5 Best Toaster Ovens of 2024, Tested and Reviewed
We made toast, roasted a chicken and baked cookies to find our top toaster ovens.
Our Top Toaster Oven Picks
- Best Overall: Breville Compact Smart Oven
- Best Air Fryer Toaster Oven: Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro
- Best Value: Cuisinart TOA-65 Air Fryer Toaster Oven
- Best Budget: Hamilton Beach Easy Reach
- Best Small Toaster Oven: Panasonic FlashXpress
Tested by Leah Brickley and Jill Novatt for Food Network Kitchen
Whether it's a quick slice of morning toast, a roast pork loin or a batch of cookies, a toaster oven can be a kitchen workhorse. Even if you love your standard toaster, the new generation of toaster ovens have upgraded functions thanks to smart technology that make the argument for adding another appliance to your countertop. They can toast, bake, roast and broil. Some have preset settings for cookies, pizza and other frozen foods. And a few can air fry, dehydrate and convert into a proofing box for dough. Depending on your needs, a toaster oven can ease the workload of your oven or eliminate the need for extra specialty equipment. Their potential is endless and convenient. Here are our four top picks for toaster ovens.
This article has been reviewed since its original publish date. We've updated our top air fryer toaster oven pick to the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro, as we feel it's a better value than the original model. Read on for a list of our current toaster oven picks.
Do You Need an Air Fryer Toaster Oven?
When deciding whether you need an air fryer toaster oven or a standard toaster oven, it's important to look at what you already have in your kitchen. If you love a standard basket air fryer, sticking with the original toaster oven might not be a bad idea. But, if you're looking to upgrade or consolidate your appliances, there are plenty of air fryer toaster oven combos that make the switch convincing. We included one of our favorites in this test, but there are plenty of great options depending on your needs.
Jill Novatt
How We Tested
We tested 20 top-rated, well-reviewed models (all from different makers). These toaster ovens included various brands and price points. We also included toaster ovens with air fryer capabilities. We noted any special features or claims and warranties for each product.
First, we evaluated how evenly and consistently each toasted one slice of bread and filled to capacity with bread slices. We cooked a frozen pizza for one in each and noted if the frozen pizza had a crisp crust and melty cheese. We scored high for store-bought sugar cookies with crunchy edges and soft centers and noted which models made juicy roasted chicken breasts with crispy skin. We also air fried batches of frozen French fries for the models that had an air fry function.
Then we rolled up our sleeves and cleaned them. We washed the trays and racks by hand and noted when any were dishwasher safe. We also noted how easy it was to remove crumbs and spills from the bottom of the toaster.
This was the fastest-cooking model we tested — golden toast was ready in just two minutes. This toaster oven boasts smart Element IQ technology (heat is evenly distributed amongst four heating elements), which ensures quick and even cooking. This oven is large enough to broil, bake and roast alongside your full-size oven or use the pizza mode (one of eight settings) for a 12-inch pie. The 15-by-17-inch footprint means that although it can perform many functions, it’s small enough to have a home on your countertop. Finally, it’s easy to clean with a sleek stainless-steel finish that will match your other appliances.
While the original Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer is a more mid-sized machine at a lower price point, we found in testing the Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is worth the extra money and space it occupies. The digital interface makes it an intuitive machine with 13 preset functions including air fry, slow cook, roast, broil, bake, cookies, pizza, toast, bagel, reheat, proof, dehydrate and warm. The rack levels are printed right on the door for ease of use. This model does a preheat cycle for most settings which is an additional step and takes a few extra minutes, but it adds a level of precision in the cooking not seen in many of the other machines. This did every task perfectly and in a short amount of time. It has a spring-loaded door, which takes a minute to get used to, but then is a nice feature. Like the original Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer, it comes with a 13-inch nonstick pizza tray, wire rack, broiling rack, 9 x 13 enamel roasting pan, air fry basket and crumb tray and has additional accessories for purchase: bamboo cutting board, pizza stone and pizza crisper pan. The oven will also fit standard 9x13 casserole dishes and a quarter sheet pan which gives it versatility to cook many things. You could also fit a standard 5-quart Dutch oven in this machine, if you wanted to. It also comes in several finishes so can really be purchased to match your kitchen and décor.
If you're looking to get the most value out of your toaster oven, you should spring for a model with air frying capability. The Cuisinart TOA-65 has enough room for roasting a whole chicken, air frying wings, making toast and heating up a frozen pizza. The workhorse has an intuitive interface that's easy to navigate, the preprogrammed settings make sense and most of the features work well, eliminating the need for individual specialty equipment. This model produced golden-brown toast with good texture and churned out a half-a-bag of frozen fries in minutes. The air fry basket can be a bit tough to remove, so take that into account and use an oven mitt when reaching for your food. Bone-in skin-on chicken breasts came out with moist meat and crunchy skin after 45 minutes and we found store-bought sugar cookie dough baked well according to package instructions. While it does come with fewer presets than the Breville, this model is sure to do the trick for those who want to expand their air frying horizons without sacrificing the functionality of a toaster oven.
With the smallest countertop footprint of the models we tested, this no-frills toaster oven nails the basics: toasting, broiling and baking. Perfect for singles that only need a slice of toast or a couple fresh-baked cookies — or for cooking a personal pizza if your roommate commandeered the oven for the night. The roll top lid, meaning the lid rolls over the toaster when open, is a great (and unique) safety feature as you’re less likely to burn yourself with the door out of the way. Plus, the red hue adds a nice pop of color to your countertop .
There's a setting for every family member, including waffle, roll, pizza, hash brown and of course — toast, on this whimsically-designed toaster oven. This small toaster oven can live comfortably next to the coffee pot or store easily in a cupboard. With double-infrared heating, it cooks food quickly without waiting for a preheat. Toast up to four slices of bread at a time or revive fried leftovers.
