Toaster Oven Cuisine

October 16, 2016 11:09 AM

Let's say you don't have access to a full size, traditional/convection oven. But you have a large toaster oven - large enough to rotisserie a chicken. What baked, broiled, roasted or braised dishes can you still make in the toaster oven?

Context: Partner and I are currently renting a very affordable, lovely garden apartment from his parents. At present we have a kitchenette. In other words, no stove. We'll have a stove in a few months. Until then, it's just us, an electric griddle, an induction cooker, a few other trusty kitchen gizmos and of course, the toaster oven.

We love to cook, so these limitations are an interesting challenge for us. We have no dietary restrictions; our palate is broad. We're interested in anything we can make with the toaster oven, for which we'd normally be using a traditional oven.

Also appreciated is any insight as to whether or not the toaster oven is as limiting as I think it is. I don't see it as *that* limiting, but I obviously can't fit my 6 qt dutch oven in it.

posted by nightrecordings to Food & Drink (24 answers total)

This is not snark--you can do with a toaster oven literally anything that you'd do in a regular oven. I lived without a regular oven for 5 years!
posted by 8603 at 11:11 AM on October 16, 2016 [9 favorites]

I roast chicken cuts, pork chops, lamb chops, veggies, sweet potatoes, and tofu in mine. I also make crustless quiche in it.
posted by jgirl at 11:13 AM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: @8603 and then no more threadsitting: what about adjusting for toaster ovens the temperatures and times noted in regular oven recipes? The decreased spacial area means the toaster oven can heat up faster; does the increased proximity between the food and the heat source also mean that some if not most recipes would require less baking time, as well? Am I at risk of burning things if I don't make calculated adjustments or stand constant vigil over the toaster oven?

My initial question seems a bit more daft, now, but I'd still love to hear folks' go-to toaster oven recipes. (Any success stories with using them to bake bread?)
posted by nightrecordings at 11:19 AM on October 16, 2016

The toaster oven can heat up faster, but should maintain that heat level. Don't put anything in until it's hit the temp you set, and then it's just like a regular oven, only smaller.
posted by erst at 11:21 AM on October 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

I've made banana bread, chocolate chip cookies and even pie in toaster ovens. I'm not big on cooking (just baking) but pretty much anything has worked in a toaster oven.
posted by raccoon409 at 11:42 AM on October 16, 2016

If you're going to cook meat in the toaster oven and you're not quite confident doing it by eyeball/intuition, you can get an oven thermometer for about $15, online or at any big-box or kitchen supply store. It has a little metal probe that you stick into the meat before putting it into the oven, and a long heat-proof cord that stretches out the closed oven door and into a little device on the countertop that beeps when the right temp is reached.

Most meat is done at around 144-165' F depending on the cut and freshness (high quality fresh butcher beef or lamb can be eaten more rare; whereas you want to go to the higher end of that temp range for ground meats, any meat that's less fresh, pork and poultry).

A thermometer is a super easy and affordable way to make sure you cook meat for exactly as long as it needs rather than trying to reverse-engineer times based on recipe/oven size.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 11:44 AM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Agreed with 8603. We have a toaster oven and a full size oven. Toaster oven gets used multiple times a day. Full oven gets used maybe once in two weeks. The only reason we'd ever use the full oven is if we needed it's size.

I'd say the two things to keep in mind are that (at least in our case) the toaster oven has more swings in temperature. It heats up fast and cools down fast, so the elements come on, it overshoots the target temp, and then they go off and it cools back down. Our toaster oven has convection so it's not that big of a deal.

Second thing is because of the swings, you need to be careful what kind of containers you use. The temperature listings for non-metal containers are for bigger ovens where the temperature is steady and there is more distance away from the heating elements. I don't put anything non-metal in there at higher than 300 degrees.
posted by AaRdVarK at 11:47 AM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

I lived in a basement suite with just two burners and a toaster oven for four years and I made all sorts of things in it. I baked cookies on the metal tray that came with it and I used to make lasagne and casseroles in a Pyrex loaf dish at the recommended temps, and it worked out just fine. I did have to keep a close eye on it and adjust occasionally, but then again I find all ovens I've had were slightly different in temperature.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:02 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Another veteran of the two burners and a toaster oven here. I agree that everything is possible. If I could change anything it would be having a pressure cooker, so I gave my daughter one when she moved into her first apartment.
What my gran gave me back then was a dutch oven in which I slow-cooked lots of stuff on one of the burners, and roasted chicken, and pot-roasts. She had lived with just the two burners, no oven, and taught herself to make great food.
Baking is fine, in small batches. Cakes are difficult because you need really precise measurements and scaling can be difficult, but yeast or sourdough-based breads are easily scalable, even today when I have a huge oven, I sometimes make tiny batches (and think I should buy a toaster oven for energy efficiency). I also still make breads on a skillet - like chapatis or pitas or tortillas.
I saw a video once of a Chinese family making everything in a huge wok on a wood powered burner. They even did the dishes in that wok. I really wish I'd saved the link, because it was such a reminder that cooking isn't about the gear.
posted by mumimor at 12:22 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

