# What can I cook in a small toaster oven? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 27, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100 "2025-12-27T18:22:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/1 "2025-12-27T18:22:48Z")
My wife bought me [a new toaster oven](https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-TO1787SS-Functions-Stainless/dp/B0CKLXZRMC?th=1), to replace the grody old one I’ve been using for the past couple of decades. I mostly used the old one for making bacon, several times a week. This new one isn’t big enough for bacon (or my 8x8 baking dish). This morning I used the salvaged tray from the old oven to cook bacon in the regular oven. In addition to bacon, I also cooked chicken breast tenderloins, chicken thighs, and chicken wings, often with broccoli alongside. Given that I avoid carbohydrates (breads, pasta, rice, pizza, potatoes, etc.), what are some things I can cook in a small toaster oven? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/2 "2025-12-27T18:34:29Z")
Pretty much anything you can put in a conventional oven, but in smaller quantities. I don’t have specific recommendations, but things like sausages or a chicken breast/thigh will work well. And it’s convection, so you can air-fry. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/3 "2025-12-27T18:40:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And it’s convection, so you can air-fry. The Old Euro Pro was a convection oven. I’ve heard that ‘convection oven’ and ‘air fryer’ are two names for the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/4 "2025-12-27T18:43:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve heard that ‘convection oven’ and ‘air fryer’ are two names for the same thing. Yup. It’s been a very lucrative sales semi-grift for some companies, although air fryers tend to have stronger fans, so cooking time is shortened and you get a crisper coating. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/5 "2025-12-27T18:51:16Z")
What are the dimensions? Mine has a cut-out at the back so a pie pan or pizza can slide in. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/6 "2025-12-27T18:52:25Z")
Reheat pizza, or any other food that needs crisping. Cook a frozen meal. I cooked a couple of frozen chicken cordon bleus yesterday. Roast a hunk of fish. I roast black cod in mine. It’d work well for that blackened salmon dish you’ve posted about. We actually hardly ever use the toaster oven anymore except for the above. Maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/7 "2025-12-27T19:00:11Z")
I use mine to roast vegetables and bake potatoes (among many other things). It’s a great alternative to heating up the big oven in the summer, and it gets to temp quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/8 "2025-12-27T19:04:35Z")
> [@susan](#): > > What are the dimensions? Exterior width is 15.5 inches. I haven’t measured the cooking compartment. My 8x8 baking dish will not fit because it has ‘handles’. No cut-out that I saw. > [@needscoffee](#): > > any other food that needs crisping Come to think of it, we do tend to warm things up in the toaster oven instead of the microwave oven. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Roast a hunk of fish. Fish (tilapia, salmon) is too big for the new oven. Although I _have_ cooked fish in the old toaster oven, I prefer to cook fish in the big oven, > [@needscoffee](#): > > that blackened salmon dish you’ve posted about. That gets the cast-iron treatment in the big oven. (Sadly, my wife can’t handle the spices anymore. ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/9 "2025-12-27T19:09:21Z")
> Exterior width is 15.5 inches. That’s about what mine is, and about 11” deep. Some of your Trade Joe’s freezer case foods should heat well in it. The bacon-wrapped scallops, for example. I’ve been using mine for the TJ’s shrimp paste on sugar cane, too. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/10 "2025-12-27T19:29:37Z")
Also mine. I do most of our daily oven cooking in it. It just doesn’t seem reasonable to heat up the huge oven for food for two, be it a couple of baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, a meatloaf, a chicken or fish dish, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/11 "2025-12-27T19:55:44Z")
Toaster ovens certainly come in various cavity sizes. I hope the OP’s wife hasn’t inadvertently downsized them just below practical cooking size. I just measured and my cavity is 12"w x 12"d. It’s 4.5" tall with no catch tray and the wireframe rack on the lower guides, or 2.75" tall with the catch tray on the lower guides and the wireframe rack on the upper guides. Plenty of bakeware or small roasting pans can fit in that space. My 11" dinner plates go in there very nicely for reheating whatever. One at a time of course. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/12 "2025-12-27T20:03:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And it’s convection, so you can air-fry. Not really. I had one of those and the air fry/convection oven didn’t work very well. As you noted later, real air fryers have much stronger fans. It’s great for making toast (which OP doesn’t eat) and that’s kind of it in my experience. Warming up pizza and leftovers are better for me in a microwave. Baking is better in a big oven. If you don’t have a real air fryer, it works ok for heating up frozen food like taquitos. It’s in that weird niche where there is mostly something else that’s common and does the job better. All of the things that OP made in the old toaster oven (except maybe bacon) are outstanding in an air fryer but not the puny one in that toaster over. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/13 "2025-12-27T20:17:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I hope the OP’s wife hasn’t inadvertently downsized them just below practical cooking size. Me too. There happened to have been six chicken wing segments (‘radius and ulna’) in the freezer. I’ve defrosted them, and will try this [crispy chicken wing recipe](https://cjeatsrecipes.com/air-fryer-chicken-wings-super-crispy/) later. It says to air-fry at 400º, but it doesn’t look like you can choose an air-fry temperature on the B&D. The temperature knob just has a ‘air fry’ (and ‘toast’, and ‘broil’) setting. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/14 "2025-12-27T20:20:46Z")
Nowadays “toaster oven” describes a bewildering array of sizes, capabilities, and price tags. The category name is almost misleading it’s now so broad. Lotta ways for a partly thought-through purchase to be just the wrong thing. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/15 "2025-12-27T20:22:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The temperature knob just has a ‘air fry’ (and ‘toast’, and ‘broil’) setting. The air fry temp is going to be wherever it maxes out which it looks like will be like baking at 450 with a little bit of fan action. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/16 "2025-12-27T20:41:11Z")
Is there a manual with some recipes and more information? Online? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/17 "2025-12-27T21:17:24Z")
I routinely heat up meals in my toaster oven that I’ve purchased from the local grocer. It’s more efficient than heating up a full-sized oven. You could even broil a small steak/chop in it. My toaster oven is probably larger than yours, though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/18 "2025-12-27T21:29:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > will try this [crispy chicken wing recipe](https://cjeatsrecipes.com/air-fryer-chicken-wings-super-crispy/) Well, they didn’t come out looking like the ones at the link. I followed the recipe, and I’ve eaten one. I’m thinking they should have had half the salt and twice the baking powder. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2025, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/19 "2025-12-30T15:41:40Z")
Living single, I used a cheapie tin toaster oven exclusively. I’d wrap a chop in aluminum foil with thin sliced vegetables and bake till done (that was the most cooking from scratch I did)… After I got married, we had an upgraded toaster oven we used more than the regular oven (also used the microwave a lot)…. Now living alone again, I love my air fryer. I’m toying with the idea of getting one of those Ninja Foodi ovens I see at the crack of dawn on infomercials. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-i-cook-in-a-small-toaster-oven/1026100/20 "2025-12-30T18:09:12Z")
When I was in college, long before microwaves, I cooked everything that fit in one. Meat loaf definitely. We even made duck in one (I think we borrowed additional ovens from others on the floor.) Pork chops, lamb chops. I don’t remember any issues using it.