Best Toaster Ovens From Consumer Reports' Tests
These models are worth clearing counter space
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A toaster oven should work well enough to earn its space on your kitchen counter. After all, this small-but-mighty appliance goes far beyond making toast. It can roast vegetables, bake cookies, broil burgers, reheat leftovers, and more. Some newer toaster ovens even have features like air-frying, convection, and slow-cooking.
Other perks? A toaster oven heats up quickly, given its small capacity, and comes in handy when your full-sized oven is maxed out—or when you’re cooking for just a few people. "A good toaster oven can turn out a chicken or lasagna that’s nicely browned, and pizza that has a crispy crust," says Cindy Fisher, the CR test engineer who oversees our toaster oven tests. "A microwave can’t do that."
You’ll find options in our toaster oven ratings from almost two dozen brands, including Breville, Cuisinart, Farberware, Nuwave, and Panasonic. Our exclusive member surveys find that brand reliability varies widely, with a few brands snagging an Excellent rating for reliability—and two brands earning such low reliability ratings that we cannot recommend them at this time.
Here’s a roundup of the best toaster ovens from CR’s tests, listed in alphabetical order. See our complete toaster oven ratings for even more information, and consult our toaster oven buying guide as you shop.
CR’s take: While it doesn’t land in the very top tier of our ratings, the Black+Decker 8-Slice Digital Extra Wide TO3290XSD is a solid choice, and the lowest-priced option in this bunch. It scores a Very Good rating in our reheating test, evenly reheating a single serving of lasagna in 15 minutes. In other words, it won’t take you long to get leftovers on the table. This 1,500-watt toaster oven has a temperature range of 150° F to 450° F, and there are three rack positions. The additional functions are what you’d expect—reheat, bake, and broil—and there are settings for bagels and pizza. Black+Decker toaster ovens earn a midrange Good rating for predicted brand reliability but only a Fair rating for owner satisfaction, according to our survey of CR members.
CR’s take: The Breville BOV650XL toaster oven earns a Very Good rating in our baking tests, turning out sugar cookies and corn muffins that were done in the center and golden on top and bottom. Functions include bake, broil, and roast, and settings for pizza and toasting bagels. This toaster oven has three rack positions and offers a temperature range of 120° F to 450° F. Models in our ratings range from 800 to 1,875 watts, so this 1,800-watt model is near the top in terms of power. (The higher the wattage, the more energy is delivered.) Breville earns an Excellent rating for predicted reliability, making it one of two brands that stand out as most reliable in our member survey.
CR’s take: The 1,800-watt Breville Smart Oven Air Convection also garners a Very Good rating in our baking test, like the Breville above, but it has eight rack positions and a wider temperature range of 80° F to 480° F. It’s terrific at toasting but is the slowest of the models featured here. Beyond the basics, it has a convection option, a setting that dehydrates fruits and vegetables for healthy snacking, and an air fryer that trims the fat from favorite foods. How? By using high heat and a convection fan to circulate hot air to "fry" foods with little or no oil. We tried it, cooking fresh chicken wings, frozen curly fries, and a variety of other foods, and found that they were crispy outside and moist inside. As a brand, Breville toaster ovens also earn an Excellent rating in owner satisfaction.
CR’s take: With a temperature range of 120° F to 450° F, the 1,800-watt Breville Smart Oven BOV800XL does a nice job baking food, reheating leftovers, and turning out a batch of even, medium-brown toast. More praise: it’s a cinch to operate and easy to clean. Plus, the brand receives Excellent reliability and owner satisfaction ratings in CR’s member survey. One minor drawback, though: Our testers found this model isn’t as good at toasting a single slice of bread as the other two top-rated toaster ovens from Breville in our tests.
CR’s take: The Cuisinart Chefs Convection TOB-260N1 boasts an oven big enough to fit a 9-pound chicken or nine slices of toast. It does an impressive job toasting, earning a Very Good rating in these tests. But in our test for reheating, the lasagna wasn’t as hot as with the other models highlighted here and wasn’t as evenly heated. This 1,800-watt toaster oven has a temperature range of 150° F to 500° F and four rack positions. Beyond bake, broil, and bagels, there are settings for roasting, convection, and pizza—a pizza stone comes with the toaster oven. Cuisinart snags Very Good ratings in reliability and owner satisfaction, based on data from our member survey.
CR’s take: The Hamilton Beach 6-slice 31411 earns a Very Good rating in our reheating tests; food emerged evenly heated throughout. It’s better at toasting a batch of toast than just one slice, however. It costs a fraction of most of the other toaster ovens in our tests. That’s why it’s pretty basic, with bake, broil, and warm functions, and three rack positions. This 1,440-watt toaster oven offers a temperature range of warm to 450° F. Hamilton Beach earns a midrange Good rating in both reliability and owner satisfaction. In terms of overall score, it matches the Cuisinart TOA60, but the Hamilton Beach consistently retails for less.
For more options, see our full toaster oven ratings and recommendations as well as our toaster and toaster oven buying guide.