Best Toasters For Your Kitchen Countertop

Toaster oven finishes range from white to black and stainless steel. If you leave this appliance on the kitchen counter, opt for a toaster oven you’ll enjoy seeing every day.

Pop-up toasters with a stainless steel finish are a stylish appliance that reflects throughout the kitchen. You’ll love the finish material for its cool-touch exterior and ease of cleaning.

Pop-up toasters with a plastic exterior are typically lighter than their stainless steel counterparts. The sleek surface is simple to clean and depending on the finish, the toaster can be a complementary color to your kitchen decor.

Need to make a quick breakfast for two or an after-school snack? A 2-slice toaster can easily do that. Rather than waiting for the oven to warm up, simply drop frozen waffles or slices of bread into the slots and you’ll have something tasty to devour in minutes.

Small in scale, 2-slice toasters are typically simple by design, easy to use and inexpensive. Additional upscale features like a shade selector with multiple settings, adjustable slots and a keep-warm setting will raise the price a notch.

In terms of efficiency, a 2-slice toaster is a real energy saver. On average, a 2-slice toaster uses only 900 watts, whereas an electric oven uses up to 5,000 watts.

Although the functionality remains one in the same, the obvious difference between a 2-slice toaster and 4-slice toaster is that you’re doubling the slots. This makes perfect sense when you have four mouths to feed on a busy weekday morning. Toasting four slices of bread at once saves time and is more convenient. If you need separate slots designated for gluten-free toasting, these 4-slice toasters deliver without any contamination.

In terms of size, a 4-slice toaster increases the footprint of a 2-slice toaster by only a few inches. Price-wise, 4-slice toasters are a great kitchen appliance for households of two or more.

Tip: In one session, a 4-slice toaster typically saves more energy than using a 2-slice toaster twice.

The best digital toaster rewards you with slices of perfectly crispy toast every morning. Beyond the taste factor, there are several reasons why acquiring a digital toaster is a smart decision. A large LED display and push buttons help you fine-tune the bread type and browning preference. Most digital toasters include a memory save feature so you can simply select and toast in one easy step.
Some of the newest models are adding touchscreens for easier programming and use.

Tip: Look for extra features like a countdown timer, automatic lift and shutoff, and extra-wide slots for toasting thick slices of homemade bread and reheating waffles.

Mornings are made more delicious with a toaster that browns a long slice of sourdough bread or slice of rye bread, and the bread emerges fully intact rather than in pieces. However, don’t be deceived by how long the slots of this style of toaster appear. A single piece of white bread will brown just as well in the toaster’s extra-long slots.

Long-slot toasters are typically 14 inches long, with an exaggerated length. It’s ideal for toasting slices from artisan loaves. In addition to the length, some long-slot toasters include extra-wide slots for heating frozen bagels and toasting ciabatta bread.

Note that a long slot toaster takes up more space on a countertop than traditional toaster varieties.

A toaster oven does much more than simply brown toast. Thanks to upgraded functions, today’s countertop ovens preheat in only a few minutes and do everything from heating up frozen meals to air frying wings on game day. Larger toaster ovens can even cook a pizza pie and roast a delicious, golden-brown chicken.

Toaster ovens are perfect for easing your oven’s workload and freeing up the counter for additional specialty equipment.

Tip: If you like to cook 12-inch pizzas or roast whole butternut squash and other larger items, look for a toaster oven with a larger interior capacity. Cubic feet and interior dimensions factor into the toaster oven’s ability to cook the meals and snacks you prefer to eat.

Features to consider:

• Air fryer to quickly bake crispy, crunchy foods with less oil.
• Convection where hot air circulates fast to even bake and brown food.
• Rotisserie attachment that steadily rotates whole chickens and other meats to moist and tender perfection.
• Grill plate to efficiently grill vegetables, meat and seafood on the countertop.
• Dehydrator baskets for preserving fruit, veggies and meats.
• Two or more racks for baking more batches of cookies, treats and other foods all at once.

Tip: If you like to cook 12-inch pizzas or roast whole butternut squash, look for a toaster oven with a large interior capacity. Cubic feet and interior dimensions factor into the toaster oven's ability to cook the meals and snacks you love to eat.

Go beyond the toasting basics with these built-in toaster enhancements:

• Keep-warm setting maintains the food’s crispness after browning.
• Adjustable slots that automatically widen when sliding slices of bread into the toasting area.
• Rapid toast technology to quickly and precisely brown food right up to the edges.
• Metal drip and crumb trays to capture crumbs and other excess food particles. Attached below the unit, the tray either slides out or unhooks to empty crumbs into the trash with ease and allow for cleaning.
• Defrost setting thaws frozen waffles and other freezer foods prior to the toasting process.
• Memory setting to easily save and engage favorite toasting settings.
• High-lift lever to retrieve smaller items out of the toaster without reaching in with tongs.
• Toasters that grill cheese or toast pastries.