Mueller 4 Slice Toaster Oven In-depth Review
Overall Verdict
The Mueller MT-175 is suitable for one-person or two-people servings and saving space on your kitchen counter. For a small toaster oven, it cooked the foods for our performance tests very well, especially our Toast, Pizza, and Whole Chicken tests.
In addition, it can save energy with its 1100 W of power and two quartz heating elements. However, this can lead to a lower performance in foods that require a stable and high temperature like baking frozen fries.
The oven has a detachable crumb tray which is useful for cleaning, especially for a unit this size. Other than that, similar to many other units of the same size, it doesn’t have many features of design and usability.
Things We Like
- Lightweight and small size
- Easy-to-clean stainless steel exterior
- Cool-touch door handle
- Simple control knobs
- Stay-on feature
- Quartz heating elements have safeguards
- Energy-saving
Things We Don’t Like
- No convection fan
- No internal lighting
- No safety mechanism for the door
The grey stainless steel Mueller MT-175 Small Countertop Toaster Oven is a high-performing model at an inexpensive price. It’s small, lightweight, easy to operate, and energy-efficient thanks to its quartz heating elements and low power output. Its detachable crumb tray for easy cleaning stands out from its basic design.
7.0 Performance: Good Heat Distribution
The Mueller showed its strength in heat distribution with its score in toasting bread, baking pizza, and roasting a whole chicken. However, baking french fries showed its weakness of low power draw which is common in small toaster ovens.
7.5 Toast
For our Toast test, we started off by trying the Medium Toast setting which was around 3 minutes 5 seconds on the timer. The four pieces of bread on the upper tray level came out only lightly toasted on top except for one golden brown piece. We then cranked it up to the Dark Toast setting—around 4 minutes 50 seconds on the timer—which, unfortunately, burnt the toast a bit.
Finally, we opted for the middle ground which was 4 minutes on the timer—⅓ of the rotation from Medium to Dark. This setting was tricky to get right on the time dial, so we used an external timer. It gave us the best possible toast results from this oven scoring a 7.5/10 in total.
After 4 minutes of toasting, the four pieces of toast had pretty good surface color. However, the colors varied from light golden to golden brown on both the top and the bottom, so we could only give a 7/10.
Luckily, the varied colors partially meant varied textures which were all good and deserving an 8/10. The golden brown areas had a more crispy outside while the light golden areas had a softer inside. Our head chef Tuyet Pham determined that it would go great with omelets, eggs benedict, and sandwiches but not so much with soup.
After taking out the first batch, we immediately put four more pieces inside to test the oven’s consecutive usability which ended up at 7/10. Also under the identical toasting time, the four pieces of bread became brown with an increased evenness from the first batch. While the color was a bit darker than ideal, the extra crispiness made the second batch more suitable for soups.
7.6 Pizza
For its low power draw, the Mueller did pretty well in our Pizza test with a score of 7.6/10.
The oven took 9 minutes to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza which was slightly faster than the label’s recommended 10 minutes. However, compared to our tested toaster ovens, it could only be a 6/10.
The crust had a golden color all the way through and the inside was still moist. If only the crust was a bit more crispy, it would’ve gotten higher than an 8/10.
The toppings were also caramelized quite evenly from the meat and veggies to the cheese, worthy of another 8/10. The cheese was nicely melted but the areas closer to the back of the cooking chamber were more caramelized compared to the rest.
With both the crust and the toppings being 8/10, our chef had no reason to give the pizza one final 8/10 for taste.
7.0 Whole Roasted Chicken
The Mueller could barely fit a 3 lb chicken for our Whole Roasted Chicken test. Nonetheless, the result was quite decent at 7/10 in total. If you were to purchase this oven and use it to roast a whole chicken, we recommend cutting it open or chopping it into pieces beforehand.
We first placed the chicken backside down on the baking pan. When we slid the pan in, the top of the chicken breast grazed the upper heating element’s guard and was seared.
After the first 40 minutes, we flipped the chicken to find out that parts of the skin on the back got stuck to the baking pan. Then, when we reinsert the pan, the same problem with the breast happened to the back. Luckily, they weren’t burnt.
However, even after 1 hour and 20 minutes, most of the chicken skin still hasn’t reached a desirable color. The chicken, for the most part, looked like it was steamed and not roasted, so we gave the skin a 5.5/10.
Nonetheless, our chef decided to stop the roasting as the color wouldn’t improve anyway and to avoid overcooking the meat. This cooking time was the equivalent of a 6/10 according to our data.
With such a long cooking time, the meat had no pink spots. However, the chicken’s internal temperature was 185°F-192°F, higher than the USDA recommended 165°F-180°F. Thus, we gave it an 8.7/ for doneness.
While not the most appetizing looking, the meat was very juicy. That, combined with the slight caramelization on the skin, was enough for a 7.5/10 for taste from our chef.
3.6 Baked French Fries
Our Baked French Fries test brought out the Mueller’s weakness of not being able to maintain a high temperature due to its low power draw. Its even heat distribution couldn’t help much if the temperature wasn’t high enough, so the final score was 3.6/10. These problems are less likely to be present in a convection toaster oven.
We stopped the baking after 27 minutes as the fries weren’t getting any more colors. This, nonetheless, was over our time limit of 25 minutes, so it was a 0/10.
The fries had no significant color change and barely enough for a 4.5/10. We ended up with 12 oz of frozen fries that were more similar to being dried in an oven than being baked, so we gave them another 4.5/10 for texture.
