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Two of the most staple appliances you can find in homes are the toaster oven and wall oven.
While both kitchen appliances are very similar in that they use radiant heat, they’re very different and come with varying advantages: hence the need for this wall oven vs toaster oven debate. Or, you can try the 2-in-1 option with the best microwave toaster oven combo in the market!
To help you make the right purchasing decision, here’s an in-depth review of the toaster oven vs wall oven.
Let’s find out the differences between a wall oven and a toaster oven.
What Are the Main Differences Between A Wall Oven and A Toaster Oven?
The main difference between a wall oven and a toaster oven is their installation position.
Wall ovens are smaller conventional ovens that are built into a kitchen’s cabinetry and installed around eye level so that cooks can prepare meals without bending, crouching, or kneeling down. While a toaster oven is a compact oven that’s installed on the kitchen counter and can be stored in a cupboard when not in use.
The second main difference between a wall oven and a toaster oven is in their capacity.
Most wall ovens have widths ranging from 27 to 30 inches which can fit a large-sized turkey of about 24 to 26 pounds. While most toaster ovens range between four to six slices which can fit around a 12-inch pizza.
To help you make the right purchasing decision, let’s explore both cooking appliances individually.
What is a wall oven? A wall oven is a smaller version of a conventional oven that’s installed in the cabinetry of a kitchen. These ovens are easier and more comfortable to access than a traditional oven as they’re usually installed around eye level. Also, their cabinetry installation makes them look streamlined and flush with your kitchen.
The major difference between a wall oven and a kitchen range is that kitchen ranges have stovetops atop their ovens while wall ovens have no cooktop. Wall ovens are insulated, making them retain heat to cook food faster.
And despite cooking ranges having bigger sizes than wall ovens, both appliances have the same capacity – a single wall oven has the same capacity as a 36-inch range. So items like full-sized chickens and large-sized turkeys that can fit in the standalone oven can also fit in a wall oven.
However, if you need a larger cooking space, you can opt for a double wall oven: this is the size of two wall ovens. And you can find gas- and electric-powered wall oven models, so you may be able to use your wall oven in an outage.
What is a toaster oven? A toaster oven is a compact oven that sits on the countertop. Due to their compact sizes, toaster ovens can be stored away from the kitchen counter. This makes them great for small kitchens.
Toaster ovens also heat food by means of radiation. They’re more energy-efficient, and depending on what you’re cooking, toaster ovens tend to heat food faster than full-sized conventional ovens due to their smaller size.
While their small sizes are advantageous, it also comes with its disadvantage as there’s not enough room to fit large meals. Also, there are only electric toaster ovens, so they won’t work in the event of a power outage.
Keep in mind that a toaster is different from a toaster oven. Many people also confuse toaster ovens for countertop ovens: they’re different appliances. Countertop ovens are larger than toaster ovens and more versatile while toaster ovens have fewer functions.
What are the advantages of a wall oven over a toaster oven?
The advantages of a wall oven, when compared to a toaster oven, are that it’s a larger appliance that comes in more fuel options for cooking a wider variety of items.
Larger capacity
When compared to a toaster oven, a wall oven is bigger and has a larger capacity to cook meals that’ll fit in conventional standalone ovens since a single wall oven has approximately the same size as a full-sized traditional oven.
The most common wall ovens are the 27- and 30-inch models which have interior capacities ranging from 4 to 5 cubic feet. These can hold large-sized turkeys ranging from 24 to 30 lbs. Furthermore, if you want a bigger appliance, there are double wall ovens with twice the capacity of single ovens.
Toaster ovens, on the other hand, are compact countertop ovens that are designed to supplement full-sized ovens as they can’t cook large items. Many large toaster ovens can have an internal capacity of 1 cu. Ft. (ranging from four to six slices): this is enough to bake a 12-inch pizza or toast 6 to 9 slices of bread.
Better flexibility
One of the major reasons people love full-sized ovens is their flexibility and shelf placement: the same goes for wall ovens.
First, a wall oven is versatile in the kinds of cooking it can perform. Wall ovens can fry, roast, broil, bake, dehydrate, toast, reheat, etc. And some models come with convection setting.
Aside from having a larger cooking area, wall ovens offer different shelf arrangements, both vertically and horizontally. This way, you can cook multiple items at a time, and you can remove some shelves to create room for larger items.
Conversely, toaster ovens are less versatile as they can perform simple functions such as toast and reheat pizzas and a few other meals. They can’t perform advanced functions such as roasting and dehydrating. Also, they offer fewer racks, and their fixed racking orientation makes it difficult to cook larger items.
More fuel choices
Wall ovens, like standalone conventional ovens, have gas-powered and electric models.
