Do you find a toaster oven an important appliance for your kitchen?

[Lisa R.]

If so, please explain why. I've never had one. I have two ovens. One of them is smaller than the other and heats up quickly. I don't feel like it heats up the house to use it. Given this, why would I use a toaster oven?

 

I mean, why don't people just use their regular ovens rather than the toaster oven? Is it just they are saving on electricity and not wanting to heat up the house with the big oven?

 

Also, I like to keep my counters clear but have a toaster sitting out. If I got a toaster oven, I'd swap it out with the toaster.

 

For some reason, I feel strangely compelled to get one, but I don't know why!

[UncleEJ]

Yes, sort of. I now have double ovens, so I don't use my toaster oven as an oven anymore. But I love the way it toasts, so I kept it when we moved. It also reheats certain things almost as quickly as the micro but with better results. Before I had double ovens, I used it as a second oven quite often. I don't think they are a MUST have, but a good one is pretty handy.

[City Mouse]

Do you have a toaster?

I use a toaster oven in place of a toaster, so I don't have both. The toaster oven heats up faster, so if I only want to bake a small amount of something it is faster. This may not be helpful in a larger family if you never need to cook in small amounts.

Also, it cools down faster and does not heat up the kitchen the way the oven will. In a house with no air conditioning, I avoid using the oven as much as possible in the summer, and there are simething that I just have not figured out how yo cook in a crock pot like biscuits.

Even with air conditioning, when I lived in the gulf coast and it was above 90 degrees a good part of the year, I also preferred to use the toaster oven for small things because the air conditioning could not keep up.

 

That being said, the quality of the toaster oven can make a big difference. I used to have one that worked well, but was a bit smaller that I wanted. I got rid of it when we moved and bought a larger one. That was a big mistake. I sure whish I had that old Black and Decker toaster oven back.

[Guest]

I did when I only had one oven that took forever to heat. It was so handy for kids stuff- nuggets, sticks of various types, toast. I now have two ovens and counter space at a premium so it's been semi-retired, but I still keep it just in case. It's the convection type. Maybe I should bring it back out for old times sake. :)

[JustEm]

I don't have a toaster or a toaster oven. They just take up too much counter space to justify having in my home. But I also don't have a microwave so I'm pretty sure I'm not the norm.

 

For me, the oven and stove does all the jobs I those other 3 appliances would do so I just don't bother with the other ones

[Annie G]

We use a toaster oven quite often.  The size of my toaster oven compared to my regular oven- big difference! I can often be almost done reheating something in my toaster oven before my regular oven is preheated.   Your double ovens are probably smaller than my regular oven so maybe that contributes to you feeling a toaster oven is unnecessary.   I haven't owned a toaster in decades- I just find it unnecessary. 

 

It was always a handy way for kids to make their own lunches (and dinners when needed).  And now that I often cook for just me and dh, a toaster oven is a great size. I can roast veggies, bake chicken, etc. 

[DawnM]

I use mine more than once per day!  It  has replaced my toaster and most of my oven uses!  I cook everything in there!  

 

But if you have something similar, you may not need it.  YMMV

[lllll]

nm

Edited October 5, 2016 by Cathi

[Pawz4me]

I've never had a toaster oven and never understood the point. My mother used one for many years, so it's not like I didn't have that exposure. They just make no sense for our lifestyle. We do have a toaster and use it multiple times a day. Because we use our toaster so much it lives on the counter. But it's so small that if we needed more space it would be easy to store in a cabinet (unlike a toaster oven).

[kiana]

I have a toaster oven. I mostly use it to do things like cheese toast, hamburger toast (lightly toasted bread, spread with hamburger and then baked until done), or toasted cheesy potatoes (baked potatoes, split and toasted with chopped cheese). I got rid of my pop-up toaster because I didn't need both appliances.

 

That being said, it's not essential and I could easily do without it, but it is useful for some things. 

[marbel]

I would say that the toaster oven is essential in my house.  

 

It heats faster than the large oven.  It's easier to clean than the large oven; for example, someone puts too much cheese on their bread and we have cheese dripping all over.  (We make cheese toast a lot.)

 

Never did an analysis on energy use, but it seems that heating a small space would take less energy than a large space, right?  

 

But, I don't think they are essential to every household.  I never had one growing up.  We were a pop-up toaster family.  But my husband's family was a toaster oven family, so he had one and we started using it when we got married.   Once we had kids, it seemed very useful, and we've never looked back.  

[pinkmint]

Yes, because we don't have a microwave. I use our toaster oven usually daily. 

 

It's our way to toast things and heat up leftovers/ small batches of stuff for the kids etc. If we had both a microwave and a toaster I could see the toaster oven being much less useful but I think it's essential for people with no microwave at least. 

