Toaster Oven Broiler

My more expensive, super fancy Krups toaster oven recently kicked the bucket after about 4-5 yrs of service, and it was time to replace it. While my Krups was a good toaster oven (before it died), it took up a lot of space on the counter, it was expensive to buy, and frankly it had a lot of features (convection) and interior space that I just don't use and don't think are necessary in a toaster oven. So when I shopped for a replacement, I decided to go downmarket a bit. Problem is, the toaster oven market is bifurcated towards two extremes and IMO neither is ideal. On the low end, are super cheap pieces of junk. On the higher end, are expensive behemoths that take up all your counter space and have a lot of features that most of us will never use. Now I'll admit, for someone who lives in say a small apartment and doesn't have a regular oven, the second type may make sense. But I live in a house with a regular kitchen and I have a regular oven and a cooktop, as well as a gas grill and a big green egg. What this means is, I'm not going to be roasting a whole chicken or searing steaks or baking any cakes or cooking thanksgiving dinner in my toaster oven. What I mostly use my toaster oven for is 1) toast! and 2) heating up things like leftover pizza or empanadas or really anything else that will get soggy in the microwave but you don't want to wait for the regular oven to preheat when alls you want to do is heat up a single item, and 3) odd things like maybe an open faced sammich or something. So really, anything small that you want to heat up quickly yet still have it be crispy. I have a hunch a large percent of toaster oven owners use them pretty much like I do and want a quality product but don't want a $300 large convection toaster oven taking up all our counter space, but also don't want to trust the $20 hunk of junk that looks like it will die in 2 weeks and can't toast evenly. This toaster oven is a good choice because: 1) It's simple - toast, bagel, bake, broil. The analog controls are simple to use, and unlike a digital keypad it "remembers" what your last setting was (for say toast darkness or oven temp), which you are likely to use repeatedly. Some reviews complained the controls are hard to read, and I don't find this to be a problem although I do have good near-sight vision. The crum tray is easy to remove, clean, and replace. 2) It works - nice even toasting. Heats up quickly for reheating items. I was surprised at how light it was out of the box, but it works well so this doesn't appear to be a problem. 3) It's a fair price - way cheaper than the expensive convection ovens, but not so cheap as to be garbage 4) Small footprint - doesn't take up much counter space yet still big enough for everything I want a toaster oven to do. Honestly if something can't fit in this thing I have no problem firing up the regular oven. Now, there seem to be 2 basic complaints on this model and I don't find either to be a problem: 1) No timer - who cares? I'm only using it for toast (which does shut off when it reaches desired darkness) and to heat up small stuff that only takes a few minutes, I can hang around and keep an eye on it. Again, this seems like more of a problem for people who want to bake a cake or something and I don't know why you'd want to use a toaster oven to do that. 2) A lot of people complain that the toast comes out too dark - I'm puzzled by these complaints as I find it extremely easy to set the toaster to desired darkness. The medium setting comes out pretty much what I'd expect medium toast to be, and more importantly you have infinite adjustability with the analog controls so it shouldn't take you much experimenting to figure out how you want it. One person even complained they had this for over a month and couldn't get toast that wasn't burned - I'd say this person either got a defective unit, or they are severely challenged when it comes to the operation of small electronics and/or employing the trial and error method. Overall - there should be more toaster ovens in this segment. If you don't routinely roast whole prime ribs or do hard core baking in your toaster oven, this should suit your needs well. Edit: Well, 3 1/2 years later, one of the coils was coming apart and my girlfriend threw the Cuisinart away because she claims that's a fire hazard! Replacement is a Kitchenaid unit purchased from Costco (which also doesn't have a lot of unnecessary bells and whistles, although it's a bit bigger). The new Kitchenaid definitely does not toast as quickly or evenly as the trusty old Cuisinart! I wish we'd just bought another as it's replacement. 3 1/2 years isn't too bad for a toaster oven that was used fairly often and not really taken care of, rarely cleaned etc. I stand by my old 5 star review.

I have really liked this oven. It gets hot fast, easy to use and it’s nice looking. I totally recommend this product! Finally a toaster that works fast!!

oven works great, only thing is the control knobs for temperature, cooking selection are all black with black background which makes it difficult to see your settings. Other than that we are satisfied with product.

It’s awesome! 4 slices of toast at one time!! It was a refurbished machine, but I swear it’s brand new, and never been opened. I love the size and variety of cooking Ill be able to do with this. Worth the price! Solid weight! Cuisinart…great products!

I liked this unit which I had for 3 years until it just stopped working the other day. The reason I will not replace it with the same model are a few things: Aside from the major issue of it ceasing to work at all, a couple performance issues - Simple toast takes much longer than a conventional toaster or flatter unit. Uneven heating of things which take up the entire tray (ie: pizza). Mechanically speaking, there is no timer. So unless the unit decides it thinks what your cooking is done, it never shuts off (never leave it unattended.) The knob labels eventually wear off so you cannot see the settings (I had to print out labels and put on the unit.) I may try to Ninja Foodi or Flip next. What I did like about the unit was that it was not massive in size (12x17x9). It was very quiet (no obtrusively loud buzzers nor repeating beeps.) There is no fan making additional noise after the unit is done cooking.

