Small appliances are a dream come true for homeowners with smaller kitchens. There are many options out there that will get the job done while saving you space. Check out somt of those options here!
Small appliances are a dream come true for homeowners with smaller kitchens. Homeowners that are looking to create a space saving design have lots of options for small appliances that can help them get the most out of their kitchen. Of all kitchen appliances, perhaps none is more important than the kitchen oven! The oven is where you’ll prepare meals, heat up your favorite left overs, even bake your favorite cookies! Unfortunately, a regular oven can be quite large, so how can you save space?
Small toaster ovens are powerful, functional, and have a sleek design that are more space-saving than a regular oven. These toaster ovens use only a small amount of energy and come equipped with various cooking functions including baking, broiling, toasting, and re-heating food. They are a good option for small apartment owners and homeowners with a smaller kitchen counter space.
Before we give you our top picks, we want to convince you that these are truly some of the best toaster ovens on the market. We also want to let you know that, yes, it’s okay to use toaster ovens as opposed to regular ovens, as there are many benefits to smaller convection ovens. If you’re interested in purchasing a compact toaster oven, consider one of our picks below.
Are Toaster Ovens Worth it?
Preparing to use a regular oven can be a hassle. If you’re like some smaller homeowners, you probably use your oven for extra storage. In fact, according to the website MakeSpace.com, 15.4% of Americans surveyed say they use their kitchen oven for extra storage! If you’re one of these people, you might need to use your oven to store items such as frying pans, kitchen chopping boards, saucepans, plates, you name it. Maybe your apartment is small, or you simply just don’t have enough counter space in your kitchen?
When it comes time to cook and use your oven, who wants to take all of those items out? If you have a smaller kitchen counter, you’ll have to find a way to store those items, clean your oven after use, and then put everything back again. This is, of course, very inconvenient and time-consuming.
On the other hand, smaller toaster ovens can allow you to save time cooking meals, save time cleaning, and still take up little room. A small toaster oven is no bigger than a cookbook, meaning you can not only store it on your countertop, but also use it as a convenient tool during dinner prep! Don’t both emptying out, cleaning, and using that giant oven of yours, and opt for a small toaster oven instead.
Are Toaster Ovens Energy Effcient?
Although a small toaster oven can be mighty, did you know that they only take up as much power as a regular iron? That’s right! Unlike other ovens in your kitchen that can use up a lot of energy, especially if they’re older, small toaster ovens only use up around 1200 to 1300 watts of energy per use, which is as much as an iron. There’s no need to turn on your giant oven and waste money and energy.
Instead, using a small toaster oven can save you big on energy bills, while also making a positive impact on the environment.
Are Toaster Ovens Quicker?
We already talked about how much time you’d save using a mini oven rather than a large oven when cooking. Not only is it less preparation to clean and use your small toaster oven, but it also takes less time to pre-heat! A regular kitchen oven might take around 15 to 20 minutes to preheat to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you’re having a busy morning and looking to re-heat that frittata in the fridge for breakfast, good look getting out of the hoes on time using a big oven. On the other hand, a compact toaster oven offers the same heating elements and power of a regular kitchen oven without the added time (and stress)! A small compact toaster oven only takes around 5 minutes to preheat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, which is roughly a third of the time it takes to use a regular kitchen oven. Save time on preparing breakfast or dinner, and use a smaller oven instead.
Why Toaster Ovens are the Best
If you are shopping around for a small toaster oven, you might have noticed the vast amount of options on newer toaster ovens. While other toaster ovens from the past might only have been made to make toast, newer toaster ovens have lots of options and functionality!
Some common oven mode settings found on newer toaster ovens include:
- Warm
- Broil
- Toast
- Bake
Sadly, not many people take advantage of all their oven mode options. For instance, many people might not think it’s possible to bake a cake in their toaster oven, but it’s very much possible! In fact, most small toaster ovens come equipped with a baking pan, a removable tray, and a baking tray. You can use the smallest oven for baking! Other handy tools can not only help you toast bread to perfection, but also help with many other food preparations, including:
- Baking cookies
- Toasting your favorite nuts like cashews and almonds
- Heating up plates
- Keeping food warm
- Cooking smaller side dishes
- Reheating leftovers for the family
- Heating up frozen food
- Preparing meals for one such as roast chicken, baked potatoes, or poached fish
- Air fry foods
Can You Take a Toaster Oven With You?
If you’re one of the newer generations of millennials looking to enjoy van life or camp life, there’s no better small appliance to have than a sleek toaster oven. Having a compact toaster oven can allow you to quickly heat up your food and prepare for an adventure!
With their space saving design, you can put a small toaster oven anywhere in your van and still have room for a traditional toaster! Fortunately, you won’t need one, since you’re sure to find a small convection oven built-in with a toaster combo.
Best of all, other ovens might take up lots of energy and are impossible to take with you in a small van. Using a smaller toaster oven allows you to use less power while still being able to enjoy hot food. In fact, a compact oven only uses about 15 amps of power to use, meaning they won’t use up too much of your power (unless you’re using it for hours on end).
Why is Oven Cooking Healthy?