So you may be able to get your preferred fuel model. Plus they can allow you to work in the case of a power outage. While toaster ovens are only electric, so you can’t use them should there be a power cut.
What are the advantages of a toaster oven over a wall oven?
Before we discuss the advantages of a toaster oven, I’d like to make it clear that a toaster oven is different from a countertop oven. Many people confuse these two.
That said, the advantages of a toaster oven, when compared to a wall oven, are that it’s a more affordable compact appliance that cooks faster and is more energy-efficient.
Space saver
When compared to wall ovens, toaster ovens are designed for people with small kitchens.
Because toaster ovens are compact alternatives to conventional ovens, the most common toaster ovens are 14 to 16 inches wide. So they take up less counter space and can be easily tucked in a cabinet when not in use.
Wall ovens, on the other hand, are larger than toaster ovens. Their widths range from 24 to 30 inches wide, making them not suitable for small kitchens without wall cabinets.
Cheaper option
When comparing a toaster oven to a wall oven, the toaster oven clearly stands out as the budget-friendlier cooker due to its smaller size and fewer functions.
The cost of a wall oven is around $25 and $500 while the price of a wall oven ranges from $500 and $3,500.
Also, there are no installation costs when installing your toaster oven. Simply, take it out of the box and place it on your kitchen counter. But for wall ovens, installation costs are very high: between $1,200 and $2,700.
There is a detailed article covered on the best toaster ovens under $100 on our blog!
Cooks faster
While there’s a debate over which cooker cooks faster, a toaster oven cooks faster because of its smaller size.
Both kitchen appliances use the same cooking method: however, toaster ovens preheat faster, making them reheat food and toast bread faster due to their smaller surface area. On the other hand, wall ovens are better insulated than toaster ovens.
Energy efficient
When cooking the same meal in a toaster oven and a wall oven, the toaster oven will use 50% less energy.
It costs approximately $0.03 to run a toaster oven for an hour whereas it costs a gas-powered wall oven $0.07 and an electric model $0.16.
Which One Is more Usable in the Kitchen between A Wall Oven and A Toaster Oven?
Wall ovens are more versatile in the kitchen than toaster ovens. A wall oven can broil veggies, roast beef, fry potatoes, bake pizza, toast bread, and reheat frozen items. While a toaster oven is better suited to smaller tasks such as reheating leftovers, broiling veggies, and baking pizza. They can’t perform more advanced tasks such as dehydrating food items.
And if you’re asking, “Is a wall oven the same as a toaster oven?” No, they’re different appliances even though they’re smaller versions of traditional standalone ovens.
A wall oven is a traditional oven that’s installed in a kitchen cabinet around eye level so the user can have easy access. While a toaster oven is a compact oven that sits on the kitchen counter and performs lightweight cooking functions.
What foods can you cook in a wall oven?
There’s a wide variety of oven recipes because a wall oven can prepare any meal you can cook in a full-sized oven. However, here are some of the foods you can cook in a wall oven.
- Pasta
- Chicken
- Bacon
- Roast pork belly
- Kale chips
- Pita chips
- Vegetables: cauliflower, broccoli, carrots
- Beet
- Cookies
- Salads
- Lasagna toast
- Mac ‘N’ Cheese
- Tortilla pizza
- Muffin pizza
- Baked tofu
- Jam
- Baked cheese and ham pasta
- Toasted nuts
- Dried fruits
- Miso-glazed salmon
- Soup
- Sauce
- BBQ baked beans
- Polenta
- Quesadillas
- Creamy fish pie
Here are some of the other uses of a wall oven.
What foods can you cook in a toaster oven?
A toaster oven is designed to perform light cooking functions due to its small size.
- Green beans
- Bacon
- Cornbread
- Baked eggs
- Banana bread
- S’mores banana
- Cookies
- Spicy salmon sandwich
- Fish fillets
- Roasted Brussels sprouts
- Muffins
- Paleo pizza
- Faux apple pie
- Sausage and peppers
- Roast chicken
- Frittata
Can a wall oven and a toaster oven be paired together in a kitchen?
Yes, you can pair a wall oven and a toaster oven in your kitchen as most homes do.
Wall ovens and toaster ovens have foods in common that they can cook, but toaster ovens cook faster and are more energy-efficient while a wall oven is more versatile and can cook larger items like whole chickens and turkeys.
What are the instances where you can use a wall oven and a toaster oven together?
You can reheat your leftovers or cold food in your toaster oven while you roast chicken and cook soup in your wall oven. Or when you’re expecting guests, you can bake cookies in your toaster oven to entertain your guests as you cook meals like pasta that’ll be large enough to feed many mouths.
What are the instances where a wall oven and a toaster oven should never be used together?