[Ellie]

If so, please explain why. I've never had one. I have two ovens. One of them is smaller than the other and heats up quickly. I don't feel like it heats up the house to use it. Given this, why would I use a toaster oven?

 

I mean, why don't people just use their regular ovens rather than the toaster oven? Is it just they are saving on electricity and not wanting to heat up the house with the big oven?

 

Also, I like to keep my counters clear but have a toaster sitting out. If I got a toaster oven, I'd swap it out with the toaster.

 

For some reason, I feel strangely compelled to get one, but I don't know why!

 

Meh.

 

We have one, but I could live without it.

 

With only Mr. Ellie and me in the house, sometimes it makes more sense to cook little stuff (like frozen french fries) in the toaster oven instead of in the big oven--less energy used and all that.

 

We never use the toaster oven for toasting bread. We use the toaster for that. We don't understand using an *oven* to toast a piece of bread. :huh:

 

Some company used to make toaster ovens that could be installed under a wall cabinet, so it's off the counter. Black and Decker? Proctor Silex? I have forgotten. If I could find that, I'd be tempted to replace my counter-hogging model for that one.

[marbel]

<snip>

 

We never use the toaster oven for toasting bread. We use the toaster for that. We don't understand using an *oven* to toast a piece of bread. :huh:

 

<snip>

 

LOL, because it's a toaster-oven.   Doesn't yours have a setting for making toast?    If it doesn't, it's just a countertop oven.   

 

Ours toasts bread very nicely.  It has dark/light settings just like a popup toaster.  It toasts the bread according to the setting and then clicks off, and beeps so we know it's done. Pretty much the only differences are that the toast doesn't pop up and it's toasted horizontally instead of vertically.  

 

:-)

[JenneinCA]

We have one instead of a toaster. It can do bagels that are too fat for a toaster and it allows me to see how dark the toast is as it cooks. I like it but that is all I have ever known. My parents didn't have a traditional toaster when I was a kid.

[SKL]

I've never had one.  I could see the point in a place where you don't have an oven, like a workplace break room.  I could see the point if there was a big difference in utility use over time.

[Farrar]

My brother and sil use theirs instead of their oven. But they don't bake anything really and they don't have kids who eat yet (just an infant as yet). The most it does is toast bread or warm up things like tortillas or heat up a casserole. My brother's an electrician, so he's always on about the cost savings of the electricity, which makes sense. And the things they make it in make sense, I guess. My in laws are a bit the same - just the two of them, not doing a ton of complex cooking and no baking, use the toaster oven for everything. My brother felt no one really needs a proper oven except at holidays and mocked us about our heavy use of ours a bit.

 

But we're four people. I use my oven to bake cookies and muffins and so forth pretty regularly. And that stuff comes out deeply wrong in the toaster oven. And every time I'm making a casserole, it's often doubled in size for leftovers so it won't fit in a toaster oven. And I do a lot of pan to oven cooking and you can't fit a cast iron skillet or your dutch oven in a toaster oven. And while it's not much longer to heat up your dinner bread in it, it takes dramatically longer to just make toast in a toaster oven. So I don't find it to be an essential item for us. Maybe when the kids are grown and moved out, I'll find it more useful and it can be allowed to take up some counter space.

[KatieJ]

I have had a toaster oven , several actually, and now a convection toaster oven.  I loved having the toast oven, but I really really love my convection oven.  And yes, I had them long before my kiddoes moved out. I don't love the way it toasts bread, but I can get more bread into it an oven that a toaster.  And I don't have room for a toaster and an an oven, so I choose the appliance that can do double duty.  I use it all the time.  Saves energy, cooks/bakes faster, and it's portable.  I h ave been known to move it to my 3 season porch on a very hot day to avoice any heating up of my kitchen.

I don't just reheat in it either. Hubby can make a frozen pizza in it if I am not home.   Last night I baked a small casserole for dinner.  I make open face sandwiches, brownies in 18 mins!  It's the convection part that makes it hugely useful. I do use my big oven, but choose the small one most of the time.  I do have a "stone" I love to use in it, but I also have small cookie sheets, and most of my casserole's fit in it.  I Think I would like one that hollds a 9x13 pan if I replace this one.

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

I use my toaster oven daily.  I don't have a toaster other than the toaster oven.  I don't have two ovens and the one oven I have does not broil anymore.  I use the toaster oven for that if the thing I want to broil is small enough.  If you don't have a use for it, I don't see the need to get one.  It's not inherently good or bad to have/use a toaster oven. 

[Zinnia]

We don't use our oven from late April until October.  Even the stove makes it crazy hot in here, but the oven is just unbearable.  The toaster oven takes the place.  

[Guest]

We use ours daily. We bake little pizzas, single servings of tater tots, chicken nuggets, etc., for lunch each day. It takes minimal time to preheat (if I bother to preheat it at all), whereas the big oven takes 20 minutes to preheat. I can have the item completely baked before the big oven is done preheating.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Kinsa

[Carol in Cal.]

