What Size Toaster Oven Should I Buy

Are you lot thinking about purchasing your first toaster oven? Or replacing a beloved old one?

With all of the choices bachelor today, buying a toaster oven tin feel pretty overwhelming.

You want to pick the all-time one.

A toaster oven you lot're and so excited to cook with you tell every person yous know nearly it. Heck, strangers as well!

Well, the secret to finding the right little oven for you is two things:

First, figure out exactly what You desire to accomplish with your toaster oven.
Then doing some enquiry.

Below you'll find 9 tips for choosing a toaster oven to help you observe your perfect match.

TL;DR: Sometimes your big oven randomly dies (we've been there!) and you don't have time to advisedly review all of the dissimilar options available. Drastic for a fluffy baked irish potato, you need a little oven and you need it NOW!

If that's the case, skip alee to the "What Practise You lot Want To Melt?" section, it should help yous quickly decide what size toaster oven to get.

We believe it's easy to learn to love almost any toaster oven then long as you tin fit the nutrient you lot want to cook in it. Had the Oster we impulsively purchased years ago at Costco accommodated a quarter canvas pan nosotros'd probably still be using it today.

Wait! Before you run off, at to the lowest degree skim this Everything You Need to Know Nearly Convection Toaster Ovens post also. Consider if that's a feature yous'd be deplorable most not having.

Okay, if you're hither for the heavy duty toaster oven talk let's do this!

one. SIZE AND SPACE

When deciding what size toaster oven to get, there are ii Big things to consider:

Where you'll be cooking.
What you want to cook.

Before yous start shopping, grab a tape measure out and jot down the full dimensions of the area you plan to use your toaster oven in.

For safety reasons, all toaster ovens have a minimum amount of clearance or infinite that is required to exist betwixt the apparatus and overhead cabinets, rear walls and on both sides during employ.

Once you lot've found a toaster oven you like, bank check the transmission (See Tip #seven – Websites) for the clearance amounts. They're usually listed right at the start nether the Important Safeguards section.

If you tin can't notice them call the manufacturer.

They'll take the info y'all need and it'll give you an opportunity to check out their client service too (Encounter Tip #8 – Customer Service Exam Bulldoze).

Cord Length

The power cords on most toaster ovens are designed curt intentionally with your safety in heed.

Information technology's easy to see where they're coming from. It would be terrible if someone snagged a long cord and knocked a 25-pound hot oven onto their foot, or worse.

But that doesn't mean it's not a claiming for you, especially if your kitchen is in short supply of available power sockets.

Take a few minutes and look around your space.

How far is the nearest power plug from the area y'all intend to use your toaster oven?

Wattage

Some large toaster ovens that are a higher wattage require the appliance be operated on a dedicated circuit that is separate from other appliances.

What does that mean?

Honestly, I'm not actually sure.

I thought it was about non having two appliances plugged into the aforementioned outlet. Then Tim kindly let me know I was incorrect and that multiple outlets can be on the aforementioned circuit.

While looking online, I came beyond this article by the Family Handyman about electric overloads that you might notice helpful. But if you lot're unsure at all about your firm'south wiring and circuit load you should consult a licensed electrician for guidance.

And then What Do You Want To Cook?

Recall about what kind of food and how much of it you're planning to cook in your toaster oven. Practise you lot want to cook:

A single baked potato, two lbs of Brussels sprouts or a 13-inch pizza?
2 small salmon fillets, a whole chicken or a 14lb turkey?
Half a dozen cookies, boxed brownie mix or a double layer cake?

Look in your cabinets and review the pans y'all already use to make your favorite dishes. What size are they, do you lot use an 8×8 pan to brand brownies or a quarter sail pan to bake cookies?

Make a list of the unlike pan sizes y'all desire to be able to use.

Keep that list handy so you can compare it to the interior dimensions for any toaster ovens that makes your brusk listing.

{Related: 4 Surprising Things I'll Never Use In Our Toaster Oven}

2. Budget AND REPUTATION

Whether you lot've set a specific budget or not focus on quality, durability, and reputation over snazzy features. A solid little oven with limited features will be a 1000000 times meliorate than 1 with 25 different settings but unreliable heating elements.

