What Is the Best Toaster to Buy

Toasters are one of the most important appliances you must have in your kitchen. If you don’t already have one, then you need to get one soon. There is a long list of food you can prepare using a toaster like a bagel, bread, sandwich, burger, tortilla chips, French fries and so on. But then the question is, what is the best toaster to buy?

A lot of products or models are out there with different sizes, shapes, designs, and specifications. They differ from one manufacturer to the other. Some are made of plastic and others with stainless steel, and they have different slots for bread. 

However, it is difficult to make a good choice in a market with a range of products because you wouldn’t know the best toaster to get. Also, they come with different prices; some are relatively cheap while others are expensive. 

How then do you get a quality toaster for your kitchen? We are going to review different toasters in this article considering various factors to assist you in making that choice. So, whether you are a first-time buyer, or you want to change the toaster you currently own, we’ve got you covered.

What Is A Good Toaster?

Toasters in recent times are not so different from those from years ago. They all have the same working mechanism and heating elements. 

But new models now include features that make them more useful and efficient. Some of these features include control buttons for reheating, defrosting, bagel, and so on.

Getting a good toaster that toasts bread the right way in different shapes, sizes, or forms and large enough to accommodate thick bagels, burgers or sandwiches is a win-win for us.

There are factors to consider when getting a good toaster and they include:

Budget/Price

Toasters come in different prices. Stainless steel toasters are generally more expensive than plastic toasters. The quality of toast gotten from expensive toasters is not so different from the cheap models.

However, you may want to consider getting an expensive toaster to get other features you might like, but this is not a general rule.

Sizes/Slots

A toaster should be portable in size so it can sit comfortably on any kitchen counter especially in a kitchen with limited space.

When getting a toaster, you must consider the number of slots it has and how wide it is. 

This determines the size and quantity of bread you can toast at a time. A toaster with a deeper, longer and wider slot should do.

If you are going to be using it alone or you have a small kitchen space, you might have to buy a 2-slice toaster. But if you are going to be using it with your family, a 4-slice toaster is a better option. 

Whatever model you get, you must look at its size and get one that suits your needs.

Easy to Use

A toaster should be easy to use. it should come with a manual pop-up crowbar that can be used to lift toasts out of the appliance when they are ready. 

This is more ideal than using bare fingers to remove a cooked toast from the slots with bare hands or cooking utensils. This is not convenient and can put you in harm’s way.

Also, it should be easy for a lot of people to operate at a time.

Controls

Toaster control buttons should be visible, easy to operate and should make toasts easier to prepare. They should be responsive and correctly regulate the temperature of the toaster. 

This makes it easy to toast different bread as you can easily regulate the temperature of the toaster.

Also, it should have additional controls for each type of toasting you want. For example, defrosting control for frozen bread, a reheating control for leftover bread, repeat control to repeat toasting and so on.

Even Toasts

We all love bread that is evenly toasted, so this factor should be considered when getting a toaster. Get models that toast bread evenly on all sides without burning it or leaving white patches on the bread. 

It should also toast fast. A good toast should have fine golden-brown edges when it’s cooked.

Consistency

The toaster should be able to toast bread and give a good result at all times without ruining the toast altogether. But most toasters tend to increase in temperature after the first sets of toasts and burn them in the process.

It is advisable to reduce the temperature of the toast after the first sets of toasts using the controls.

Body of Appliance

The body of the toaster should not be hot during or after toasting so you don’t get hurt when your body or fingers unexpectedly touch the appliance.

Crumb Tray

A good toaster should have a detachable crumb tray. This makes the cleaning of the appliance quite easy.

What Is The Best Toaster To Buy?

Toasters come in different models, each one with their unique features, price, advantages, and disadvantages. There are basically two types of toasters:

The 2-slice toasters.

The 4-slice toasters.

All models fall under these two categories above. Let us look at different toasters that offer you value for your money, shall we?

Best 2-Slice Toasters to Buy

2-Slice Compact Cuisinart Plastic Toaster

The compact Cuisinart plastic toaster is a modern 2-slice toaster model and the best choice for anyone with a tight budget. It comes with a style that gives its characteristic sleek features when it’s in use. 

