Countertop convection ovens bring plenty of benefits to the kitchen. They offer more functionality than a microwave and use less energy than standard ovens.
In addition to being easier to clean, these ovens come in different forms and with different extra features, such as rotisserie sets and hob rings on top.
In this countertop convection ovens review, you’ll learn about the important features to watch out for when making a choice. Plus, you also get a list of the top offers in the market.
What To Check Before Buying Countertop Convection Oven?
Following are important convection oven factors to keep in mind when making your choice. By considering these important aspects, you’ll be in a better position to make the right choice and get an oven that best caters to your needs.
1. Capacity
This refers to the size of the oven and how much volume it has inside. Capacity is important because you’ll need an oven that can easily handle the volume of food you cook in it, as well as be small enough to fit into your countertop’s available space.
The smallest countertop convection ovens that you’ll find have just enough space to toast about four slices of bread. They can also warm sandwiches, but are usually not large enough to bake medium to large-sized pizzas.
You can choose medium-sized ovens like the Wolf Gourmet WGCO100S to handle chickens, 9-inch pizzas, make waffles for a family of six, and to generally handle larger cooking tasks.
If you need even more cooking space, then try the largest countertop ovens such as the Black & Decker CTO63355. They will fit 12-inch pizzas, bake large cakes, and fit up to 9×13-inch pans. The choice here is yours to make.
Read More: The Best Rotisserie Ovens
2. Gas vs Electric Power
While you’ll find normal, large-sized convection ovens that will use electricity, as well as gas as their power source, the case is different with countertop convection ovens.
With the countertop variety, you’ll mostly find electric-powered models, and even if you were to find any that ran on gas, it’ll still need electricity to power its fan.
3. Cooking Options & Features
Different ovens come with different extra features, depending on their model and manufacturer. You may want to choose a particular oven model based on its features, which are helpful to you.
Following are some of the features that you can expect from countertop convection ovens.
Timers & Alerts include countdown timers and audio alerts that you can set on the oven to let you know when a specific period has elapsed. This allows you to check your food and decide if it’s okay or needs a few more minutes.
Display Options can range from simple LED displays to more complex and larger LCD monitors with plenty of information, such as the Cuisinart TOB-260N1 offers. Your choice here will definitely base on your personal preferences.
Cooking Presets include one-button selections of temperature and cooking-time combinations, to select baking, broiling, or warming of foods. Some will also include presets for pizza, bagels, and cookies.If you know that you’ll be needing some help with cooking times and temperatures, then you may want to focus on countertop convection ovens with enough cooking presets.
Auto-Off functionality guarantees that your food will stop cooking once it either reaches a previously set temperature or a certain time has elapsed. This prevents your food from overcooking or getting burnt.
4. Construction Material
The main importance of construction material is durability and stainless steel is an ideal material for making both the interior and exterior of a convection oven, but other materials and finishes can produce more beautiful ovens.
You can choose based on your preferences here, as well as on how much you’re willing to spend.
5. Ease of Use
Whether you like press-buttons or knobs that you can turn around, you’ll need to choose an oven that offers a control system that you are comfortable with, because this will make it more user-friendly for you.
6. Accessories
You need to keep in mind that most of your standard-sized cooking gear won’t fit into the countertop oven, so you should check out how many accessories come included in the oven package that you’re about to buy.
Most will include a rack and a pan, while the costlier models can include extra accessories like a broiler tray and different pans.
7. Safety Features
Because countertop convection ovens can get very hot, it’s important that they feature safety mechanisms to prevent the user from getting burned.
Some of these include automatic shut-off, pop-out racks for easier retrieval of food, and drip trays that help prevent grease flare-ups.
Read More: The Best Oven Mitts
5 Best Countertop Convection Ovens of 2021 Reviewed
IMAGE | PRODUCT | FEATURES |
|---|---|---|
 | 1. Breville BOV845BSS (Best Overall) |
|
 | 2. Cuisinart TOB-260N1 (Most Stylish) |
|
 | 3. Black & Decker CTO63355 (Best Budget) |
|
 | 4. Hamilton Beach 31103A (Analog Controls with Rotisserie) |
|
 | 5. Wolf Gourmet WGCO100S (With Meat Probe) |
|
1. Breville BOV845BSS – Best Overall
- Capacity: 15.75 x 18.5 x 11 inches
- Power Source: Electric
- Controls: Digital
- Material: Stainless steel
If you can afford the price and just want the best countertop convection oven around, then here’s a very impressive offer for you to check out.
