The Best Large Toaster Ovens in 2024 Tested and Reviewed
Large toaster ovens are in the largest size category in this line of products. They best serve families of four or more that want delicious, hearty meals in a short time. Although they have large footprints, they actually save kitchen space because they can serve the purposes of multiple products.
While that sounds good, not all large toaster ovens can deliver the same quality in their performance, design, and usability. Moreover, the most expensive model isn’t necessarily the best. This is where we can help—finding a good balance of value between price and quality amongst various options on the market, which is crucial.
When Should You Buy a Large Toaster Oven?
According to our extensive operation with this line of products, large toaster ovens are more preferable for users looking to serve four people or more at a time. They have a suitable balance of capacity and power for said serving size, especially compared to small units.
Using a large toaster oven to cook a 4-people serving is faster and more energy-efficient than using a small toaster oven to cook two 2-people servings. To the same extent, large toaster ovens don’t automatically reduce the power output when cooking less food, so it’s a waste of energy using them to cook small meals.
While their preheating times are commonly not as short as small ones’, they are still shorter than traditional wall-ovens. When it comes to the actual cooking time, however, large units, more often than not, showed faster times than small ones in our performance tests. These results were probably due to the fact that large toaster ovens usually have a convection system to help with heat distribution and a higher power draw.
A large footprint also typically allows for more room for investments in features, whether design-wise or usability-wise, that can help with the overall performance. Needless to say, larger units will take up more space and tend to cost more. However, to combat this, they are usually designed as an amalgamation of a number of machines, including air fryers, rotisseries, dehydrators, dough-proofers, and more.
Review of the Best Large Toaster Ovens in 2024
We have now discussed the factors to consider before purchasing. Let's get to the heart of the matter: the list of the best large toaster ovens for 2024.
1. Best Overall: Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Fryer Toaster Oven
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
The stainless steel Ninja DT201 Foodi XL Pro Air Convection Air Fryer Toaster Oven had not only one of the largest capacities but also one of the highest overall scores among our tested units. The 2-level even cooking function of this excellent family-sized toaster oven is to be credited for its outstanding performance in cooking for large gatherings. As a result, we picked it as our best large toaster oven.
Excellent for Roasting a Whole Chicken
The Ninja showed its strength in the process of roasting a 3 lb whole chicken inside an air fryer basket, earning one of the highest scores to date. Although this oven isn’t intended to accommodate a rotisserie kit, its performance demonstrated that it could produce the same results.
With our Whole Roasted Chicken test, we were also able to verify the manufacturer's claim that food in this oven did not require turning, particularly when using its air fryer basket.
The chicken was fully cooked and had an attractive, crispy exterior in less than forty minutes. Among our tested units, this was one of the fastest times.
The skin was evenly golden from the bottom to the top. The tips of the wings and drums sticks, as well as areas with a lot of fat, also crisped up beautifully.
However, the skin’s interior was soft compared to its crispy exterior. It appears that the surface of the chicken cooked so quickly that a lot of the fat didn’t get rendered out from the skin.
We used a meat thermometer to check and found the chicken’s internal temperature relatively high compared to the USDA recommendation. No pink spots were found in the meat after carving the chicken.
Thanks to the quick cooking process, the meat remained nicely succulent. Combined with the texture of the skin, the chicken received a really high score for taste from our chef.
Family-Sized Capacity
The Ninja's cooking chamber is the largest of all the toaster ovens we've tested thus far, easily handling a 12 lb turkey. By integrating the control panel and door handle, the Ninja also maximizes the cooking chamber's area.
The four rack levels inside the cooking chamber are engraved with numbers 1-4 from the bottom up. Utilizing the four levels, the distinctive '2-level' button recommends the optimal positions for cooking two trays of food at the same time. This even allows you to simultaneously roast a tray of meat and a tray of veggies.
Premium Usability
The Ninja doesn’t have a simple control panel, but its digital display provides all the information in an attractive and not-at-all-complicated fashion. Moreover, its buttons are really straightforward.
Each cooking function on the Ninja has its specific temperature range corresponding to its intended use. The distinguishing feature of this model is that each function engages a set convection level and a set number of heating elements, each of which is matched to the meals specified in the recipe booklet.
The appropriate oven rack level is displayed whenever a function is selected. As you progress through the functions, you will see that the positioning recommendations alter for optimal performance.