This toaster fits into every home because of its compact size and so can sit comfortably on every countertop, this means you don’t have to worry about your limited kitchen space.

Other features that make it a unique model, are the bagel, toast, reheat, defrost, and cancel controls. It also has an extra wider slot, high-lift control bar, and a detachable crumb tray.

Dimensions: 6.5 x 11 x 7″.

Weight: 2.6 Pounds.

Extra wider slot: 1.5″. 

Description

1. Bagel Control is used for toasting the top half of bread.
2. Toast Control is used for toasting bread.
3. Reheat Control is used for reheating leftover bread.
4. Defrost Control is used to defrost frozen bread first before toasting.
5. 7-Shade Control is used to set different browning options.
6. Cancel Control is used to end the toasting process.
7. High-Lift Control Bar is used to lift toasted bread.
8. Detachable Crumb Tray makes it easy to clean the appliance after use.

Advantages

1. It’s cheaper.
2. It has a portable design.
3. Makes even toasts fast. 

Disadvantages

1. It is not good for larger and thicker bread.
2. Too light and narrow.

2-Slice ViewPro Glass Cuisinart Toaster

Watching the toasting process can be fun and highly convenient too; this model made of stainless steel offers it all. 

The 2-slice ViewPro Glass Cuisinart toaster lets you see through the glass how well your toast is cooking without stopping or lifting the toast out of the appliance.

It also comes with user-friendly features; bagel, toast, defrost, reheat, and cancel touch screen controls, high-lift control bar, single slice toast option, 7-shade control setting, extra wider slots, and quartz heating element.

Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 18″.

Weight: 7 pounds.

Extra wider slots: 1.75″.

Advantages

1. It has a transparent glass on two sides to see toast.
2. Touch screen controls make it easier to use.
3. It has modern technology like the quartz heating element for better and even toasting.
4. It has a detachable crumb tray which makes cleaning of the appliance easier.

Disadvantages

1. It is expensive and can be slow during toasting.
2. Takes more space on the countertop in the kitchen.
3. The slots get very hot during toasting.
4. It doesn’t pop up English muffins completely so your fingers can get burned.

2-Slice Bakery Artisan Cuisinart Toaster

This stainless-steel toaster has 2 long slots that can accommodate and evenly toast thick unsliced bread. It can also toast 4 normal sizes of bread at the same time.

They are portable and so can comfortably sit on any countertop regardless of the size of your kitchen. 

It has user-friendly and visible controls, a high-lift control bar, a detachable crumb tray, and a 7-shade control setting. Also, it has the bagel, toast, reheat, defrost, and cancel toaster functions.

Dimensions: 13.5 x 6 x 8.25″.

Weight: 6 pounds.

Extra-long and wide slots: 10 x 1.5″.

Power: 1500W.

Advantages

1. It has extra-long and wide slots that can toast thicker and unsliced bread.
2. It has user-friendly and easy to read controls. 

Disadvantages

1. The appliance gets excessively hot on the sides when in use.
2. The high-lift control bar needs more force to stay down.

2-Slice Stainless Steel Krups Toaster

The Krups stainless steel toaster is a beautiful modern design that has extra-wide self-centering slots, 6-shade control settings, high-lift control bar, and modes (bagel, defrost, reheat and cancel).

It evenly toasts bread of all types and shapes (English muffins, buns, sandwiches, and so on), detachable crumb tray, and brushed stainless steel built with LED lightings. 

If we may add, it is very cheap despite all the added features and easy to use. It certainly gives your day a good start with great toast for breakfast.

Dimensions: 14 x 9.8 x 9.3″.

Weight: 3.27 pounds.

Advantages

1. It is fast and makes evenly toasted food.
2. It is cheap.
3. User-friendly control buttons.

Disadvantages

The top of the toaster, in between the slots gets excessively hot when in use.

2-Slice Die-Cast Breville Toaster

This toaster does an amazing job at evenly toasting bread. It has a one-touch automatic mode for lowering bread for toasting.

It also has two extra-wide slots, bagel, defrost, ‘a bit more’ control to increase the time for toasting, and ‘lift and look’ control to see if the toast is ready. 

