The Best Toaster Ovens in 2024 Tested and Reviewed
Toaster ovens are gaining popularity as a compact, energy-efficient alternative to traditional ovens, offering faster preheating and better functionality, especially a much desired air-fry function. But what about each oven’s performance efficiency? To find the best toaster ovens for you, we’re determined to research and purchase popular products on the market before putting them through our curated tests.
With years of testing, we can confidently recommend the Cosori CO130-AO as the best to buy — it’s affordable, versatile, easy to use, and produces consistently excellent foods. If you love air-fried foods and a larger cooking chamber, the Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air is the way to go.
Everything We Recommend
This oven impresses with its versatility, ease of use, and fast but evenly toasted bread, roasted chicken, air-fried fries, and pizza. With its consistent results, affordable price, and user-friendly features, it stands out as our top choice on this list.
This oven is quick and efficient at air-frying meat and veggies, producing excellent caramelization while keeping the food succulent. And, you can do both at the same time with the oven’s large capacity and impressive 2-level even cooking, making it ideal for family-sized meals.
This oven is the fastest at toasting bread, thanks to its high wattage and compact design. With durable build quality, easy cleanup, and unique features like a Temperature Conversion button, it's a solid choice for small kitchens, though the lack of a convection system affects evenness in roasting.
For its price, this oven offers everything you need in a good oven at a shockingly low price — it’s sturdy, easy to operate and has convection. Although it has a small weakness of low wattage, you can get around that by tinkering with the temperature.
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This oven allows you to just press the Reheat button and your food will be warmed up properly in a few minutes. With quartz and ceramic heating elements, high wattage, and a small cooking chamber, it can bring the heat real fast.
How We Test
To evaluate the toaster oven’s performance, we tested four dishes that require different functions and temperatures. Each test used food of the same size, weight, and starting temperature for consistency.
- Toast: We aimed for the perfect medium toast—crispy, golden brown on the outside, soft and moist inside—then scored two consecutive batches based on color and taste.
- Pizza: We baked a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza at 450°F to a golden crust with melted cheese, evaluating cooking time, crust, toppings, and overall taste.
- Whole Roasted Chicken: We roasted a 3 lb chicken at 350°F to golden perfection with crispy skin, and then assessed its cooking time, skin, and flavor after checking doneness with a meat thermometer.
- Baked French Fries: We baked 12 oz of frozen fries at 400°F to a golden crispy outside and moist inside, grading them on cooking time, texture, and taste.
The Design features of a toaster oven in need of evaluation can be condensed to its exterior, interior, and build quality. And during the cooking sessions, we were able to tell the Usability of said features, including user control, ease of use, and cleanability.
Check out full How We Test and Score Our Toaster Ovens for more information.
How We Choose
The foundation for our list is our test results from toasting bread, baking pizza, roasting whole chickens, and air-frying fries. Simultaneously, we consider the brand’s popularity, their customer service (including guarantee period), and the consensus of people who have hands-on experience with the ovens, and their price tags.
Cosori CO130-AO Toaster Oven
Best to Buy
This oven impresses with its versatility, ease of use, and fast but evenly toasted bread, roasted chicken, air-fried fries, and pizza. With its consistent results, affordable price, and user-friendly features, it stands out as our top choice on this list.
Things We Like
- Great value in terms of functionality and accessories
- Straightforward controls
- Useful toggles
- High-contrast digital display
- Sturdy construction
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Cool-touch door handle
- Spacious cooking chamber
Things We Don’t Like
- No safety mechanism for the door
- Convection fan isn’t all-applicable
Making Consistently Great Foods
The Cosori didn’t have the highest score in making toast like the Ninja DT 201. However, its toast score is still in the second-highest tier. The four slices of bread mostly had a beautiful golden brown color. They also had a crispy surface and soft, moist interior.
As a matter of fact, most of the oven’s performance scores are in the second-highest tier. Compared to our other top choices which excelled in some and under-performed in other foods, the Cosori is cemented as our best to buy.
