The Best Toaster Ovens in 2024 Tested and Reviewed
Toaster ovens are on the rise as a popular alternative to the all-too-familiar full-sized ovens or wall ovens. They are typically smaller, preheat faster, and use less energy while offering the same functionality. And we’re determined to research into all the popular brands on the market — Breville, Ninja, Panasonic, Instant, Cuisinart, etc. — and selectively buy and test potential candidates to find out which toaster oven is the best.
With hours dedicated to toasting packs of bread, heating frozen pizzas, roasting a supermarket’s worth of whole chickens, and baking more fries than we’ve ever deep-fried, we can definitively say that the Cosori CO130-AO is our best choice.
If you want an efficient cooking status bar and the most air-frying prowess, go for the Instant Omni Plus 18L. For something smaller however, the Breville BOV450XL is your best bet, even better than the esteemed Panasonic FlashXpress.
Everything we recommend
This oven impresses with its versatility, ease of use, and strong performance across various cooking functions, including fast and even roasting. With its consistent results, affordable price, and user-friendly design, it stands out as our top choice for the best to buy.
This oven has the most reliable convection system. Its simplicity, speed, and even cooking results are ideal for seasoned home cooks, delivering great results for pizza, fries, and whole roasted chicken with impressive speed and even coloring.
This oven has an outstanding air-frying prowess, thanks to its powerful convection system, producing crispy, evenly golden fries in just 15 minutes. With smart features like a touchscreen, status bar, and automatic reminders, it's ideal for those seeking convenience and efficiency.
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
How We Test Toaster Oven
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.
- For 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 Picked
Our hands-on experience combined with knowledge from different experts allowed us to be thorough when designing our tests. We also consulted user reviews to find out which features matter to most consumers and applied them to our scoring table.
Cosori CO130-AO Toaster Oven
The Best Toaster Oven
This oven impresses with its versatility, ease of use, and strong performance across various cooking functions, including fast and even roasting. With its consistent results, affordable price, and user-friendly design, it stands out as our top choice for the best to buy.
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
The Cosori didn’t have the highest score in making toast like the Ninja Foodi XL Pro or the Cuisinart TOA-60. 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 Foodi XL Pro. 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.
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.
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.
The shiny stainless steel Cosori CO130-AO has some of the highest scores among the toaster ovens we tested. This large toaster oven consistently produced great foods, including toast of course. It’s also friendly to users of all culinary levels. In combination with its reasonable price, it became our choice for the to buy.
Read our full Cosori CO130-AO Toaster Oven in-depth review
Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Oven
Best Convection
This oven has the most reliable convection system. Its simplicity, speed, and even cooking results are ideal for seasoned home cooks, delivering great results for pizza, fries, and whole roasted chicken with impressive speed and even coloring.
Things We Like
- Simple and straight-to-the-point control knobs
- Sturdy design and durable material
- Convection fan is all-applicable
- Electrical safety feature for the door
- Convenient removable oven bottom tray
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Plenty of recipes included in the user manual
Things We Don’t Like
- Opening the door also turns off the light
- A bit heavier and taller than other same-type ovens
- Not very budget-friendly
More impressively, this is a completely analog toaster oven of which category usually doesn’t perform as reliably as digital models. Straightforwardness and simplicity make this oven ideal for seasoned home cooks who are willing to spend a bit more on an effective, robust, and lasting toaster oven.
Excellent for Baking Pizza
The Cuisinart baked a very appetizing 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza in only 3m 30s which was extremely fast. The crust came out a tempting golden brown with some nicely charred spots—if a little soft due to the short cooking time.
Thanks to the good convection system, the pizza itself also had excellent even coloring all over. The evenly melted cheese was also perfectly caramelized from the high and steady temperature. All together to result in a nearly perfect-tasting pizza with one of the highest scores among the toaster ovens we tested.
Excellent for Baking French Fries
The Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven baked some excellent fries in only 12 minutes which was very fast. In fact, it’s one the fastest units out of all the toaster ovens we tested so far.
Due to the shorter cooking time than ideal, the color wasn’t entirely even but was still very good. The fries were crispy and golden on the outside while moist on the inside thanks to the strong convection setting and the air fry basket. Thus, our chef gave one of the highest scores among the toaster ovens we tested after tasting the fries.