At present, I know what y'all're thinking, "That's groovy and all but where tin I notice proficient recommendations for a quality toaster oven?"

Conversation up your family members, coworkers, and friends. If you're on social media, ship out a tweet or do a poll on Facebook.

People who love to cook with their toaster ovens similar to share about them.

Don't believe united states? Check out these toaster oven recommendations from our awesome community!

Later yous've narrowed downwardly your list to two or iii potential toaster ovens that are within your budget you tin can dive deep.

Read reviews on Amazon and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Look at a few "All-time Toaster Oven" articles like this one or this one where your favorite choices have been thoroughly tested.
Cheque out YouTube for user videos to see them in activity and don't be agape to ask questions in the comments section.

Once yous've decided on the toaster oven that will fit your counter space and meet your cooking needs, a skillful sale is always waiting around the corner.

When Are Toaster Ovens Usually On Sale?

Late Apr – June: Stores run discounts for wedding and graduation gifts
Late October – Dec: Small appliances are deeply discounted for holiday sales
Every major Usa vacation

3. FUNCTIONS

You really demand simply a few bones functions to cook with a toaster oven: Bake, Toast, and Bake.

By making adjustments to the rack placement and temperature, you tin can melt most annihilation with but these 3 functions.

Bake: The bake function works similar to a standard "big oven" with the heat coming primarily from the lesser. The toaster oven maintains an even temperature by cycling the top and lesser elements off and on or by pulsing the elements to varying their intensity.
Toast: With the toast office power is evenly distributed to both the upper and lower elements. It's great for toasting both sides of bread, waffles, and reheating leftover pizza.
Broil: The bake office uses straight radiant oestrus to cook foods with just the top elements. Broiling is useful for melting cheese, "grilling" vegetables and small cuts of meats, and browning the tops of casseroles. If you enjoy broiling foods look at toaster ovens with a 3rd upper chemical element specifically for broiling and ones with the ability to adjust the broiler's temperature.

These days, toaster ovens come up LOADED with extra functions.

Below we've listed some of the more popular ones. Exactly how the functions work will vary across brands but we've tried to give you a basic idea of what each one does.

While reading the descriptions below, consider which ones y'all'd actually utilize and should exist on your must-take list. I guarantee it won't be all of them, subsequently all, in that location's only so many hours in the day!

Bagel: Crisps the height and insides of your bagel while only slightly warming its crusty outside.
Pizza: Distributes heat from above and beneath, crisping the crust and melting your toppings. Volition have a preset time and temperature and may motorcar-select convection if information technology's bachelor. Some pizza functions volition also conform the cooking time based on the pizza's size and if it'southward fresh or frozen.
Cookies: Has a preset cooking time and temperature for baking cookies. Usually, will automobile-select convection if it'south available.
Warm: Will keeps cooked foods warm with a very fragile temperature effectually 160F which is above the "danger zone" of 40-140 for bacterial growth in food.

Proof: Creates a warm just low temperature (around 80F) environment for proofing yeasted bread and pizza doughs.
Reheat or leftovers: This function uses a medium-depression temperature (275F – 325F) to reheat leftover food without browning or drying information technology out.
Boring cooking: Designed to mimic a countertop slow cooker or crockpot. The toaster oven will role at a depression temperature for a long menses of set fourth dimension.
Roast: The elements are programmed to have a more aggressive approach (different from the more gentle "Bake" heating) in reaching and maintaining the ready temperature.

Phase or Dual Cooking: Volition allow you to combine two cooking functions and temperatures to operate back to dorsum in i consecutive session. For example, if you were making a casserole, you could set the Bake function at 350F for 45 minutes and so Warm for thirty minutes.
Dehydrate: A fan and low estrus are used to dry out herbs, fruits, and other foods over an extended period of time. Commonly, includes a special rack.
Air-Fry: A fan and high heat are used to quickly crisp and brown foods. Great for baking crispy frozen items. Usually, includes a special rack.
Steam: Includes a special water reservoir that allows you to steam or poach food and create bakery-mode artisan homemade loaves of breadstuff.

Specialty Functions

Many specialty functions like "Roast" take pre-programmed settings for decision-making the heating elements. Unfortunately, manufacturers don't tend to include a lot of specific information about them.