The Cosori, however, has one of the highest scores when it comes to our Whole Roasted Chicken test alongside the Ninja DT201. The oven took only 40 minutes to roast the chicken to a beautiful color. That was the fastest time we’ve had so far.
The skin was mostly golden with some appetizing golden-brown color at the wings and the tips. We were pleasantly surprised by the near-perfect doneness in such a short amount of time.
Well-Designed Automatic Preheat Phase
The Cosori has an automatic preheat phase, which engages for the Pizza, Bake, Roast, Broil, Cookies, and Air Fryer functions. If the oven’s already hot, the function will recognize that fact and reduce its preheating time.
This toaster oven is one of the rare units that actually preheat to the input temperature. Most other toaster ovens, even on this list, simply heat to a hardwired preheat temperature that cannot be adjusted.
Practical Cooking Functions
The cooking functions that impressed us the most were Warm, Dehydrate, and Ferment which can keep the oven as low as 140°F, 100°F, and 80°F respectively. Looking at a number of recipes, these temperatures fit their intended purpose, which means this oven can act as a family-sized dehydrator and dough proofer.
On top of the many practical cooking functions, the ease with which you can adjust time and temperature makes this oven, overall, simpler to use than many other digital/smart toaster ovens, including on our list.
Read our full Cosori CO130-AO Toaster Oven in-depth review
Ninja DT201 Foodi XL Pro Air
Best Air Fryer Oven
This oven is quick and efficient at air-frying meat and veggies, producing excellent caramelization while keeping the food succulent. And, you can do both at the same time with the oven’s large capacity and impressive 2-level even cooking, making it ideal for family-sized meals.
Things We Like
- Straightforward and informative control panel
- Tailored cooking functions
- Family-sized capacity
- Tray-level suggestions
- Sturdy construction
- Well-designed accessories
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Cool-touch door handle
Things We Don’t Like
- No safety mechanism for the door
- Faulty interior light in the unit we received
Excellent for Roasting a Whole Chicken
The Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air has ‘third-element convection’ so it both heats up fast and caramelizes savory dishes well. When roasting a 3-lb whole chicken in an air fryer basket, the Ninja's strengths earned it one of our highest scores to date.
The chicken was fully cooked and had crispy and uniformly golden from bottom to top skin after only a record time of 40 minutes. Checking with a meat thermometer, the internal temperature was higher than necessary but the meat stayed incredibly succulent.
The oven’s results in toasting bread and air-frying 12 oz of frozen French fries were top tier as well. The dishes had various good textures and colors which were really appealing to our head chef.
Unfortunately, the Ninja DT201 didn’t have the best result with baking a 9-inch store-bought pizza. However, looking at the overall performance, we believe the Ninja would excel at baking fresh pizza.
Family-Sized Capacity
The Ninja's cooking chamber easily handles a 12-lb turkey. Utilizing the four rack levels, the distinctive '2-level' button offers, on the LCD, the optimal rack position for cooking two trays of food simultaneously. This even allows you to simultaneously roast a tray of meat and a tray of veggies.
Premium Usability
The Ninja's control panel is anything but basic, yet the digital display shows all the information in an aesthetically uncomplicated manner. In addition, its buttons are really intuitive.
When a function is selected, the oven will indicate the appropriate rack position. As you cycle through functions, you’ll find that the recommendations for optimal tray levels change accordingly.
Each cooking function has its specific temperature range that corresponds to its intended use. The functions are matched to specific recipes in the manual.
Read our full Ninja DT201 Foodi XL Pro Air in-depth review
Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Oven
Best Small
This oven is the fastest at toasting bread, thanks to its high wattage and compact design. With durable build quality, easy cleanup, and unique features like a Temperature Conversion button, it's a solid choice for small kitchens, though the lack of a convection system affects evenness in roasting.
