Toaster Oven

[sunnysandiegan]

What kind of toaster oven do you have?

We're looking for a new toaster oven and are having a challenging time.

• I want a healthy interior; not the stinky non-stick coating. Some non-stick coatings may be relatively okay since the food is not actually touching the interior. I am sensitive to the smells of the old-fashioned non-stick cooking pans, so any smells from using the toaster oven are my main concern. Got any info on this aspect?
• DH wants good quality heating elements inside and more than one on top and one on bottom. Our 11-12 year old one is an under-counter model and is really lacking in this regard, especially in "toast" mode.
• We both want good quality knobs/buttons (manual or at least partially manual....not completely digital).
• We also both want a timer that automatically shuts the unit off when the time is up.
• We have a 9YO and are concerned about the heat near the handle and buttons. We realize the entire unit gets hot to a certain degree (unlike a microwave) and the phone and other two items on top of the microwave will have to be moved. DD will learn quickly not to touch the outside, so our main concern is just the high frequency touch areas. This is why we are looking and testing in person. The actual purchase could be done online or in person.
• We also have a slight space constraint, which knocks out the massive ones. We're ditching the microwave and using that cart for the new toaster oven. I want to have a food prep space next to the new toaster oven, so we are choosing not to use the entire cart top space for the new unit. Total space is 18x25x16H.

Any ideas??? Thanks!

[Shantimama]

 We have had a Kitchen Aid Toaster Oven for several years now. I love it. We had several other TO's over the years, none of which lasted very long. This one is good for baking small items (we put potatoes in there all the time), broiling, warming and toasting. The heat is even and the oven is easy to keep clean. It was more expensive than pther TO's we have owned but this one lasted more than a year or two, so really it has been a lot cheaper and easier on the environment!

[faeriecurls]

we've had a delonghi TO for about 10 years - my mom & aunt have had a different model for 14+ years and they are all still working great. pricey, but they last.

[oiseau]

I absolutely love my Breville SmartOven. I think the only one of your criteria it might not fulfill is the size one...it's on the bigger side, but not gigantic. It was pricey, but I use it for all kinds of things (bread, roast chicken, pizza, toast...) and it has performed very well for everything! I almost never use my regular oven anymore.

[CookiePie]

oisea  the Breville looks really good, but it is non-stick coated which Op is trying to avoid, as am I.  I've been looking too, without much luck!  Off to look at delongi!

[Drummer's Wife]

We have this Black & Decker toaster oven, and really like it. 

but I guess it has non-stick interior, so I'm no help afterall - just read the description on Macy's website (where we got it). 

It doesn't smell funky, though, and the food only touches the tray - and actually, the food is always in a dish on the rack or on the tray now that I think about it, so not directly on the tray, anyhow.  I haven't put, like, a pizza in it or anything, and i don't actually use it to make toast as we have a nice 4-slice toaster we use for that. 

Good luck finding one you are happy with. 

[sunnysandiegan]

We ended up getting an Oster "countertop" oven. It is stainless steel inside. The handle is a decent distance away from the door and has a "soft touch" material on the part facing the oven, so it could never actually get hot. The knobs are quite sturdy and do not get hot. It meets all of our requirements and the price was really reasonable! It normally runs $60-70 at Costco (higher elsewhere), but I found it at a local discount store for $37. We had seen it at Costco and were willing to buy it there, if nothing else for the excellent return policy, but we waited to look it up online first. It gets a lot of really GOOD reviews and quite a few BAD reviews, without much in-between. For $37, I was willing to take that risk and asked about the return policy. We have 30 days with the receipt and we are putting it through its paces! So far, we love it!!! It toasts bread so nicely, I am in love! It also baked six cornbread muffins, although we had a steep learning curve with that one. LOL It warms, it bakes (convection), it toasts, and it broils (although we haven't tried that function yet). The auto-shut-off timer is the best thing to hit toaster ovens, as far as we are concerned!  :)

I actually had a choice between the model ending with CA01 and CF01 (only a slight price difference). I chose the CA01 specifically for the built-in handles on the outside for moving it around (stay-cool material). These have already come in handy!