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Are Toaster Ovens Worth it?

What is a toast oven? Are toaster ovens worth it? And would a toaster oven beenfit me? Everything you need to know

Mark Hoffman

Managing Editor At Ovenreview.co.uk

January 11th, 2023

6 Minute Read

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Toaster ovens have gained popularity in recent years as a convenient and energy-efficient alternative to a traditional convection oven. But are they really worth the investment? In this article, we’ll explore the pros and cons of toaster ovens, including their versatility, energy efficiency, and ease of use.

We’ll also compare them to traditional ovens and microwave ovens, so you can decide whether a toaster oven is the right choice for your family and your kitchen. Whether you’re a busy home cook, a college student living in student accommodation, or just looking to upgrade your kitchen appliances, this article will help you determine if a toaster oven is worth it for you.

Toaster ovens also known as a mini cooker or mini oven are a versatile and convenient small kitchen appliance that can save energy, space and time. They are a great addition to any kitchen, especially if you have limited space or if you’re looking for a more energy-efficient way to cook small meals.

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What are toaster ovens?

A toaster oven is a small counter top kitchen appliance that operates as both a toaster and a miniature oven. It typically has a smaller capacity than a regular oven and is designed for small-scale cooking tasks such as toasting bread, baking small dishes, and reheating leftovers. You wouldn’t normally cook your Sunday roast in one!

Toaster ovens generally have a smaller footprint than regular ovens, making them a good choice for people with limited kitchen space. They are also more energy efficient (much like an airfryer or microwave) than regular ovens, which can be useful for households that are trying to reduce their energy consumption and saving them money.

Credit: Unsplash @Unknown

Most toaster ovens come with standard features such as a timer, adjustable temperature settings and analogue knobs, while others have more advanced features such as multiple cooking functions, convection cooking, and even rotisserie. Other modern designs even have touch screen and saved presets. More modern designs are also better insulated, I found that cheaper models often get really hot.

Toaster ovens can be used to cook a wide variety of foods and dishes. They are great for small meals and small quantities of food like, toasting bread, reheating leftovers, or cooking small meals like lasagnas, pizzas, and even small roasted meats, they can also be used for baking cookies, cakes and also broiling meats, fish and even french bread. Although I have not yet tried any baking.

How many different types of toaster are there?

There are several different types of toasters available on the market, each with their own particular features and capabilities. Some of the more common types of toasters include:

The standard Pop-up toasters: These are the most basic and traditional type of toaster. They have slots for bread and a lever that, when pushed down, lowers the bread into the toaster. Once the bread is toasted, the lever pings back up.
Toaster ovens: As I previously mentioned, toaster ovens are a combination of a toaster and a miniature oven. They can toast bread and bagels and also bake or broil small dishes, reheating leftovers and can also do many other things.
Long-slot toasters: These toasters are designed to accommodate longer slices of bread, such as artisanal or homemade bread. They also can be used for toasting bagels, croissants, and other pastries.
4-Slice toasters: Also a common alternative to 2. These toasters have four slots for toasting bread and are great for families or for people who frequently entertain guests.
Automatic toasters: Automatic toasters have a motorized carriage that automatically lowers and raises the bread into the toaster, eliminating the need for a lever.
Conveyor toasters: These toasters have a conveyor belt that moves the bread through the toaster, allowing for continuous toasting of multiple slices at once. They are typically used in commercial settings such as restaurants or hotels.
Infrared Toasters: This type of toasters uses infrared technology that heats up faster than traditional toasters, resulting in faster toasting time.

You can also find toasters that come with additional features like extra-wide slots, bagel settings, defrost settings, and even built-in storage for your bread. When selecting a toaster, it’s important to consider your specific needs and preferences, such as how many slices of bread you typically toast at once, whether you need extra-wide slots for artisanal bread, or if you want additional features like a defrost setting or a built-in storage.

Are toaster ovens cheaper to use than normal ovens?

Toaster ovens usually vary between 1200W-2000W, conventional electric ovens usually run on about 2500W-5000W, this can make cooking very expensive. Toaster ovens cook food a lot faster, and can cook a decent size pizza in well under 8 minutes.

According to NimbleFins the price caps on UK electricty are now 34p/kWh. Now we can roughly work out the cost to run each appliance.

This means that the energy prices cannot exceed 34p, so in the worst case scenario this is how much it will cost. Best case scenario even cheaper.