Read our full Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Fryer Toaster Oven in-depth review
2. Best Value: Cosori Air Fryer Toaster Oven
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 shiny stainless steel Cosori CO130-AO Countertop Convection Air Fryer Toaster Oven is in the top tier among our reviewed units. This large toaster oven consistently produced great foods, not just toast. It’s also user-friendly to cooks of all skill levels and reasonably priced. Those are the main reasons we chose it as the best-value large toaster oven.
Making Consistently Great Foods
Compared to our other top picks, which excelled in some and under-performed in other foods, all the performance scores of the Cosori were consistently in the second-highest tier. This was one of the main factors solidifying the toaster oven’s place as our best-value large toaster oven.
Moreover, the Cosori, alongside the Ninja DT201, has one of the highest scores regarding our Whole Roasted Chicken test. The oven took only 40 minutes to roast the chicken to a beautiful color. That was our fastest recorded time to date.
The majority of the skin was golden, with an appetizing golden-brown hue on the wings and tips. What most impressed us was how close to perfection the chicken was cooked in such a short period of time.
Well-Designed Automatic Preheat Phase
The Pizza, Bake, Roast, Broil, Cookie, and Air Fryer functions of the Cosori deploys an automatic preheating phase. The function will recognize if the oven is already hot and shorten its preheating time accordingly.
This is one of the few toaster ovens that actually preheat to the input temperature. Most others, including those on this list, simply heat to a predetermined temperature that cannot be altered.
Practical Cooking Functions
We were most impressed with the Warm, Dehydrate, and Ferment functions, which can maintain an oven temperature as low as 140°F, 100°F, and 80°F respectively. After checking a number of recipes, we confirmed that these temperatures correspond to their intended use. Thus, this oven can serve as a family-sized dough-proofer and dehydrator.
In addition to its many practical cooking functions, the ease with which you can alter time and temperature makes this toaster oven easier to use than many digital ovens, including those on our list.
Read our full Cosori Air Fryer Toaster Oven in-depth review
3. Best Budget: Black+Decker CTO6335S Toaster Oven
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 internal lighting
- Buttons not reliably responsive
At such a low price, the silver stainless steel Black+Decker CTO6335S scored notably high in terms of its design, usability, and especially performance. Moreover, this toaster oven is large while other similarly priced units are commonly medium-sized or small. Thus, it became our pick for the best budget large toaster oven.
Good Performance Scores
The Black+Decker CTO6335S scored fairly well in most of our performance tests, but not baking french fries. Our assumption was that the oven, with its large capacity, could do a better job of baking french fries if it ran on 1800 W instead of 1500 W.
Having more than enough space to spare for a 3 lb whole chicken in the cooking chamber, the oven showed its best quality through roasting the bird. This test only required 350°F, which was not a high temperature requiring a high power draw. Moreover, the convection system helped with heat distribution.
Sturdy Build
The Black+Decker CTO6335S has a durable stainless steel exterior and a sturdy build. Its interior is coated to make cleaning easier. Some notable features include the baking pan plus broiling rack combo and the quartz heating elements. Unfortunately, the door and buttons can be improved with higher quality.
Simple Control Panel
An LCD and 13 buttons make the Black+Decker CTO6335S simple to use. However, the oven lacks any additional convenience features. This pertains to its ineffective automatic preheat phase.
Read our full Black+Decker CTO6335S Toaster Oven in-depth review
Other Large Toaster Ovens Up For the Competition
1. Oster TSSTTVFDDG French Door Toaster Oven — An extra-large toaster oven with a sleek polished stainless steel exterior. Unfortunately, the lack of design and usability features failed to justify its price. Moreover, it had subpar performances when it came to foods that require temperatures greater than 400°F.
2. Oster TSSTTVMNDG-SHP-2 Convection Toaster Oven — An inexpensive, robust, large-sized 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.
Things to Keep in Mind for Buying the Best Large Toaster Ovens
It is crucial that you, as a consumer, receive the most value for your money. Even the most inexpensive toaster oven will be a waste if its performance is inadequate. Currently, we choose the Ninja DT201 as the best-to-buy large toaster oven.
