Toaster ovens: Is it worth it to get one?

I'm considering getting one. The thread about extraneous kitchen appliances got me going.

On the one hand, I do have a use for one:

1) I prefer to make toast in the oven. A toaster oven would keep me from turning the large stove on just for this purpose.

2) I cook for one anyway and that small-size oven is more economial and appealing for this reason. Heating pizzas or hor d'oeurvres for get togethers would be ideal in there.

3) I do small stuff like toast nuts. This like this, it's handy to have a auto shut-off feature.

Here are the disadvantages:

1) My kitchen is very small and counter space is at a premium. For counter space, it's only slightly bigger than your average galley kitchen. Though I could probably make room by moving my little "bar" area to some place on the back porch. Or maybe a decorative table in the living room

2) It's another appliance that I have no space to store. :P I've tried for years, and failed, to achieve the minimalist look. :P

So, those of you that have toaster ovens? Do you use them often? What do you use them for? Are they worth it?

I have a fancy Cuisinart. In addition to doing all the things you mention, I also make small meals in mine. I do chicken breasts wrapped in foil, broil veggies for a side dish, etc. Nice when it is hot 'cause it doesn't heat up the kitchen. And because I have only one oven, it is handy when I have a main meal going in the oven and need to bake a side dish or dessert at the same time.

On the down side, it is a counter space hog. You can get little ones that hook to the bottom of you upper cabinets to help save space.

If you intend to do more than make toast and heat leftovers in yours, do some research. The cheaper models are not always reliable in their temperature settings.

about the temp settings. Humm...

Costco has several models. And I like the one at my niece's house. I forget what brand that is. But it get's hot enough to broil a steak.

edit: I'd also want to do a small meal here.

fix my lunch for the week in the big oven because it's a normal sized dish. But for just a quick meal it's rather wastetful to heat up the whole oven.

there are microwave/toaster oven combo's out there. I know Costco sells one. My parents have one & my mom is really happy with it. Of course, it will be more expensive than a regular toaster oven and if you already have a nuke or don't need or want one, it's not a very good idea.

best

So I'm set there. :-)

A Black and Decker and a Cuisinart.

They're both great, and I honestly don't remember when I last turned on the big ovens.

The Black and Decker is really nice, small, fits in a minimal space. Plus, it has the turn-off feature (30 minutes). I love the big Cuisinart, but the B&D (does this make this a sex thread?) is my real favorite, and gets a lot more use.

I don't own a regular toaster, and the toaster oven is great for melting cheese on bread, etc.-- things you can't do in a regular toaster.

It looked just like this.



It was the size of a school bus!

It had a rotisserie in the middle and you could make rotisserie chicken in it. I'd guess my mother got hers around 1952 or 1953.

black and decker makes a "space saver" model- you can buy a separate mount to use it "under the counter" - and someone out there makes a combo convection oven- toaster oven that my friend says rocks. very fast, great for roasting/ baking (but it's larher) .

Our kitchen is a 70's style--very small and not much counter space. I have not had a regular toaster in years. My oven is a toaster-oven-broiler. Its good for toast of course but also for baking something small or reheating pizza or something with a crust. The microwave makes them mushy. I even use mine to reheat meals sometimes as I come from the generation that did not use microwaves to reheat food. If you use it for baking it saves you some energy and doesn't heat up your kitchen so much. Of course if you are short on space you'd have to get rid of your toaster if you have one. But you won't need a separate toaster with a toaster oven.

I can have a fresh baked chocolate chip cookie whenever I want or need one. 10 minutes in the TO, and it's on a plate, cooling down so I can eat it.

This alone has helped my sanity by bucketloads.

We use ours daily; the old house, with no counters, had it mounted under the cupboards; this house it's on the counter since I've got space here.

My mom unplugs hers and puts it in the cabinet after using it, but then she's into the bare countertops thing, and I am not. But she uses hers daily, too. She lives alone (though my brother-in-law has been there for almost a year; his company sent him to AZ for a month and 11 of them later, he hasn't been back to IL...); my DH and I are the two humans in my house.

:hi: I know what my next small appliance purchase will be! :D

I'm going to try to find one that's 1/2 broiler/ 1/2 convection oven. That way, I'll have the best of both worlds.

Great for broiling hot dogs. Great for baking pot pies. And even great for cooking a salmon filet. I use mine most for cheese toast, though.

ability to bake "just a couple of cookies"

It heats up faster than the big oven and doesn't get the kitchen so hot. Mine is just big enough for me to put my Foreman grill on top of it, so I get two appliances in the space of one:-)

If you want to do something constructive with your limited counterspace, buy a small countertop convection oven for about $200 or whatever they go for nowadays.

It's silly (as you observed) to run a whole range oven just for toast, but if you get a big enough countertop convection, you can use it for ALL your cooking (except maybe large round pizze, which simply won't fit).

I bought my first one 15 years ago when I moved into my first house, just hoping to have a small oven to cut down on my electric bill, and almost never turned the range on again. In my current house when I replaced the oven, I replaced it with a full-size convection. I would never go back to a regular oven, and I never used the toaster oven again either. Even if you forget whether or not it pays for itself (it does), you'll never want to cook in the kitchen without one again.

- Tab

It's a toaster/convection oven w/ a double rack a crumb tray, auto shut off. It's stainless steel so it doesn't clash with my hodgepodge of appliance colors. :rofl:

I immediately set it up and made cheese toast. :9

The only thing I don't like about it, and forgot to check, is it doesn't have an oven light. Sadly, I love to watch stuff cook. :9 But I already spent the money, so... :shrug:

seriously, i never knew a toaster oven to have a light in them. have you seen one like that?

congrats on the new purchase, I'm sure you'll find lots of uses for it!

PS will your duck fit in there?

least I don't think so. This one is slightly smaller.

The duck would have fit in the one at Costco I looked at. It was $15 more and slightly larger, big enough to hold 12" pizza.