Cuisinart Chef's Convection Toaster Oven Review 2023

After a month of testing the best toaster ovens, the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven stood out for its versatility and roomy capacity, earning it the top spot overall. Read on to learn why I believe it’s the best model you can buy.

Space has always been a constraint in my small New York City apartment, so while I’ve long heard about the wonders of a full-sized toaster oven, I haven’t been able to experience it firsthand. That’s until I tested the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven, which made a strong case for freeing up some counter space. After a month of testing eight of the best toaster ovens, this mighty model came out on top, thanks to its unmatched versatility, speed and capacity.

Following weeks of testing eight top-rated toaster ovens, the Cuisinart Chef's Convection Toaster ... [+] Oven came out on top.

Like many other home cooks, I’ve long relied on Cuisinart for all my food-processing needs (in fact, its 13-cup processor is the Forbes Vetted pick for best food processor overall), so it came as no surprise that the brand excels at another countertop gadget. Capable of browning toast, baking tender-crumbed cakes and crisping up frozen food, all quickly and efficiently, this Cuisinart toaster oven is a powerful kitchen workhorse that can effortlessly pinch-hit for a full-sized oven. And thanks to the model’s brushed stainless steel exterior and sleek digital display, it’s the kind of appliance you’d be proud to have in your kitchen.

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Dimensions: 21 x 17 x 11.5inches | Bread capacity: Nine slices | Convection: Yes | Wattage: 1,800 watts | Warranty: 3-year limited warranty

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Powerful, versatile and convenient, the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven could easily stand out as the MVP in any kitchen. Armed with 15 presets and capable of oven basics like baking, broiling and roasting, this 1,800-watt appliance covers most culinary tasks, from the straightforward to the nice. Using the included baking pan, I made six chocolate chip cookies, and they came out perfectly chewy in the middle and crispy on the edges. I also baked an 8 x 8-inch coffee cake that had plenty of clearance for rising. Among my favorite of the Cuisinart’s functions is the convection setting, which cooks food quickly and evenly by circulating hot air around it. With the convection setting, the toaster oven is capable of crisping up food as well as an air fryer. I roasted chicken thighs for dinner one night and it yielded golden, crispy skin. Further boosting the model’s versatility, it also boasts an innovative dual-cook mode, which allows you to set two different cooking functions—for example, baking, then broiling—and cook times for each at the same time.

Six slices of toast prepared in the Cuisinart Chef's Convection Toaster Oven.

Another one of the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven’s big selling points: its capacity. The interior is so large that, whereas most toaster ovens measure their capacity in inches, this one is listed in cubic feet—0.95, to be exact. That translates to enough space for a 13-inch pizza, a full-sized chicken or lots of toast. In my testing, I was able to comfortably fit six slices (fewer than the nine pieces of toast that Cuisinart claims it can accommodate). I didn’t mind the discrepancy, and I don’t think most families would, either. To toast six slices, it takes the machine a mere 2.5 minutes; if you need to prepare more toast, a second batch wouldn’t be too far behind.

Just know that if you try to toast a lot of bread at once (or even bake a large cake), the food might not brown totally evenly. When I toasted six slices, the middle pieces came out perfectly brown while the ones on the side got slightly less color. That said, this is a common issue for toaster ovens, so I certainly don’t see it as a deal breaker. The heating elements inside a toaster oven are typically made of metal coils that convert electricity into heat, which allows them to heat up quickly, but this can also lead to hot spots.

There are a few accessories that toaster ovens typically include: a baking rack, a tray customized to fit on top of the baking rack and a removable crumb tray that allows you to easily clean the bits and pieces that inevitably fall through the rack. This Cuisinart model ups the ante in the accessory field by offering more useful pieces than any other top-rated toaster oven I tested. Alongside the oven you get two baking racks, an enamel baking pan, a broiling pan, a 13-inch pizza stone and a removable crumb tray. The double baking racks, in particular, are appreciated, as they allow you to cook two dishes at a time. These accessories are easy to purchase separately, but their inclusion is thoughtful—plus, they sweeten the deal.

