Shopping for a countertop oven means making sense of a multitude of options from countless manufacturers. Countertop appliances can be anything from a godsend to a fairly redundant waste of space. Though when you choose something from the KitchenAid brand, you expect a user-friendly device with great features and a ton of versatility.
With this top-selling KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven, that’s exactly what you get. A cut above basic toaster ovens in every way, this thing has been designed to simplify a long list of cooking, baking, roasting, and toasting tasks. It even serves as an efficient air fryer, making it quick and easy to air-fry your favorite foods with little to no oil.
Topped off with a large capacity, sleek control panel, and easy clean interior, it all adds up to a space-saving marvel for the modern kitchen. But how does this particular KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven perform when put to the test?
Having read reviews from so many satisfied customers, could this be the ultimate countertop oven for the busy family home?
Elegant and Sleek Design
Engineered to occupy a comparatively small footprint on your kitchen countertop, this KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven boasts a streamlined profile and stylish exterior. It’s not exactly discreet in terms of its appearance, but the easy-read digital display and chrome knobs add style and sophistication to the whole thing.
The matte black finish is refined enough to complement most classical and contemporary kitchens without becoming too much of an eyesore. In total, this KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven has a convenient countertop size of 16.4 x 18.5 x 13 inches. Significantly smaller than a normal oven but larger than most similar countertop appliances or mini convection ovens.
Some may find it a little on the large side as a replacement for their old toaster oven, but it’s worth remembering just how many appliances this one mini smart oven can replace.
KitchenAid Dual Convection Digital Countertop Oven Specs At a Glance:
•Product Name- Dual Convection Countertop Oven
•Product Brand - KitchenAid
•Price - $279.99
•Digital Control Panel - Yes.
•Weight - 34.7 lbs.
•Baking Dish Included - Yes.
•Dishwasher Safe - Crumb Tray and Baking Pan.
•Presets - 9 preset cooking functions.
•Product Dimensions - 18.5 x 16.4 x 13 in.
•Color - Matte black, silver
•Watts - 1800
•Capacity - 28.6 L
•Warranty - 1 year limited
Features and Functionalities
The idea behind the KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven is that with one easy-to-use smart oven, you can perform all the cooking tasks your regular oven can handle and plenty more besides. Just a few of the features and settings this oven brings to the table include a toast function, bake, roast, toast, proof dough, broil and reheat food items.
In addition, there is also a convenient frozen option that eliminates the uncertainty of cooking pizza and other frozen meals, ensuring evenly cooked results without the usual burnt edges and undercooked interior. Although the grill rack for the pan is missing, this oven functions as described.
The controls are intuitive, and it preheats quickly. Once we master the timing and temperature settings for various foods, I am quite pleased with its performance. The toaster oven is fantastic, especially with its built-in timer that automatically shuts off when baking or boiling. Although slightly pricier than other models, it is definitely worth the investment.
There are 9 pre-set cooking functions in total, making it quick and easy to produce quality results with a wide variety of ingredients. The easy-read digital display helps keep an eye on the remaining cooking time, while the advanced thermostat ensures the required temperature is held with pinpoint precision throughout.
The KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven ships complete with a full range of inclusive accessories for cooking a variety of ingredients and full-sized meals. The interior features a sizeable 9 x 13-inch baking pan with a grill rack, which is easy to remove and features a nonstick coating for easy cleaning.
From making a toast to roasting a decent-sized chicken to perfection (see also air fryers for chicken), you’ve everything you need to be included in the kit. There’s also a bright interior light for keeping an eye on cooking progress throughout.
Impressive Performance and Cooking Power
This is where the KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven really shines, with its powerful convection oven and comparatively large capacity. Designed to rival the performance of a full-size oven, it actually gets the job done so much faster than any conventional oven or comparable countertop toaster oven.
For one thing, this neat digital countertop oven reaches the required temperature significantly faster than a traditional oven. Give it just a few minutes, and the powerful convection fan has done its job, evenly heating the interior from top to bottom. As an added bonus, there’s a built-in thermometer you can use to let you know exactly when the interior of whatever it is you are cooking has reached the desired temperature.
Which, in the case of most everyday staples, is pretty quick, to say the least.
For example, place a 4lb chicken in this digital countertop oven at the usual temperature, and it will be ready to serve in as little as 30 minutes. That’s at least 50% quicker than the normal cooking time in a conventional oven. Surround it with a bunch of veggies, and you have a complete family meal cooked in no more than half an hour—all with fantastically even cooking and better energy efficiency than a regular convection oven.
It preheats quickly, cooks evenly, and appears well-built, not to mention its attractive design. I hesitated before purchasing it due to the price, but I am delighted with my decision. It seems sturdy enough and will hopefully continue to work for many years. This appliance will allow us to cook a variety of new and different meals on our RV camping trips that we couldn't make before. The genius lies in the simplicity of its controls: one knob and three buttons that are very intuitive.
The temperatures seem to align with the settings. However, if you try to cook with both the air fry screen and the solid pan, the interior can be a bit tight. Taller foods may not fit properly.
