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The best toaster ovens are quickly becoming some of our favorite countertop companions. These versatile appliances are a great way to declutter your kitchen, thanks to added functionalities that might just convince you to replace your toaster and air fryer.
1. Best toaster oven with air fryer
2. Best premium
3. Best overall
4. Best for steam cooking
5. Best for oven-ready meals
6. Best for safety features
7. Best for toast
8. Best for versatility
9. Best for small kitchens
10. Best for beginners
Because of their built-in fans, toaster ovens often use the same technology that you'll find in convection ovens. This fan keeps hot air circulating for quicker cooking times and more evenly crisped surfaces on your roasted vegetables or even a simple oven pizza.A toaster oven can even be used to replace the best air fryers thanks to their in-built frying baskets.
We've tested the best toaster ovens on the market, ranking models from Cuisinart, KitchenAid, Ninja and more to help you find the right one for your kitchen.
The Quick List
If you want a toaster oven and you want it quickly, here's a short guide to our top picks. You can read more details further down.
Best with air fryer
KitchenAid Digital
For a beautiful appliance with air frying functions, look no further. The simple digital dial is easy to use and it covers a range of functions which it executes excellently.
Read more below
Best premium
Wolf Gourmet
Although it has a hefty price tag, we think this is worth every penny. Our experts thought it was one of the best performance-wise, especially when charring steaks.
Read more below
Best overall
Café Courture
This beautiful oven is big enough for a pizza, has built-in WiFi controls and could perfectly broil and fry food. We love it for covering all bases and being easy to use.
Read more below
Best for steaming
Fotile Chefcubii
The Fotile can toast, air fry, dehydrate, and bake, but we really loved the steam function. With 40 different presets you can make almost anything without much effort.
Read more below
Best smart
Tovala Smart Oven
This isn't just a toaster oven, it can cover a range of world cuisines. Our experts would pay money for the meals which this made; it's easy and cooks to perfection every time.
Read more below
Best for safety
Calphalon Cool Touch
If you're looking for safety-first appliances, this is the best. The controls are easy to use and it protects against any accidental burns too. Still be careful when using it though.
Read more below
Best for toast
Breville Smart Oven
This can make up to six slices of perfect toast simultaneously, from frozen. That's something that our experts will toast to. It's brilliant across the board, including air frying.
Read more below
Best for versatility
Instant Omni Plus
A highly versatile, combination appliance, this can toast, air fry, re-heat, broil, bake, and more. If you're looking for appliance to do it all, look no further than the Omni Plus.
Read more below
Best compact
Ninja Foodi
If you have compact countertops, but you want a capable oven, the Foodi is perfect. With space saving features and top-tier performance it's a fast favorite with our experts.
Read more below
The best toaster ovens 2023
You can trust Homes & Gardens. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing the latest products, helping you choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Best toaster oven with air fryer
1. KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry
The best toaster oven with air fryer
Specifications
Dimensions: 16 x 17 x 11.3in
Power: 1800 watts
Capacity: 0.74 cubic feet
Cooking functions: 9
Reasons to buy
+ Versatile Sleek interface Easy monitoring Generous capacity No-flip air frying
Reasons to avoid
- Exterior gets hot to touch Alerts could be louder
The KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry is a beautiful appliance, with a sleek matte black exterior and glossy steel door. It's intuitive to use thanks to a simple dial on the front of the machine. We found the bright LED display easy to read, and simple enough to toggle back and forth between the remaining cooking time and minutes. It's compact enough to fit on a countertop, but it has a fantastic capacity. There's enough space for a 12 inch pizza pan or two full-size chickens.
Our expert reviewer Jaclyn especially appreciated the proofing function, which is a welcome addition for keen bakers. Every setting delivered consistent results, and the air fry basket is a stand out addition. It's very deep and cleverly designed so that you won't have to flip food half-way through. It turned out delicious, thick-cut fries, perfect tater tots, and even fried chicken.
