We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. What to Buy Appliances Small Appliances The 8 Best Convection Ovens for Every Kind of Home Cook Our top picks make dinnertime a breeze — with faster, even browning and effortlessly crispy exteriors. By Nick DeSimone Updated on April 26, 2024 In This Article Expand In This Article Our Top Picks ReviewsOur Favorite Convection Ovens Factors to Consider FAQ Our Expertise Photo: Food & Wine / Russell Kilgore You may have heard ovens referred to as either conventional or convection — sometimes both. But an oven is an oven, right? Well, not exactly. There’s a significant difference in how these ovens heat, making them specialized for different cooking techniques. The most common examples of convection that people are familiar with are toaster ovens and air fryers, though some standard ovens have convection settings built right in. So why buy a convection oven? One word: crispy. Convection is perfect for getting that golden brown and delicious crust on everything from crispy-skinned chicken to drool-worthy roasted potatoes. The circulating heat cooks food faster and yields even browning to achieve that craveable, crispy exterior. But just like conventional ovens, there are a wide variety of convection ovens available to choose from. So we surveyed the market for the best convection ovens out there, and we've picked eight expert-approved models that are perfect for every kind of home cook. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Brava Oven Starter Set at Amazon ($1,295) Jump to Review Best Value: Cosori Smart Air Fryer Toaster Oven at Amazon ($160) Jump to Review Best with Toaster Oven: Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Fry Oven at Amazon ($279) Jump to Review Best with Microwave: Toshiba Combo 8-in-1 Countertop Microwave Oven at Amazon ($186) Jump to Review Best with Air Fryer: Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer at Amazon ($350) Jump to Review Best Wall-Insert: GE Profile Smart Double Electric Wall Oven at Wayfair ($3,620) Jump to Review Best with Rotisserie: Instant Pot Vortex Pro 10 Air Fryer at Amazon ($110) Jump to Review Best Compact: Breville the Smart Oven Compact Convection at Amazon ($200) Jump to Review Best Overall Brava Oven Starter Set PHOTO: Amazon $1,295 at Amazon $1,296 at Williams-Sonoma View on Brava.com Pros We loved the smart features of this model, as well as the zoned cooking. Cons It's a major investment. With a bit of resourcefulness, you can use the Brava to replace nearly every other cooking device in your home — and probably a few others you don't have. The smart oven has more than 7,000 different settings you can choose in its app, including toasting, air frying, slow cooking, and even zoned modes to make up to three separate dishes at three separate temperatures at the exact same time. It takes all the guesswork out of cooking; you simply select the item you want to cook, and the Brava does the rest. This Starter Set adds custom-sized glass and metal cook trays to the oven itself, plus a temperature sensor that helps the built-in settings nail the doneness on meat and poultry. The problem is the price: The Brava is a serious investment that costs more than some full-sized ranges. Dimensions: 17.3 x 16.4 x 11.3 inches | Weight: 55 pounds | Power: 1800 watts Best Value Cosori Smart Air Fryer Toaster Oven PHOTO: COSORI $160 at Amazon $180 at Home Depot Pros This toaster/air fryer has impressive multifunctional smart controls despite its reasonable price. Cons It can be loud and hot to the touch when in use. The Cosori Smart Air Fryer Toaster Oven gives you such a great bang for your buck, you might be surprised at all this little oven can do for its low price. We love the easy-to-read buttons and digital display, the simple navigation of the temperature and time gauges, and the 12 functions from convection baking and broiling to keeping homemade yogurt at the right temperature for fermentation — there's even a setting specifically for reheating last night's pizza. At this price, the Cosori is perfect for the casual cook or a more experienced enthusiast. That said, we wouldn’t recommend leaving this within reach of little hands: It can get quite hot to the touch when in use. Dimensions: 16.3 x 16.9 x 15.5 inches | Weight: 22 pounds | Capacity: 26 quarts | Power: 1800 watts Best with Toaster Oven Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Fry Oven PHOTO: Amazon $279 at Amazon $200 at Wayfair $300 at kohls.com Pros This oven heats up fast and cooks evenly, and we love its high-capacity cooking area. Cons We don’t love how hard it is to clean. It’s no secret that Ninja is one of the leaders in countertop appliances, and once you use this combination air fryer/toaster/convection oven, it’s easy to see why. While still maintaining a compact footprint, this oven is spacious enough to fit an entire chicken, or two separate racks of food. It heats up fast and cooks incredibly evenly. The only downside is that it's tough to clean. The runners that the racks fit into can get greasy or covered in baked-on food, and a lot of elbow grease is necessary to scrub out the inside of the oven. Dimensions: 17.09 x 20.22 x 13.34 inches | Weight: 33.6 pounds | Capacity: 22.2 quarts | Power: 1800 watts Best with Microwave Toshiba Combo 8-in-1 Countertop Microwave Oven PHOTO: Amazon $186 at Amazon Pros You can bake or nuke in this appliance that has multi-stage cooking settings and even offers an odor-removal function. Cons It's low-powered and heavy for its size. Toshiba's machine can replace both microwave and convection oven, putting a range of common features into the same appliance. There's a popcorn button and a defrost setting along with air frying, broiling, and toasting. One of the best features is that it’s programmable for multi-stage cooking, meaning you can transition from convection to broil or other combinations automatically. We also like the handy odor-removal setting that helps get rid of pesky lingering food smells. This oven's price is quite reasonable, but we do have some qualms about its comparatively weak 1,000 watts of power. It may take longer to preheat, and to achieve good browning and crispness, than other models. It's also pretty heavy given its just-about-average