Breville loads it with lots of features, like an interior oven light, a non-stick interior coating, a digital display, and controls, plus a 10-preset coking function, which lets you select between pizza, broiling, slow cooking, and baking, with just a button press.
The display is simple and easy to understand. It fits beautifully into the stainless steel finish, and the round controls also align beautifully to create a lovely sight.
For cons, it uses up to 1,800 Watts of power, and this means a higher electricity bill. It’s also not a cheap unit, as ovens like the Black & Decker CTO63355 cost much less.
However, it’s large enough to cook for a group of six, and it can handle a 13-inch pizza. Breville backs it with a 1-year manufacturer warranty and adds a rack, a 13-inch pizza pan, and a 12×12-inch baking pan to the package.
Pros:
- Quality countertop oven with extensive features
- Large enough for a 13-inch pizza and 6 toast slices
- Comes with 10 preset cooking functions
- Features a non-stick coating inside for easy maintenance
- Breville backs it with a 1-year warranty
Cons:
- It’s not a cheap countertop convection oven
- It uses lots of power at 1,800 Watts
2. Cuisinart TOB-260N1 – Most Stylish
- Capacity: 20.87 x 16.93 x 11.42 inches
- Power Source: Electric
- Controls: Digital
- Material: Stainless steel
This Cuisinart TOB-260N1 offer comes with lots of impressive features, such as its large size, with enough space for up to 9 toast slices at a go. It also offers up to four rack positions, and you can even cook with two racks at a go.
Its best feature, however, is its stylish digital look. It looks sleek and modern, plus it’s digital. The oven comes with a large backlit display, plus buttons and a selector knob. You can select up to 15 different cooking presets, two convection settings, or simply set the temperature or timer as you wish.
You can roast up to seven pounds of turkey breast in this oven and the non-stick interior coating makes it easy to clean and keep up after cooking.
For downsides, you can get cheaper countertop convection ovens, such as the Black & Decker CTO63355. It also doesn’t offer delayed timing.
For accessories, this top-rated countertop convection oven comes with two racks, a baking/drip pan, a removable crumb tray, a broiling pan, and a pizza stone. It also comes with a recipe booklet and backed by a 3-year warranty.
Pros:
- Stainless steel countertop convection oven
- Features digital controls with a backlit display
- Has two convection settings
- Comes with plenty of accessories
- Cuisinart backs it with a 3-year warranty
Cons:
- It has no programmable or delayed start time
- There are cheaper comparable ovens
3. Black & Decker CTO63355 – Best Budget
- Capacity: 22.8 x 13.4 x 15.5 inches
- Power Source: Electric
- Controls: Digital
- Material: Stainless steel
While lots of people simply want the best oven, some people are more down to earth and just want a good product at a good price.
Being affordable makes this one of the best countertop convection ovens for those on a budget, and despite its low price, it comes with an impressive digital control system with eight cooking functions. This includes bake, pizza, bagel, and broil.
This oven features a digital control system, which is great but looks rather confusing. Previous ovens in this review offer digital controls that are easier to figure out, but in its defense though, it comes at a lower price than the others.
You also get an automatic shut-off function with a 120-minute duration, plus a ready indicator light to let you know when the oven has pre-heated.
Black+Decker backs it with a 2-year warranty and includes a broil rack and a baking pan as accessories. The oven offers two rack positions for flexibility.
Pros:
- Stainless steel oven with space for 12-inch pizzas
- Best budget offer and cheapest on this list
- Features a 120-minute auto shut-off function
- Comes with a 2-year manufacturer warranty
Cons:
- Its control system looks complex
- There are better-looking countertop convection ovens
4. Hamilton Beach 31103A – Analog Convection Oven with Rotisserie
- Capacity: 23.3 x 18.1 x 15.5 inches
- Power Source: Electric
- Controls: Analog
- Material: Stainless steel
This Hamilton Beach 31103A is the first analog or non-digital oven in this review, but it still comes with lots of impressive features, such as easy temperature and timer selections.
