Basic Toaster Ovens

Toaster ovens cook as well as conventional ovens

Toaster ovens without a convection feature cost less, but cook just as well as a regular-sized, conventional oven. Although they don't cook as quickly as convection toaster ovens, they're faster than conventional ovens because their smaller size allows them to preheat in less time. They also use less energy and won't heat up an entire kitchen.

The Breville The Compact Smart Oven BOV650XL (Est. $180) is a smaller version of our Best Reviewed convection toaster oven, Breville's The Smart Oven. It toasts four slices of bread instead of six, but can still cook a 3- to 4-pound chicken or bake a 12-inch pizza. With eight preset functions -- toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies and reheat -- The Compact Smart Oven is simple to use and remembers personal-preference settings. A backlit LCD calculates the correct time and temperature and shuts off automatically.

This toaster oven features a pullout crumb tray and interior walls with a nonstick coating for easy cleaning. Some users wish the oven rack would automatically eject when the door is opened. Still, for the cook who wants a basic toaster oven with a smaller footprint, the Breville The Compact Smart Oven is our Best Reviewed choice.

Our runner-up in this category, the Cuisinart TOB-155 Toaster Oven Broiler (Est. $140) , also cooks a variety of foods. It bakes, broils and toasts foods as large as a chicken or 12-inch pizza, and users say it heats evenly and accurately. They also call it easy to clean; the interior has a nonstick coating and a crumb tray pulls out from the back, although some say its location is inconvenient. Others complain that the oven doesn't automatically shut off when the timer sounds, and the design of the door handle can lead to burned fingers and knuckles.