Flaws But Not Dealbreakers
The FlashXpresss one annoying quirk is that you cant add time or change the temperature midway through a preset cooking cycle . This means you have to turn the Panasonic off and back on again to adjust it. That said, the controls are clearly labeled and straightforward to use, so were willing to overlook this drawback. Wed also prefer dial controls over the FlashXpresss blister-push buttons, but theyre perfectly usable and not as glitchy or mushy as others we tested.
The FlashXpresss retro LED display looks more like a time bomb from a 1990s action thriller than a modern kitchen appliance . Although its not hard to read the display dead-on, it can be tricky to discern from some angles. We found that the displays on the pricier Cuisinart and Breville toaster ovens were easier to read.
Additionally, as a Japanese appliance, the Panasonic FlashXpress is designed around degrees Celsius for temperature input. Theres a converted-to-Fahrenheit selector on the temperature indicator, but the markings are oddly spaced. Want to punch in 400 °F? You can get either 425 °F or 390 °F, but nothing in between . But this idiosyncrasy didnt negatively impact any of the items we cookedmost toaster ovens heat at least 10 to 15 degrees over or under the set temperature anyway.
We noticed that crumbs tended to accumulate on the inner ledge at the base of the ovens door. However, we found it easy to brush them onto the crumb tray using a pastry brush or a paper towel.
Brava Oven Starter Set
Dimensions: 11.3 x 16.4 x 17.3 inches |Weight: 34.4 pounds |Material: Anodized aircraft-grade aluminum and stainless steel |Wattage: 1800 watts |Warranty: 1-year limited
Do you need a $1,300 countertop oven? Definitely not. But do you want one? Probably yes. Bravas ultra luxurious countertop oven disrupted the space when it was introduced to the market in 2018. Its notable smart features include preset recipes for cooking everything from seared steak and asparagus to eggs and bacon. Best of all, you can control cooking times and functions from the convenience of your phone.
Another cool feature? The Brava uses six high-powered infrared lamps to cook juicy pork chops and sweet cinnamon rolls. Plus, they heat up instantly so you dont need to wait for the oven to preheat. And since the oven uses zones, you can cook two different foods at two different temperatures on the same sheet pan all at once. Lastly, the app includes over a thousand recipes for a nearly endless array of delicious inspiration.
Pros:
- Pricey, even when on sale
Our Test Kitchen Found The Best Countertop Convection Ovens Out There And Yes You Definitely Will Want One Of These Multi
Taste of Home
Gone are the days of the plain Jane toaster oven. Today, home cooks are replacing these basic appliances with their spiffier, more versatile cousin: the countertop convection oven.
And if you dont have one in your kitchen yet, you might just be missing out. These compact ovens do so much more than heat some options air fry, convection bake and even convert into a rotisserie. They are definitely a fun and useful appliance to have, especially if you regularly cook for two or need extra oven space for entertaining.
However, like any new gadget, it can be hard to know what option to choose. Which is best for your cooking style? Which will fit in your space the best? Well, you dont need to askour Test Kitchen found the best countertop convection oven brands.
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Ease Of Use And Cleaning
The best countertop convection ovens prioritize making the lives of their customers easier. Some feature removable crumb trays to catch rogue crumbs. And some others have nonstick interiors.
Also, go for one thats straightforward to use. Options with digital controls and LCD displays tend to be easier to operate. There are also the ones with contoured manual dials for easy grip.
Waring Commercial Wco500x Half Size
Waring WCO500X is a small, but powerful countertop convection oven. It can be used to prepare a wide variety of delicious meals thanks to the four convenient cooking modes: bake, roast, bake, and broil. Durable stainless steel construction, inside and out, can tackle your toughest cooking needs and is easy to clean.
This model has all the featured of a standard commercial convection oven, packed in half-size. Weighing only 52.6 pounds, with dimensions 23 x 23 x 15 inches, it can fit in small kitchens. It is NSF-approved, so you will have no issues with local health inspectors.
Pros:
Walmart
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Besides Four Slices Of Toast What Can I Cook In My Toaster Oven
This toaster oven does so much. It toasts bread, as youd expect. It bakes cookies and brownies and summer-fruit cakes without raising the temperature in my apartment the way the full-size oven would. It roasts veggies of all kinds, from Sungolds that burst into saucy perfection to heartier items like root vegetables and brussels sprouts. It turns tofu crisp and bakes it cooks salmon and chicken breasts and basically anything you can fit into an 8×8″ square pan. It toasts nuts it reheats meals if you, like me, dont have a microwave it handles frozen pizza and waffles marvelously. I love it so much that I feel bad for calling the other oven in my home the real ovenI definitely use this one much, much more.
The Panasonic FlashXpress is the best small toaster oven out there, and I recommend it to everyone and anyone. But I accept that perhaps your needs are different from my own. Luckily the rest of the BA staff has their favorites as well, and one of them is sure to fit the bill.
