When I first purchased our Breville Smart Oven, I was a little hesitant because of the price. After all, in a world where you can easily find decent toaster ovens for under $50, it seems silly to pay more than twice that without good reason. Fast forward 5 years, and I’m writing this Breville Smart Oven review to say that it was money well spent!
The Breville Smart Oven toaster oven is an excellent addition to your family kitchen. We have been using ours for more than 5 years and it has held up very well, despite being used on an almost daily basis by multiple people. It is an excellent toaster oven for busy families. It is easy, convenient to use, and has a range of features that make cooking family meals easier and faster. This review will cover these features in detail so you can decide if this is the right product for your needs.
Table of Contents
What is the Breville Smart Oven?
The Breville Smart Oven and its progeny (or cousins?) is a versatile countertop oven that performs a range of functions sufficient to prepare almost any meal. But what makes them“smart” ovens? They are built with Breville’s Element iQ system which is designed to steer power to where it’s needed throughout the cooking cycle for more precise results without cold spots.
More specifically, there are individual quartz heating elements located at both the top and bottom of the cooking chamber. They adjust automatically based on the selected setting; moving the heat to where it’s needed most at various points of time.
The Smart Oven comes with a variety of presets that cover the most common cooking functions – such as toast, broil, bake, roast, reheat, and warm. It also has a convection setting that reduces cooking time by up to 30%. The convection feature uses a fan to blow hot air over and around the food, resulting in faster and more even cooking.
This oven is perfect for full family meals, coming with convection and baking settings that make cooking easier. It also features a digital display and dial controls for easy-to-read temperature management.
The product includes a pizza pan and broiler pan with wire rack so you can easily bake or reheat your food at up to 120 °C (250 °F) while the keep warm function maintains optimum heat while you’re waiting for guests or leftovers.
Why we have loved the Breville Smart Oven
This product is great for cooking family meals. Although it has a large interior capacity, it doesn’t take up as much counter space as you would expect.
This oven is durable enough to stand up to constant use but also looks sleek enough that it can be left on your kitchen counter without looking tacky. We used this product in our home almost every day for five years without any all. Our two favorite features were the broil and convection. The convection feature allows you to cook faster at lower temperatures while still producing high-quality results every time. (Sadly, shortly after we passed the five-year mark, the fan called it quits, so the convection feature is no longer operational.)
The oven features an auto-eject wire rack which makes removing hot food much easier – although the auto eject feature only works when the wire rack is placed in the center position.
This model conveniently comes with several great accessories — a 12 x 12-inch baking pan with a matching broiler insert, and a 13-inch non-stick pizza pan with a matching crisper pan.
One word of warning. The outside of this oven gets very hot! But, Breville apparently decided to make the best of that issue and bills the top of the oven as a “Plate Warming Tray.” Although we do not, as a routine matter, warm our plates before using them, this is a great way to soften up cheese and butter (but non-paper plat required)!
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What’s the Difference Between a Breville Smart Oven and a Smart Oven Pro?
There has been some indication that Breville may be phasing out the Breville Smart Oven in favor of the Smart Oven Pro. Regardless, any evaluation of the original Smart Oven also applies to the Smart Oven Pro as the two ovens are virtually identical. Both models have the same size, the same shape, and the same IQ technology. The only differences are the addition of a 10th preset for “slow cooking” and an interior light.
Breville Smart Oven Review: Key Features
If you’re always on the go, cooking healthy meals for your family can be hard when you don’t have time to cook or shop.
The Breville Smart Oven is the perfect kitchen appliance for any busy family. It’s designed with a range of features that make cooking family meals easier and faster. With its large capacity, it can cook up to six slices of toast at once or bake a 12-inch pizza in just 10 minutes.
You can’t go wrong with this product if you want to make cooking dinner easier and less stressful. With all of these great features, it’s not just an amazing product but also a great value.
The Breville Smart Oven also has an auto-eject rack which makes it easy to remove your food once it’s finished cooking without having to use any tools or get too close to hot surfaces. Plus, there are nine preset functions so you can cook anything from toast and bagels all the way up to frozen pizzas with just one touch of a button on this intuitive interface!
Precise toasting with 6 levels of browning
There are many features of the Breville Smart Oven toaster oven that make it an excellent choice for family use. One feature is its precise toasting with 6 levels of browning, which allows users to control how light or dark they want their toast.
Specialized settings for toast, cookies, pizza, and frozen foods
The Breville Smart Oven is an excellent toaster oven for family use with its specialized settings for toast, cookies, frozen pizza, and more. It allows you to pre-set the desired temperature and cooking time.
