Toaster Oven Review

Evaluating toaster ovens

Like standard toasters, toaster ovens can be used to lightly toast bread and pastries -- but they can also be employed as miniature ovens to bake, broil and roast foods. Users also say these products do a great job of reheating and giving finished foods a nice crispy texture. And they don't create as much heat as full-size ovens, making them a pleasant alternative on warmer days. It's important to note, however, that no toaster oven can deliver consistent, even toast. For this, you'll need a traditional, slot-style toaster. If this is your objective, see our separate report on toasters for some highly rated choices)

Size is an important consideration when choosing a toaster oven, say experts, especially if you are tight on counter space. Fortunately, several compact models are available, including our Best Reviewed pick -- the Sanyo Space Saving Toasty Oven SK-7S (*Est. $50). However, smaller toaster ovens are often more limited in their cooking capacities.

Other oven pointers: A convection fan can be a handy feature to have. Convection fans circulate heated air throughout the oven (which can speed the cooking process a bit), and in doing so, they help cook food more evenly. A nonstick interior, a continuous clean finish (which causes stuck-on food to disintegrate) and a removable crumb tray can all make for easy clean-up. Users suggest looking for one that slides out in the front for easier access. A broil feature can also be a boon for cooking various cuts of meats, such as burgers or pork chops.

However, if all you want is a simple oven for basic reheating, you can find a model for $40 or less. Shoppers looking for these kinds of low-priced options should examine these products carefully. Many models lack the finishes described above -- making them more difficult to clean.

Overall, we found the most credible toaster oven reviews at ConsumerReports.org, Food & Wine magazine and Good Housekeeping. Testers at ConsumerReports.org evaluate 17 toaster ovens for their performance in roasting, baking and toasting, and they also consider cooking capacity and ease of use. The top-rated models performed well in all categories. Editors at Food & Wine magazine test 76 countertop appliances in several categories, including toaster ovens, and name a winner, a runner-up and two honorable mentions. Additionally, Good Housekeeping editors test several toaster ovens and list the winners. All of these reviews are older in nature, and many of the models have been discontinued.

We also found professional reviews, with more current models, at Bestcovery.com and 3Luxe.com, but it isn't clear whether authors actually test any of the toaster ovens mentioned. User reviews at Amazon.com and Cooking.com also offer some insights into long-term durability. One thing to note: For almost every model of toaster oven, we found some negative consumer-written reviews complaining of durability issues, hot exterior surfaces or lack of consistent toasting ability. Although some models hold up better than others, most toaster ovens get extremely hot on exterior surfaces and have trouble producing decent toast.

For instance, despite getting top marks in professional and user reviews, several owners of the T-Fal Avante Elite Toaster Oven OT8085002 (*Est. $130) say its glass top exploded. Although most of the affected models were bought before 2008, we found reviews that are as recent as June 2009 that report this problem. This issue kept us from including the T-Fal in our Best Reviewed section. Likewise, several owners posting to Target.com say the Black & Decker Toast-R-Oven Classic Countertop TRO490W (*Est. $40) caught fire during use. A handful of owners at Amazon.com also give this toaster oven low scores for long-term durability, noting that its knobs and handle became loose.