Best Overall: Breville Smart Oven Pro Toaster Oven
Model: Breville BOV845BSSUSCDimensions: 11 x 18.5 x 14.5 InchesWarranty: 1 year limited product warranty
The Breville Smart Oven Pro Toaster Oven is a countertop oven that claims to reduce cooking time by up to 30% due to its convection setting. An inbuilt fan circulates the hot air within the oven which speeds the cooking process by stripping away the cold air that surrounds your food. It has 10 different cooking functions and a large interior- big enough for a 13 inch pizza or 6 slices of bread.
Otherwise, using 5 independent quartz elements, smart algorithms steer power to where and when it’s needed to create the ideal cooking environment for perfect results every time. So whether you’re baking, roasting, broiling, or even dehydrating, the Breville Smart Oven Pro Toaster Oven can help you get dinner on the table faster. And with its sleek design and quote marks, it’s sure to be a hit with anyone who appreciates good design and function.
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How Do I Choose A Countertop For A Convection Oven
What kind of convection ovens are there?
Convection ovens are devices that have a fan inside the device that circulates air around it. The air is heated and then moved through an electrical coil. The heat generated by this process causes steam to form inside the heating element, which is then used to cook food. The result is a fast and tasty meal as well as improved health due to lower calorie intake.
What are the advantages of using convection ovens over conventional baking ovens?
Convection ovens are capable of cooking food at a high temperature, while conventional ovens cannot. Convection ovens have the advantage of being able to cook food at a high temperature even if the air inside the oven is not hot enough. They also cook faster than conventional ovens.
What are the different kinds of convection ovens?
Convection ovens are used for baking, roasting and broiling. They have a high temperature range from 200°C to 900°C.
Which convection oven is best for cooking?
Best Convection Oven in 2021: Reviews and Recommendations
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A Few Thoughts On The Hybrid Ovens That Didn’t Make The Cut
The Cuisinart Digital Air Fryer Toaster Oven: This hybrid convection oven and air fryer wasn’t terrible and it certainly had one of, if not the most powerful, air fry functions. That proved to be a blessing and curse since some of the food I cooked burned on the edges and cooked unevenly — I think due in part to the high-octane super convection fan. This air fryer oven also had my least favorite interface, and I found myself mashing my fingers on the dials and buttons in frustration at times just hoping I’d get to the right setting since it never seemed to do what I wanted with ease. It’s also not cheap and thus not an oven I’d recommend.
Calphalon Precision Air Fry Oven: The Calphalon scored high marks in the toast test with an even browning, but that’s about where the accolades ended. This oven was slow to preheat, had trouble holding a consistent temperature and the air fry function was among the weakest. It also has no internal light, which most of them do. I admittedly do like the look of it and the interface is elegant and simple to use. This oven can also be had for about $150, so it is among the more budget-friendly options.
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If You Have A Small Kitchen Like A Really Small Kitchen:
The Dash mini toaster oven is adorably petite at only 9×9″perfect for a dorm room with little-to-no countertop spaceand comes in a variety of pastel colors like butter yellow and peony pink. Contributor Annalee Soskin keeps one of these at her desk for toasting her morning bagel or heating up those mid-afternoon pizza bites. This small toaster oven is not going to be your kitchen workhorse by any means, but its cute, its tiny, and it works.
How To Obtain The Best Countertop Convection Oven
The following are some significant convection oven aspects to bear in mind while making your selection. By considering these vital facets, you are going to be in a much better position to make the ideal choice and receive an oven that best caters to your requirements.
Ability
This identifies the magnitude of the toaster and just how much volume its inside. Ability is important as you are going to want an oven that could easily deal with the quantity of food that you cook in it, in addition, to be small enough to fit into your countertops accessible space.
The smallest countertop convection ovens youll find have sufficient room to toast roughly four pieces of bread. Theyre also able to warm sandwiches but are often not big enough to bake moderate to large-sized pizzas.
You might also select medium-sized ovens such as the Wolf Gourmet WGCO100S to manage cows, 9-inch noodles, create waffles for a household of six, and also generally handle bigger cooking jobs.
In case you want more cooking area, then attempt the most significant countertop ovens like the Black & Decker CTO63355. Theyll match 12-inch noodles, bake huge cakes, and match around 9×13-inch pans. The choice heres yours to create.
Gas vs Electric Power
As youll find ordinary, large-sized convection ovens that will use power, in addition to gasoline as their power supply, the situation differs with countertop convection ovens.
Cooking Options & Features
Construction Material
Ease of Use
Accessories
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Budget Pick: Hamilton Beach 4
*At the time of publishing, the price was $64.
If our other picks have more features than you need, we recommend the inexpensive, no-frills Hamilton Beach 4-Slice Toaster Oven . The Hamilton Beach, with its two quartz heating elements, toasted bread faster and more evenly than any other under-$100 oven we tested. It has three manual knobs to control the settings. Although the Hamilton Beach lacks most of the features included in high-end modelssuch as preset cooking functions, a convection setting, and an internal lightit excels at the basics, like making toast, cookies, and frozen snacks. Its small footprint is ideal for kitchens with limited counter space. This toaster oven has a few quirks that are expected with such a cheap model , but on the whole we think those flaws are negligible.