When operating, the handle remains cool to the touch, but the sides of the oven get very hot. Toasting is this oven's weakest function - the heating element is only on one side, so it can cook batches of toast unevenly, and the highest heat setting is overkill, burning one of the slices of toast on test. The grill of the air basket is also a little untidy, spilling crumbs into the body of the machine.
Jaclyn's full KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven with Air Fry review has more details
Best premium toaster oven
2. Wolf Gourmet Countertop Oven
Best premium toaster oven
Specifications
Dimensions: 22 x 12 x 16in
Power: 1800 watts
Capacity: Fits most 9 x 13in stoneware dishes
Cooking functions: 7
Reasons to buy
+ Included temperature probe Digital timer display Sturdy and durable construction Even cooking Swappable dial colors
Reasons to avoid
- Price Lacks the smart features of similarly priced ovens
Wolf Gourmet comes with a hefty price tag, so it's no wonder that it is among the very best of the toaster ovens we tested for this guide.Expert tester Terri says it's "the very best countertop oven that money can buy", and it's her go-to toaster oven.
Settings include bake, roast, broil, toast/bagel, and there is also a proof setting which will work well in lieu of the best bread makers. Terri has been using this oven since 2020 without any issues, and if the five-year warranty is anything to go by, this toaster oven is built to last.
This countertop oven allows you to toggle its convection setting, meaning you can turn it off for toasting or braising. The temperature probe is also easy to use, and we found that you can top up on timings to add some extra char to your steaks without compromising on how juicy it is on the inside.
After all that, you might be wondering why this oven isn't at the top of our guide. It's a simple matter of cost. There's no avoiding that the $700 price tag on this toaster oven puts it out of reach for some readers. What's more, other ovens on this list have more features and smart capabilities, such as being controlled by an app or by voice control. That said, if you can swing it, this well-built machine is every bit as luxe as you could imagine.It's the benchmark of toaster ovens.
Our full Wolf Gourmet Countertop Oven Review has more details
Best overall toaster oven
3. Café Couture Oven with Air Fry
Best overall toaster oven
Specifications
Dimensions: 13.1 W x 5.0 H x 12.4 L inches
Power : 1800 W
Capacity: .8 cubic feet
Cooking functions: Air fry, convection bake, convection broil, bake, broil, warm, toast
Reasons to buy
+ Fancy design Wi-Fi connect enabled for SmartHQ App Remote enable feature Lightweight Cord wrap on rear of oven Control lock feature Adjustable alarm volume and brightness display 14 cooking modes
Reasons to avoid
- Could be too small for large families Price
This gorgeous toaster oven has a good capacity, allowing for a 12-inch pizza, a 9 x 13 inch pan (with no handles), or up to 6 slices of toast. The oven has a built-in WiFi, and the SmartHQ App means can monitor and control the oven from your cell phone. The app makes it easy to adjust the oven temperature, change the cooking time, and stop the cooking cycle. You can even do this with voice command, but if you don't want to use an app you can also control it manually.
It made a delicious baked salmon and a homemade pizza with perfectly melted mozzarella. It broiled tender, juicy chicken and gooey chocolate chip cookies.
We can't fault the performance, so why isn't topping the test? Well, just as the Wolf Gourmet above, it's a little pricey for a toaster oven. If you just want a simple oven to reheat a slice of pizza you might not want to spend $400. Not only that, while it While it held up well on test, the capacity may be a little small for bigger families.It's also a little pricey for a toaster oven.
Terri's full Café Couture Oven with Air Fry review has more detail.
