Can You Recommend a Good Small Toaster Oven? Good Questions

Q: I'm moving into a new apartment with limited counter space, and have decided to invest in a toaster oven rather than a toaster. However, they all seem to take up so much room!

Do you have any recommendations for GOOD small toaster ovens?

Sent by Megan

Editor: Megan, here are a couple older discussions of toaster ovens:

• Good Question: What's The Best Toaster Oven?
• Good Question: Good Countertop Oven

We have also reviewed and thumbs-upped the Breville Smart Oven

Readers, do you have any recommendations for a small toaster oven?

Next question?

(Image: Emily Ho)

Comments (13)

I too am looking for this. I have a small kitchen and don't use the toaster very often so I just keep it in the cupboard until I need to use it. It's kind of a hassle, but I enjoy the extra counter space.

If your top cabinets are tall enough I'd consider an under-mount toaster oven.

The smallest one I've found is made by Elite. The product number is B001BRWAPE. It can be found at Target and is only $30. DeLonghi also makes a slim profile toaster oven, also available at Target.

P.S. the Elite toaster oven is not an under-mount oven. Black and Decker makes an under-mount oven line called SpaceMaker which is long but not very tall. You can also buy retrofitted mounts for traditional toaster ovens, but I'd probably just go with a toaster specifically made to be mounted under the cabinet.

Same here, I'm interested in a new one to replace the tired veteran that I now have. I don't want an under-cabinet type. One of my considerations is the oven should have a flat top and a door handle that doesn't protrude upward. It is handy to put plates on top of the oven to warm and some of the oven designs make that difficult.

Also, I am on the lookout for some decent bakeware to use in the oven. In the cheapo ovens that I have had in the past the pans and such that come with the oven are often so flimsy that they soon become useless.

Seems like I saw a toaster oven-sized pizza stone somewhere [Sur la Table?] anyone with any experience using one of these?

I use a Hamilton Beach Toastation--it toasts well but the oven really is small and the elements can get close to the food and scorch it--so if you're reheating pizza you're OK but I wouldn't use it for actual baking, its really too small for that anyway. I guess my question is why you want a toaster oven and whether a small oven will really meet your needs.

Basically I just want a small toaster oven for making toast, heating leftovers, toasting nuts...I probably wouldn't be doing any "proper" baking in it.

We got the DeLonghi one from Macy's for a wedding present, as I drove our Oster one into the ground! I love the DeLonghi because for the same amount of counter space, it has a larger capacity...you can cook 2 small pizzas at the same time in this guy! Plus, it's also a convection which is great for fries. It's a bit more expensive ($200?) but it's the best one I've had.

Honestly? For what I use a toaster oven for (making toast, reheating pizza, making pizza bagels, other such things), I bought a very small $7 toaster oven at Walgreens over 5 years ago, which still works great. If you want to like, bake cookies in your oven its not for you though. No matter what the settings say, they have two - on and off. But it works great.

Oooh, a topic close to my heart. I love my toaster oven, I use it for baking cakes, cookies (you can make just 2 or 3 at a time from frozen dough!), enchiladas, toasting bread and pretty much anything that will fit so I don't have to heat up my beast of a Viking oven. It fits a 9x9 square or a 9" circle or 2 x 6" circle pans, so it is super useful. This is the one I have, it is on the large side but I love it!

http://www.amazon.com/T-Fal-OT8085002-Avante-Convection-Toaster/dp/B0001ATELU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1277152530&sr=8-1

I have a Sanyo Toasty. They're tall, rather than wide, so they take up less counter space. I've had mine for about 10 years, my mom has had hers about 15 and both are still going strong. The thing I really love about it is that there's a bit more room between the heating element and the tray, so you can fit thicker/taller food (for example, a cut bagel piled with stuff) and it won't get burned.

That Toasty is a good find! The name is funny too...

I have a Toastation and I have been very pleased with it, actually I am surprised at how much I like it. We used to have both a toaster and a toaster oven but liked the idea of a combo when we renovated our kitchen, to take up less counter space. I don't use the oven part much, but I do like it for roasting garlic or nuts or melting cheese on a sandwich. And I really like having the traditional toaster for toast and frozen waffles and bagels, I think it does a much better job than an oven.

Black and Decker $35 bucks. Use it for everything, cakes, chicken, and etc. Has worked flawlessly from December.