This model comes with the most basic accessories, including an oven rack, a baking pan, and a crumb tray. More-advanced digital models will alert you once the oven is preheated to a set temperature, but the Hamilton Beach lacks this feature. The instruction manual recommends allowing 5 minutes for the toaster oven to preheat. Even so, a charming, old-school ding does alert you when the timer goes off. We preferred this subtle sound to the ear-shattering beeps on some digital models, like the Wolf Gourmet Countertop Oven.
The Hamilton Beach oven comes with a one-year warranty. Contact Hamilton Beach for repairs or a replacement.
How To Adjust Air
If you have your eye on a recipe written specifically for a pod-shaped air fryer but want to prepare it in a convection toaster oven, you can get good results with some minor adjustments.
Generally, you need to increase the cooking time by several minutes and the temperature 25 to 50 degrees to compensate for the toaster ovens larger cavity. There arent hard and fast rules, so it may take some trial and error for you to figure out what adjustments work best depending on what youre cooking. Also, you dont need to buy an air-frying basketa regular quarter-sheet pan will give you similar air-frying results in a convection oven .
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If Your Oven Is Busted And You Really Need To Roast A Chicken:
If counter space and money are no object, seek out the Breville Smart Oven Pro. When professional baker Yossy Arefis regular oven broke, she tested all the baked good recipes for her cookbook Snacking Cakes using this very oven. The Smart Oven Pro holds its temperature consistently and, at 15.75×18.5″, it can accommodate a quarter-sheet pan or a 9×13″ baking dish. It toasts, roasts, bakes, slow-cooks, and broilsyou can even fit a whole chicken in there.
Moffat E28m4 32 Turbofan Electric Oven
Moffat E28M4 is a full-size countertop convection oven that works great for small kitchens and food trucks. With four removable wire racks you can bake up to four full-size 18×26 sheet pans without taking up floor space in tight operations.
This model features reversing fans that evenly distribute heat throughout the oven, baking products in a range between 150 and 500°F. Controls are manual and simple one knob for temperature and another one for timer. Pull-down glass door assembly and two interior halogen lamps provide a way to monitor food as it bakes. Fully sealed enamel cooking chamber with full-rounded corners is very easy to clean. All in all this is a real professional piece of cooking equipment that is used and approved by chefs around the globe.
Pros:
- Easy to clean enamel cooking chamber.
Cons:
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Best Convection Toaster Ovens 202: Top Picks By Experts
If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation where you need to cook but are limited on either space or power, then this article will be your new best friend.In this list, we’re going to highlight six of the highest-quality, most affordable, best convection toaster ovens available on Amazon.
Oster French Door Countertop Convection Oven
- Dimensions: 22 x 19.5 x 13 inches
- Capacity: 14 slice or two 16-inch pizzas
- Weight: 18.1 lbs.
- Cooking options: 7
- Warranty: 1 year
- Customer reviews: 4.6 of 5
The first thing we love about this digital countertop oven is its ergonomic design. This unit is sleek and all shades of beauty with its French door design and silver stainless steel thatll match the décor of any kitchen.
Its got two large glass doors that open at the pull of one. And the turbo convection baking technology makes it cook 40% faster and brown evenly. Plus the oven comes with 7 cooking presets to bake your bread, broil your meat, fry your French fries, and everything between.
And are you planning on hosting your friends for the weekend? No problem! This extra-large family-sized smart oven was built for flexibility and feeding many mouths. The two racks can hold two 16-inch pizzas.
And if your pals are coming over in the evening, you can set the meal to slow cook for up to 6 hours.
The digital control panel also has a button for every function: this makes it super easy to use. You may agree with a reviewer that called the product a BEAST. And if you dont set any timer for your cooking, the smart toaster oven shuts off in 90 minutes.
The removable crumb tray also makes the oven easy to clean.
Another cool feature we love about the toaster oven is how energy-efficient it is. It consumes 50% less energy and doesnt heat up your kitchen.
Pros
Cons
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Best Countertop Oven For Baking Cakes: What To Consider
Here are some important factors to consider before purchasing your countertop oven!
Number of Functions
When it comes to baking cakes, the two most important functions to look for are bake and fan/convection bake. Having these two would already give you the versatility you need to bake a large variety of cakes. Any add-on functions would be a bonus but they are not essential.
Size/Capacity
Notice that the capacity of an oven isnt always directly related to its exterior size. When choosing an oven, Id always recommend aiming for a spacious capacity relative to the exterior measurement.
Power Rating
Power/wattage rating is a factor to consider when choosing an oven as it tells you how much energy is consumed. In general, countertop ovens run on 1100 to 1875 watts.
The higher the wattage rate generally means that the oven is able to reach a set temperature quickly and maintain it more easily. A lower wattage rating on the other hand will allow you to save energy .
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