Simply turn the temperature and the timer knobs to your desired values up to 450 degrees F and 120 minutes, and then, set any of the four cooking presets, including bake, convection, broil, or rotisserie.
The included accessories are two oven racks, a small and a large enameled baking pan, a broil rack, and a rotisserie set. The oven also includes a slide-out crumb tray.
Downsides include having only four presets and the lack of convenience from digital systems.
On the plus side, you get enough space to bake two 12-inch pizzas at a go, plus the entire oven is quality stainless steel that’s guaranteed to last long. Hamilton Beach additionally offers 1-year warranty coverage on this package.
For anyone who loves simple stuff and is looking for the best countertop convection oven for baking and rotisserie, this offer is really worth taking a look at.
Pros:
- Offers enough space to bake two 12-inch pizzas
- Simple and easy-to-use analog controls
- Made completely from durable stainless steel
- Includes rotisserie and other accessories
- The package comes with a 1-year Hamilton Beach warranty
Cons:
- It uses analog controls
- There are only four cooking presets
5. Wolf Gourmet WGCO100S – Best With Meat Probe
- Capacity: 12.6 x 22.25 x 16.6 inches
- Power Source: Electric
- Controls: Digital
- Material: Stainless steel
If you’re looking to choose the best portable countertop convection oven for roasting meat, then it’s worth taking a look at this offer from Wolf Gourmet. Because it includes a meat temperature probe.
The system has a digital control that lets you set temperatures and timers with ease. It includes a digital display for easy monitoring and additionally features a high-volume advanced convection system that promises faster, even cooking, with no hot spots.
It comes with six cooking presets that allow you to select between baking, roasting, broiling, toasting, warming, and proofing of your bread doughs.
Things you may not like here include its relatively high price, because it’s the costliest countertop convection oven in this review. Another con is its rather dated look, because there are more modern-looking offers out there.
Further impressive features, however, include its smooth-glide rack, three rack positions, five heating elements, and a 5-year manufacturer warranty that makes a solid statement for this oven’s quality.
Pros:
- Very well-built stainless steel countertop convection oven
- Offers 6 different cooking presets
- Includes a pan and rack, plus a meat temperature probe
- Backed by a solid 5-year warranty from Wolf Gourmet
Cons:
- It’s the costliest oven in this review
- The design lacks a modern feeling
Can a Countertop Convection Oven Replace Your Microwave?
These two appliances look similar and occupy roughly the same space, so it’s tempting to wonder if the oven can replace your regular microwave oven.
The simple answer is: Yes.
Now, here’s the long answer:
Microwave ovens use a beam of very short radio waves to bring food items to vibration, and while they’re vibrating inside, they become hot. This is the fastest method of heating food, and it uses much less electricity than conventional ovens, accounting for its popularity.
On the flip side, microwave ovens heat the entire food from the inside, so it all gets hot evenly, meaning you’ll never get the caramelizing or browning effect that normal ovens produce.
This makes microwave ovens ideal for quickly re-heating foods but horrible at baking or roasting.
Convection ovens use a fan to circulate the hot air inside the oven. This makes convection ovens faster than conventional ovens, but still slower than microwave ovens in heating food.
On the plus side, though, convection ovens are great for baking and roasting foods, and they’ll give that perfectly-browned crust to a pizza. Something a microwave can’t do.
So, yes, a convection oven can replace a microwave oven, as long as you don’t mind waiting a few minutes longer when heating up your food.
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Conclusion
We’ve reached the end of this countertop convection ovens review and you’ve seen the very best offers out there, including those designed for rotisserie chicken lovers and those for gourmet meat lovers.
If you just want the best overall offer out there, then the Breville BOV845BSS is a the prefect recommendation, with its 13-inch capacity and 10 preset functions.
For budget shoppers, Black & Decker’s CTO63355 comes at the right price, with a 120-minute timer, enough space for a 12-inch pizza, and a 2-year warranty.
If you prefer analog systems, however, then the recommendation is the Hamilton Beach 31103A, with its carefully designed analog controls and 12-inch pizza space.