Both toaster ovens and wall ovens are good at reheating leftovers. So you can either use your toaster oven as it’s faster and more energy-efficient or use your wall oven if you’re reheating the meal for up to six people.
Here’s how to use a wall oven.
What to Consider when Buying A Wall Oven and A Toaster Oven?
Wall ovens are some of the most expensive appliances you can install in your kitchen. So when getting one, it’s best you get it right. Here are the features you need to look out for when deciding to get a wall oven or a toaster oven.
What type of cooker should I get?
There are different types of wall ovens based on their styles, heating technology, and fuel:
Based on style, there are single, double stacked, and triple stacked wall ovens.
Single wall ovens have the same capacity as traditional full-sized ovens. Double stacked ovens have two cooking chambers for baking several items at a time – they’re more spacious than full-sized ovens. While triple-stacked ovens are double stacked wall ovens that come with a warming drawer or microwave as the third part
Based on heating technology, there are standard and convection ovens.
Standard ovens are the regular ovens that use radiation to heat foods. While convection ovens are more expensive as they come with a fan that blows hot air around the cooking chamber for cooking food evenly.
And based on fuel, there are electric and gas wall ovens.
Electric wall ovens are the most common models: they come with more sophisticated features and are more expensive. Gas wall ovens are cheaper and usually of lower quality: however, they heat food faster.
There are three types of toaster ovens: standard, convection, and infrared toaster ovens.
Standard toaster ovens are easy to use and good at preheating food quickly. And they can perform basic functions such as baking, toasting, broiling, etc.
Convection toaster ovens have fans for distributing hot air around the cooking chamber. This makes convection toaster ovens cook meals faster and more evenly than standard toaster ovens. They’re more versatile but more expensive.
Infrared toaster ovens use a newer technology – light energy – that’s more efficient than convection heating: however, these appliances are rarer and smaller than the convection models.
What capacity is right for me?
A 4-cubic feet wall oven will be able to cook for a family of four or more people while a model with 3 to 4 cubic feet will feed a household of three to four people. A couple or someone living alone can make do with a 2 or 3-cubic feet model.
A 4-slice toaster oven is capable of making single portions of food. So it's great for singles or couples. While a 6-slice toaster oven will bake a 9-inch pizza for four or more people. There are larger models that can fit a whole chicken, 12-inch pizza, or two 9×13-inch pans at a time.
The most common mistake about preheating a toaster oven can be resolved by reading our article on how to preheat toaster oven?
How much should I pay for these appliances?
There is a wide range of prices for wall ovens and toaster ovens. However, the amount you should pay for these appliances depends on the features you desire and the frequency of use.
While wall ovens are expensive, the price for a good one ranges from $500 to $1,500. Toaster ovens are more budget-friendly and you can get a good one within the price range of $50 and $150.
If you plan on using your toaster oven regularly, it’ll make sense to invest in a higher-end model that can withstand heavy use. Plus these models may come with other beneficial settings such as convection cooking and air frying.
And if you already have a conventional oven but need a gadget that heats food faster, you can get a convection toaster oven.
Can I get models with temperature control and automatic cook features?
Yes, you should get models with temperature controls as they can help you set the precise cooking temperature for your meal, so you can cook at optimum temperature.
Better still are ovens with automatic cook features. These allow you to select the precise preheat setting (such as pizza, toast, etc.) for a particular meal.
What Are the Best Brands for Wall Ovens?
The five best brands making the best wall ovens are KitchenAid, Frigidaire, GE, Whirlpool, and Miele.
KitchenAid
KitchenAid is one of the most reputable brands making some of the best kitchen appliances. They make powerful, quality single and double wall ovens that come with a wide range of high-end features such as temperature control, self-cleaning, and safety lock features. Their models also have impressive capacities.
Frigidaire
If you’re looking for budget-friendly wall ovens, you can get some quality ones from Frigidaire. They make some of the best versatile single and double models. You can also get a variety of gas and electric models from Frigidaire.
GE
GE is no stranger to making some of the best home appliances. They design some of the sleekest wall ovens that come with impressive capacities. Some of their models also come with high-end features such as convection cooking and scan-to-cook technology that allows you to scan the barcode of packaged food to adjust the cooker’s setting.
Whirlpool
Another reputable name making some of the best kitchen appliances is Whirlpool. They have models that feature touch screen rather than buttons. You can also get features such as a frozen bake setting – a modern technology that allows you to cook without preheating your food.
Miele
Miele makes some top-quality wall ovens. Their models are quite expensive but worth it as they come with features to make cooking fun.
What Are the Best Brands for Toaster Ovens?
The five best brands making the best toaster ovens are Breville, Black and Decker, Hamilton Beach, KitchenAid, and Cuisinart.