Appliances & Heat

Toaster Oven

Compact countertop oven for small bakes and quick toasting

A small benchtop oven that preheats fast and saves you from firing up the full-size one for a tray of cookies or a few slices of toast. Great for reheating pizza and crisping leftovers. Watch closely — its small cavity heats quickly.

A toaster oven is a small countertop oven that splits the difference between a toaster and the full-size range — big enough to bake a few cookies, roast a couple of vegetables, reheat a slice of pizza, or toast bread, but small enough to preheat in minutes and run without heating the whole kitchen. For all the little jobs that don't justify firing up the big oven, it's the efficient, instant answer, and many double as capable toasters with browning control.

The newest generation often adds convection fans and air-fry baskets, blurring into a do-everything benchtop appliance that crisps, bakes, and broils. Its small cavity is both its virtue and its catch: it heats fast and saves energy, but it also browns aggressively and unevenly, so things can go from golden to scorched while you turn your back. Watch it, rotate trays, and keep the interior clean of crumbs that smoke and char.

Types & varieties

Basic toaster oven

Toast, bake, and broil with simple dials. Inexpensive and great for toast and reheating, with less even baking than larger units.

Convection toaster oven

Adds a fan for faster, more even cooking and better browning — a real step up for roasting and baking small batches.

Air-fryer toaster oven

A high-velocity fan plus a perforated basket make it crisp like an air fryer while still baking and toasting — the current all-in-one favorite.

Countertop 'smart' ovens

Larger units with precise temperature control, presets, and sometimes steam — approaching a second full oven on the counter.

How to use it

Preheat it, mind its quirks, and use the right rack height. The small cavity means radiant elements sit close to the food, so position matters more than in a big oven.

Preheat for accuracy — the small cavity heats fast but the dial reads ready before it truly is
Center the rack for baking; move it down and away from the top element to avoid over-browning tops
Rotate trays partway through; small ovens almost always have a hot side
Use the convection or air-fry setting for crispness, the bake setting for gentle, even cooking

Care and safety

Crumbs and grease are the enemy in a small, hot box. Keep it clean and don't let anything touch the elements.

Empty the crumb tray often — accumulated crumbs smoke and can catch fire
Keep food, parchment, and foil clear of the heating elements top and bottom
Wipe spills once cool; baked-on grease smokes and taints the next bake
Don't line the cavity floor with foil in a way that blocks vents or covers elements

Common uses

Toasting bread, bagels, and English muffinsReheating and crisping leftover pizza and friesBaking small batches of cookies and pastriesRoasting a tray of vegetables for one or twoMelting and broiling cheese on toast or nachosReheating single servings without the big ovenToasting nuts, seeds, and breadcrumbsCrisping bacon and reheating fried foods

Tips & pitfalls

Watch it closely — its small cavity browns fast, and a toaster oven scorches things the big oven would handle gently.
It's the best leftover-pizza reviver: a few minutes crisps the base where a microwave makes it floppy.
Skip preheating the big oven for one tray of anything small; the toaster oven does it faster and cheaper.
Cut a recipe's bake time short and check early — small ovens run hotter near the elements.
Use light-colored or shiny pans; dark ones brown bottoms too aggressively this close to the element.