10:53 AM on June 25, 2015
While it's another thing entirely, we've found that this pressure pot out does a traditional slow cooker in just about every way (or even a pot in a traditional oven). If that's what you're looking for, I'd just buy it in addition.
posted by bonehead at 10:56 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by bonehead at 10:56 AM on June 25, 2015
When I bought one for my workplace a while back, I wanted to get one with manual controls and digital nothing. I settled on this Cuisinart, and everyone's been very happy with it.
posted by box at 11:33 AM on June 25, 2015
posted by box at 11:33 AM on June 25, 2015
I also advise the Black and Decker linked above. I had mine for at least 15 years before it gave up. It was very compact.
I have a bigger one now. The size is a trade off for a removable crumb tray -- easier than balancing the whole appliance over the trash while you open the trap door!
posted by jgirl at 12:00 PM on June 25, 2015
I have a bigger one now. The size is a trade off for a removable crumb tray -- easier than balancing the whole appliance over the trash while you open the trap door!
posted by jgirl at 12:00 PM on June 25, 2015
We have an Oster, which measures 18 by 14 by 10-1/2-inches, it feels fairly compact on the counter, but it does get hot on top, I also melted something a bit on top...something plastic. Anyway the plastic came off and I learned my lesson. The size you get depends a bit on what you want to use it for - for example my Oster is too small for a 9x13 casserole, and my friend has a slightly larger toaster oven and she can fit in most types of frozen pizzas. I don't have a lot of call for frozen pizzas, but I did see the advantage of the slightly bowed out front. I honestly don't think the brand matters that much. I've had our Oster for years, and it just keeps heating things, heck I roasted peppers in it the other day.
posted by dawg-proud at 12:11 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by dawg-proud at 12:11 PM on June 25, 2015
I recently bought the Breville, this one. Love it. Love, love love it. I don't think I've used my regular oven since.
posted by cgg at 12:22 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cgg at 12:22 PM on June 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another vote for the Breville; got it as a wedding gift. We absolutely love it. We don't have the slow cook option on ours, so can't offer an opinion on that.
posted by odin53 at 12:51 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by odin53 at 12:51 PM on June 25, 2015
I have had a Breville for 3 years now and have used my regular sized oven maybe 3 times. The Breville has been awesome. My only complaints are the lack of a light inside and the rack sometimes goes askew and gets stuck especially when trying to remove a heavier dish. Having a heavy liquidy dish almost spill all over when one side of the rack slips and gets wedged/really stuck awkwardly in the oven is no fun. I now know not to let the rack slide out with a heavy dish but it requires some acrobatics because when the rack is in the middle position it automatically comes forward when you open the door. I would still buy it again though.
posted by futz at 2:42 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by futz at 2:42 PM on June 25, 2015
Best answer: The breville mini is what I have and is probably the right size for your needs. We love it and use it for lots of stuff. If you get the accessory wooden board that sits on top of the oven, you can use that surface for storage.
posted by fanta_orange at 2:55 PM on June 25, 2015
posted by fanta_orange at 2:55 PM on June 25, 2015
We have a Black & Decker Toast-R-Oven. The interior is 8" deep.
It's about 80% toaster and 20% oven, i.e. not really much of oven. I suppose you could bake a potato in it, but the notion isn't attractive. It doesn't have any insulation to keep the heat in.
As a toaster, it rates about a C. The biggest problem, which is probably endemic to all such appliances and is also the reason for my post, is that when crumbs fall to the bottom, they reduce the reflectivity and bread doesn't toast on the bottom very well. There is trap door to help get the crumbs out, but is awkward to use, and the bottom remains hard to clean.
So, whatever you look at, check on the options for keeping it clean inside.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:05 AM on June 26, 2015
It's about 80% toaster and 20% oven, i.e. not really much of oven. I suppose you could bake a potato in it, but the notion isn't attractive. It doesn't have any insulation to keep the heat in.
As a toaster, it rates about a C. The biggest problem, which is probably endemic to all such appliances and is also the reason for my post, is that when crumbs fall to the bottom, they reduce the reflectivity and bread doesn't toast on the bottom very well. There is trap door to help get the crumbs out, but is awkward to use, and the bottom remains hard to clean.
So, whatever you look at, check on the options for keeping it clean inside.
posted by SemiSalt at 7:05 AM on June 26, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by lydhre at 9:20 AM on June 25, 2015 [5 favorites]