Savings	Toaster Oven	Gas Oven	Electric Oven
Average energy draw per hour	1,200 Watts	Ca. 3,000 Watts	Ca. 3,500 Watts
Cost per hour	£0.408	£1.02	£1.19
Cost per month	£12.24	£30.60	£35.70
Cost per year	£146.88	£367.20	£428.40

Energy cap according to NimbleFins

Bear in mind you would not use a toaster oven for 1 hour a day as the cooking times are a lot faster than a gas/electric fan oven.

The pros and cons of a toaster oven

As with all different types of products, toaster ovens have their own pros and cons. Here is what I personally found after 1 year of ownership.

Pros

Additional cooking space – If you’re using your standard toaster often then you’re welcome the large space. On average toaster ovens have 5x the cooking space of a normal toaster. I mean would you be able to cook a pizza in a microwave or toaster? Toaster ovens are also great if you’re preparing meals at different stages and keeping ingredients warm.
Easily accessible to clean – Ever procrastinate over cleaning your conventional oven because of the size? Toaster ovens are tiny in comparison, once the trays/grills are removed, the cubic inside is very small and can be cleaned with hot water and a cloth.
Small size – This may seem obvious, but the small size is another reason I first got a toaster oven. Whether your between houses, or going on holiday, taking your toaster oven with you to cook meals is a perfect idea. I often see these types of ovens in Airbnbs and caravans because of it’s size.
Faster heating times – Again thanks to it’s small size, preheating and cooking times are a lot less because there is simply less space to heat up.

Cons

Noise – After searching the internet across social media platforms, the most negatively response to toaster ovens was the noise. Al though I have personally encountered this issue, neither would it effect me. It’s worth noting that as the heat element heats up it may create a noise against the metal.
Air-Fryers cook faster – Toaster ovens are great if you know what you’re getting. If you are looking to cook pizzas, bread and make crispier foods toaster ovens are good choice of appliance. However Air-Fryers cook normal foods a lot faster thanks to their fan and high cooking temperatures.

Is a toaster oven the same as a microwave?

Toaster ovens are similar in some ways but quite different in others. Both are small kitchen appliances designed to heat food quickly and easily, but they have different features and capabilities.

Microwaves use microwaves to heat food by vibrating the water molecules in the food. This makes them very quick at heating up pre-cooked food, such as leftovers and frozen meals, but it can also result in uneven heating and less appealing texture. Microwaves are good for reheating or defrosting, but are not suitable for broiling or baking.

Toaster ovens, on the other hand, use heating elements and a small oven to heat food, and they offer a wider range of cooking options. Toaster ovens can be used to toast bread, bake small dishes, broil meats, and even dehydrate fruits and veggies. They take longer to heat up than microwaves, but the food is heated more evenly and can have a better texture and taste.

Are toaster ovens actually useful?

Toaster ovens can be very useful for a variety of tasks. They are smaller than a traditional oven, which makes them more energy-efficient and easier to use for smaller meals or for heating up leftovers.

Toaster ovens can be used to bake, broil, and toast food, and they often come with additional features such as a convection fan to circulate hot air, which can make cooking faster and more evenly. They also can have added features like: cooking with steam, dehydration and keep warm setting. They’re especially useful for people who live in small apartments, or who only need to cook small meals or snacks.

Our conclusion

There’s more than meets the eye with toaster ovens. It’s more important to establish your needs, for example a large family would struggle to use a toaster oven instead of a normal oven. But in combination (bear in mind that they are counter top appliances) they can blitz food quickly and reliably. Toaster ovens don’t just cook your food but they also make it crispy, perfect for pizzas and other types of breads.

Would I ever replace my Air-Fryer for a toaster oven? probably not, but they are often cheaper. Would I ever replace my microwave for a toaster oven? Certainly, microwaves cook foods from the inside out. the disturbing of the cooking power is too weak, and sometimes leaves parts cold and uncooked. A counter top oven toaster cooks food like a standard convection oven from the outside in, this leaves a crispier outside and a well cooked or reheated meal perfect for pizza.

Mark Hoffman

Managing Editor At Ovenreview.co.uk

Mark Hoffman has worked as a freelancer and writer for several years. Reviewing ovens, washing machines and any other household items he can get his hands on. When he’s not sitting in-front of a computer he enjoys cycling, climbing and volunteering at charitable health organisations.