BTW, I haven't tried this, but heard of it: steamed bread might be an option.
posted by mumimor at 12:28 PM on October 16, 2016

Depending on the quality and size of the toaster oven, baking can be a bit tricky. Even when something "fits" in the oven, if it's close to the sides, or rises so that it comes close to the top heating element, you start being sensitive to thermal gradients. As you become familiar with it, you might keep running recipes as normal but in smaller batches, or you might reduce oven temperatures to cut down on the simultaneous char/raw.
posted by aimedwander at 12:43 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

I never really felt like I had to adjust for time and temperature...375 seemed to be 375 all the same. For cakes and the like, don't adjust the recipe (please), just do 2 batches. For bread, mayyyyybe make the rolls a little smaller than usual to allow for that last rise when it hits the oven, but that's really splitting hairs.
posted by 8603 at 2:16 PM on October 16, 2016

Also, if this bad boy is large enough to roast a chicken, it's even closer to a regular oven than mine was ($15 on sale at PC Richards). I take back what I said about roll size--bread is not going to hit the top in am oven that big.
posted by 8603 at 2:20 PM on October 16, 2016

I doubt most inexpensive toaster ovens are very precise about heat. Keep track about whether baked goods take longer or shorter than the nominal time to get a handle on your oven.

I remember cautions about meat (or anything else, I guess) that spatters fat. Of course you would want to be careful about any buildup of flammable material due to spills and overflows.
posted by SemiSalt at 4:13 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've made meatloaf in a toaster oven, just a regular improvised recipe in a loaf pan, but I think maybe I used a metal pan rather than a glass one. And fish with herbs and vegetables wrapped in parchment paper- en papillote. Here's a recipe similar to the one I used.
posted by mareli at 4:52 PM on October 16, 2016

Feeding a family of 5 with toaster oven. Meat, baking and toasting away. I got a Breville with a lot of space and convention oven capability.
posted by jadepearl at 5:38 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This is how pretty much all Japanese kitchens are fitted out, as I understand it. I would highly recommend any and all of Cooking With Dog's recipes (don't worry, the dog is a co-host, not an ingredient). She cooks 100% of it with a toaster oven and a hot plate!
posted by capricorn at 6:06 PM on October 16, 2016 [1 favorite]

Roasted potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potatoes, squash, onions, fennel, beets.... toss in olive oil, add some salt, spread out on a pan and roast at highest temp in oven - 400 or so, for 15-20 minutes. Move around halfway through if you remember.
posted by lois1950 at 7:50 PM on October 16, 2016

I do pie in mine all the time in the summer - I can't bear to turn on the big oven, but I also cannot bear life without pie so I plug in the Waring countertop oven out by the BBQ and shove a pie in there. The top crust browns fast when doing an extreme deep-dish, usually I have to lay a piece of tinfoil on there partway through.

It's also very good for a quick batch of biscuits or a pan of brownies. I do a lot of light baking in ours.
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 8:50 PM on October 16, 2016

I have a wonderful Kitchen Aid toaster oven/convection oven. I can do everything I do in a regular oven (roasting, baking, broiling) in the toaster oven. Of course things will be smaller eg: 4lb chicken instead of a 8lb. You may want to invest in some toaster oven sized pans,racks etc.

The only time I use the regular oven these days is when I have company coming. You can't do a standing rib roast, 15lb turkey, large casseroles etc in the toaster oven.
posted by james33 at 5:41 AM on October 17, 2016

Best answer: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eric+ripert+get+toasted
is a series of web videos from Eric Ripert (head chef from Le Bernardin) doing fancy and interesting dishes in a toaster oven.

(also, previously)
posted by bl1nk at 12:05 PM on October 17, 2016 [1 favorite]

I made my traditional cinnamon rolls in it. Basically anything that fits the dimensions can be cooked.

I did have to buy some new cookware, I now have a 10x12 glass casserole pan with no side handles for lasagna, chili mac, and the like. Meat must be cut to fit, ask the butcher to cut the shank off the leg of lamb. You can still have the 4 lb roast. Also it helps to more religiously brown meats (such as rib roasts) before entry if they will constrain the limits of space. The only thing I really can't do is holiday meals. Have fun!
posted by crazycanuck at 8:01 AM on October 18, 2016

PS - there are 10x12 baking sheets as well, I bought some extras. 9x13 fits in a breville if it has no handles at all. You'll need to visit a really good shop to find these things, restaurant supply might do.
posted by crazycanuck at 8:04 AM on October 18, 2016

Oh, yes, crazycanuck makes an excellent point--Nordicware makes the cutest little pans for toaster ovens. https://www.nordicware.com/store/category/compact-ovens
posted by 8603 at 9:41 AM on October 18, 2016