Best toaster oven for steam cooking
4. Fotile ChefCubii Countertop Oven
Best toaster oven for steam cooking
Specifications
Dimensions: 15.5 x 16 x 14 inches
Power: 1800 watts
Capacity: 1 cubic foot
Cooking functions: 4
Reasons to buy
+ Steam function Portable water tank 40 preset recipes Simple controls Self-cleaning
Reasons to avoid
- Expensive Oven door difficult to open
The Fotile ChefCubii has four main functions: it can steam, bake, air fry, and dehydrate. However, it goes much, much further than this, with a whopping 40 different preset menu functions. This means you can effortlessly proof bread dough or cook rice, make tacos, make egg tarts, cook BBQ ribs and dozens of other meals besides. Despite all these features, the stand out function is the steam cooking. It's one of the healthiest ways to cook, leaving food juicy and tender, without the need for added oil. It made delicious steamed shrimp.
What's more, the sleek, glossy white finish is also a welcome change to the sea of stainless steel.Thanks to a self-cleaning mode, it's also incredibly simple to clean.
Terri's only complaint is that the door is made of two layers of tempered glass and one layer of low E glass, which seal very tightly, but these make the door difficult to open. Fotile explained that the ChefCubii is designed with a damping setup on the door (in the corners, metal hinges) for added compression and to make sure the unit is seamlessly closed up, but this meant that Terri needed to hold the top of the oven with one hand to stabilize and pull open the door with the other hand.
Terri's full Fotile ChefCubii Countertop Oven review goes into more detail.
Best toaster oven for oven-ready meals
5. Tovala Smart Oven
Best toaster oven for oven-ready meals
Specifications
Dimensions: 18.5" L x 12.32" D x 11.75" H
Power: 1525W
Capacity: 12.75" L x 11" D x 8" H
Cooking functions: Steam, Bake, Broil, Toast, Reheat
Reasons to buy
+ Space-saving/lightweight Optional meal delivery service Steam, Broil, toast, and reheat functions Scan to cook Tovala meals Scan to cook numerous grocery items Recipe library
Reasons to avoid
- Tovala meals can be an expensive ongoing cost Must have WiFi and smartphone to set up the oven On the small side for family-sized meals
Unlike some other ovens on the list, the Tovala Smart Oven isn't just a toaster oven. It's main feature is a menu of oven-ready meals from a range of world cuisines - everything from Italian to Indian to Indonesian.Our expert reviewer Terri Williams found that these healthy meals were delicious - so delicious, in fact, that she would "pay money in a restaurant" for them. Thanks to the app handling the temperature and timer, every single meal on test was "ridiculously easy to prepare" - the only way it would be easier would be "hiring a chef".
If you don't want the ready meals, the usual cooking functions are all excellent, and Terri particularly liked the steam function. What's more, the Tovala is compatible with popular brands like Pillsbury, Eggo, Kashi, Amy’s, Annie’s, and Totino’s - just scan the barcode and the Tovala will cook waffles and pizza rolls to perfection. This oven takes up way less space than other toaster ovens on our list, so it's a good option if you're working with a smaller kitchen.
Terri found that there's a "hefty" ongoing cost. Prices start at $9.99 per meal, which is very expensive for home cooking. If you're cooking for a family, that's a lot of $10 meals, and the portions are quite small. You also need a smartphone and a good WiFi connection for this toaster oven to work, so if you're old-school and don't have either of these, or if your WiFi's slow or your cellphone is out of charge, you won't be able to use this oven.
Terri's full Tovala Smart Oven review explains more
Best toaster oven for safety features
6. Calphalon Cool Touch Toaster Oven
Best toaster oven for safety features
Specifications
Dimensions: 12.11" H x 19.25" W x 16.8" D
Power: Power
Cooking functions: Baking Pan, 12-inch Pizza Pan, Wire Rack, Crumb Tray, Dehydrate Basket
Reasons to buy
+ Exterior stays cool to the touch while cooking 12 cooking functions Turbo Convection and Programmable Step Cook feature Easy-to-read LCD screen Glass door to see what’s inside Several accessories
Reasons to avoid
- Does not include an air frying feature (that's a different model) No recipe booklet
By far the best feature of this toaster oven is its safety. While you should never do this, it's completely safe to touch even at its top temperatures, which is a fantastic safety feature if you have kids. It has 12 modes - Toast, Bagel, Bake, Roast, Broil, Pizza, Cooking, Reheat, Dehydrate, Keep Warm, Defrost, and Bread Proof, and these are easy to select thanks to an LCD screen control panel and dials, and uses a combination of touchscreen buttons and control dials.
