If you want to add an advanced kitchen appliance in your kitchen to facilitate your daily cooking, you are at the right place. We’ll discuss the best convection ovens Consumer Reports which not only minimize your cooking time but also prove to be energy-efficient.
Whether you are a beginner or a cooking expert, you can cook multiple delicious yet healthy meals in the following best countertop convection oven.
You can cook delicious and healthy meals such as cakes, pizza, or cookies. A convection oven outshines a conventional oven with its advanced heating element and consistent temperature.
What is a Convection Oven?
A convection oven comes with an incorporated fan to circulate the hot air, similar to an air fryer. In this way, the hot air does not remain on the food’s top; instead, it seeps through the food to cook it consistently. That’s why a convection oven guarantees a steady temperature throughout the cooking area.
Moreover, it’s an accepted reality that a convection oven works faster than a conventional oven. This way, the cooking time, even for larger food items, is significantly reduced. Not only that, but a convection oven is an energy-efficient appliance than a conventional oven.
Top 5 Best Convection Ovens Consumer Reports for 2021 Reviews
The following review will highlight the features and functionality of the 5 best convection ovens on the market.
#1. Breville Smart Convection Toaster Oven
The Breville Smart Convection Toaster Oven is one of the best convection toaster ovens because of its advanced Element IQ System and nine cooking functions. Additionally, it minimizes the cooking time up to 30 percent, courtesy of its smart convection settings.
This next-generation convection toaster oven comes with an elegant, minimalistic design. The construction comprises a stainless steel exterior with stylish knobs and handles.
Additionally, the exterior is well-insulated, preventing your hands from getting burnt while opening the door. The magnetic rack pulls out half-way when you open the door so that you don’t touch the hot inner edges.
Furthermore, the interior comes coated with a non-stick material to facilitate convenient cleaning. The spacious interior consists of 18.5 x 15.7 x 11.1 inches to accommodate six bread slices, six muffin tray, and a 13 inches pizza.
The Breville smart convection oven weighs around 7.7 kgs, which makes it harder for you to transport.
Courtesy of the patented Element IQ heating system, the Breville convection oven automatically detects the areas which require more heat. It implies that it heats up and cools down faster than the rest of the convection ovens.
Additionally, you can also adjust the temperature, time, and power using the preset functions available on the right side. You can easily read the current settings on its extra-large LCD. Moreover, you can also change the LCD backlight from orange to blue, depending upon your requirement.
The nine cooking functions are helpful, especially for beginners who aren’t familiar with the temperature or cooking time settings. These settings include bagel, bake, cookies, grill, reheat, pizza, roast, defrost, and warm.
This all-rounder convection oven includes all the required accessories such as 13 inches non-stick pizza pan, 12 x 12 enamel baking pan, and a 12 x 12 inches enamel broil rack.
Pros
- Element IQ system
- Nine cooking presets
- Large capacity
- Readable LCD
- Non-stick cavity coating
- One-year warranty
Cons
- Pricey
- Heavy
#2. Wolf Gourmet Elite Digital Countertop Convection Toaster Oven
Introduced in 2018, the Wolf Gourmet Elite Digital Countertop Convection Toaster Oven is a relatively new toaster oven with seven cooking modes. Other features include internal light, precise temperature control, and energy-efficiency.
Wolf has been designing reliable kitchen appliances since the early 1930s to automate the cooking process for restaurants and homes.
This one-for-all and all-for-one convection toaster oven is the best small convection oven because of its precision temperature probe, which allows you to measure up to 550F degrees. It comes with a brushed stainless steel exterior and colourful knobs.
You can use the probe functionality by inserting the probe jack in the oven wall and the other ends of the probe in the food. This way, you can closely monitor the rise in food’s temperature until it reaches the desired temperature. Moreover, you no longer need to open the door to check if you have achieved your steak’s required doneness level.
