Toaster Oven vs Convection Oven: Difference and Comparison

To ensure that we continue pleasing our and our loved ones’ taste buds and keep “cooking” fond memories, we should be well equipped with advanced and reliable kitchen appliances.

Key Takeaways

  1. Toaster ovens are smaller and have limited cooking capacity, while convection ovens are larger and can accommodate larger dishes.
  2. Toaster ovens primarily use radiant heat for cooking, while convection ovens use a fan to circulate hot air evenly throughout the oven.
  3. Toaster ovens are more suitable for toasting, while convection ovens are ideal for baking and roasting.

Toaster Oven vs Convection Oven

A toaster oven is a smaller appliance that can be used to toast bread, bake small batches of cookies, and heat up leftovers, using heating elements on the top and bottom of the oven to cook food. Convection ovens are larger and are designed to cook larger meals more evenly and quickly.

Toaster Oven is an upgraded version of the regular toaster. Using a toaster oven one can now warm up food items that cannot fit into a toaster, such as a hot dog, cake, or burger.

Convection Oven, though the same as a toaster oven in appearance, poses a complete contrast to it in terms of the heating system.

Comparison Table

Parameters of ComparisonToaster OvenConvection Oven
SizeSmaller than a convection ovenBigger than a toaster oven
Heating SystemHas internal heating coils either at the top of it or at the bottomHas internal heating coils and two built-in fans to distribute the heat that is generated by the coils
Adjusting Cooking TemperatureSince it has only one set of heating coils, there is no need to adjust the cooking temperatureThere are two sets of fans to disperse the hot air evenly, therefore, there is a need to adjust the cooking temperature before cooking every meal
Works OnOnly electricityElectricity and gas
Energy ConsumptionConsumes more energyConsumes less energy as the in-built fans evenly distribute the hot air to prepare a meal faster

What is Toaster Oven?

Toaster Oven is similar to a regular toaster but with better features- it can be used to toast food items and much more. Be it broiling chicken pieces, or baking a cake, or even roasting vegetables, it is all possible with a toaster oven.

Its high-quality heating system makes it a more valuable addition to one’s kitchen in comparison to a regular toaster that is limited to a single function.

A toaster oven is smaller in size; therefore, it is a viable option in kitchens of every size. Its compact size also allows it to be carried from one place to other with ease.

Toaster oven consumes a lot of energy. Since the distribution of heat isn’t even in a toaster oven, it takes a long while to cook a meal with it.

What is Convection Oven?

Convention Oven is bigger in size as it comes with two sets of built-in fans that are situated both at the top and bottom of the appliance, and aids in evenly distributing the heat around the oven that is generated by the internal heating coils.

Someone who has used a regular toaster until now will have to take a thorough look at the direction manual that comes along with the convection oven.

A convection oven can work on electricity as well as gas. But using gas would mean that cleaning a convection oven could be a real task.

Since the distribution of hot air around the oven is even due to the two sets of built-in fans, it consumes lesser energy and does not have to be pre-heated for long.

Main Differences Between Toaster Oven and Convection Oven

  1. The cooking time in a toaster oven is quite high. In contrast, the cooking time in a convection oven is less as the even distribution of the heat around the food prepares it faster.
  2. While the energy consumption in toaster oven is much high, it is significantly less in a convection oven.
References
  1. https://fcs-hes.ca.uky.edu/sites/fcs-hes.ca.uky.edu/files/frm-ap-008.pdf
  2. https://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/12/aburka1/e90_0809/Mark%20Calafut%20and%20Emily%20Sun.pdf
Sandeep Bhandari
Sandeep Bhandari

Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.

26 Comments

  1. Great article, this has been useful. It has helped me understand the difference between these two types of ovens.

  2. I appreciate the details included about energy consumption. It’s something that’s overlooked when making these kinds of comparisons.

  3. I like the detailed description of the cooking time and energy consumption. That’s very important for me when choosing an oven.

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