This can go far difficult to decide when to use a specialty role and troubleshooting problems.

On a more than positive note, some digital toaster ovens are designed to call back the settings (like temperature and time) that yous use for each function. If there's a specific cookie recipe or frozen pizza you bake regularly that could come in quite handy.

4. FEATURES

From convection fans to interior lights and rotisserie spits at that place is no cease to the number of special features they're putting in toaster ovens. Below are some of the mutual and uncommon ones we've seen.

Convection: A fan that forces warm air throughout your toaster oven cooking foods quicker and more evenly.
LCD Screen: Volition brandish your office option and temperature settings. In some cases the screen will change color during preheating and when your dish is finished.
Interior Calorie-free: Opening the door to check your nutrient tin can reduce your toaster ovens interior temperature dramatically. A light allows you to monitor the status of your food without opening the door. Await for toaster ovens that make the lite bulb accessible and like shooting fish in a barrel to replace.
Timer: The timer volition denote the cease of the cook time and in some cases the end of the preheating cycle as well. Some timers volition too include an automatic shut-off characteristic to turn the toaster oven off after cooking and a few let you to control the sound level of the beep.
Automobile-Squirt Rack: Using magnets or a hook, the oven rack with automatically advance forwards when you lot open the toaster oven's door.

Multiple Rack Positions: Different rack positions allow you to move your dishes closer or farther abroad from the unlike heating elements during cooking. If y'all want to cook with more than one pan at a fourth dimension look for toaster ovens that have multiple rack positions and come with multiple oven racks.
Fahrenheit/Celsius Button: Gives you the pick to display degrees as Fahrenheit or Celsius.
Frozen Button: Lets the toaster oven know you lot are cooking something frozen so it can add additional time (based upon the item) to defrost and cook your frozen pizza, cookie, bagel or toast.
Temperature Probe: Allows you lot to melt your food to a desired set internal temperature using a temperature probe that attaches to the toaster oven. The probe is inserted into your food detail and relays the internal temperature back to the toaster oven.
Rotisserie: Provides the power to roast meat or poultry in a rotisserie fashion. The walls of the toaster oven will accept special sockets for you to insert your food on an included rotisserie spit. The toaster oven will slowly spin the rotisserie spit to evenly cook your meat or poultry.
Non-Stick Interior: Almost all toaster ovens have an interior not-stick coating for easy cleaning. If this is something y'all're concerned most, yous should contact the manufacturer directly before making a purchase.

{Related: How To Make clean A Toaster Oven And Proceed Information technology Clean! (Part i)}

5. ACCESSORIES AND PANS

At a minimum, you want your toaster oven to come with a crumb tray and a baking pan. The nice thing virtually extra accessories like a pizza stone or broiling rack is that you know it's been designed to fit in your toaster oven.

Blistering Pan: A metallic pan sized for your toaster oven that can be used for broiling, and baking.
Broiling Rack: A metal rack that fits inside the blistering pan. It elevates your food during broiling and allows the blistering pan to piece of work as a baste pan for cooking meats and poultry.
Removable Crumb Tray: The crumb tray catches loose crumbs and spills that may autumn to the bottom of your toaster oven. The tray should be removable and slide out then you can easily wipe information technology off or scrub if needed. For the best low-crumbs-everywhere experience look for a tray that is removable from the outside (without opening the door).

Pizza Pan or Pizza Stone: A circular metal pan or baking rock sized for cooking pizza in your toaster oven.
Cut Board: The elevation of a toaster oven gets very warm during use. Some manufacturers sell specially designed cutting boards that will fit on top of your toaster oven with silicone feet for elevation/airflow. These boards provide a cooling area for cooked food, can be used every bit a trivet when placing food on a table for serving and of form you lot can chop ingredients on them.

6. CONSIDER ACCESSIBILITY

Many readers with physical disabilities have been generous in sharing and educating us on how their toaster ovens have made cooking more than attainable.

While every person'due south experiences and needs are unique to them some of the bug our readers have mentioned that affect their ability to melt include vision impairment, reduced hearing, fatigue when standing and limitations in using a side of their torso.