The Wolf Gourmet convection oven comes with a readable LCD that displays the temperature and timer. You can also set the timer coupled with the “Stay on” feature to keep it running for up to four hours before it automatically turns off. This way, you can cook delicious, slowly cooked rotisserie for your family.
You can use the seven cooking modes to bake, roast, warm, proof, broil, bagel, and toast. Furthermore, the internal cooking space of 1.1 cubic feet is enough to hold a 9 x 13 inches dish or 5 ½ pounds of chicken. The rack glides outside the oven to facilitate loading and unloading.
The Wolf Gourmet toaster oven comes with a non-stick internal cavity so that you can clean it with a clean, damp cloth. Not only that, but the slide-out crumb tray is dishwasher safe.
Pros
- Interior lighting
- Seven cooking modes
- Precision temperature knob
- Five-year limited warranty
- Two easy-glide racks
- Five heating elements
- Excellent customer service
Cons
- Heavyweight
- Usable internal capacity is 0.7 cubic feet
#3. Oster Extra Large Digital Countertop Convection Oven
The Oster Extra Large Digital Countertop Convection Oven features digital settings for different cooking options, including pizza, broil, toast, defrost, and bake. This multi-functional convection oven comes with a large and easy-to-clean interior to fit a family-sized chicken.
One of the distinct features which allow this best air fryer convection oven to outshine the previously discussed convection ovens is its digital control panel. Both of the convection ovens reviewed above include manual knobs to adjust the settings.
However, the Oster convection oven comes with an intuitive and user-friendly digital interface. You can select the preferred cooking using digital controls. Furthermore, you can press the up and down arrows to adjust the temperature and timer.
The Oster convection oven allows you to set the temperature anywhere between 200F and 450F degrees. Additionally, you can select the timer for up to 90 minutes with the automatic shut-off feature to turn off the oven to save energy.
The door is made of glass so that you can view the cooking progress without opening the door. You can open the door past 90 degrees without any resistance. However, the glass is quite delicate and exerting too much force can make the door drop.
This elegant convection oven is a stylish combination of brushed stainless steel and glass to match your modern kitchen interior. It measures around 24 x 21.5 x 16.7 inches, making it a relatively larger unit with a bigger footprint on the countertop. The interior cooking space is enough to accommodate two 16 inches pizza, a family-sized whole chicken or 14 slices of toast.
Courtesy of the digital control panel, it’s effortless to clean the exterior because of the absence of knobs or dials.
Pros
- Digital control panel
- Two oven racks
- Include a crumb tray
- 90-minutes timer
- Auto shut-off feature
- One-year manufacturer’s warranty
- Internal lightings
Cons
- Slow toasting
- Exterior gets hot
#4. Toshiba Countertop Microwave Oven with Convection
The Toshiba Countertop Microwave Oven with Convection is a perfect combination of style and high-tech features with its stainless steel finish and pre-programmed sensor menu. Not only that, but it’s essentially a multi-functional convection oven with combined microwave functionality.
This compact convection oven measures around 21.8 x 21.5 x 13 inches with a large 13.6 inches turntable. It offers an internal capacity of 1.5 cubic feet to cook pizza, bread, muffins, beef, whole chicken, and turkey breasts.
It includes a sensor-based cooking function and an auto menu with one-touch start buttons and reheating function. You can find the auto menu right above the keypad, available on the right side.
The three buttons allow you to opt for convection only, microwave, or a combo. You can use the internal grill rack upon selecting the convection mode.
Other cooking options include favourite, auto bake, warm hold, time defrost, sensor cook, and many more. The warm hold function can keep your dishes warm before serving for up to 99 minutes.
Another exciting feature is the numeric keypad that allows you to select any of the ten power settings. It means you not only cut down the cooking time but also your electricity bill. Moreover, the energy-saving Eco-mode allows you to save up to 50 percent of the power.
The sleek design comes with a stainless-steel finish to give it a classy look. Additionally, it protects the oven from rust or scratch and facilitates convenient cleaning. You can also clean the internal stainless steel cavity with a clean damp cloth.