Things We Like
- Unique feature buttons
- Non-stick interior
- High-contrast digital display
- Sturdy construction
- Cool-touch door handle
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Convenient slide-out crumb tray
Things We Don’t Like
- No interior lighting
- No convection fan
- Inconsistent heating elements
Great for Toasting Bread
The Breville Mini Smart Toaster Oven performed great in toasting bread, so we would say it accomplished its main goal. Thanks to its high wattage, this machine has the fastest cooking cycle for toast among the toaster ovens we tested thus far.
At the optimal toasting level, the oven produced four slices of bread with mottled light golden to golden-brown color that looked quite appetizing. The color was not evenly distributed due to the oven’s lack of a convection system to circulate hot air, though.
The first batch of toast was nicely crispy outside while still soft and moist inside. Our head chef, Tuyet Pham, determined they would go well with pretty much anything, including an omelet, eggs benedict, and particularly sandwiches.
Even though the oven automatically adjusted the timer to 2 minutes 36 seconds, the color of the second batch was a bit darker. Also, the second batch was crispier than the first which made it more suitable for soup. Remember to reduce the heat by one level if you want the same result.
The oven was able to produce acceptable results in roasting a whole chicken and baking fries. However, it showed a weakness in baking pizza.
High Build Quality
The Breville BOV450XL has a durable stainless steel casing with a slide-out crumb tray and tray-level indicators on the glass door. Its cooking chamber is more spacious than most small models and has a non-toxic non-stick coating. With 1800 W, it’s got plenty of power for four quartz heating elements.
Unique Features
Besides the basic features, the Breville has a few interesting presets for pizza, cookies, and reheating. The LCD screen combined with a function dial allowed for easy readjustment of the cooking settings during use.
As for the oven’s unique features, we found the Temperature Conversion button useful, especially for international users. On the other hand, the FROZEN FOODS and A BIT MORE buttons didn’t live up to their advertising claims.
It was easy to clean up the toaster oven, especially the non-stick interior and even the caramelized bits on its accessories.
Read our full Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Oven in-depth review
Black+Decker CTO6335S Large Convection
Best Value
For its price, this oven offers everything you need in a good oven at a shockingly low price — it’s sturdy, easy to operate and has convection. Although it has a small weakness of low wattage, you can get around that by tinkering with the temperature.
Things We Like
- Large capacity
- Highly affordable
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- High-contrast digital display
- Sturdy exterior
- Cool-touch door handle
- Convenient slide-out crumb tray
Things We Don’t Like
- Convection fan isn’t all-applicable
- No interior light
- Buttons not reliably responsive
Good Performance Scores
The Black+Decker CTO6335S had pretty good performance scores in cooking foods except for baking frozen french fries. We assumed, due to the oven’s large capacity, this could be improved if the oven ran on 1800 W instead of 1500 W.
It did best in roasting a 3 lb whole chicken where the cooking chamber still had plenty enough space. This test only required 350°F, which was not a high temperature requiring a high power draw. In addition, the convection system helped with heat distribution.
Sturdy Build
The Black+Decker has a sturdy construction and a durable stainless steel exterior. Its interior has a coating for easy cleaning. A few things that stood out to us were the quartz elements and the baking pan plus broiling rack combo. Unfortunately, the door and buttons are a bit dodgy.
Simple Control Panel
The Black+Decker CTO6335S is easy to operate thanks to its LCD and 13 buttons. However, it doesn’t have any features to increase convenience. This applies to its automatic preheat phase, which isn’t very useful.
Read our full Black+Decker CTO6335S Large Convection in-depth review
Panasonic NB-G110P FlashXpress
Best for Reheating
This oven allows you to just press the Reheat button and your food will be warmed up properly in a few minutes. With quartz and ceramic heating elements, high wattage, and a small cooking chamber, it can bring the heat real fast.
