Cuisinart is a popular brand name for various kitchen appliances including toaster oven. It has a few models for its toaster ovens but that can leave prospective buyers confused over which one to get. We have summarised below their popular models to make it easier for you to choose the best Cuisinart toaster oven for your home. All models have their distinctive features to cater to different needs. So, let’s see which one will fit you best.
Cuisinart TOB-40N Custom Classic Toaster Oven Broiler
The Cuisinart TOB-40N is the most popular model among others at the time of writing. This could be because it is one of the cheapest Cuisinart toaster ovens, if not the cheapest. It is also the smallest at 0.5 cubic feet capacity. It can only fit an 11″ pizza.
==> Check Price
Being the cheapest among the lot, of course, it would also have the least features. Its functions are limited to Toast, Bagel, Warm, Bake and Broil with no Convection available. It is also not an electronic model. The oven uses knobs as controls with one each for Function, Temperature and Toast Shade.
Our Verdict
So, being the cheapest, does this make the TOB-40N the best Cuisinart toaster oven to buy? Unfortunately, no. We don’t recommend this although you might just be looking for a small countertop oven for a small family. While it does suit a 2 to 3-person household, it lacks a timer to make this a practical kitchen appliance. There are also numerous complaints that the heating elements will start to warp after a year or two of use.
However, because it it relatively cheaper than the other models, some people may not mind taking the risk of buying the Cuisinart TOB-40N. It also has a smaller footprint (16.29″ W x 14.63″ D x 8.86″ H) for those with space constraints. So, if you can live with the risk of a short lifespan for the toaster oven, then it may work out for you. After all, it does the job well before the heating elements start to give way.
Cuisinart TOB-135 Deluxe Convection Toaster Oven Broiler
The Cuisinart TOB-135 is about double the price of the TOB-40N above. But it has a few more features to make it worth the extra cost. It is larger and hence, it can fit the bigger 12″ pizza. It also has digital controls rather than knobs to change the settings. A digital toaster oven also means you can program the cooking functions and calibrate the heating elements to the optimum settings for each function.
==> Check Price
For the features, it is more complete with Convection Bake and Convection Broil functions. The Convection feature will allow for faster cooking time and more consistent heating. The other functions are Toast, Bagel, Warm, Bake, Broil, Reheat and Defrost.
Good And Bad
The TOB-135 is the in-between model between Cuisinart’s cheapest and most expensive toaster ovens. It is not exactly cheap compared to other brands like Hamilton Beach and Black and Decker but it does deserve the premium price for the better quality.
Complaints about the heating elements warping are few and far in between compared to the Cuisinart TOB-40N model. In fact, most of the complaints from buyers are mainly on minor details like hard to read letterings and a finicky LCD display. These do not affect the performance of the oven which is generally good and most people are satisfied with the cooking results. Simple to use with an ability to turn off the beeps is a bonus feature to have as well.
Cuisinart TOB-260N Chef’s Toaster Convection Oven
At the time of writing, the Cuisinart TOB-260N would be the company’s most advanced model. It is the largest and the most expensive. Instead of a 12″ pizza, it can fit a 13″ in its interior. In other words, it can also fit 9 slices of bread instead of the more common 6 slices.
==> Check Price
But the most distinctive feature of the TOB-260N is the Dual Cook function. That means you can program 2 cooking functions at 2 different temperature levels to run consecutively for multi-step recipes. Think of slow cooking dishes or those that require top browning. These are the types of recipes that you can cook with the Chef’s Toaster Convection Oven. Another practical feature is the +30s which allows you to add an additional 30 seconds to any cooking or toasting cycle.
The Best Cuisinart Toaster Oven Model?
If you consider the functions alone, the Cuisinart TOB-260N would be the best Cuisinart toaster oven that you can find. But the price may make you think twice because it will set you back about $250 (price subject to change over time). The question is do you really need a multi-step cooking function?
In fact, we feel that the TOB-135 is more than enough to meet most people’s needs. No doubt it is smaller in capacity and it doesn’t have a few other details like the +30s and interior light which the TOB-260N possesses. But the main cooking functions like Convection, Toast, Broil and Bake are there to give you enough flexibility to cook a wide variety of food with the TOB-135.
The bottomline is the little details are nice to have but they are not necessities. The cooking performance is what counts and the TOB-135 can deliver on that. Unless you are in need of a bigger capacity oven and/or will fully use the Dual Cook function, we feel that the Cuisinart TOB-135 will be sufficient. To us, it is the best Cuisinart toaster oven because we don’t feel there is a compelling need to shell out more money for a Dual Cook capability.
Any Great Deals For Cuisinart Toaster Ovens? Don’t Miss Out:
0
0
Toaster Oven With 2 Racks