01.Introduction
We review six small benchtop or toaster ovens, priced $109 to $300.
Through our rigorous testing, we reveal which models:
- Perform best at reheating, roasting and making toast
- Are the easiest to use
- Are the easiest to clean
On this page you'll find information about:
For more information about Ovens and cooktops, see Kitchen.
A benchtop or toaster oven is a compact alternative to a full-sized oven. They claim to be able to bake, roast, grill and toast, and some even have a hotplate on top – all this at a fraction of the price of a full-sized oven. So why not use a benchtop oven all the time? Well, while they can be useful for small cooking jobs such as cheese on toast, and are obviously handy when space is an issue – in a caravan, for instance – they do have drawbacks.
CHOICE's experts independently test a wide range of products and services to bring you unbiased reviews, product comparison tools and buying advice that is trusted by 140,000+ members.
Get access to all
CHOICE benefits.
$1.91
/week
*Billed quarterly
Purchase this
single report.
$20
Good points about benchtop ovens
- Compact size.
- Convenient positioning at bench height.
- Use less energy than full-sized ovens for small cooking tasks. Also, none of the tested models consume any standby energy (they have no digital displays).
Bad points
- Their small size rules out big cooking jobs.
- Most aren't great at cooking, though with some experimenting you can get better results.
- Despite their common description as toaster ovens, most of the tested models aren't good at toasting bread.
- Their walls aren’t well-insulated, so the exterior top, rear and glass doors can get too hot to touch safely. While they use less energy than a full-sized oven for quick cooking, the difference is less apparent with bigger jobs; they lose heat through the walls and take longer (about two hours to cook a chicken, including pre-heating time; a full-sized oven would take about one hour). Some use almost as much energy as a full-size oven to cook a chicken, though most use quite a lot less despite the longer cooking time.
Brands and models tested
- Breville Toast & Roast BOV550
- DeLonghi EO2031
- Kambrook KOT710
- Russell Hobbs RHTOV18A
- Sunbeam Convection Bake & Grill BT6700
- Sunbeam Pizza Bake & Grill BT5300P
How we test
We test each oven's cooking performance for:
- Making toast
- Reheating a large chilled supermarket pizza
- Roasting a 1.8kg whole chicken
We also assess ease of use: controls, labels, using the door and racks, instructions and cleaning the interior and exterior.
Want more?
Get access to our independent testing reports and save yourself time and money.
19 Dec 2011
|
We review 27 microwaves priced from $109 to $490 to find out which models perform the best, and are the easiest to use.
16 Jan 2013
|
These convection (combination) microwave ovens are capable of convection cooking, microwaving, grilling or combinations of all three.
8 May 2013
|
Never mind the bells and whistles, we reveal which models, priced from $20 to $399, perform their most basic function the best.
21 May 2008
|
But while looks may be important, they're only one of many things to think about when buying an oven.
