Chef's Convection Toaster Oven

I've had this toaster oven for a year now. It's been fantastic, so I figured a review might help potential buyers make a choice. I upgraded to this so I could get a 12-13" pizza in it, and it came with a pizza stone, so that works fine. It pre-heats in 5 min, beating my gas oven by 20 minutes. I use a $1/use rule of thumb for a purchase. This blows that away, I've used at least 4x daily for a year, or more than 1,400 times. Of course it does toast, but I've literally not turned my gas oven on since I plugged this in. It comes with some aluminum pans, but I bought several small stainless steel trays, links below. The smaller trays fit in, in pairs, and the larger one takes the whole size. Remember this has two racks and you can put items on both levels (and I do to get 3 or 4 foods cooking at once). The stainless is easier to clean and can drop in the dishwasher. I also discovered that a Lodge Braiser (enameled cast iron 3.6 qt) fits in like it's custom made. (The short handles go in corner to corner across the long angle). Besides being a great pan, it's inexpensive and allows braises, roast and stews to be started/ browned/seared on the range, then moved into the little oven for long roasting. There is a 2hr limit on the timer, but just check it and reset to go again. The temp range of 150 to 500 is great. I often use it as a warmer to keep dishes ready while completing another. The unit is a little large on the counter, and it's more expensive than average, but it's become my most used kitchen tool, second only to my refrigerator. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GYM74ND?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091F43YGX?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BVPN78X?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_7&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089Y9LH5T?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_8&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GY2GC6M?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_8&th=1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09B17G3CY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I did a ton of research before buying this oven. I'd had a Black & Decker for years that I loved, but it began to malfunction, and I reluctantly knew I needed to buy another large countertop oven. I use my countertop oven constantly--far more than my regular one, actually. There are two of us, and I find it ideal for most meal prep. I'd read the reviews about the door not closing properly, how hot the oven becomes on the outside, how the paint comes off the buttons, etc. But it seemed overall to be the best and most dependable choice. So I sprung for it. I love it. The first thing I did was to apply clear nail polish to the buttons before I even used it. Problem solved. I've never had a smidge of issue with the buttons or their paint coming off. The door was adjusted fine. At first I was curious, because it appeared to be slightly away from the oven body when shut, but that was not an issue whatsoever. No heat escaped. It was evenly closed. It works perfectly fine. And the heat issue--I'd read how people burned themselves on the door handle and so forth--honestly, I have never had a problem with the heat at all. Does the top get hot? Of course--it's an oven. Do I ensure to pull it forward to the front edge of the countertop and out from under the overhead cabinets? Of course. Does it heat up my kitchen? Nope. Can I put things on top of the oven while it's in use? Yes. I put the extra rack and extra broiler rack that I ordinarily store inside the oven on the top when I remove them to use it. They are all metal. It's no big deal. This oven heats up incredibly fast--within 3 minutes or so. It actually cooks faster than my other oven or previous B&D did (I check my recipes about 5-10 minutes earlier now). The heat seems even and steady. What I love about it: (1) The internal light is wonderful. (2) The interior is large enough for most daily needs and for baking quick breads (banana bread, zucchini bread) and the like. (3) It's an attractive piece of equipment to have on the counter in the kitchen. (4) It offers a number of cooking settings on the dial as well as the ability to customize to what you want. (4) It comes with two racks that can be placed in any of four positions, two of which will pull out when you open the door. What I'd improve: (1) The timer theoretically "rings" when it has preheated or is finished cooking. Are you kidding me? That "ring" is barely a whisper. The sound level of the timer definitely should be hugely amplified for anyone more than 1 foot away to hear it in a silent room. (2) There should be an independent, manual "Preheat" setting offered that doesn't impact the cooking time. I have to add extra minutes to the cooking time to account for my food prep, and then I set a separate timer (and one that I can hear!) once I put the food into the oven for when the food will be finished. That's a small inconvenience, but it would be nice if the oven provided it. The first improvement with the ring is the most important. (3) For some reason I read that the manufacturer says not to use glass in the oven, but instead to use metal. I'd gotten rid of most of my metal in favor of glass for my gas oven and my microwave, so I had to buy new cookware for this one. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it did cost me some extra money just for this Cuisinart. I've used this oven daily now for a couple of months. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat to someone who wants a quality appliance that will enhance and expand their cooking capabilities. It's a fine piece of equipment.