Another ingenious feature that Terri loved is the step cook function, so you can program two back-to-back cycles. For example, you can set the oven to defrost and then automatically start the roast function, or set the oven to bake and then set “keep warm” as the second cycle if you need a minute to cook your sides. It also has an alert if you don't open the door, so if you forget you've got some cookies baking you'll be reminded to take them out.
The Performance Cool Touch Toaster Oven doesn't have an air fryer feature. A decade ago this wouldn't be a problem, but it's becoming an industry standard, one found in every model featured above. To be fair, there is another version that includes the air fryer, but it lacks the keep-cool sides.
Terri's full Calphalon Cool Touch Toaster Oven review explains more
Best toaster oven for toast
7. Breville the Smart Oven Air Fryer Toaster Oven
Best toaster oven for toast
Specifications
Dimensions: 18.9" x 15.9" x 10.9"
Power: 1800 watts
Capacity: 0.8 cu ft. 6-Slice Toaster, 13'' Pizza, Roast a whole chicken, 9 cup muffin tray
Cooking functions: Air fry, convection bake, convection broil, bake, broil, warm, toast
Reasons to buy
+ Easy to use Great toast setting Makes perfect pizza Makes great fries
Reasons to avoid
- Frustrating instructions Parts aren't dishwasher-safe Magnetic autoeject rack can be tricky to use Price Pay for longer warranty
Alex, our Head of eCommerce, found that this oven is particularly great at making toast. It can make up to six slices at once, and toast them from frozen. You can precisely adjust the temperature and cooking time to select exactly how many slices you want to cook and how light or dark you'd like your bread to be. This oven turned out near-perfect toast; so good you use it to replace your toaster.
That's to say nothing of its other features. The air fryer feature is a stand out when making fantastic fries, and the pizza function is a great option for a quick evening meal. It's easy to use, with a bright, intuitive interface.
However, the instructions aren't always clear, and there's a lot to bear in mind with different heights for different racks as you switch between functions. One of the most intriguing features is also the most frustrating — magnets in the oven door which pull the wire rack out as you open the door. When it works, this is useful, saving you from reaching into a hot oven as you take out your food. However, the magnets can also stick to the wire rack when you don't want them to, which can be dangerous with hot food. The price is a little steep for a toaster oven, and if you want a longer warranty than two years, you'll have to pay for it.
Alex's full Breville the Smart Oven Air Fryer Toaster Oven review has more detail.
Best toaster oven for versatility
8. Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer Toaster Oven
Best toaster oven for versatility
Specifications
Dimensions: 15.75 x 16.54 x 13.9in
Power: 1800 watts
Capacity: 18L
Cooking functions: 10
Reasons to buy
+ Cooks superbly Sleek and easy to use digital interface 10 different cooking functions, including rotisserie
Reasons to avoid
- Pre-heating takes longer than others Kind of noisy Door pull can be hot to the touch if oven left on for an extended period of time
The Instant Omni Plus is a highly versatile air fryer toaster oven for those looking for a multi-functional countertop appliance. Whether toasting, air frying or simply reheating, the Instant Omni Plus cooks superb and tasty results. It easily fed a group of four and comes with a variety of trays to best match what you're cooking. To minimize clean-up, the mesh air fryer basket sits directly on top of the enamel baking sheet to keep anything from dripping onto the heating elements.
