The Verdict
The Hamilton Beach 2-in-1 toaster oven is a practical, space-saving solution designed to combine your daily toasting needs with the versatility of a countertop oven. By merging two appliances into one unit, it offers an efficient way to bake, broil, and toast without cluttering your kitchen surfaces.
Why We Love It (Key Features)
- Space-Saving Dual Design: By acting as both a long-slot toaster and a countertop oven, this appliance eliminates the need for two separate machines, freeing up valuable room on your countertops.
- Efficient Toasting Performance: With the ability to toast 40% faster and a selection of 5 different shade settings, you can achieve your preferred level of browning with precision.
- Versatile Cooking Capacity: The interior accommodates two rack positions, providing enough room to bake a 9" pizza or prepare up to 3/4 lb. of fries, making it useful for more than just breakfast.
- Convenient Operation: The inclusion of a 60-minute timer with a ready bell and a 'Stay On' setting allows you to manage multiple batches of food with ease.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Replaces two appliances to save counter space.
- Includes a 60-minute timer and 'Stay On' feature for flexible cooking.
- Offers 5 toast shade options for customized browning.
- Accommodates a 9" pizza, providing more utility than a standard toaster.
Cons
- While compact for a 2-in-1, it still requires dedicated counter space compared to a standard standalone toaster.
- Capacity is limited to a 9" pizza, which may not suit larger households or family-sized meals.
Who Should Buy This?
This appliance is an ideal choice for apartment dwellers, those with smaller kitchens, or anyone looking to minimize appliance clutter. If you frequently prepare quick meals like toast, personal-sized pizzas, or small batches of fries and want a single unit that handles these tasks efficiently, this Hamilton Beach model is a strong contender.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this 2-in-1 toaster oven handle larger items like a full-sized pizza?
No, the oven capacity is specifically designed to fit a 9" pizza, so it is not suitable for larger, standard-sized pizzas.
How does the toasting function differ from a regular toaster?
This unit features a long-slot design that holds either two regular slices or one long slice of bread, and it is engineered to toast 40% faster than standard models while offering 5 adjustable shade settings.
What is the benefit of the 'Stay On' setting?
The 'Stay On' setting is designed for cooking multiple batches of food, allowing you to bypass the standard timer when you need more control over the duration of your cooking process.
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting space saving design. Convenient and well made. Update: I changed the rating from 4 stars to 5. After about two months the main complaint of toast not being brown on the bottom has changed. I’m not sure why, but the toast is now evenly brown all over an dit browns quicker than before. ??? Maybe the elements needed to “burn in”? Whatever the problem was, it seems to be resolved now. Hooray!Our toaster bit the dust and we haven’t had a toaster oven in years so we thought it was a clever idea to combine both and it is with one drawback (the bottom 1/2″ -1″ so of the toast doesn’t brown due to the placement of the elements. It’s not a dealbreaker for me because what it does brown is nice and even. The whole slice feels toasted, it’s just not all brown. (see update above) You need to hold the toaster lever down for a couple seconds for it to catch and start toasting. You can’t just push it down and release. I like that there is a cancel button and you can lift the toast slightly to help in removing it. It’s handy that you can toast different shapes of bread in the wide slot.I like the overall size of this oven. It doesn’t take up a lot of space in the kitchen. Not much more than the large 4 slice toaster we had. The controls are easy to use and not complicated like some. You do have to turn on the timer to get the oven to work. It has a pleasant timer alert, a must for my husband. Note, the alert only works with the oven, not the toaster. I like that the toaster part closes when not in use by pushing a lever. The oven heats up quickly. We’ve used the broiler a lot and it works great. I like that you can prop the door partly open to allow heat to dissipate after use. I bought a set of pans made for toaster ovens and am glad I did. It makes it much more versatile.My only real issue is that the whole thing gets quite hot. We didn’t put it under a low overhanging cabinet for that reason. You don’t want to touch the edges of door (the handle is fine) or outside parts of the oven when taking food out. I got several small burns when I used it the first couple times. I’m more aware now.Overall it’s a great little toaster/oven and we’re happy with our choice.Variation: Color: Stainless Steel
4.0 out of 5 stars The good and the bad… TLDR; The good far outweighs the bad.The good starts with the size and appearance. The size is bigger than our old cheapo B+D toaster oven, but it does a lot more. I had trouble prying my wife away from that one because it’s been in use for close to 20 years, was still working, and she loved it. But I wanted something more versatile, and I figured the toaster function on this to be more energy efficient than the old one since the elements are closer to the bread.The toaster function is a bit strange. There are two large round heating elements, one on each side, as opposed to a regular toaster with full coverage via smaller heating wires. This works better than I imagined when I first saw the layout, but definitely not as well (or efficiently) as a dedicated toaster.Once you close the top to put it into ‘toaster’ mode, you have to push a little red “CANCEL” button to pop up the carrier… don’t try to pry it up using the side lever you used to push it down, or you’ll break it. (Oh, and the word “CANCEL” will wear off in a couple of weeks.)My wife likes the controls and loves the crumb tray. She still lines it with foil, but it’s super simple to pull out and clean.I wondered about how much it stuck out in the back, but the measurements are true. There is no big bump near the cord or anything that prevents you from pushing it back against the wall.There are two tiny plastic plug caps that cover Phillips head screws above the lever to press down to toast. One of them jumped out when we weren’t looking and apparently slipped under the wire. Despite a full search of the area, it somehow escaped.The oven part is large and seems pretty accurate as far as temperature goes. It seems to cook as well or better than the old toaster oven, so I think this was a good buy.I hope this helps.Variation: Color: Stainless Steel
5.0 out of 5 stars Larger and has an oven auto-off timer I had the older small version of this for about 16 years and finally killed the oven/toaster switch by walking away and leaving the oven at 400F, catching a couple pieces of garlic bread on fire.Thankfully the new model has an auto-off timer for the oven so it can save me if I forget it. The ding at the end is also helpful.The toast is even and consistent, but be aware if you use the oven first then make toast right afterward the toast will be way overdone unless you crank down the setting or manually eject it. I’m assuming it’s the same if you use the toaster twice back to back, like some other toasters I’ve used.Variation: Color: Stainless Steel
5.0 out of 5 stars Great multi use appliance! I can’t believe how much I’m using this appliance. It perfect for cooking small batches of cookies, 2 chicken breasts.. The toaster handles wide pan bread perfectly. Good appliance investment!Variation: Color: Stainless Steel
5.0 out of 5 stars Well made and very practical. A very well crafted and useful kitchen tool. In summer it’s so nice to use this toaster oven instead of heating up my kitchen with my gas oven.Variation: Color: Stainless Steel
5.0 out of 5 stars Nice color and size Love the two tone colors. It doesn’t take up as much room as my other one did . Looks pretty on myCounter.Variation: Color: Kitchen Makeover Blue & Stainless Steel
5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE IT! We have had a toaster oven my whole married life (45 years). We have replaced them over the years. I love that I can toast in it like a regular toaster, yet bake in the oven. The settings are independent of each other. No more burnt toast, which happened a lot with our previous one (different brand). I baked cod in it the other day. Perfect! And no heating up the whole kitchen. A friend recommended this one, I trusted her, and am loving this one. I do use some bamboo tongs to get the shorter pieces out of the toaster, which prevent me from getting burned. Also extremely helpful.Variation: Color: Stainless Steel