Desirable Features to Increase Performance
Larger toaster ovens are more likely to have a convection system and a power output of ≥ 1800 W, both of which are beneficial for the cooking of savory foods. They also tend to have more heating elements and rack levels compared to smaller machines. These two factors can determine the number of servings that can be cooked simultaneously in the toaster oven.
Your large toaster oven of choice should have at least four heating elements to ensure heating efficiency in ratio to capacity. When it comes to the type of heating elements, our tests showed that the nichrome variety is better for savory dishes and the quartz variety is better for baking sweets. For the best of both worlds, there are toaster ovens that combine both of these types—usually large models.
On another note, large toaster ovens usually come complete with higher quality materials, more cooking functions plus accommodating accessories, and additional helpful toggles. These are other common factors for the large units’ higher prices—$250 - $450, with some exceeding $700.
Size and Capacity
In order to choose the best large toaster oven for yourself, the first thing you should look at is the actual exterior and interior measurements. Large toaster ovens can get as big as 20"x16"x12", accommodating 6-8 slices or a 12 to 13-inch pizza, with a capacity of 20-30 liters.
Meanwhile, extra-large toaster ovens can be anything over 20"x16"x12". They have a much bigger capacity than large-sized units (25 liters and upward to 55 liters) and often have more than four tray levels.
Nonetheless, toaster ovens haven’t had standardized measurements, as mentioned in our best toaster ovens article. For the sake of simplicity, our reviews group the large and extra-large toaster ovens into one ‘large’ category.
How We Test Large Toaster Ovens
Although we maintain the exact same testing procedures on toaster ovens of all sizes, there were a few notable differences.
Our Performance Tests
For all of our performance tests, regardless of the size of the toaster oven, we had to maintain the same food quantity and cooking temperature in order to calculate and assess the cooking time. This held true for large toaster ovens that could accommodate up to double or triple our test food amounts while keeping the results similar.
However, we’ve noticed that large toaster ovens running on < 1800 W performed not as well in cooking foods that require a high temperature (≥ 400°F), including toast, pizza, and french fries. Our assumption was that a lower power draw failed to sufficiently maintain the oven’s internal temperature for these foods. This usually wasn’t a problem when roasting a whole chicken which only required 350°F.
Our Design and Usability Tests
As we mentioned above, large toaster ovens typically have more room for features of design and usability. Because our scoring factors were the same across the board regardless of the toaster oven’s size, this meant that large units tended to have higher design and usability scores.
Compared to small toaster ovens, it’s more common for large units to have, for example, a non-stick interior, a convection system, an interior light, carrying handles, and so on. For usability, the features include an easy-to-see digital display, easy-to-control dials, automatic features, and safety mechanisms.
Having more and better accessories contributes to the performance scores and not design. Meanwhile, how easy they are to use is evaluated in the usability section.
However, a feature could also lead to minus points if not executed well. For example, parts of the oven may not work properly or are made of low-quality materials. Or, the control panel might get too complicated with all the confusing buttons.
How We Pick the Best Large Toaster Ovens
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.
Thus, rest assured that only the candidate with the highest score in every aspect can become our pick for the all-around best large toaster oven. According to our results so far, the Ninja DT201 has an ideal balance of performance, design, and usability—our scoring criteria.
Why Trust Us?
What separates us from other product reviewing platforms is that our basis revolves around hands-on experimentation as a team. Our testing criteria prioritize user experience with all kinds of toaster ovens. Based on the authentic appraisal and helpful information from our reviews, you can confidently decide how good a toaster oven is for you.
With the culinary expertise of our head chef, we developed our performance tests through the most commonly cooked foods in a toaster oven. Simultaneously, the Research, Testing, and Review (RTR) team scored the features of design and usability through our interactions with the toaster ovens during use.
In our How We Tested Toaster Ovens article, you can follow our tests step by step and see how we were able to finalize the scores which you see in our reviews. Seeing is believing, so our entire testing process is illustrated with original videos and photographs. Our tests are to be performed the same way on every toaster oven which means you can reliably replicate them as well.
After being tested, the toaster ovens are employed in the kitchen of Healthy Recipes 101 for intensive and extensive use. This is how we maintain a constant flow of feedback on the quality and performance of the toaster ovens as well as the do’s and don’ts when using them.
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 large toaster ovens by sifting through hundreds before narrowing down to 5 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 large 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.