Mini Toaster Ovens

My guess is that you are here because you are looking for a small, i.e. mini, toaster oven or grill that fits in your caravan, motor-home, RV, university dorm, first apartment, boat, office, guest flat, hall of residence, garden shed, or ... You see there are a lot of places where it comes in handy to have a toaster oven or mini grill ;-) And don't forget, they are portable also! There is also a lot of choice around when you are looking to buy one, choice that can be sometimes confusing. To make your life easier, ask yourself a few simple questions:

Where will You put the toaster oven or mini grill?

This is not only important for choosing the right size, but you have also to take in consideration how close the toaster oven or grill will be to things that can be affected / damaged by heat and therefor how well insulated your new, small oven or grill has to be. Most toaster ovens or grills are of the table top variety, only a few are meant to be build in.

How often will You use it?

Do you only plan to use it during your holidays / vacations? To warm pizzas and bagels or do you want to cook full-sized meals for more then one person with it?

What do You want to cook with it?

Similar to the above; do you mainly plan to use it for reheating and baking or do you also needs the possibility to broil for example vegetables and / or to roast a whole turkey for Thanksgiving in your toaster oven grill? Do you need additional burners for cooking or do you have already a stove in your kitchen?

Here some great little toaster ovens that will fulfill different needs

The Avanti Convection Oven with Toaster and 2 Burners

This is a decently sized oven in which you can grill a whole chicken plus cook the side dishes on top. It is powerful, with the two top burners operating at 900 and 600 Watts and the oven reaching a maximum temperature of 480F / 250C, with full control via thermostat. The oven itself has a capacity of nearly a cubic foot and contains rotisserie equipment. Trays also are provided. If you are after a simple solution for your cooking needs, that allows you not only to grill, roast and bake, but also to cook and boil, this toaster oven might be the right one for you. It is small enough to fit in nearly everywhere and large enough to cook simple meals for 1-2 people. Especially the rotisserie feature (a rotating skewer that allows you to grill a whole bird “freely rotating”) is a very nice add-on. My top tip amongst all the mini ovens I found so far!

Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven

Now this one I call an innovation. If you are only after a pizza oven, with the odd pie and quiche thrown in, this might be your fun solution! Seriously, this pizza oven is a real “looker”. Just have a glimpse at the video to see how well it works. If you are looking for a pizza or toaster oven for yourself or for a great gift for a pizza lover, you just found it. Apart of pizzas and the like, it also works great for all sorts of “flat food” like cheese toasts and other toast varieties, biscuits, cookies, chicken wings and the like. Just be creative and experiment. As long as the food doesn't touch the top heating element, all should be fine! Now how does it actually work and what can I do exactly with it? Glad you asked! The Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven is a 1200+ Watts countertop oven that bakes pizzas in less of half the time that a conventional oven needs (taking in account the time the traditional ovens need to heat up). Top and bottom heated can be regulated completely separately so that you can bake your pizza exactly to perfection and this pizza and toaster oven is suitable for fresh and frozen pizzas between 7 and 12 inches. Plus you can bake and grill also a wide variety of other “flat food” on it. Further features include a timer and an automatic shutoff (security feature). The biggest time saver with this mini oven for pizza aficionados is that it is good to go from the moment you turn it on and that it doesn't need time to preheat. This makes it for sure the fastest pizza oven available! Are you tired of soggy pizza? This mini pizza oven is exactly what you are looking for, mini it might be in size, but it is surely great in results! Do you now get the impression that I am excited about this kitchen gadget? Right, I am! ;-) By the way, it is also great for pizza freshly made during a party! Your guests will love this addition to your hot buffet.

Black & Decker 4-Slice Toaster Oven

My third suggestion is a bit in between of the two above. As the name says the oven is big enough 4 slices of toast (or the equivalent of these in pizza, bagel or cookies ;-) ) It is certainly not big enough to cook a several course meal for an extended family, but would serve nicely as an additional mini oven or as a basic oven for students or in the RV. One thing that makes this toaster oven stand out is the very attractive price point. Combine this with the “free shipping offer” Amazon adds at the moment and you get a real great deal for your buck! One word of warning, the sides and top of this toaster oven tend to get quite hot, so make sure you place it so that there is enough free ventilation space around it.

Summary: Buying the right toaster oven for your needs can be easy if you know what you need and want. Toaster ovens help you to save energy as you don't have to “fire on” the big oven every time you just want to re-heat a slice of pizza and in small kitchens and or dorms they can help you to save money and live healthy by giving you the possibility to prepare your own food instead of relying on fast-food. If you are looking for Single Counter Top Burners, they are more geared towards cooking rather than grilling or baking, but if you just want to cook the odd soup, they might well be what you are looking for.

Disclaimer: Before purchasing any products please do your own research. Suggestions and reviews in this article are merely opinions, it is you who has to make the final buying decision based on your needs and circumstances.