This is a great oven. True to temperature. Cooks evenly.

Update: I contacted Amazon and asked for a pro-rated price for a replacement because the front bottom heating element now is shaped like an elongated "L". I looked over many of the old reviews, and a failed heating element is a common theme. Many people think the bad heating element is a fire hazard. I'm guessing not, but that doesn't change things because there still could be a safety issue. By the way, Amazon kicked the ball down the road and gave me Cuisinart links. I was surprised, frankly. Amazon is usually more helpful than that. If Amazon really cared, they could put pressure on Cuisinart to give FREE returns, not the ones with "handling" and mailing costs. If they DON'T want to use their marketing muscle, they should just pull the Cuisinart line (that would be the pro-active response)--or, at the very least, stop selling this product. In the meanwhile, I suggest anyone else who had heating rod problems to rewrite your reviews and give it one star. Mine is three and a half years old. I noticed "bumps" on the heating element in front lately, so, based on the other reviews I've read, I'm guessing we're due for a heating element failure. My wife loves this unit. While it does have flaws that are mentioned by other reviewers too (knobs hard to read, uneven toasting sometimes, too hot on the outside, "steam" coming out door so you mistakenly worry there's a fire), we've been pleased overall. It's nice looking, it does the job of a small oven, and it fits a small counter space. We liked it enough to get one as a present for our daughter-in-law last year. If Cuisinart would only make the heating elements available for consumer replacement, this would be a gem. I mean, how hard would it be to replace them for a reasonably handy person? And, let's face it, the heating elements are usually the first thing to go. Update #2 When Cuisianart belatedly replied to my inquiry about my bad heating element, I sent them this message: "When I did not hear back from Cuisinart in a reasonable amount of time, I tried the seller, Amazon. They allowed me to return the unit for a full refund. I bought a Hamilton Beach toaster oven, even though Amazon would have given me another Cuisinart like the one I had. I really appreciated Amazon's prompt attention to the matter. All I was looking for, really, was an appropriate amount taken off the price of the new unit I needed to purchase. But Amazon went the extra mile. "Your company [Cuisinart] should know that many reviewers who have had a similar problem--and there are MANY--worry about fires caused from the deformed heating element. I would say you have a potential class action liability on your doorstep, and your company chooses to ignore it, playing this game of low-level customer service instead. You know, there is NOTHING on the Cuisinart website that addresses this problem in any way. Amazing. Sadly, the toaster oven worked nicely; too bad the planned obsolescence is three years or less." This was the email I got from Cuisinart Customer Service (belatedly): "Subject: bad heating element in toaster oven Valued Customer, Thank you for your inquiry. We apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. In order to properly assist you, we are in need of the serial number from the bottom of the unit. We will also need to know whether or not this unit has been replaced previously. Please reply, with all previous correspondences attached, to this email, along with the color of the unit, and your complete shipping address. We invite you to call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-726-0190. Please keep in mind the Customer Service Agent will not have access to your e-mail information. The hours of operation are 7 AM -11 PM EST Monday through Friday and 9 AM - 5:30 PM on Saturdays and Sundays, excluding major holidays."

It is great for preparing meals for 2 people. It is easy to use. The lack of a timer does not bother me. In fact, I prefer one without a timer. My old one with a timer cannot be turned on when the timer worn out.

We purchased this oven to replace our broken pop up toaster. It's a very straight forward, easy to operate machine. If you are looking for something with all kinds of bells and whistles you may want to look at other options. It does a great job of toasting bread, which is what we were looking for, but it's so handy for warming up leftovers or even cooking. With just the two of us we often do not use our range oven, we just cook our meat in the toaster oven on bake or broil. This machine runs about the cost of a decent pop up toaster and does so much more, I would never go back.

El mejor hornito

Já tive um grelhador TOB40N identico comprado no Brasil. Deu problemas na placa eletronica que nunca consegui resolver. A Cuisinart nao tem peças de reposicao e te obrigaria a comprar um placa nova por valor absurdo! Comprei agora outro grelhador TOB-40N através da Amazon vindo dos EUA, para experimentar a opção de lá. Chegou com defeito elétrico. Não funciona! Tive que devolver. Estou no processo de devolução, que é trabalhoso. Uma pena. O produto quando funciona tem ótimo desempenho. Mas não é confiável

Although this toaster is a little larger than what we were looking for, it has performed perfectly so far and looks nice on the counter. The hooks on the door that pull out the rack are very handy and have made removing items from the toaster very easy. The toasting function is very consistent, and the unit heats up fairly quickly for broiling or oven functions.

This oven is a bit bigger and fancier than my old Betty Crocker one. It has multiple functions which I have tried and work great. It's extra large for bigger meals and has a nice look. I don't like the black exterior but looking at the stainless steel one, it would have cost $30+ more for a stainless steel one and more functions/features I probably wouldn't use. I normally just bake in my oven. I am curious about that metal piece in the oven on the left hand side. I find it gets in the way when you are baking at the middle level. Does anyone know what this is for? I love the fact that the crumb tray is a removable tray vs the hinged one from my old oven. If you're looking for durable, affordable, and stylish, this oven fits the criteria. Pros: Stylish Multi functions Pull out crumb tray Large cooking surface Cons: Black exterior No timer