The smart sensor offers 13 auto menus to monitor the humidity or moisture level in the food and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Pros
- Stainless steel finish
- Pre-programmed sensor menu
- One-touch popcorn button
- Warm-hold function
- Ten power settings
- LED cavity light
Cons
- Bulky
- The convection function dissipates more heat in the surrounding
5. COSORI Air Fryer Toaster Oven Combo
The COSORI Air Fryer Toaster Oven Combo offers 12-in-1 cooking presets so that you don’t have to worry about setting the required time or temperature. The additional air fryer feature cooks delicious yet healthy meals by reducing 85 percent fat than conventional fried food.
You no longer have to get into the debate of air fryer vs convection oven if you opt for the COSORI multi-purpose air fryer toaster oven combo. Not to mention it’s the only convection oven in our list with the added functionality of an air fryer.
The 12 included cooking presets consist of bagel, bread, bake, ferment, roast, air fry, pizza, toast, dehydrate, broil, cookies, and rotisserie.
This extra-large air fryer toaster oven combo offers a 30L/32 quartz cooking capacity to fit six slices of toast, 13-inches pizza or five pounds of chicken. Moreover, you can adjust the temperature anywhere between the range of 80F to 450F degrees.
The exterior is an elegant combination of stainless steel finish and a double-layer glass door. A wide handlebar on the top allows you to glide the oven door. Furthermore, a digital display and other control knobs are available on the right side.
The COSORI air fryer oven combo comes with five heating elements to evenly distribute the heat to ensure consistent cooking. Not only that, you can reposition or remove any of the three metal cooking racks. This way, you can fit in larger food items or cook multiple food items on all the racks.
It comes with all the required accessories so that you don’t have to spend extra bucks. These accessories include a crumb tray, food tray, wire rack, fry basket, and rotisserie attachments. Unfortunately, the accessories aren’t dishwasher safe, but you can always wash them with soapy water.
Pros
- 12-in-1 presets
- Large cooking capacity
- LED screen
- User-friendly dial controls
- Internal light
- Includes recipes and other accessories
Cons
- Flimsy dials
- Longer cooking time for bagel and toast mode
How Does a Convection Oven Work?
You must be wondering about the difference between a convection oven and a regular oven. Essentially, a convection oven comes with a built-in additional heating element and a fan. This way, it circulates air more effectively and ensures even cooking.
Consequently, the top of the cake or pie doesn’t overcook. Moreover, the racks present at the bottom receive the same amount of heat as the top rack.
Since the moving air is responsible for efficient heating than static air, a convection oven takes 25 percent less time than a traditional oven.
How To Use a Convection Oven?
The answer depends upon the type of food you are cooking. You can cook various meals such as Sheppard pie, cookies, chicken roast, and other vegetables.
However, you can’t bake everything in a convection oven. It’s because all the food items aren’t compatible with the internal fan. For instance, you can’t bake delicate desserts such as custards or souffle’.
It’s because the internal airflow can cause the cake to rise unevenly, with the top of the cupcakes leaning towards one side.
By the way, some convection ovens come with an option to switch off the fan to select the desired baking environment.
You can follow the below-mentioned simple steps to use a convection oven:
- First, prepare your food in a low-sided dish to allow the hot air to circulate freely around the food.
- Arrange the inside racks with two inches of separation between them.
- Select a cooking setting or set the desired temperature accordingly to preheat the convection oven.
- It’s recommended to set the times with 25 percent less time than a conventional oven.
Conclusion
If you want to buy a multi-purpose kitchen appliance that automates your daily cooking, you can buy any of the convection ovens reviewed above. These ovens utilize the latest convection technology to circulate hot around the food for even cooking.
The cooking settings save you from the hassle of adjusting the temperature and timer. Moreover, you can cook multiple food items by placing them on different racks.
One of the most significant advantages of cooking in a convection oven is the reduced cooking time and, ultimately, the electricity bill. A convection oven is a stylish addition to your kitchen countertop.
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