It is made with a brushed die-cast metal housing compartment that makes it a great design for your countertop, has a detachable crumb tray, 5-shade control settings and LED buttons.

Dimensions: 11.25 x 7 x 7.75″.

Weight: 2.65 pounds.

Extra-wide slots: 1-1.5″.

Power: 900W (110-120V).

Advantages

1. Great design.
2. Auto-controls for regulating toasts.

Disadvantages

1. It’s expensive.

2-Slice KitchenAid Toaster

The 2-slice KitchenAid toaster is an automatic toaster that offers quality features like the automatic-lift control bar which automatically lowers the toast prior to toasting and pop up bread once toasted. 

It has 7-setting shade control settings, bagel, defrost control buttons, and can keep toast warm for about 3 minutes after toasting. All these makes toasting quite easy and gives a quality toast.

Dimensions: 9.5 x 15.8 x 11.3″

Weight: 12.2 pounds

Advantages

1. Great design.
2. It has an automatic-lift control bar.
3. It keeps toast warm after toasting.

Disadvantages

1. It is very expensive.
2. It is heavy.

2-Slice Black+Decker Stainless Toaster

This toaster offers great features like the self-centering extra-wide slots that adjust to any size of bread, one-touch bagel, defrost, cancel control buttons, and a 7-shade control setting.

It also has a brushed stainless-steel housing, that makes it sleek on any countertop, and a detachable crumb tray. 

Dimensions: 7.2 x 12.8 x 9.2″.

Weight: 2.2 Pounds.

Power: 1100W (120V).

Advantages

1. It’s cheap.
2. It can comfortably sit on any countertop irrespective of the kitchen space because of its design.

Disadvantages

1. The top of the toaster in between the slices can get excessively hot during toasting.
2. It is heavy.

2-Slice Hamilton Beach Keep Warm Toaster

The Hamilton Beach Keep Warm Stainless-steel toaster evenly toast bagels and unsliced homemade bread. It also has a keep-warm control setting just as its name suggests and a well-lighted control button (bagel, defrost, and cancel) and a detachable tray at the back of the appliance.

It also has extra-wide slots that accommodate different sizes of bread. A special feature called the cool wall feature keeps exteriors of the toaster cool during toasting and a toast boost helps to remove bread from the toaster easily.

Dimensions: 11.3 x 7.5 x 7.5″.

Weight: 3.25 pounds.

Advantages

1. It is very cheap compared to some other models.
2. It gives an evenly toasted bread or food.

Disadvantages

1. Design not attractive.
2. The retractable cord in front of the design is a little bit short for most users and so an additional adapter is required.

2-Slice Smeg Toaster

This a stylish stainless-steel toaster, a retro-style from the 50s that offers you value for your money. It is sturdily built with a deep colored exterior that is very durable. 

It also has an extra-wide slot with self-centering racks, an automatic toast lift, detachable stainless-steel crumb tray, 6-shade control setting, and reheat, defrost, and bagel control buttons.

Dimensions: 12.7 x 7.6 x 7.7″.

Weight: 5.4 pounds.

Advantages

1. It gives an evenly toasted food.
2. It has a sleek design.

Disadvantages

1. It is very expensive.

2-Slice Brevo Stainless Steel Toaster

The Brevo stainless steel toaster is a portable, modern and beautifully built design that always gives an evenly toasted food faster than some models. It is very easy to operate and has extra-wide self-centering slots that can adjust to any size of bread.

It also has a 7-shade control setting, a detachable crumb tray, bagel, defrost, reheat and cancel controls. It’s the best model for toasting bagels.

Dimension: 9.8 x 5.9 x 7.1″.

Weight: 3.12 pounds.

Extra-wide slot: 1.5″.

Advantages

1. It is cheap and portable.
2. It is beautifully designed.

Disadvantages

1. It is heavy.

Best 4 Slice Toasters to Buy

4-Slice Cuisinart Compact Plastic Toaster

Cuisinart compact plastic toaster is a beautiful and modern appliance with different control buttons like the bagel, reheat, defrost, and cancel. 

It has other features such as high-lift control bar, detachable crumb trays, 7-shade control setting, extra-wide slots, and two separate control settings which allows you to toast breads at different temperatures at the same time.

