Should I buy a toaster oven instead of cleaning oven?

My oven is a free standing 10 year old electric oven that has been through several moves. I feel like each year it gets harder to remove all the cooked on grime. I end up cleaning it 3-4 times just to get it as clean as I can but I always feel like there are parts I can't get to.

My neighbor told me she bought a toaster oven this year to use in place of her oven. I started thinking that would be a good idea for us too. But I am a bit nervous about relying solely on a toaster oven when I am making seder/first day(s) plus last days. Althought the only things we bake in the oven are meat, chicken and potatoes pretty much. Everything else on the stove. I guess I am nervous that it will keep turning off every hour while cooking and I will forget to turn the knob, and will take longer to cook. Plus it certainly won't be big enough to cook more than one pan at once.

What do y'all think?

I posted this in the Pesach section, but forgot to mention anywhere in the post that I mean for Pesach!

Senior Member Joined: Jul 27 2011 Posts: 103

There are toasters/convection ovens that do not turn off every hour. They have a stay on feature.

Diamond Member Joined: Mar 29 2005 Posts: 3586

I think that if you can afford it, it's worth avoiding making yourself crazy over cleaning your oven.

Great to hear that validation!

I hope it won't be a tircha.

As for affording it, I can get one for about 300 NIS which is not much in the scope of all the Pesach expenses. (Still have to convince DH of that point. I will tell him that I already have new Pesach clothes for the kids saved up so don't need to spend on that.)

one advantage of a toaster oven: you can can plug it into a timer plug and have it go off and on over yom tov, something that is hard to do with a regular oven.

Make sure it is manual, not with lots of buttons and digital stuff that you can't use on yom tov.

make sure you have storage space as well.

Diamond Member Joined: Aug 07 2006 Posts: 2556

I don't know if they still make these, but my mom used to have a "countertop oven," which was larger than a toaster oven so you could more reasonably prepare meat and so on. If you have storage space, it would probably suit your needs.

Gold Member Joined: Jun 01 2009 Posts: 2307

I know many people who have used countertop ovens for Pesach for years and have been very happy with them. I have one for Pesach too but can't tell you about my personal experience since I haven't used it yet. You'll just have to make sure to space out your cooking since you'll only be able to put in one pan at a time. You can prepare more then one pan of meat at a time and leave the other one(s) in the fridge for a couple of hours or even overnight until the oven is available for it.

You didn't mention it in your post so it may be irrelevant, but if at any time you decide to bake cookies or cake I think you should be able to put in 2 pans of those at one time. Consider getting the biggest you can afford and have storage for, as during busy times every little bit can make a big difference!

Gold Member Joined: Jul 07 2009 Posts: 1720

are you talking about an actual toaster oven or a convection oven?
it might be hard to cook for a family w/ only a toaster - unless you're primarily going to be using your range.
a counter-top convection oven can fit in at least a 9x13- if not a larger pan and you may even be able to bake on the 2 trays that come w/ it at the same time.
I dont think that they're more than a few hundred shekels. all the stores have them out before pesach.

I am talking about a toaster oven (low budget) so I'd be limited to one 9x13 pan at a time. Right, I was thinking that I'd have to bake the meat in two shifts.

I am not planning to bake much. All the seder guests are on low carb diets, so I usually buy some cookies and serve tea and dried fruit. We can certainly go 8 days without cake (especially post Purim!).

Storage is no problem as we couldn't afford to finish all the rooms in the house and now have a huge storage area Very Happy

I definitely agree to avoid digital settings on the appliance. in this country the less digital, the longer it should last.

Gold Member Joined: Jan 11 2011 Posts: 1164

Are you going to bake in the toaster oven? For Pesach cakes it's highly not recommended.

Active Poster Joined: Mar 17 2010 Posts: 34

I had a similar problem as my ovens broke and I wanted to wait for Pesach to get new ones. I couldn't find any toaster or toaster/convection ovens that didn't have some light, small or otherwise, so knobs couldn't be adjusted. Also, they do turn off after 8-12 hours. BUT, the biggest problem is their size. They really are not big. The largest one I saw came from Walmart for $79.00 from Oster and it takes a full 9x13 pan. Good luck

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 30 2009 Posts: 4600

my inlaws use a large convection oven for pesach (two shelves each fits 9x13 nicely) and they also have a smaller toaster. (just fits 1 9x13)

easier then cleaning out their oven.

works well- they have been using it for YEARS

the ovens are alos pretty old tho so lights etc are not such an issue

Executive Member Joined: Jun 02 2011 Age: 24 Posts: 411

I got a bravetti for 60$ on sale fron 129$ and it fits a 9x13 nicely
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I thought I would just add a follow up - we did get a toaster oven and I was very happy we did. The major supermarkets in Kiryat sefer were selling toaster ovens as loss-leaders for around 200 NIS. I went in to buy just the toaster oven without buying anything else, so it was a good deal. I did bake matza rolls, but other than that didn't do any baking, only cooking. Worth the peace of mind of not having the clean the old grimy oven!