What can you make in a toaster oven is perhaps the first question that you would ask before getting one. A toaster oven, and as the name connotes, can do both the work of a convection oven and a toaster, that is, you can use it to bake, boil, roast and prepare your morning toast slices.
Basically, depending upon the model you get, a toaster oven can be used to make a lot of different foods ranging from pizza, bagel, roasted chicken, cake, toasted eggs, and many other roasted vegetables. It can also be used to defrost the products and boil rotisserie chicken. Some even offer Air Fryers, and Dehydrators.
So a toaster oven is just like a regular conventional oven. Only smaller and sometimes more efficient for smaller and midsize meals.
Lets us read about the capabilities of a toaster oven a bit further.
What Functions Can You Perform?
Here is the list of things you can make on your toaster oven
1. Toasting or Thawing
As the name suggests, the first thing you can do in all toaster ovens is “toast”. Whether it is a slice of bread, bagel, or a pizza you want to bring to crisp brown texture, all toaster ovens are capable of this.
Moreover, if you have a toaster and you want to thaw a frozen food like chicken or meat, your toaster oven is again a perfectly good option.
Just set the temperature at low and your frozen products will thaw in no time.
Even the most basic of toaster ovens can perform these two functions i.e toasting and thawing.
Also Read: Best Basic Toaster Ovens
2. Meal Preparation
Toaster ovens come in variety of sizes and and with a wide selection of features. Some toaster ovens are literally multicookers with ability to bake, broil, roast with rotisserie, air fry and dehydrate food (see here our favorite toaster oven- air fryer combo and the Breville Mini Smart Oven review).
Although a toaster oven is not a burner or stove, you can prepare a perfect dinner in your toaster oven. Of course, toaster ovens that are large have myriad of functions for meal preparation are costly than basic ones.
Also Read: Best Large Toaster Ovens
3. Snacks
You can make snacks in your oven, simple snacks like apple pie, cookies, bread, doughnut, or other pastries can be easily made with your toaster oven in less than an hour.
Furthermore, toaster ovens are generally the go to choice for frozen snack preparation.
4. Reheat Leftovers
This is perhaps the most loved featured by most. Toaster ovens, like microwave ovens, can be used to reheat your food.
Since they are small, they reheat fairly fast as compared to a normal range oven. Plus, they consume far less energy and are easily accessible as compared to a normal range oven.
The reheated results for certain foods like fries, pizza, roasted chicken, bread, are far better in the toaster oven as compared to that in a microwave oven.
Also Read: Best Toaster Ovens for Reheating
Can You Bake in Your Toaster Oven
Yes, you can easily bake a batch of cookies or doughnuts, you can even bake soft and fluffy cakes in your toaster ovens – see the full guide. You are only required to pour your batter into a baking pan if it’s a cake or brownie you’re baking. It comes out soft and fluffier compared to when you’re using a convection oven.
Can You Cook in a Toaster Oven
One of the most beautiful advantages of a toaster oven is that you can prepare pretty much anything you can make in a convection oven in a toaster oven.
So if you will like to make a cook dishes you can prepare in your regular oven, your toaster oven is perfect for it, all you need to do is regulate the temperature as it can get too hot to cook some meals.
You can decide to cook or roast your meat in a toaster oven, all you need do is take necessary precautions like seasoning the meat and not setting the temperature too high and your meat will be just perfect.
Read more: Can Toaster Oven Cook Chicken
What Can You Make in a Toaster Oven?
1. Toasted Bread
Well, like the name of the toaster oven connotes, it does both the work of a toaster and an oven. And while your toaster oven might not make you the perfect toasted bread, you are likely to enjoy the end product.
If you will like to toast your bread in the toaster oven, all you need do is spread out your foil sheets, then put your bread, set the timer to a couple of minutes at medium it, and soon enough, you would have your toasted bread.
2. Toasted Eggs
Yes, most people do not know that they can use their toaster oven for this simple task, to use your toaster oven to toast your eggs, all you need do is put the eggs in the oven, possibly a baking sheet, and set the timer, and voila, you have your hard toasted eggs without fuss.
3. Pizza
If you’re not a fan of spending a couple of bucks every day on pizza, the easy way out is to make your own, when your pizza dough is prepared, simply take the dough and spread it out on a thoroughly cleaned and dry oven tray, add whatever toppings you want to add and set your timer, when it’s done, you have your homemade pizza.
4. Cake
The cake experience is one that cannot be gotten from anywhere else, the regulatory timer of the toaster oven makes it easy and efficient and your cake comes out perfect, soft, and fluffy, compared to if you are using a convection oven. When you make your cake with this beauty, you’ll be sure to continue as it gets addictive.
Read more: Can Toaster Oven Bake Cake
5. Bagel
Homemade bagels are amazing, the best flavors are preserved when you eat it hot. First, you prepare the dough, then you spread out your preferred topping, then you bake, bagels are everyday pastries that you need in your home and you will never regret making them in your toaster oven.
Serve hot and enjoy the amazingness that comes with baking in a toaster oven.
6. Roast Chicken
If you have a toaster oven big enough to accommodate a whole chicken or chicken in parts, then you’re in luck, there’s nothing as amazing as toaster oven baked roast chicken.
All you need do is marinate your chicken for about 30 minutes so the flavors can get in or simply rub the marinade over the chicken parts you want to roast and put in the oven, set the timer and within 35-40 minutes, your perfectly roasted chicken is ready
7. Roasted Potatoes
This is something each person must indulge in at least once in their lifetime, roast potato, though not the healthiest food, is great comfort food (see if toaster ovens are generally healthy).
Simply peel your potatoes, rub oil, salt, and some pepper on the body and put in the oven, low heat, bake for 40-50 minutes for the perfectly soft interior and crunchy exterior
8. Roasted Vegetables
Most people probably know that the toaster oven can roast vegetables but haven’t tried it out before with their ovens, it’s quite easy to use the oven to achieve the perfect vegetables. For example, you can roast your sprouts in your toaster oven, it takes lesser than 20 minutes with the 5 minutes to preheat.
To achieve that crispy exterior and soft interior, put your toaster oven at 230°C and 425°F, leave your sprouts in the oven for about 12-16 minutes and soon you’ll achieve the texture you seek.
A toaster oven is a really great kitchen appliance, it is useful for so many cooking activities at once and also saves energy, a toaster oven is perfect for baking, roasting, cooking and even thawing your frozen foods.
Final Words
In short, there is whole list of things that you can make in your toaster ovens. From pasta to fries and cakes, everything is possible.
In this article we talked about what can you make in a toaster oven and the simple answer to that is: you can make anything that you imagination leads you to.
Depending upon the toaster oven, you can literally cook almost anything with them.