  Plus, our propane tank only holds about 60 (?) gallons, New England winters, etc.  If we run out of propane, we also run out of hot water.  Not fun in the cold.

 

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Get a bigger propane tank.  Gosh.

 

Normal size for cabins up by us is 250 gallons.  We have a 500 gallon just in case.  I don't want to ever run out.  Pipes would freeze and so would I.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Carol in Cal.

[Eagle]

My toaster oven is for melting cheese on everything. Cheese bread, salmon melts, nachos. We also use it to bake potatoes and to toast bread.

 

I bought mine from a recommendation here and we love it. It's a Breville.

[Carol in Cal.]

I don't have a toaster oven ATM, but when I did we used it for toast (great because you can see it toasting), for baked appetizers like those miniquiches or onion canapes, and for single serving meats like a pork chop with hoisin sauce on it, or a chicken breast with onions and herbs on it.  We also reheated pizza slices and made toasted cheese sandwiches in it.  It heated up faster than the regular oven, it was easier to see the food cooking, and it didn't heat up the kitchen much at all.  I loved it.  I especially liked using it for those appetizers when I had company and had a roast going in the main oven--it was nice to be able to still serve fresh, hot appetizers without impacting the Hunk of Meat.

DH missed having a toaster, so when our last toaster oven died we got a toaster instead.  We decided to splurge on a Cuisineart 4 slice one, and it's lousy.  I miss my toaster oven.  At our cabin we have a more basic toaster and it works just great--sometimes you don't get what you pay for.  We don't have a toaster oven up there, but our regular oven is in the wall at eye level rather than under the range, so it's more functional; and the kitchen is part of the great room so the heat goes up to the ceiling and doesn't impact us as much.  Plus we have a warming oven drawer there, and that is really helpful.  And in general I do more cooking up there, so I tend to make the Big Oven Meals more often and eat them as leftovers, so I don't miss having a toaster oven there.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Carol in Cal.

[wapiti]

We have a small toaster oven and use it multiple times per day.  We do not have a regular toaster.  We toast bagels that would struggle to fit in a regular toaster.  It is fabulous for reheating a slice of pizza (I just put it in for same time/temp as toast) and lots of other small baking jobs.  Breakfasts and lunches are self-serve around here; when we go on vacation to a place without one, it's an adjustment.

 

I have double wall ovens, both full-size and one with convection, and those serve a completely different purpose - cooking for the whole family at once - which I ordinarily only do at dinner and for baking cake/cookies, slow roasting.

 

I don't think I'd care for a large toaster oven as I imagine they're not quite as efficient for toast.

Edited September 2, 2016 by wapiti

[Prairie~Phlox]

We have one, I love using it in the summer when it's too hot to run the oven. We'll reheat some things in it year round & make tortilla pizzas for quick lunches. I will make mini muffins in it during the summer as well

[SparklyUnicorn]

For me no.  I have a very small kitchen so the appliances I have really need to be those I will use regularly.  I have a toaster which takes up little room, and I prefer the way the toast comes out in a toaster vs a toaster oven.  And then I have an oven so why do I need a mini oven?  I don't even know what in heck I'd use it for.  Plus, my oven is gas.  Gas is a lot cheaper than electricity. 

 

I can imagine having a toaster oven if I didn't have an oven. 

 

 

[OH_Homeschooler]

When out toaster went on the fritz years ago it dawned on me that the toaster oven would also work (duh). We started using it for toast and then I remembered how convenient it is for baking small convenience stuff, like frozen breaded chicken patties or French bread pizza -- stuff you could microwave but it would be soggy, or you could bake but it's not worth turning the whole oven on for because it's small.

 

And if we eat out somewhere and end up with extra fries, it's perfect for reheating them and making them crispy. We don't just leave fries behind any longer. Actually, it's great for reheating leftover pizza too.

 

Now it sounds like it's only good for unhealthy food, but I also bake fish and chicken breasts in there. I can do that while nuking some frozen veggies and that's a pretty healthy meal!

 

Like others have said, it's great in the summer when an oven would make the house too hot. 

 

 

[slackermom]

I once saw a rodent pop up out of our regular toaster, and that was the last day I ever used one of those. 

I switched to a toaster oven, but we don't use it very often. We are moving this year, and I think the toaster oven may not make the cut in the new kitchen. In the new place, we will be using the oven left behind by the previous owner until it needs replacing, then I am holding out for a dual oven.

[dirty ethel rackham]

In your situation, I would probably not find it necessary.  However, we have a small kitchen and a single oven.  The toaster oven is used daily for toast, but it is great for making hot sandwiches in the winter or just heating up something that I want a little crisper than it would be in the microwave. 