This replaced a Black & Decker that lasted 8 years before catching fire, so we had more than a little trepidation about ever owning another countertop oven, but we missed the convenience & didn't feel like resorting to a toaster. Read all of the reviews, etc. especially the bad ones, for everything that was being considered and finally decided on this exact model. Over the years the difficulties of cleaning (without destroying the heating elements) have rendered it something of a crudded up mess. Yes you can clean most of it, but there are just too many nooks and crannies to get to while working around the heating elements to ever be 100%. So after six years we started thinking about replacing it with one of the fancy Dan multi-function ovens that air fry, cook rotisserie chicken, etc. We make a lot of home made breads and pizza, so re-heating those was important to us, as was the ability to make god toast, and hopefully be easier to clean, from a company whose customer service doesn't suck. Yeah, well it appears that we were searching for a unicorn that doesn't exist, at least not yet. Here we are six years later and the darn thing still cooks as well as the day it arrived, or at least almost. Other than the accumulating artifacts that refuse cleaning, the only two issues we have are the door closure and the marking on the push buttons. The printing on the three selector buttons has completely work off of two buttons, so I ended up remarking them with an ink marker, but they still function fine. The door however is not. It feels as though the return springs are just worn out, which after 6 years of literal daily use I suppose is not too bad, but still seems a shame to replace the unit for just that. My work-around probably violates all sorts of recommendations, but it works; I pop riveted a rotating metal slide lock to the case to keep it closed nice and snug. It's an extra step to open or close, but it keeps the heat in, so not all bad. We generally don't bother with it when making toast, since the gap is pretty slim and you don't really need the heat to be contained for making toast, but for re-heating or baking a small pizza, it's important. It still does a remarkably good job of all of those things. The top and sides do get a bit hot, but I keep a spare pizza stone on top, so it poses no danger to the cabinet above. The racks are nothing special, but they do stay where you put them (I've read numerous reviews of some of the new ovens where they just fall as the ovens heat and expand) and they have no problem supporting everything from cast iron pans to a medium sized cast iron Dutch oven, so I consider that a win. We raise pigs, so we eat a lot of pork, and that includes lots of sausages and bacon. This of course can be extremely messy, but it does do a nice job of producing decent results as far as even cooking across a full tray. Would I buy it again? Well, why would I, this one is still chugging along, scars and all. So until it does finlly fail I think I'll just make do, and hopefully by the time it finally does expire perhaps someone will have finally developed that unicorn I sought, and learned how to operate a functional customer service concern. This last item was the biggest factor in my decision to not buy a new appliance. The only couple that I seriously considered were from Breville, Cuisinart of course, Cosori, and The Emeril Legasi branded. All had plenty of customer service horror stories, but Cuisinart's were much less numerous, and there was at least considerable evidence that they had made some attempts to resolve customer issues, where the other companies did not. Ultimately the Cuisinart has cooked well, which is the primary need that it fulfills, and other than the Breville, the other brands all seemed lacking in one area or another, so I'll just sit tight with my drawer-type air fryer and toaster oven with its baked on crud for now. It was never an easy clean, but at least it's not infusing our food with vaporized Teflon.

Love these convection mini ovens. Forget the toaster part I have a toaster. These are great for cooking, roasting or broiling without having to heat the kitchen up. Had a Cuisinart TOB195 that had been used heavily for over a decade. It was still purring along just looking the worse for wear so I wanted to replace it. Looked at the Cuisinart and the Breville. Both were about the same price and had both good and bad reviews. The Cuisinart came with a pizza stone and eureka! a light. Well it also had a three year warranty versus a one year. Usually an indicator of maybe better quality as the manufacturer is willing to put their money where their mouth is so to say. Plus have always had dependable service from all my Cuisinart appliances. Was mulling it over and Amazon lowered the price to $153. Time to pull the trigger. It came in and sure enough the often mentioned gap was there - darn. But got to looking and there are spacers that prevent the door from closing enough to make contact with the body. Hmmm. Next let's cook with it. Warm up is a little longer than the smaller 195 but love the extra room and the two racks. So let's get tp cooking. Does great. Chicken fingers, wings, pork chops etc. all did as well or better than the other oven and this one is quitter at convection. I was still curious about the gap. Holding my hand just above the door and I could not feel any heat escaping So let's get out my infra red thermometer. Measuring at the convection fan 424 degrees when set on 425. All following readings were within a narrow range. Probably better than most larger range ovens. So the gap does not affect cooking but why? Then it hit me. There have been problems with the glass door burning someone and in some cases cracking. So measured the glass corner and it was just over 160 degrees while the oven was at 425. 265 degrees difference. The outside of the door at the hottest spot was 107 coolest 97. Had the door been in direct contact it would have been much higher. So the gap so many have complained about is a pretty good idea saving some potential singed fingers. The next biggest complaint was the cooking time began when the oven reached the set temperature and you had to be there when it did. The cooking time and temperature are both bully adjustable at any time. Miss the start and you can adjust right before you put the food in. Speaking of warming up when you use the pizza setting it takes some time to heat up as the oven has the pizza stone warm up set in. Also complaints of the door using hooks rather than a magnet. Don't know; all the cooking I have done the rack is not high enough to catch. Probably on the Breville would not be high enough for the magnet to catch. Not too wild about the controls compared to the old 195 but it seems like most of the ovens use the same set-up. This one does have a lot of options that I may or may not use late. Happy with the purchase and only gave 4 stars because am not sure of long term reliability. But I know I am good for at least three years.