For some people simply being able to melt at counter height and no longer having to bend down to accept heavy dishes out of a full-sized oven has been an improvement.

Cindy let us know that her Oster convection toaster oven "is my main oven since I am unable to stand for long periods and the large oven is just difficult for me to apply without burning myself sitting down."

Others have constitute toaster ovens that provide audible and visual cues helpful. Like flashing lights or beeps when the oven has been turned on or is finished cooking.

A big number of readers mentioned that big easy to read impress for the different functions and temperature markings was important.

Closeup of control knobs on a small toaster oven. — Our picayune toaster oven'south settings are printed very modest in a hard to read low-cal grey colour.

Marion, who is blind, fabricated a Hamilton Beach toaster convection/broiler oven more than accessible with "little adjustments like adding bump dots at several places on the temperature and time knobs."

If you are trying to create a more accessible kitchen for yourself, loved ane or a friend cheque out this informative and resources-filled post on Cooking With A Physical Inability from The Kitchn.

And if you have an experience or adaptive toaster oven solution to share please practise then in the comments section below!

vii. WEBSITES AND WARRANTIES

You should always visit the manufacturer's website for any toaster oven you lot are considering.

Once you locate the i you're interested in download the manual and read through it to see if you have whatever questions.

Also, look to see if you can purchase replacement trays and pans or additional accessories from them.

Check if there are whatever instructional videos. Having a website available that explains how to cook with your specific picayune oven and provides recipes sure would be a bonus in my book.

While yous're on the manufacturer'south website notice the warranty data and read information technology over too.

Have note of how long the warranty is for, what it covers, and how they handle defective appliances and parts.

Store Return Policies

Before y'all plunk down your cash or click that "BUY" push button investigate your store's return policy. In some cases, if you take a problem you may need to deal directly with the shop to get it resolved.

There are stores with generous render policies, and others with very limited ones.

Making your peace with a store'southward policy before purchasing is a skilful idea.

eight. TEST DRIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE

Nosotros promise your toaster oven is always behaving nicely.

But sometimes y'all can see a trouble and need customer service. In those frustrating moments, it'southward good to know what y'all tin can expect when y'all option upwards the phone or ship off an e-mail.

Take notation while you're reading reviews (Tip #2 – Reputation) about how people draw their client service experiences.

Ringlet through a manufacturer's Facebook page or Twitter feed. Are they polite, responsive and quick to offer solutions when an issue is raised?

Take them for a real life test drive past giving the client service a call or sending an email. Inquire whatever questions you lot had afterward reading the manual.

You're planning to buy an awesome toaster oven that lasts for years. This could be a very long term customer service relationship y'all're entering into.

One suggestion though, if you have a bad feel effort at least ane more than fourth dimension.

Yous've probably worked in a customer service position before. (I've been a waitress, sandwich maker, and video shop clerk – RIP Blockbuster Video).

And then y'all know that customer service workers are human like the rest of us. The first person you talked with might be new or maybe having a bad twenty-four hour period.

ix. Become TO A PHYSICAL Store

I recognize you lot may not have this option but if you lot can, do information technology!

Become handsy with the toaster ovens:

Turn the knobs. Are they easy to align with the different functions or are they super loose?
Pretend similar you lot've merely broiled the best macaroni and cheese ever. Pull the rack out like yous ordinarily would to remove your food. Does it fall forward, sliding out of the toaster oven?
How easy is it to remove the crumb tray, will you be knocking crumbs all over trying to get it out?

If the accessories are with it, exercise they seem durable or thin and flimsy?

A inexpensive blistering pan shouldn't be a deal breaker just you'll want to factor in the toll of ownership a different 1 when considering the overall toll.

If you lot're at a department store (like Target and Macy'southward) or a kitchen supply store (like Sur La Tabular array and Williams Sonoma) catch some of the different pans from that list you fabricated earlier and give each one a try. Make sure those must-use pans will fit!

Final Thoughts

With so many toaster ovens to choose from, picking the "best 1" can exist tough.

The pull a fast one on is finding one that works for your specific needs and preferences. We promise these tips have helped you practise that.

Do you already ain a toaster oven you lot honey?

Share your favorite tips for choosing a toaster oven!