[MistyMountain]

I love my toaster oven. Anything I can fit in there instead of the big oven I make in my toaster oven. I love that you do not have to wait for it to heat up and how it cooks things nice and fast. It also is more energy efficient and does not heat up the whole house on warm days. I did not have a microwave until recently but it was fine because I just reheated things in there. I still prefer how a lot things reheat in the toaster oven.

[redsquirrel]

I own a gemini oven.  It has a smaller oven on top. I can bake a sheet cake or a single batch of muffins or a lasagna in it. It is also the broiler.  It heats up very quickly and doesn't make the rest of the house too hot. I use it constantly.  My larger oven below is an on demand convection oven, so perfect for roasting or baking. And when I use convection it preheats even more quickly than usual. I don't use that as often but I love having it when I need it. 

 

 

So, lol, nope, I don't need a toaster oven. I feel like my smaller oven fills that purpose. I do have a toaster, but I keep it under the counter in a cupboard. I've got some really big cupboards, lol.  It's no big deal to just bend over and pull it out and then put it away when done.  It's a Kitchen Aid toaster, so long and thin.

Edited September 1, 2016 by redsquirrel

[KarenNC]

We have a regular oven/stove, microwave, and a toaster oven. The toaster oven is used for toast (my daughter and I like to butter the bread prior to toasting, which you can't do in a pop-up toaster), garlic bread, bagels, cheese toast, peanut butter toast, pimento cheese toast, to toast already-made sandwiches (vs grilling them with butter in a skillet), frozen waffles, etc. I haven't ever tried baking in it because if I'm going to go to the trouble to bake, I'll make a big batch and put some in the freezer.

[Wheres Toto]

We have a toaster oven, a pop-up toaster, an oven/stove and a microwave.  We use all of them pretty much daily.

 

The big oven is propane, slow to pre-heat, and heats up the kitchen pretty badly.  Dh uses it to cook dinner sometimes, and any baking is done in the big oven.

The toaster oven is used for heating up frozen stuff (frozen pizzas, taquitos, pizza bites) if the person eating them likes them crunchier than they would get in the microwave, or for toasting things that don't fit in the pop-up toaster (like bagels or some English muffins that are thin enough to fall down into the toaster), or if there's something that needs cooking while the big oven is being used. 

 

The toaster oven is slower to toast bread or English muffins than the regular pop-up toaster so we usually use the pop-up if we are just toasting bread.

 

And the microwave is used for heating up frozen stuff or things like soup, tea, leftovers, popcorn.

 

Our  microwave is an under-cabinet model but the toaster oven and toaster sit on a cart.  You can't run the three of them at the same time or you'll trip a circuit.

[Ellie]

LOL, because it's a toaster-oven.   Doesn't yours have a setting for making toast?    If it doesn't, it's just a countertop oven.   

 

Ours toasts bread very nicely.  It has dark/light settings just like a popup toaster.  It toasts the bread according to the setting and then clicks off, and beeps so we know it's done. Pretty much the only differences are that the toast doesn't pop up and it's toasted horizontally instead of vertically.  

 

:-)

 

Yes, of course, it does. But it just doesn't make sense to me to toast bread in there. :-)

 

[lllll]

nm

Edited October 5, 2016 by Cathi

[kubiac]

No, because we have a small kitchen, and I can use the regular oven for anything I'd do with a toaster oven.

[Truscifi]

Yes, because I only have one large oven and it does indeed heat the house, which seems silly for something small. If I had a smaller over built in I probably wouldn't give up the counter space for a toaster oven.

 

ETA - I don't have a regular toaster. I use the toaster oven for toast, and also for reheating leftovers, and baking or roasting small batches foods not everyone will want. Oh, and it has a rotisserie feature, so I sometimes rotisserie a whole chicken or a turkey breast.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Truscifi

[LucyStoner]

It's handy for my kids and husband.  On the rare occasions I want toast I usually have something more elaborate in mind like grilling the bread for an egg sandwich in the bacon grease, lol.  

[KungFuPanda]

If so, please explain why. I've never had one. I have two ovens. One of them is smaller than the other and heats up quickly. I don't feel like it heats up the house to use it. Given this, why would I use a toaster oven?

 

I mean, why don't people just use their regular ovens rather than the toaster oven? Is it just they are saving on electricity and not wanting to heat up the house with the big oven?

 

Also, I like to keep my counters clear but have a toaster sitting out. If I got a toaster oven, I'd swap it out with the toaster.

 

For some reason, I feel strangely compelled to get one, but I don't know why!

You don't need it. I had one and used it almost daily, but once I got the double oven I got rid of it. That little half-sized oven on top serves the same purpose the toaster oven did. Now I just have a regular toaster and don't miss the toaster oven at all.

 

ETA: toaster ovens can take forever to make toast. You'd miss your pop-up toaster.

Edited September 2, 2016 by KungFuPanda