There are also two optional settings for the “convection” and “frozen” features. The convection technology in the oven also ensures even heat distribution so no part of your meal is overcooked or undercooked. You can control this feature using the unique sensor touch controls on the front panel which are simple enough for anyone in your household to master quickly.
When the “frozen” button is selected, the oven automatically adds additional time to allow for defrosting and cooking.
A tip about pre-sets: You can adjust them to suit your taste at the moment or permanently. The oven will save your personnel settings for the next time you use the preset. If you want to restore the presets to the factory setting, unplug it.
Size & Capacity
Larger than most toaster ovens, this oven has space to comfortably fit six slices of toast, a 13-inch pizza, or a whole Chicken. You won’t have to mess around with firing up your full-sized oven to complete a family meal.
Fast & Efficient Preheating
Another great thing about the Breville Smart Oven is that it doesn’t take long to preheat. This means that you’ll be spending more time eating delicious food and less time waiting for it to be ready.
And of course no matter what setting or feature you choose, the oven lets you know when it’s preheated with a bell and then automatically starts the timer on your main cooking setting.
• LCD display with easy access to smart functions and counts down cooking time automatically
Top benefits of the Breville Smart Oven
Efficient cooking time and temperature settings
This oven has a maximum heat of nearly 500 degrees F which is more than enough for most foods. The convection fan works like an airplane propeller to circulate the hot air evenly around your food so that it bakes and roasts faster. This allows you to cook family meals in less time without sacrificing quality or flavor.
Also, this model has one knob control with an automatic shutoff system which makes using the appliance safer by automatically shutting off when the cooking time reaches zero. This prevents overcooking if no one is paying attention to how long something stays inside the unit.
Has a timer that rings an alarm when the oven is done.
This toaster oven has a timer that rings an alarm when the oven is done. This feature makes it easy for you to know exactly when your food is ready without having to constantly check on it.
The oven features a convection fan to circulate the heat evenly.
This toaster oven features a convection fan for more even cooking.
Cooking food evenly is key to getting the best result, and this Breville Smart Oven does it with ease. The convection fan circulates hot air around your food so everything cooks at the same rate, giving you delicious results every time. It’s perfect for roasting meat or baking bread because it distributes heat from all sides of the oven, ensuring that nothing burns and nothing gets too done while leaving other things undercooked in some parts of the oven while others are overdone.
The best part is that this oven has a convection setting which will reduce your baking time by up to 30%. This means that you’ll be spending more time eating delicious food and less time waiting for it to be ready. No matter what you’re making, the oven lets you know when it’s preheated so that you can get started on your favorite dish.
Breville Smart Oven Review: Pros and Cons
Some Pros
– Large interior with a removable crumb tray
– It is also very easy to clean up after cooking
– The convection oven feature reduces cooking time by 30% which is very beneficial when trying to get dinner on the table quickly
– We have also enjoyed using this toaster oven for quickly broiling steaks and chops.
Some Cons
– A little bit on the pricey side for this toaster oven
Although you could easily find a good toaster oven for less than $100, this isn’t one of them. The price point may not be right for everyone though so you will need to consider your budget before purchasing this appliance.
Highlights from Five Years of Use
Our Favorite Uses for Our Breville Smart Oven
- Reheating food that we want to be crispy and flavorful
- Cooking fresh pizza
- Baking one pan meals like enchiladas or casseroles
- Baking cookies, cakes and other desserts
- Baking potatoes
- Broiling steak or hamburgers
- Roasting chicken — usually pieces rather than whole
We definitely use our toaster oven more on a daily basis than our standard oven. In fact, the only time we use the “main” oven is when we’re cooking big dinners for holiday or entertaining. Or, when we need to be able to use multiple racks at the same time. There has also been the rare occasion when we needed to broil something at a temperature higher than 500 degrees.
The Breville Smart Oven is a great option for anyone looking for an easy way to cook family meals faster without compromising on taste or quality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Breville Smart Oven come with a warranty?
The Smart Oven does come with a one-year limited product warranty that covers defects in product material or workmanship.
How long do Breville toaster ovens last?
It depends on many factors, including what you use them for and how often. A Breville toaster oven that sits in a little-used kitchen can last 20 years or more, while one used daily for three hours may need to be replaced every five years.
Where are Breville toaster ovens made?
Breville toaster ovens are designed in Australia and assembled in China.
Conclusion
This is a great oven for anyone who wants to make fast, nutritious meals for their family with minimal effort! It’s the perfect solution to busy lives.
Follow us on Pinterest to keep up with the best tips and tools for your family kitchen!
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