While testing eight popular toaster ovens, the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven earned the top spot thanks to its reliability, fast operation and multifunctionality. It excelled at every cooking task I threw at it and is clearly capable of even more. While it doesn’t have an air fryer feature, as a growing number of models do today, the toaster oven’s convection setting is just as great at crisping up frozen foods. While I did find this model slightly trickier to use than some other toaster ovens I tested (toggling between presets and adjusting the time and temperature is done with a knob, which isn’t the most intuitive), I eventually got the hang of the machine after a handful of tries.

All that said, this model isn’t right for every home cook. If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, the Black+Decker Countertop Convection Toaster Oven is a powerful, winning model, though it lacks the Cuisinart’s quality construction and design. For those short on space, consider the Panasonic FlashXpress Toaster Oven, an efficient model that won me over with its compact build.

Each of the toaster ovens on my list went through the same basic cooking tests to assess how they toasted, baked and reheated. I compared their toasting performance with single slices of bread and full racks, testing my way through the shade (and if applicable, slice) settings to find the perfect level. I started with a single slice at shade setting one, then moved my way on up using different slices until it was clearly close to burnt (for me, this happened at four). I then tested a full rack of bread at my desired toastiness level (shade setting one).

Next, I baked store-bought chocolate chip cookie dough per the package instructions to examine how heat was distributed and if there was any unevenness during baking. I also measured how long it took the oven to preheat. Lastly, I reheated a 10-inch frozen pizza and evaluated how the crust crisped up and if the cheese melted nicely (meaning without any gumminess). I continued to informally test the oven over a few weeks, using it to reheat chicken tenders, roast broccoli and even bake a cake. Other factors I considered included price, overall design and ease of use and cleaning.

I’m a food writer and editor with more than a decade of experience in lifestyle media. I have been on staff at digital food publications such at The Kitchn, The Spruce Eats and TODAY Food. As a freelance writer and editor, I have contributed to Allrecipes, Food Network, Simply Recipes, Resy and more. To help get a better idea of a toaster oven’s versatility and capabilities from different perspectives, I interviewed four experts: Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore, who wrote the cookbook Toaster Oven Takeover: Easy and Delicious Recipes to Make in Your Toaster Oven; chef Evan Kleiman, host of the “Good Food” radio show; and Sally Kuzemchak, a registered dietitian behind Real Mom Nutrition.

The real question is what can’t you cook in the Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven. Designed with 15 preset functions and the ability to bake, broil and roast, this mighty appliance is capable of preparing nearly anything your full-sized oven can, provided it fits. You can toast bread, bake cakes, fire up a pizza, roast meats and dehydrate apples, not to mention “air fry” your favorite snacks using the convection setting—the list is truly endless.

With a spacious 0.95 cubic feet capacity, this appliance is essentially the minivan of the toaster oven world. It can fit up to nine slices of bread, a 13-inch pizza, a 9 x 13-inch casserole or a full-sized chicken. It can even accommodate a small Dutch oven (as long as you leave off the lid).

This toaster oven comes assembled and only requires you to pop in the baking rack and crumb tray. Now, it does come with a handful of accessories that require an initial wash, and you also need to clear some storage space for those tools when not in use. But all in all, getting the toaster oven up and running is a total breeze.

It’s as easy to clean as most toaster ovens. If splatters and crumbs start to accumulate in the interior, simply wipe down the bottoms and side with a damp cloth and mild soap. Meanwhile, accessories like the baking pan, racks and crumb tray fit in the sink for hand-washing. Whatever you do, don’t neglect to stay on top of care and maintenance. If you use your toaster oven daily, it doesn’t take long for crumbs and grease to build up and set off your smoke alarm, or worse, become a potential fire hazard.