We particularly like the large LED touchscreen that makes it easy to see cooking progress, time and temperature. The oven utilizes a golden quartz infrared heating system that also cooks food about 25 percent faster, which does present a bit of a learning curve, but leaves you with faster meal prep once you get the hang of it.
The rotisserie feature is unique and created one of the best chickens we've ever made, but it was a much messier process than anticipated. We struggled to fit a four-pound chicken and had to pin it down so that it could rotate. What's more, the attachments to use the rotisserie feature are sharp and bulky, making it difficult to figure out proper storage, especially since it's unlikely the average user will make rotisserie daily. A little storage bag would have been a nice add-on.
The pre-heating took a little longer than the other toaster ovens on test, and we found that the handle gets a little warm, so is best opened with a mitt.
Jaclyn's full Instant Omni Plus review goes into more detail.
Best toaster oven for small kitchens
9. Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Digital Air Fry Oven
Best toaster oven for small kitchens
Specifications
Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.5 x 15.1in
Power: 1800 watts
Capacity: Fits 13 x 13in baking tray
Cooking functions: 8
Reasons to buy
+ Folds away to create counter space Sleek curved display Easy to clean
Reasons to avoid
- Not the largest capacity
If you live in a small home and want something to speed up meal times without taking an entire counter's worth of space, the Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Digital Air Fry Oven is designed just for you with a special space-saving Flip-Up design. It has eight modes: air fry, air roast, air broil, bake, bagel, toast, dehydrate and keep warm. While it can't rival full-sized air fryers, it still has the space for a 13 x 13in baking tray, and it comes with two inserts for air frying and baking.
It can also fit up to nine slices of toast and up to 4 pounds of chicken wings. The flip-away design is distinctive and great for those with small homes, and it also has a pull-out crumb tray to make sure it's clean for day-to-day use.Because it lifts up, it's easy to access the underside of the toaster oven to get an easy and deep clean, which is great news for those who plan to use this as their main toaster oven.
It makes fantastic toast and bagels - everything came out even, with some slight marks from the wire rack on one side of the toast.
It doesn't look quite as stylish on a countertop compared to other toaster ovens. It also has a more narrow cooking height than other machines, so keep that in mind if you plan to cook bulky food items like a whole chicken.
Our full Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 Flip Mini Oven review has more details
Best toaster oven for first-timers
10. Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven
Best toaster oven for first-timers
Specifications
Dimensions: 15.5 x 16 x 14in
Power: 1800 watts
Capacity: 0.6 cubic foot
Cooking functions: 7
Reasons to buy
+ Seven cooking modes Speedy cooking Energy and heat-efficient Interior light
Reasons to avoid
- Tricky to set accurate temperatures Accessories can't go in the dishwasher
The Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven has a mid-size capacity that allows you to adjust the temperature, timer, and settings. You can air fry, bake, convection broil, warm, and more.The controls are incredibly straightforward, and you can simply twist the dial to add or take away time from your cooking cycle.
Our expert tester Helen McCue found that the Cuisinart TOA-60 cooked fast, with finished nuggets in just 7 minutes, and an oven pizza in just 10.This is a great alternative to a conventional oven, as we were able to cook an entire chicken which came out crisp and delicious.It also baked delicious muffins, but note that a standard muffin tin is too wide for this compact appliance.
Because it operates with a dial, we found that it's tricky to find the exact temperature when turning it compared to other smart toaster ovens that use an app. Fries weren't as crisp as those from an air fryer, and battered fish was a little dry. Toast also needed turning halfway through cooking to reach an even level of brownness.
Our full Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven review has more details
How review toaster ovens
We've reviewed every single toaster oven in our guide to help you find the best. We take our testing incredibly seriously and never award a rating or a badge to a product that's not been tested by a member of our team.
Our best toaster oven page is one of the many pages we update with regular reviews of leading market choices, so this page will be sure to change as we add more of our testing results.
For more insight into our testing process, our review guidelines go into more information.
FAQs
What should I look for in a toaster oven?
