Urban housing has considerably shrunk the kitchen area. The interior nowadays is designed carefully to ensure the maximum use of space.
As such, the slim countertops need smart and sleek appliances that cover less space and offers maximum features within a small structure.
Large appliances and ovens are difficult to place in small kitchen as they make your kitchen congested and far less comfy.
Consequently, the smaller kitchen spaces makes toaster ovens all the more relevant. These appliances come in a compact form and offer the functionality of three appliances; microwave for heating, oven for cooking, and a toaster as well for browning your bread and bagels.
In this article, we will look at some best toaster ovens for small spaces. We will review these compact options in detail for your convenience.
First let’s take a look at how size should be managed and judged.
Top 3 Toaster Ovens for Small Spaces
4.9/5
[Best Overall]
This particular model by Hamilton Beach is truly a compact oven that is particularly designed for congested spaces.
It is roomy enough to fit only four bread slices at a time and has miniature dimensions of mere 8.97 x 16.12 x 11.93 in.
4.8/5
[Best for the Money]
Its dimensions are 14.57 x 8.82 x 17.32 in, and a capacity to fit six slices of bread or a 12″ pizza.
The larger capacity, along with its different cooking functions provide more flexibility.
4.7/5
[Best Digital Option]
This toaster oven has a long cooking timer of 120 minutes. As such, this is far more capable of just toasting as it can also cook recipes that require a long time to cook.
It has a tall chamber. As such, it can can handle family sized chicken as well.
List of Best Toaster Ovens for Small Spaces
Let’s look at our selected toaster ovens in detail.
- Hamilton Beach 31344D – Budget Option with Extra Small Capacity
- Hamilton Beach 31411 – A Small Sized Oven with Decent Control
- BLACK+DECKER TO3280SSD – Affordable Digital Oven
- Oster Oven – Digital Oven with Larger Capacity
- Breville BOV450XL – Mini Smart Oven
1. Hamilton Beach 31344D – Budget Option with Extra Small Capacity for Small Spaces
As far as basics go, this is as minimal a toaster oven as it gets with a compact form factor
This particular model by Hamilton Beach is truly a compact oven that is particularly designed for congested spaces.
It is roomy enough to fit only four bread slices at a time and has miniature dimensions of mere 8.97 x 16.12 x 11.93 in.
Despite its small size, the toaster oven is designed carefully as it has a wide opening. Wide opening makes it easy for you to place food inside or clean the interior. Furthermore, with a Roll-top door, not only is the cooking chamber accessible, it also allows for an easy cleanup.
A great disadvantage of having a small toaster oven is its hot exterior. Due to its size, the exterior can be hot to touch and you must make sure nothing flammable is placed in contact with the oven.
Fortunately, this toaster oven comes with particular door handle that stays cool making it easy to remove food from the chamber.
The small appliance offers dedicated bake, broil and toast settings with a 30 minutes timer. Although there is not much space for large size dishes, you can prepare food in for single servings conveniently.
There is not much space inside for different positions of the rack, but it comes with a crumb tray that slides out easily and keeps crumbs off the countertop.
It’s a budget-friendly option as well. The small size makes it very energy efficient as well. The small interior heats up in less time and this need less power and time to toast or reheat.
If you have an awfully limited space, then this is certainly the best toaster oven for small spaces.
Also Read: Best Toaster Ovens for Roasting Vegetables
2. Hamilton Beach 31411 – A Small Sized Oven with Decent Control
A regular sized compact toaster oven for accommodating 6 slices of bread.
This one is slightly larger than our previous option but still a compact toaster oven for small spaces.
Its dimensions are 14.57 x 8.82 x 17.32 in, and a capacity to fit six slices of bread or a 12″ pizza.
The larger capacity, along with its different cooking functions provide more flexibility.
Furthermore, the oven offers sleek looks. It comes in stainless steel exterior and interior that is easy to clean thanks to small size. It provides four versatile cooking options. It will bake, broil, toast, and keep warm food.
Keep warm is an excellent feature that keep your food fresh for some time after the cooking is complete.
It allows three rack positioning and a crumb tray as well. The rack positioning will enable you to place the baking tray as much high or low from heating elements as you like.
If you are roasting some quick chicken pieces, or need some brownish crispy surface on your food, keep it on the top racks with broil settings. The lower position is great for baking.