Dimensions: 10.8 x 10.7 x 7.2″.

Weight: 4.5 pounds.

Extra-wide slots: 1.5″

Advantages

1. It saves space in the kitchen because of it’s compact size.
2. Convenient to use.

Disadvantages

1. It gives an uneven toast sometimes.

4-Slice Die-Cast Breville Toaster

This is one of the best 4-slice toaster models you can get, as it always whips up an evenly toasted bread or food.

Apart from having multiple slots for toasting, it also comes with other features such as four extra-wide slots that accommodate different types of bread, one-touch auto lowering mechanism, and LED lightings.

It comes with a 5-shade control setting, the ‘a bit more’, ‘lift and look’, defrost and bagel control buttons just like the 2-slice die-cast Breville toaster.

Dimensions: 13.2 x 13.2 x 9.2″.

Weight: 9.48 pounds.

Extra-wide slots: 1-1.5″.

Power: 1800w.

Advantages

1. Multiple toasting functions that enable it to whip up evenly browned toasts.
2. Sleek design.

Disadvantages

1. It’s expensive.
2. It is heavy and bulky.

4-Slice Stainless Steel Krups Toaster   

Because of its design and features, it is a reliable toaster as it can evenly toast any type of bread. It has two control buttons; hence it can toast different loaves of bread at varying temperatures at once without ruining the quality of toast.

It has a 6-shade control setting, multiple function buttons (bagel, defrost, reheat, and cancel), extra-wide slots, LED indicators, high-lift control bar, and detachable crumb trays.

Dimensions: 13.5 x 13.3 x 8.6″.

Weight: 5.28 pounds.

Advantages

1. It’s user-friendly.
2. Consistent evenly browned toasts.

Disadvantages

1. Its heavy and so can take a lot of space in the kitchen countertop.

4-Slice Cusibox Stainless Steel Toaster

This stainless-steel sleek design whips up even toasts faster than most models and so is convenient for family use. 

It has four extra-wide slots with a self-centering regulator, two detachable crumb trays, and LED lightings. 

It also has three control functions (bagel, defrost and cancel buttons), 6-shade control setting, and high-lift control bar.

Dimensions: 11 x 9 x 6.8″.

Weight: 4.5 pounds.

Extra-wide slots: 1.5″.

Power: 1650W (120V).

Advantages

1. Faster toasting.
2. It can toast any type of bread.

Disadvantages

1. The outer part of the slots gets hotter when in use.

4-Slice CUSINAID Stainless Steel Toaster

The CUSINAID stainless steel toaster has two separate control buttons and four extra-wide slots that let you conveniently toast different types of bread. This results in a faster and evenly browned toasts.

It also has a 7-shade control setting, high-lift control bar, automatic pop up, three well-lighted buttons for reheat, defrost, and cancel mode. 

Dimensions: 8 x 12.9 x 11.7″.

Weight: 5.55 pounds.

Extra-wide slots: 1.5″.

Power: 1400W.

Advantages

1. It consistently whips up even toasts after several batches.
2. It is easy and safe to use.

Disadvantages

1. It is heavy.
2. Takes up space in the kitchen countertop.

4-Slice Long Kenmore Elite Platinum Toaster

This is a digital toaster and the best automatic lift model. It has a digital control, unlike other models that use buttons, a digital timer that lets you know how long you are going to wait for your toast to be ready.

It also has four extra-wide slots that can accommodate any size or type of bread, 9-toast control settings, an automatic lift that pops up toasts once they are ready and LED lightings.

Let me add that it includes a self-lowering mode, raise check mode to check how well the toast is doing inside the appliance, and a self-adjusting mode.

Dimensions: 5.2 x 18.5 x 17.5″.

Weight: 5.5 pounds.

Advantages

1. It’s the best auto-lift model.
2. Very fast and consistent.

Disadvantage

1. It’s difficult to read the control panels.

Summary

The perfect toasters are not determined by the price they sell for but the quality of their toasts and the machine’s efficiency. Most cheap toasters have great features that can give you perfectly browned toasts. 

In the end, your preference wins, but we hope that this article guides you in your search for a good toaster.