This IS an air fryer! The words air fryer just mean EXTRA HOT heat and a FAN that circulates the heat. Thats it. This is an extra hot convection oven that requires no pre-heating (full size ovens take 15-25 min to pre-heat). This Cuisinart Chef’s is an “oven style” air fryer (it’s bigger so it can hold decent amount of food, and has shelves) versus the “bucket style” air fryer (which are compact size, and doesn’t hold much food, and you can only cook one food item at a time). I did not like having to cook one food item, then cook the 2nd food item, then the 3rd with my bucket style air fryer. With the Cuisinart Chef’s oven I can cook all the food at a one time. This IS an air fryer - however because the words “air fryer” had not yet been invented at the time they started marketing it, that is the only reason the word “air fryer” is not included in it’s name. It is all an air fryer oven, it’s just not named an air fryer. This is the absolute best appliance I’ve ever purchased. If you read Cook’s Illustrated reviews, Wire cutter reviews, and most other reviews etc. you will find that it is fantastic. Leaps and bounds better then all other air fryers (except perhaps the Breville, but it costs $200 more). This maintains a perfectly consistent temperature. It heats up in no time. It cooks food in no time. It holds two shelves full of food - two 9x12” pans. I prepare an entire meal - meat, vegetables, potatoes at the same time - and is done in less then 20 min. It has completely changed how I prepare meals. Quick, easy, healthy, fantastic. On Shop HQ I purchased Paula Deen’s “5-Piece Air Fryer Oven Basket” that comes with 4 mesh baskets about 12”x 10” for $25 and they are perfect.! I bought two more of these sets but I think they’re now sold out. However Amazon has similar sized mesh baskets for sale, a bit more expensive, but they are WELL, WELL, WELL worth the convenience! I painted the labels on the buttons of the oven with clear fingernail polish the day I got it, so the words don’t wear off, because I read that people said that has happened. It worked perfect. I use “bake” to cook frozen Costco wild salmon fillets and they’re delicious. I did purchase a high end, leave-in-the-food-while-its-cooking thermostat that beeps when the salmon is the temp I desire. And Costco’s Marie Callander chicken pot pies on “bake” result in flaky crispy perfect crust - unlike the nasty crust in a microwave - never been a fan of microwaves for many reasons, and they consistently are delicious (although not especially healthy). Costco Panko shrimp or coconut shrimp it is super easy and very tasty. Every meal I fill 1-2 Paula Deen baskets full of Costco organic veggies: asparagus, baby potatoes, mushrooms, slices of onions, baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, etc. They don’t really need oil or even salt or pepper, but you can add if you like. I’ve filled a metal baking dish with organic refried beans, a scoop of corn, some onions, cheese and heated it in the air fryer, then top with salsa and sour cream. By the way, Nachos are a breeze. But note: if you use a Pyrex dish, make sure the air fryer has ALREADY Pre-heated BEFORE inserting the Pyrex - it only takes 2 to 3 minutes. You do not want to put a Pyrex dish into it while the oven is still coming to full temperature because the temp while pre-heating can be be too hot and too inconsistent for glass or Pyrex dishes. I cannot say enough wonderful things about my Cuisinart chefs convection oven. I am buying a second one for my cabin. I think it is the best appliance I’ve ever purchased.

As others have noted, the infamous "ERL" code has started showing up. Out of the blue, the error code will pop up, and the machine will stop working. Unplugged the unit to reset, but it just keeps happening. Some background: we originally bought this unit in early 2021, and in late December of 2023, we started getting the same code. When I was examining the unit, I discovered that the plug had MELTED and was disconfigured. We actually discovered this error just before the warranty was up, so ConAir sent us a new one, after we cut the cord off the old one and sent them a picture proving that. So it's not a total surprise that in 2026 the error code popped up again. I knew this time the unit wouldn't be covered under warranty, but I was hoping to get some sort of useful help from customer service; I had looked online for information on what was causing the error code (the plug was fine this time), and it was a whole slew of potential issues, from the control board to the temperature sensor needing to be replaced. I had read online that you could put the unit into a diagnostic mode to diagnose individual parts, but the online instructions weren't working for me. Hence, the call to Cuisinart Customer Service. The woman I was connected too was very rude and dismissive. Once she discovered that the unit wasn't under warranty, she said, there's nothing we can do. I asked her to help me figure out how to put the unit into diagnostic mode, but she said "We don't do that." And she promptly cut me off for any additional question I asked. I then asked to speak to her supervisor, and she initially REFUSED. "You can leave a review onine." "Why would you want to speak to my supervisor?" "The call's recorded, so they'll know I did everything right." I waited twenty minutes for her to connect me to someone and was then finally connected to an automated help line. I gave up at that point and came here instead. An appliance like this should last more than three years. Period. And the fact that it's still happening is an indication that Cusinart (or Con Air, who I believe engineers the product), has no intention of fixing it. So this will be my last purchase of a Cuisinart appliance.