The appliance is reasonably priced. It seems a bit expensive than our previous option, but it provides more space and cooking features that justify the price.
It can cater to the cooking needs of a small family easily and as such, this is the best toaster oven for small spaces for a typical family.
3. BLACK+DECKER TO3280SSD – Affordable digital toaster oven for Small Spaces
A popular regular sized toaster oven with digital controls.
This countertop toaster oven is carefully designed for small spaces. It is small in volume but has a spacious interior as compared to its compact size.
This particular model can fit a 12″ pizza or six slices of bread at a time. its exterior dimensions are 12 x 19 x 14 in.
There are a few things that make this oven stand our from the rest. Firstly, it is a digital toaster oven. Therefore, as far as ease of use is concerned, this is far better than the previous ovens mentioned here.
Secondly, it has a long cooking timer of 120 minutes. As such, this is far more capable of just toasting as it can also cook recipes that require a long time to cook.
Thirdly, this isn’t a wide oven, instead, it has a tall chamber. As such, it can can handle family sized chicken as well.
The toaster oven comes with seven cooking functions that help in cooking a variety of food. It will bake, broil, toast, reheat, bagel, or defrost. The various functions make it a solution for preparing breakfast, snacks, meals, or frozen items.
The toaster oven is powered by convection heating system too. Convection heating system means hot air is blown inside the oven chamber using a fan that cooks food evenly and in less time.
The toaster oven features a simple control panel with one-touch buttons. An LCD screen displays time and other cooking information for precise cooking. Precise time and heat is essential for good cooking results, especially in baking.
It even provides a stay-on time feature so food can be checked in between cooking without disturbing the preset time. The toaster oven will automatically shut-off after the time limit to save from accidental burns or overcooking.
The stainless steel interior and exterior has a nice finish that blends in and can enhance the beauty of any kitchen décor. The food can be placed on three rack positions depending on the choice of ingredient and method of cooking.
Overall, it is the best toaster oven for small spaces, in our opinion, if you seek digital controls with reasonable cooking possibilities despite its compact structure and low price point.
Also Read: Best Toaster Ovens for Baking
4. Oster Oven – Digital Oven with Larger Capacity
An affordable low powered 6 slice digital toaster oven.
This one still fits the small category, yet it provides a large spacious interior for cooking as compared to our previous options.
It offers good space that may fit in an average size whole chicken, or a 12 inches pizza easily. Oven measures 19.72 W x 16.29 D x 11.33 H inches which makes it larger the ovens mentioned above.
This one is also a convection oven, but of course, the main highlight is that is a digital oven. As such it offers, seven preset menus that make it relevant for all type of food and needs like bake, broil, bagel, pizza, or keep warm.
There are three rack positions to choose from. The lower position can be used for baking, the top can be used for broiling and the middle for keeping things warm.
The oven an interior light so food can be monitored while it is cooking. The oven has a 90 minutes timer, and it also features an auto-shutoff system.
Overall, this is also a digital oven like our previous option, however, if you need a slightly larger oven, then this is the best toaster oven for small spaces in our opinion.
5. Breville BOV450XL – Mini Smart Oven
A compact non-convection toaster oven with extensive control and smart technology.
The last one in our list is a smart option by Breville. While it is an expensive model, but as far as technology goes, nothing can beat this.
The Small capacity oven is equipped with proprietary Smart IQ technology to monitor the precise time and temperature depending upon the settings you have chosen.
It’s a small appliance that can fit only four slices of bread or an 11″ pizza at a time. There are larger variants of this oven, but for a small kitchen, this is the perfect model.
The toaster oven features four quartz heating element that work independently and distribute even heat within its small interior. As a result, it works fast, saves time, and provides excellent cooking results.
The oven offers eight cooking functions. The preset options help to choose the accurate time and temperature depending on your ingredient or type of cooking.
It comes with a smart control panel as well. The LCD screens lit in different colors to indicate if it is preheating or cooking. The orange light indicates the preheat phase the blue light is for cooking.
The stainless steel built is durable and easy to clean as well. The inside base and walls have a nonstick coating that means clean up afterwards a breeze.
The mini toaster oven is a bit expensive than our all options, but it offers cooking control and quality like none other. Therefore, if you seek the most advanced option, then this is the best toaster oven for small spaces.