Great for Roasting a Whole Chicken
The Cuisinart took 50 minutes to roast a 3 lb chicken, which is shorter than average. Despite not having a rotisserie kit, we were able to achieve adequately crispy skin with an even golden brown color. We did it by spreading the chicken out on an air fryer basket and flipping it after the first 40 minutes of cooking.
The high convection setting and flipping helped the chicken to be thoroughly cooked without any pink spots in just 50 minutes. However, the internal temperature was a little too high at 205-207°F compared to the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F.
Due to being spread out, the wings were extremely crispy and deliciously fall-off-the-bone. However, the wings and the breast ended up a little dry, according to our chef.
The silver stainless steel Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven showed consistently excellent cooking performances thanks to the constant deployment of its convection system. This was our main reason for choosing it as the best one out of the convection toaster ovens we tested.
Read our full Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Oven in-depth review
Instant Omni Plus 18L Air Fryer Oven
Best Air Fryer
This oven has an outstanding air-frying prowess, thanks to its powerful convection system, producing crispy, evenly golden fries in just 15 minutes. With smart features like a touchscreen, status bar, and automatic reminders, it's ideal for those seeking convenience and efficiency.
Things We Like
- Informative and eye-catching package
- Smart Programs and cooking status bar
- Electrical safety feature for the door
- Convenient removable oven bottom tray
- Safeguards for bottom heating elements
- Complimentary app with detailed instructions and numerous recipes
- Helpful toggles
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
Things We Don’t Like
- Touchscreen digital displays need more contrast
- The master-control knob can be confusing
Excellent in Baking French Fries
The Instant Omni Plus was excellent at baking/air frying fries with its air fryer basket and air fry setting deploying the convection system on high. The strong convection combined with the air fry basket produced evenly golden fries in only 15 minutes.
What helped the color also baked perfectly crispy fries while retaining a nice amount of moisture. With the near-perfect color and texture, the fries received equal praise from our chef after tasting them. This test fortified the oven’s place as our best toaster oven for air frying.
Great for Roasting a Whole Chicken
Not limited to air frying, the Instant Omni Plus can tackle all cooking tasks thrown at it, including rotisserie. The oven took 50 minutes to roast a 3 lb whole chicken using a rotisserie kit, which was shorter than average.
The rotisserie kit and high convection together produced perfectly golden brown crispy skin. One thing to note is that due to the meat being considerably moist, the skin lost its crispiness in a relatively short time span.
The smooth rotation and high convection also allowed the entire chicken to be thoroughly cooked without any pink spots in just 50 minutes. Also, the internal temperature was only a little higher than the USDA recommendation.
The meat was almost fall-off-the-bone. Unfortunately, with it being so moist—to the point of softening the skin, our chef didn’t give too high a score for taste.
Easy-to-Operate User Control
The Instant Omni Plus has a black LCD digital touchscreen and one master-control knob. The display includes the cooking status bar, functions, and toggles for Light, Convection, and Rotation. Besides the automatic oven preheat feature, it features an audio cue to turn food halfway through the input cooking cycle.
Audio cues include the beeps when you plug in the oven, select a function as well as adjust time and temperature, and when the oven finishes cooking. According to some reviews we’ve seen, they can be a bit loud, especially for households with children and/or pets. However, they can be turned off by pressing and holding the control knobs for 5 seconds until the screen displays S OFF.
The silver stainless steel Instant Omni Plus 18L has an outstanding air frying capability shown in our performance tests. Thus, it became our choice for the best air fryer toaster oven. Its smart programs, status bar, automatic reminders, and recipe app suit people who are all about convenience, smart technologies, and overall efficiency.
Read our full Instant Omni Plus 18L Air Fryer Oven 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 Smart 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 Smart Oven 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.
The oven uses 1800 W of power which is plenty enough for four quartz heating elements. However, the absence of a convection system hindered its performance.
Unique Features
Besides the basic features, the Breville Smart Oven 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.
The brushed stainless steel Breville BOV450XL Mini is a strong candidate if you’re looking to invest in a small unit that requires little kitchen counter space Breville toaster ovens are known for their high build quality from the material to assembly and some unique features; and this model is no exception. Unfortunately, there were minor drawbacks in performance that prevented it from being perfect.
Read our full Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Oven 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:
- 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 HealthyKitchen101, he began the quest to find the good toaster ovens by sifting through hundreds before narrowing down to 18 distinctive models.
The team then purchased the machines and put them through a series of comparative tests regarding cooking performance, design, and user-friendliness to find the best toaster oven for every budget, culinary purpose, and home interior.
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.