We can’t stress how much a convenient, small toaster oven will change your life and improve your overall health. Forget about the compact design and the fact that you can put a toaster oven in small spaces. Forget about the amount of money you’ll save on energy too. One of the best reasons to use a small toaster oven is simply because it will encourage you to cook more! Why is this important? Well, studies have shown that people who practice consistent cooking at home are healthier than those who eat meals out on a regular basis.
Using even the smallest toaster oven to help you prepare quick meals, reheat leftovers, and even make your own deserts can all help encourage you to eat healthily. Newer toaster ovens also have a healthy cooking function known as air fry. Using the air fry preset cooking functions on your toaster oven allows hot air to circulate around your food, much like in a convection oven. When the hot air circulates around your food, it cooks it completely on all sides, yielding some of the healthiest and best-tasting french fries, fried chicken, and fried wings without so much as a drop of grease!
Which Best Small Oven Should You Choose?
Now that you know about all the benefits of using a toaster oven, allow us to share with you our top picks for some of the best toaster ovens on the market. Even the smallest toaster ovens on our list can pack a punch and help you get dinner ready in no time. These toaster ovens come equipped with various cooking functions, designs, cooking presets, and more. Choose the one that best suits your lifestyle, satisfies your aesthetic preference, and meets all of your cooking needs!
1. Luby Large Toaster Oven
To start off our list is the Luby toaster oven that has the capacity to roast chicken, turkey, and toast up to 18 slices of bread! Although this toaster oven is a bit larger than most, it’s a great option for homeowners that want a countertop oven that still has a compact design. Not only can the Luby Large toaster oven cook your favorite foods, but it does so using easy-turn knobs that are user friendly. This toaster oven also comes equipped with a built in timer, automatic shut off, baking tray, wire oven rack, and french-style doors.
2. Mueller Toaster Oven
This small oven has a 4 out of 5 star rating on Amazon, with people in love with its compact design. At only 2.2 pounds, this is one of the smallest toaster ovens on our list. It has the ability to toast four slices of bread at a time, comes equipped with two rack positions, and also has a built in timer. Even though it has a compact size, it has a wide cooking range between 150 and 450 degrees Fahrenheit! At less than $100, this is a great little oven to keep on your kitchen counter.
3. Cuisinart TOA-60 Convection Toaster Oven Air fryer
This is the number one seller on Amazon in toaster ovens, and for good reason. This toaster oven has the ability to air fry your favorite foods, from potatoes to chicken wings. The Cuisinart air fryer comes in a variety of colors, including silver, copper, black, even navy blue! What makes this air fryer toaster oven so special is the fact that is also comes with all the features you’ve come to expect from a small convection oven. These include convection bake, convection broil, warm, regular bake, broil, warm, and toast options. At only 0.6 cubic feet, this is perhaps the best smallest convection oven on the market today.
4. Oster Air Fryer Countertop Toaster Oven 42L
This extra-large Oster compact countertop oven comes packed with lots of features, including digital controls, french-doors, and the ability to cook two pizzas on two racks! For a small toaster oven, it packs a punch and can even be used to cook a full, family-size chicken. It comes equipped with a convenient bake pan and uses 50% less energy than other toaster ovens, including other conventional ovens. Unlike conventional ovens with only 4 or 5 cooking functions, this toaster oven has 10 cooking functions, making it one, if not the most, versatile oven on our list! These functions give this toaster oven the ability to air fry, toast, slow cook, dehydrate, broil, warm, and use turbo convection oven technology. This 42L compact oven has almost all the features of a regular kitchen oven at a fraction of the cost!
5. Oster Compact Countertop Oven With Air Fryer, Stainless Steel
Another Amazon Choice favorite, this little oven combines the elements of an air fryer, convection oven, toaster oven, and broiler! You can fit up to four slices of bread or a 9″ pizza into this toaster oven. An adjustable broil feature allows users to broil food at any temperature. Its three rack positions makes cooking meals a breeze.
6. Hamilton Beach Black Proctor Silex 4-Slice Toaster Oven
The Hamilton Beach toaster oven is a favorite of many foodies today! It has a removable crumb tray to make cleanup a breeze. Why would you need a removable crumb tray? Well, this toaster oven has enough space to fit four slices of bread or two personal-sized pizzas! It also has a built in timer with an automatic shutoff, meaning you can walk away from your food knowing it won’t overcook. This toaster oven is truly a staple of every kitchen, and is a must-have for small spaces.
7. Hamilton Beach 4-Slice Countertop Toaster Oven with Bake Pan, Stainless Steel
This toaster oven has true Hamilton Beach, high-quality features. It comes equipped with a bagel function to keep round sides warm and cut sides toasted, a unique, but much welcome feature! It also comes with a removable crumb tray, oven rack, and baking pan. Its three knob features are user-friendly, and can help you select from five different cooking functions.
8. De’Longhi DeLonghi EO241250M Livenza Digital Stainless Steel Countertop Oven, 24L
This compact oven is European-made and one of the best small convection ovens on the market today! Like larger convection ovens, this toaster oven uses a state-of-the-art convection fan that helps it cook up to 40% faster and more evenly than other ovens. It is also a convenient countertop oven that uses digital controls to let users adjust settings easily. Cleanup is also easy, as it comes with a removable crumb tray and non-stick interior.