Things We Like
- Energy-efficient quartz and ceramic heating elements
- High-contrast digital display
- Internal lighting available
- Sturdy construction
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Cool-touch door handle
- Convenient slide-out crumb tray
Things We Don’t Like
- No safety mechanism for the door
- Having only one tray level
- Not particularly budget-friendly
High Speed Cooking
Among our tested small toaster ovens, the Panasonic FlashXpress has some of the highest scores in our Pizza, Chicken, and Fries tests.
Its powerful heating elements baked a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza in just 3 minutes, one of our fastest times. However, this short cooking time only cooked the crust without giving it much color—though it avoided dryness. Despite the cheese melting well, the toppings were less successful, with burnt onions, bell peppers, and meat tips detracting from the overall flavor.
Uneven heat distribution was a noticeable issue throughout, and we believe smaller portions could improve results. Limited heat circulation was the main negative factor affecting the oven’s whole roasted chicken.
Unique Build Quality
The Panasonic NB-G110P boasts high build quality, justifying its price, along with unique features like an auto-pull rack and preset cooking functions.
However, while the auto-pull rack is convenient, it reduces cooking space, and the presets add little to usability. The oven also lacks premium features, such as an interior light, often found in models at this price point.
Read our full Panasonic NB-G110P FlashXpress in-depth review
Nearest Competitions
Not everyone can be the winner in the battle of toaster ovens. Nonetheless, without the weaker competitors, it would be harder to gauge the products that perform well. Not to mention, some of the weaker units are still solid choices on their own.
The toaster ovens that didn’t make the cut:
- Instant Omni Plus 18L: This oven excels in air frying, with smart features like automatic reminders, preheating, and an easy-to-use touchscreen. However, its price tag is a little too hefty and its cooking chamber can be better utilized to fit its rotisserie kit.
- Cuisinart TOA-60: A fully analog, straightforward, and robust convection toaster oven that produces consistently great foods. Unfortunately, its design means it’s quite lacking in terms of premium features.
- Hamilton Beach 31344DA Easy Reach: This oven can save even more space with its roll-top door. However, the design of the cooking chamber did make it tricky to clean and its cooking performance was average.
- Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro—A large stainless steel toaster oven with attention to features of design and usability at a high price. Hence, it’s only suitable for someone prepared to invest in a high build quality, easy-to-operate control panel, and easy-to-clean accessories.
- Oster TSSTTVMNDG-SHP-2—An inexpensive, robust, large toaster oven. Its helpful accessories and various cooking function make it simple to use for everyone. While the oven had a good performance score, it could have been higher if not for the low power output of 1300 W.
- Mueller MT-175—A small, lightweight, easy to operate, easy to clean, and energy-efficient toaster oven. At an inexpensive price, it can serve one or two people and save your limited counter space. It can toast bread, bake pizza, and roast chicken quite well but not bake frozen french fries.
Factors to Consider
We’ve identified a number of desirable features to get the best value for money out of a toaster oven in our buying guide.
- Choose your ideal size.
- Choose your ideal capacity.
- Always choose toaster ovens with convection mode.
- More cooking functions aren't necessarily better.
- Quartz and nichrome heating elements have different advantages.
- Look out for high-quality accessories.
- Pay attention to features of convenience.
- Make sure it’s worth the price.
Our Expertise
Alan Nguyen is a reviewer for Shouldit. On top of making homecooked meals as a hobby, he has prior experience working in both restaurant and military kitchens. Behind the kitchen counter was where he learned to utilize an array of equipment for cooking delicate portions as well as cooking in bulk.
Along with the Research, Testing, and Review (RTR) Lab of Shouldit, he began the quest to find the best toaster ovens by sifting through hundreds before purchasing 18 distinctive models and putting them through a series of comparative tests regarding cooking performance, design, and user-friendliness.
Most notably, our performance tests required roughly 90 hours of development and execution time. The process includes toasting over 50 packs of white bread (That’s over 500 slices of toast!), baking more than 20 nine-inch pizzas, not just 20 three-pound whole chickens, and something over 15 pounds of frozen french fries.
In the end, the team honed down to the best ones each for a specific budget, culinary purpose, and home interior.
