Let's face it, our kitchens are getting more and more cluttered every day with the ever increasing number of appliances available to us. Kettles, expresso machines, bread makers, microwaves - the list is endless, which is why I wanted to try to save some room when I needed to buy an under counter toaster oven for the family.
We found it hard to choose which one to buy originally, but I narrowed the choice down to 3 models, all of which I have revised below to help you make the right decision if you are looking to buy one of these. One of the main problems you might find is that not many of these items are available any more - most people seem to prefer counter-top toaster ovens or just do without instead.
We decided to get a toaster oven because they are easy to use and can be used to cook a variety of different types of foods. They are also very quick to use and don't really need to be preheated, which is excellent, seeing as my wife and I both work full-time jobs and need to get meals prepared quickly.
Our normal kitchen oven is also a large range-style model, so using this to cook something small like cheese on toast was just total overkill and was probably costing us a heck of money just to get the grill ready, let alone the actual cooking time required.
An under counter toaster oven seemed like the best option as it fitted around our lifestyle and was perfect for heating food through, cooking smaller meals and even keeping food hot if one of us was returning home later after everyone else had eaten.
Although we have quite an old house, we have modern appliances, so the fact that these toaster ovens come in a variety of different finishes, black, white and stainless steel for example, was also good as we could fit it in with everything else in the kitchen with no problem. We don't like the modern style of brightly coloured appliances that seems to be the rage these days - stainless steel was the option we were looking for.
Also, because of the lack of space in our kitchen, we were looking for a model that could be placed under the worktop or counter top, which would make sure that it was out of the way, but accessible. We did find it quite difficult to find the right model to pick, seeing as most of them are designed to sit on top of the counter - but the following items are the best models that also fasten using a mount, under the counter.
Black And Decker Under Counter Toaster Oven
This Spacemaker model is one of their top-of-the-range products and has pretty much every setting you could want. It has easy to use dials, which are better and quicker to operate than an LCD and it has a good size interior too, which will be useful for heating and cooking a variety of meals.
To mount this under the counter, you will need to drill some holes and screw it in, which is no problem providing you have the right tools to do the job. We were a little worried about drilling holes into our work surface, but this model comes with a guide of where and to what depth to drill the holes.
Using the oven is easy, simply open the door, put in your food and adjust the temperature and set the dial to the right time. You can cook for up to 30 minutes at a time, which is perfect for most uses.
There is also a dial that allows you to set between Bake, Toast and Keep Warm, showing the versatility of such a compact oven.
Read more of the reviews and see the current price by clicking this link.
Black Under Counter Toaster Oven
We found this model from Black and Decker that is a mixture of black and stainless steel, which we thought would look really good in our kitchen.
Also, it is large enough to fit a 9 inch pizza in, or up to 4 slices of bread, so idea for cooking a quick batch of cheese on toast or other small snacks.
We did like the fact that the controls were digital, but it was not a deal breaker for us as we don't really need another clock blinking at us 24/7 but it does allow a greater degree of control over your cooking times.
The simple push buttons allow you to set the cooking time, the temperature and the cooking mode. Quite simple once you get use to it and not too dissimilar to a microwave to be honest. The press button controls might be useful for people who have limited mobility, such as older people.
If you use this link to go to the product on Amazon, you will get the best price and be able to read more information on this product.
Digital Toaster Oven
We looked at this model of toaster oven from Black And Decker (it only seems to be them who are making these products these days) as we were considering the digital version. We liked the look of the design, which would fit with what we were looking for and it also looked pretty easy to mount under a cabinet or in a space under the counter top.
One of the features on this model that we liked was that you could attach other appliances to some addition sockets on the back - a thing called "Save-A-Plug". This would mean that you could use it as a way to keep your plug sockets free if you were using more appliances nearby. A great selling point in my opinion.
As with the other models, this toaster oven is shipped with a template to help you drill the holes you need, making sure they are in the right place.
The full measurements and dimensions of this product are available by clicking here.
So, the choice is yours to make as to which model you opt for, or whether you decide to go for a model that just sits on the counter-top instead. It all depends on the size of your kitchen and if you have any space to fit it.
You can leave a comment below to let us know which model you go for - we would be interested to see which one you chose and why.