Absolutely love it. Someone else said they use it second only to the refrigerator and I would agree. This, the fridge, and the microwave and I'm all set. I've roasted entire chickens in it multiple times. A rack of ribs. Meatloaf, too many chicken nuggets to count. Endless toast has been made in it. It's still going strong. We got it to replace the first air fryer we owned and I have no regrets. It does everything an air fryer does and more. It also bakes cakes, cookies, french fries, etc. It's a little large on the counter, but worth it. In fact, I'm saving to buy a second one. We have two of us with celiac in our household and I want a dedicated gluten free edition. I like it enough to make room for 2 of them on the counter - I think that says it all!

After having a bad experience with a Breville Convection Toaster Oven breaking down on me after a little over a month, I decided that I really didn’t need a top of the line toaster...but I ended up buying one anyways. The Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven is probably the priciest toaster oven I purchased, but dang, does it work well. This little beast pretty much replaced my standard oven when making oven baked items for my family. I’ve made turkey legs, lamb roasts, oven fries, meatballs, cookies, and even reheated leftovers in this thing with great results. Also, this little oven makes for a great slice of toast - it seems to do it all. The oven heats up quickly, has a great convection setting that makes items like fries and chicken skin crisp, and is relatively intuitive to use. As per suggested by other reviewers, I did paint a few layers of clear nail polish over the buttons prior to use, and I haven’t had any issues with the lettering on the buttons fading or chipping off. The outside of the oven does get a bit hot like most toaster ovens do, but the heat and temperature seems to stay within the oven as well - I didn’t have any issues with heat leaking out the door or the door not completely shutting. This toaster oven comes with two wire racks, metal oven tray with metal rack on top, and a pizza stone. It has a light so you can see clearly into the oven - something I didn’t even know I would need or end up loving - and the timer bell is loud enough to hear, but not so loud that I would wake up everyone in the other rooms when it goes off. The oven automatically shuts off once the timer sounds, so you don’t need to worry about keeping track of the unit to make sure it’s off. In terms of cleaning the unit, it’s relatively easy to clean. I have been wiping down the inside and outside of the unit every few weeks, although it’s recommended to wipe down after every use. My oven doesn’t seem to be getting much build up despite almost daily use, although I would recommend wiping it down if you cook foods in it that have a tendency to splatter oil such as meat. I’ve owned this unit for a little over half a year and find it to be one of the most useful kitchen appliances to have on hand - it definitely earned its spot on my kitchen counter. Overall, this is an attractive, well made, and very useful appliance to have in the kitchen - it’s definitely worth every cent that I paid for it and I would buy it again.

Funciona de maravilla, es un poco costoso pero esta muy bien hecho y el desempeño es tal cual como dicen. Nunca me había salido tan bien una pizza….

I have to say, not only is this a beautiful looking appliance, it is also a great product. Cruisinart thought of everything when they made this machine. Very easy to operate and food comes out perfect every time. The drip pan is so easy to clean, not like the cheaper models that you have to scrub. Cruisinart also thought to make it so you able to adjust the bell so you can hear it. The convection part is quiet but definitely running. I love the speed convection. I haven't found anything that I dislike about this so far. Well worth the money. I've had toaster ovens most of my life, even another Cuisinart. This one is the best!

I have used this now for a couple of years, no complaints. It does take time to make toast if that is your primary use, but I suspect that is true of any similar product. (it's an oven, not a toaster) It's a great size, I have baked a dozen muffins, no problem.

Se ve de buena calidad y de cocimiento de acuerdo a manual, aún falta realizar más recetas, pero en lo que lo hemos usado nos ha gustado mucho.

Quería un horno tostador de gama alta ya que no tengo un horno de tamaño completo. He comprado este mismo tres veces porque funciona muy bien. Puedo colocar fácilmente una sartén para lasaña de 9x9 pulgadas o una pizza de 12 pulgadas adentro. Me gustan todas las configuraciones diferentes, además de que la opción de convención (que ayuda a que las cosas se cocinen más rápido y tengan el exterior tostado) funciona como una freidora de aire. Las etiquetas están en inglés.