Fortunately, the fries were cooked through and not soggy, so our chef could give them a 4.5/10 for taste and not a zero.
5.3 Design: Standard
The Mueller has a standard design for a small oven which further highlights its detachable crumb tray. Its quartz heating elements can be another factor worth considering if you’re into energy efficiency.
In the Box
- Model: MT-175
- Warranty: 1 year
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
The Mueller toaster oven came in a basic packaging and positioned with two foam pads. The included accessories were simply duct-taped to the oven. Inside the box are also a user manual and a simple recipe booklet.
5.0 Exterior
As simple as it is, the Mueller has all the standard exterior features of a small toaster oven but also something more. The bottom of the oven acts as a detachable crumb tray which not only makes it easy to remove the falling bits and crumbs but also to clean the entire interior.
The oven has a cool-touch door handle and back buffers to prevent it from being too close to the wall. Unfortunately, it has no cord storage or carrying handles.
Our measurements of the oven’s footprint were 14.96" x 11.61" x 8.86" which pretty much coincided with the manufacturer’s 14.84" x 11.85" x 8.86". However, the weight of the oven by itself was already 9 lbs whereas the label said the entire box was 7.63 lbs.
Control Panel
The Mueller has a basic analog control panel with three dials for temperature, function, and time. The time dial has a stay-on setting to help with its short range, similar to many other small toaster ovens. Interestingly, while the max temperature setting was 450°F, we actually recorded the internal temperature of the oven reaching 500°F on the said setting.
Cooking Functions
- Toast
- Bake
- Broil
- Keep warm
Different from most other toaster ovens, the Mueller’s Bake function only uses the lower heating elements as opposed to lower and upper. The Broil function still uses only the upper heating elements.
The Toast function is where both the lower and upper heating elements work. Nonetheless, the oven still provides all the basic functions for its intended purposes.
1.0 Interior
Similar to many other small toaster ovens, including the Comfee CFO-BB101, the Mueller lacks a convection fan and an interior light. In addition, it only has two heating elements which can usually lead to uneven heat distribution compared to four or more heating elements.
These heating elements are made of quartz which uses infrared light to cook foods faster than the more common nichrome counterparts. Quartz heating elements also cool down faster, are more energy-efficient and easier to clean but not as durable.
However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains. This is why they usually have guards which this oven also has.
Capacity
We could fit four slices of toast, a 9-inch pizza but we could barely fit a 3 lb chicken inside the Mueller, unlike the same-sized Breville BOV450XL. We measured the cooking chamber volume to be around 12.81 liters, slightly different than the manufacturer’s provided capacity of 11.67 liters. However, it could just be a difference in measuring standards.
Power Cord
The power cord is 30.7 inches long, suitable for household use. Unfortunately, the oven doesn’t have any storage space for it.
Accessories: Baking Rack
The two sides of the baking rack have slight curves upward at an angle to keep the baking pan in place. It fits perfectly with the guide to help prevent accidents when placing your food in the oven.
Accessories: Baking Pan
The baking pan doesn’t fit into the guide rails and has to on top of the rack. This may prevent the full use of the oven’s capacity and lead to some inconveniences during cooking.
On the bright side, the pan has ridges and grooves to give your food attractive roasting marks and catch the dripping better. It has a coating but is not completely non-stick so you may need to watch out for some stubborn stains after a hefty roast.
8.0 Build Quality
For a simple small toaster oven, build quality is all about how durable it is and if it works properly. The Mueller accomplishes that with a sturdy stainless steel casing and smooth-turning dials.
5.2 Usability: Easy but Not Convenient to Use
Similar to most small toaster ovens, the Mueller is easy to operate but not the most convenient to use. For instance, the control panel has a lot of room for errors and the oven’s interior doesn’t have a non-stick coating for easy cleaning.
6.0 User Control
Even though the Mueller only has three simple control dials, there are a few things to keep in mind. For the timer knob, when setting it to less than 10 minutes, always rotate past 10 minutes and then rotate back to the desired time.
It’s always tricky to precisely adjust time and temperature for an analog-control toaster oven and this one is no different. Nonetheless, you can use an external timer and an oven thermometer to get more accurate readings.
If you frequently use the stay-on feature, you can turn off the oven by rotating the function dial to Off instead of the timer.
4.0 Ease of Use
What’s convenient about 100% analog toaster ovens is that it’s very simple to adjust time and temperature during cooking. When the timer runs out, a bell will sound and the oven will shut off. Afterward, you can freely leave it plugged in and not worry about power consumption as it has no digital display.
The door can open at any angle < 50° to let food cool down inside the oven. However, keep in mind that opening the door doesn’t stop the oven. The exterior shell isn’t very thick, so it gets hot to the touch quite quickly during cooking.
7.0 Cleanability
We clean the stainless steel exterior with no problem. However, after the chicken test, there were burnt bits stuck to the upper heating element’s guard and grease on the cooking chamber’s ceiling. There was ample space between the ceiling and the upper heating element, so we proceed to try every cleaning method possible.
Unfortunately, we could only scrub off the bits. Due to the interior not having a non-stick coating, there were some permanent stains on the cooking chamber’s ceiling and the upper heating element’s guard.
Luckily, the heating element itself was intact. Also, we were able to remove the stubborn stains on the baking pan by brushing them with a paste of baking soda and water.