How Size or Capacity of a Toaster Oven is Measured?
There are myriad of smart places where you can install a toaster oven in a small kitchen.
When looking for a toaster oven for small space, you need to pay little more attention to the dimensions of the appliance.
Specification usually explain how wide, deep or high the product is. However, you along with the exterior dimension, you also need to consider the interior dimension or it’s capacity as well.
Even if you are choosing a compact appliance, there can be options which look small but are spacious inside. That means they are carefully constructed, so less space is covered by exterior structure and control panel, and more area is dedicated to cooking chamber.
The exterior should be small enough to cover less space on your countertop while the interior should be roomy enough to allow to fit large and most standard baking utensils.
The size of a toaster oven is measured in three ways.
Dimensions
These are the precise dimensions giving you an idea of how long, wide, and deep an appliance is.
These dimensions help measure the space on the countertop, and you get an exact idea of how much space you require for placing the toaster-oven.
Again, the exterior dimension is highly important when sorting out counterspace in a small kitchen.
Exact Volumetric Capacity
The internal measurement of the toaster oven is defined in cubic feet or liter depending on where you live.
In USA, cubic feet is used and this is called the volumetric capacity.
Basically, the volumetric capacity is calculated by multiplying the interior dimensions i.e length x width x height in inches.
The measurements can range from 0.5 Cubic Feet all the way to 2.0 Cubic Feet for a typical home use.
Anything under 1.0 cubic feet comes in the category of small. You can roast a whole chicken inside a toaster oven with 0.6 cubic feet.
Note that toaster ovens have much smaller capacity as compared to range ovens that have a typical capacity of 5 cubic feet.
Also Read: Types of Toasters – Definition and Uses
Rudimentary Capacity
Most toaster oven specification give a rudimentary idea about its capacity by detailing the type and amount of food that they can support.
It is generally explained in terms of the size of pizza you can bake or the number of bread slices you can toast at a time.
The small capacity ovens offer 4-6 slices of bread at a time, and you can bake 9-12″ pizza within them.
Some are also specified with the size of chicken that they can support i.e 4 lb, 5 lb or 6 lb chicken. Other large models that are not suitable for this article can also support a whole 20 lb turkey.
Also Read: Best Toaster Ovens for Roasting Vegetables
Key Points Regarding Toaster Ovens for Small Spaces
As mentioned earlier, a toaster oven for small space generally has an interior capacity of less than 0.6 CU FT or in other words, only has capacity to accommodate 2-4 slices of bread or a 9 inch pizza.
Other than that, you should also take note of the following.
- Low Powered: The smaller the toaster oven the lower is is its power rating. A low power rating means it has a lower current draw as well and thus may not need a dedicated circuit.
- Camping: Small toaster ovens are great for individuals as well as for campers since they can not only be placed in a limited space, but their lower power rating means they can be hooked to smaller generators.
- A small toaster oven is not a substitute for a regular oven.
Final Words
When looking for the best toaster ovens for small spaces, external dimension is the most important consideration. However, you also have to make sure that it does not sacrifice on the interior capacity.
In this article we looked at small sized toaster ovens. We looked at highly basic as well as some advanced digital models. The one you choose would depend upon your overall budget.
FAQs:
1. Is a toaster oven just a small oven?
In several ways, a toaster oven is actually a smaller version of a traditional oven. Both operate similarly, but a toaster oven saves space by being able to be stored on a computer or in a closet while not in use.
2. How do you measure a toaster oven?
Use a tape measure or ruler to measure your toaster oven's length, height, and width of the space. Make sure these numbers are entered and referred to when you shop. You will want to measure your storage and counter space if you plan to store it if not in use.
3. Do you need convection in a toaster oven?
No, you do not need convection in a toaster oven. Convection is a feature that circulates heat around the oven in order to cook food more evenly. If you do not need this feature, then there is no reason to pay for it.
4. Can you put metal in a toaster oven?
Yes, you can put metal in a toaster oven. However, you should avoid putting aluminum foil in the toaster oven because it can cause a fire.
5. What does the numbers mean on a toaster?
The numbers on a toaster indicate the level of heat that will be applied to the bread. The higher the number, the more heat will be applied.