Air Fryer Capabilities
You can also use this convenient little machine as an air fryer. Working in a similar way to a standalone air fryer (see also air fryer and toster oven combos), it’s a case of coating the food with just a tiny bit of oil and letting the powerful convection cooker take care of the rest. This KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven is a particularly capable air fryer when it comes to French fries and chicken wings, though it can be used to air fry just about anything you’d normally deep fry.
The only downside is that the air fryer function is a little on the slow side, at least when compared to deep frying. So rather than whipping up a batch of French fries in just a few minutes, you’ll be looking at around 25 minutes before they’re ready, which may be too much if you're cooking for a family of 4. Then again, this is pretty much the same with an air fryer, so it isn’t really a big deal.
Before picking up a standalone air fryer, give thought to upgrading to this multipurpose device—particularly given how it retails for little more than a top-end air fryer from the leading competitor brands.
It's also worth noting at this point that the KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven can be used as a dehydrator, making it quick and easy to remove moisture from various fruits, vegetables, and other ingredients. However, some users have reported that the air fryer function tends to run a little hot, although reducing the cooking time to 4 minutes has yielded better results.
The bake and broil functions appear to be accurate, but some users have expressed a desire for the broil option to reach 500 degrees for better browning.
Additionally, it would be great if the oven was available in a silver color option. Despite these minor shortcomings, the oven is easy to use and offers convenience for reheating, baking, toasting, and roasting, consistently delivering perfectly cooked dishes.
Quick and Effortless Cleaning
The nonstick interior makes for quick and easy cleaning, combined with a removable metal drip tray and an easy-clean grill rack. As is the case with any digital countertop oven, the best way to clean this KitchenAid appliance is to give it a quick wipe after each use. Most everyday grease and grime wipe away effortlessly, thanks to the non-stick interior coating.
Keeping it clean and sanitary without resorting to harsh cleaning products is perfectly possible, just as long as you don’t give things too long to dry and harden.
Similar to any oven, the longer you allow residue to accumulate, the more effort it will take to remove.
However, the KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven makes cleaning a breeze, with no hard-to-reach corners or crannies.
It has proven to be excellent for baking, and the included pan is of decent quality.
While cleaning the bottom tray is fine, I do notice some crumbs falling into the door hinge. To maintain cleanliness, we use parchment paper, which has made the cleaning process easy thus far. Overall, the oven is aesthetically pleasing and feels sturdy.
A Higher Price than Most Toaster Ovens
Understandably, the price of this KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven has a tendency to be a sticking point for a lot of prospective buyers. It launched for an initial retail price of around $300, though it has occasionally popped up closer to the $250 mark.
On one hand, you could argue that there are numerous other toaster ovens, conventional ovens, or air fryers under 100 dollars, which is significantly less than this particular countertop oven.
However, it's crucial to remember that this oven offers more than just basic baking capabilities. It excels as both a toaster and a small oven, producing remarkably well-toasted bread with a springy texture and a crust that doesn't harden.
Additionally, it functions exceptionally well as a dehydrator, effortlessly turning grapes into raisins in just one day.
Overall, this toaster/air fryer oven delivers excellent performance. It is much easier to use compared to my large oven, thanks to its shorter preheating time, making it a real time-saver.
Let's see what other common toaster ovens bring to the table:
Low Wattage Toaster Ovens
These toaster ovens are affordable, small and have a low power rating. Most of the low wattage toaster ovens are simple toaster oven that lack versatility of KitchenAid's combo.
Large Toaster Ovens
Apart from the fact that they can handle large sized meals, there aren't many more benefits to large toaster ovens. On the other hand, on the large side as well, KitchenAid's toaster oven replaces so many other appliances.
4 Slice Toaster Ovens
The 4-slice toaster oven gives you a perfect oven for tight living spaces, with room in it for four slices of bread or two pizza pies. KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven is probably not worth buying if that's what you need an oven for.
Toaster Ovens with 500 Degrees Fahrenheit
Higher than the average 450 degree Fahrenheit found on most toaster ovens, toaster ovens with 500 degrees have double the wattage - around 1800 watt. Meanwhile, KitchenAid's toaster oven boasts incredible energy efficiency, though still keeping a high power output.
Toaster Ovens for Camping
Smallest of the bunch are the toaster ovens for camping, and If you are moving or need to transport the oven, the weight won't be an issue. There's no way of actually comparing them to KitchenAid's 2-in-1, as later is not meant for outdoor use.
KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven has been designed for baking, roast, grill, broil, heat, reheating, drying, and even air fry foods to perfection. Not to mention, make it as easy as possible to embrace your inner chef and experiment with new recipes. It’s more than just an oven - it’s a total convenience device for the modern kitchen.
Final Verdict
If simply on the lookout for something to toast slices of bread to perfection, then yes - this KitchenAid Digital Countertop Oven is probably not worth buying. But if you’re looking to bring a true multipurpose cooker into your kitchen with limitless versatility, it’s well worth checking out.
The large capacity and high power output of this countertop convection oven make it far more capable than most comparable ovens from competing toaster oven manufacturers. It’s easy to use, easy to clean, and boasts impressive energy efficiency. It also comes from one of the most renowned brands in the business, complete with an extensive warranty for total peace of mind.
Again, an expensive machine if simply looking to toast bread, but this really is so much more than your everyday toaster!