For one thing, you should consider the space you have available. While the best toaster ovens are excellent stand-ins for a regular oven, they do require counter space. We included the dimensions to make that consideration a little easier.
Another design element would be dial controls versus buttons, and the inclusion of a digital display. Some may feature a combination of both to operate. Digital displays typically help you identify the exact settings a bit easier, but may drive up the price of your toaster oven, and can make the experience more sophisticated, though you will find yourself with more control.
As for features, we recommend a toaster oven air fryer. That's not just because we're air fryer lovers, but convection technology will mean that your food will cook faster, and you'll end up with more options when it comes to mealtimes.Other functions like Steam cooking seems to be growing as an offering in toaster oven designs as well.
How does a toaster oven work?
The basic function of a toaster oven is a grill to cook toast and bagels. It's a larger surface with more capacity than a toaster, so you can cook up to eight slices at once, or thick-cut artisan breads like homemade sourdough. However, modern toaster ovens have multiple functions. Our tests have found toaster ovens that can bake, dehydrate, air fry, and much else besides, including cook an entire rotisserie chicken.
Is a toaster oven the same as an air fryer?
They're two different appliances. The basic difference is that an air fryer is an appliance that circulates hot air around food to cook it, where an a toaster oven toasts bread. However, the best toaster ovens and air fryers have multiple functions - though toaster ovens tend to have many, many more.
Are toaster oven air fryers good?
The very best air fryers air fry better than most toaster ovens, so if you're after perfect, healthy fries, some toaster ovens might not cut it. However, many air fryers just can't compete with the best toaster ovens for functionality, and the best toaster ovens featured above are more than a match for air fryers, making delicious fries and baked salmon.
If you're pushed for space, a toaster oven is a great option that can save you buying lots of different appliances. There's almost no limit on the appliances that can be replaced with the right toaster oven - you can get a dehydrator, air fryer, steamer, broiler, microwave and toaster all in one appliance, saving you money and space on your countertop.
Do I need a toaster oven if I have an oven?
It depends on your space and what you're trying to cook. A traditional oven can roast and bake just fine, but a toaster oven offers quicker cooking, as well as multiple specialist functions like toasting, steaming rice, and in one of the above toaster ovens, spinning an entire rotisserie chicken. Lots of buyers do away with ovens in RVs or cabins and easily make do with a good toaster oven, so it depends on your kitchen setup.
Can a toaster oven replace a microwave?
If it has a microwave function, absolutely. Even if not, the basic principle of heating food is the same, so classic microwave dinners like pizza rolls can turn out even better in a toaster oven.
Can I bake in a toaster oven?
This is an easy answer - you can absolutely bake in a toaster oven. Our expert tests trialled cookies, muffins and sheet cakes, and you can even use some toaster ovens to proof a loaf.
Meet The Team
Millie Fender
Millie Fender is Head of Reviews at Homes & Gardens. Formerly our editor for all things cookware, she loves nothing more than reviewing a kitchen appliance in her own home, especially the best toaster ovens.
Jaclyn Turner
A countertop oven is Jaclyn's favorite kitchen appliance, especially for cooking up sides alongside a main meal, reheating leftovers, or getting a perfectly toasty bagel. Our former ecommerce editor, Jaclyn finds out the best of the best for buying guides to help you fill your home with only the best.
Terri Williams
Terri's tested over a dozen countertop ovens, and has written buying guides on countertop ovens and other kitchen appliances and home goods for several popular websites.
Helen McCue
Helen McCue initially trained as a home economist. After starting her career in the food industry, she moved into home appliance reviews, utilizing her cooking skills and experience to put all kinds of products to the test, and over the years has reviewed hundreds of home and kitchen appliances for a variety of publications.
Alex David
Alex is our Head of eCommerce, and he's reviewed home, kitchen, and garden products for a variety of publications. He tested the Breville oven in this guide, and loved the toasting function.