Talk to me about toaster ovens

[luckyval]

We use it for tons of stuff - chicken tenders, toasting quesadillas or cheese toast, fries/tots, mini pizzas, I cooked some salmon in it last night (though I wouldn't recommend that for a work toaster oven)

[charley]

Yep, you can use it for all of that!
I would get one with convection.

We have a Cuisinart one and it's great. Do you have a lot of kitchen storage? That's the only problem I have with it. I don't like it on my countertop but fortunately have room for it in the cabinets. I get really annoyed when H leaves it out on the counter.

[isabel]

We use our toaster oven nearly as much as our regular oven. It's the perfect size for the small, square Pyrex dish. We cook casseroles in it, bake salmon, bake potatoes, heat up frozen stuff (chicken nuggets, fries, etc.), reheat pizza, toast bread.

Basically, if it fits, it gets cooked in the toaster oven instead of the regular oven. It's nice during the summer because it doesn't heat up the house.

[AHappierHour]

Our toaster oven gets used all the time. I've baked cookies, it's great for re-heated pizza, smores, chicken nuggets.

[bex1973]

Ditto luckyval's post. We use it a ton in the summer when we don't want to heat up the big oven. The only thing I've tried that hasn't worked were Pillsbury biscuits (the tube kind that pop and scare the shit out of you). We have had ours for 5 years and have gotten good use out of it. And you would think after 5 years I would know what brand it is but I don't. I think a Sunbeam?

ETA - it has the convection option.

[captainobvious]

We have one and use it all the time, the only thing I don't think it does as well as I'd like is toast. Ours is old, though, so that's probably the reason it doesn't toast well.

[So_Fetch]

Oct 7, 2015 9:05:58 GMT -5 captainobvious said:

We have one and use it all the time, the only thing I don't think it does as well as I'd like is toast. Ours is old, though, so that's probably the reason it doesn't toast well.

I was going to say the same thing.  The only thing a toaster oven doesn't do well is make toast. I eventually ended up buying a toaster for toast and poptarts.

[jinkies]

I have always only had a toaster oven, not a toaster.

It's nice to be able to melt butter directly on your toast.

I use it if I want to roast veggies for dinner, but they need a different temp than the main dish.

It's perfect for kid meals like chicken nuggets and fries.

Great for re-heating pizza or anything else that you would like to stay crisp.

I don't think the brand matters all that much.

[MixedBerryJam]

Now that I'm just cooking for 2 I use it a lot more. Mine has a convection feature and a rotisserie, and I use them both. The rotisserie only fits a tiny chicken, though. My brand is a Euro-Pro, but it's super old.

[lilafowler]

I love toaster ovens. Like others, I use it a ton in the summer to cook with on top of regular use.
When our awesome toaster oven we received as a wedding gift crapped out earlier this year we got a cheaper replacement.
Not the same, but still better than a plain old toaster.

[Deleted]

I love mine and I use it for all things PP said, but also for keeping things warm, like pancakes when I'm cooking in batches. It is also handy when I want to make a quick apple crisp w/o heating the whole oven for a tiny dish.

[juliachild]

I use it for basically the same things you would cook in the oven. I have the breville that does everything, convection, broil, etc. Totally worth it. We exclusively use that and the grill in the summer.

It's also great for heating up leftover pizza, nachos, keeping pancakes warm, and cheese fries.

[ECB]

We use ours ALL.THE.TIME. It gets used way more than our oven.

[pizzapizza]

Oct 7, 2015 9:01:49 GMT -5 al dente said:

I love mine! It's perfect for the things you mentioned. It's only me and my H so I use it every night for making dinner. It's also great for heating up left over pizza.

I have a Breville. I got it because a personal chef I know had this brand and loved it.

We also have the Breville.  My husband is in love with it and he can't really cook for shit.  He also loves the way it heats up pizza.  We happened to get it on sale at Macy's so with the upcoming holiday sales, maybe you can get a deal.  I also sometimes use it to bake or roast in the summer when it is hot.  I highly recommend it.  If you are going to get one you can get a wood cutting board from the same brand that sits perfectly atop it.  I also love that.

[Deleted]

I have a toaster oven and love it - it doesn't heat up the house as much. I almost never use the range oven, unless I'm making a big roast.

[nomad100]

Ditto what So_Fetch said. It actually sucks at making toast.

But it is great for most all other oven stuff. We have a Cuisinart and love it.

[Deleted]

[Deleted]

We use ours all summer because it gets way too effin hot when we use the oven. I use it to make everything. Ours has a rotisserie, so I do roasts, chicken, and duck on that.

[eponinepontmercy]

We bought ours primarily to make smores/smeeps. The toaster oven gets the marshmallows/peeps nice and toasty.

[orangeblossom]

I have s nice Cuisianrt one. I didn't get it form Costco, but hey sell that one for about $100. It toasts, bales, convection bakes and reheats.

I've made anything from garlic bread to a 5lb roasting chicken. I use it a lot, and only turn on the oven for big stuff.

[SKP82]

Breville convection oven. Hands down my most used kitchen appliance. I use it almost daily.

ETA: www.williams-sonoma.com/m/products/8305349/?catalogId=80&sku=8305349&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Shopping&cm_pla=default&cm_ite=default&gclid=CLe-uq7msMgCFYGQHwodo4ICTg&kwid=productads-plaid%5E97189128309-sku%5E8305349-adType%5EPLA-device%5Em-adid%5E48013647103

[lilafowler]

Oct 7, 2015 11:44:02 GMT -5 teeah22 said:

Now I'm wondering how I've survived 35 years without one. I think I'm going to get a cheap one first to see how much we actually use it and then possibly upgrade later. Thanks everyone!

I grew up with one so I'm definitely biased! Come to our side!

[8675309]

This post is reminding me how much I miss my toaster oven. ESPECIALLY now that I have kids and would probably use the shit out of it.

**Adds item to Christmas list**

[spwspw]

I swear toast from a toaster oven somehow comes out tastier too.

[isabel]

We also have a a a Breville.

[fumbalina]

You can make almost anything in a toaster oven. If you intend to use it for toast, get one with a setting for toast.

I have made everything from banana bread to a roasted chicken in mine. Anything that has a rise tomé will not do as well because of the limited space (yeast breads, etc) but other than that they are awesome.