size. Dimensions: 12.8 x 20 x 20.5 inches | Weight: 40.8 pounds | Capacity: 29.9 quarts | Power: 1,000 watts Best with Air Fryer Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer PHOTO: Amazon $350 at Amazon $350 at Target $350 at Williams-Sonoma Pros A mighty fan makes this multifunctional oven especially good at air frying. Cons It's on the pricy side. What sets Breville's multi-functional Smart Oven apart from others on our list is the fan. Its ultra-powerful motor circulates the hot air evenly and efficiently to accelerate cooking from mere baking into convection and air frying. We included pizza pan, broiling pan, roasting tray, and air fryer basket help increase the value, but this is somewhat expensive for an air fryer, especially considering its small size. Dimensions: 18.9 x 15.9 x 10.9 inches | Weight: 28.6 pounds | Capacity: 23.9 quarts | Power: 1,800 watts Best Wall-Insert GE Profile Smart Double Electric Wall Oven PHOTO: Home Depot $3,620 at Wayfair $3,298 at Home Depot View on Pcrichard.com Pros This smart double oven has a robust range of capabilities and won't take up any counter space. Cons It's expensive, and will likely require professional installation. If you’re looking to replace your basic wall oven with something more multifunctional, this GE Profile has a convection fan, two separate cooking units, and a range of smart features. You can control your oven from your phone even if you’re away from home, to do things like start preheating while you're still on your commute or program the built-in temperature probe to stop the cooking when the roast is done. It features no-preheat air frying, and the separate oven chambers double the functionality by letting you cook two things at different temperatures. Keep in mind that you are replacing a full built-in oven with this thing. You won't need to dedicate any counter space, but it's much bigger and much more expensive than a countertop unit. And on top of the high price, you'll probably need to hire a professional to take out the old oven and put this one in properly. Dimensions: 28 x 29.75 x 26.75 inches | Weight: 190 pounds | Capacity: 65.8 cubic feet (upper), 83.8 cubic feet (lower) | Power: 2,200 watts Best with Rotisserie Instant Pot Vortex Pro 10 Air Fryer PHOTO: Amazon $110 at Amazon $160 at Williams-Sonoma $171 at Walmart Pros This large-capacity air fryer has a rotating basket for juicy chicken, crispy fries, and more. Cons It's very loud in operation. Most rotisserie ovens are unitaskers — great for roasting a whole bird or large piece of meat but not so handy when it comes to anything else. Not so with this oven, our top-rated large-capacity air fryer. Uneven cooking can be a problem for some air fryers, but the Vortex Pro's tumbling basket ensures that air and food both circulates. The process makes deliciously juicy chicken, and it's good for keeping small individual items — like French fries or pieces of fried chicken — separated and crispy. This oven is space-efficient thanks to its powerful fan, though the fan does get quite loud. Dimensions: 13.75 x 14.37 x 13.23 inches | Weight: 17.5 pounds | Capacity: 10 quarts | Power: 1,800 watts Best Compact Breville the Smart Oven Compact Convection PHOTO: Breville $200 at Amazon View on Breville.com $200 at QVC Pros This machine packs nearly all the power of the standard Breville Smart Oven into a space-efficient package. Cons It has a small capacity, especially for its relatively high price. Just like its larger sibling above, the Breville Smart Oven Compact Convection offers all the power of convection cooking, in a package that doesn't take up as much space. It's perfect for those who want to crisp up a meal for just two or three, or don't have a lot of countertop to space. The Compact Convection model even manages to pack eight different cooking functions into its small form. Whether you want to toast, bake, roast, or broil, you've got those options and more. The Compact Convection is significantly less expensive than the regular Breville Smart Oven, at the cost of a significant amount of capacity. It can hold only up to four slices of toast, compared to six for its big brother, which isn't particularly huge to begin with. The price isn't terribly high compared to the rest of this list, but keep in mind that it's the smallest machine here. Dimensions: 16.5 x 15.5 x 10.2 inches | Weight: 13 pounds | Power: 1,800 watts Our Favorite Convection Ovens For the best of the best, reach for the Brava Oven Starter Set for easy-to-use smart features, thousands of automated options, and futuristic zoned cooking — at a significant price. If you’re something that still performs beautifully but at a more reasonable cost, the COSORI Smart Air Fryer Toaster Oven is for you. Factors to Consider Size and Capacity Are you looking for an oven that fits into the wall or on the countertop, or in a cabinet? Are you likely to use it to crisp up a few chicken nuggets or rotisserie cook a whole chicken? Size and capacity are two of the most important factors when shopping for an oven. It’s critical to consider how much space you have to store the oven and where you want to store it. Additionally, thinking about what you want to use it for informs the capacity you need. Installation Type When it comes to installation type, your two options are either countertop or wall installation. Pros and cons exist, and your lifestyle and preferences will dictate your best choice. If you rent, likely, you won’t be able to cut into the wall and install a convection oven. But if you’re a homeowner and want to use convection heat often, you might want to consider a full wall installation the next time you replace your stove. If you’re new to convection or just want to use it sometimes, a countertop model is for you. Extra Settings One of the significant benefits of the small appliance renaissance we currently find ourselves in is that anyone can find a product with the specific features they want. Anyone in the market for a convection oven can find a model with an extra setting they know they want to use. Dehydrating? Broiling? Roasting? No problem! Even a setting for a pizza oven isn’t uncommon to find. Some extra settings will be an enticing reason to buy, but some will be things you may not use and aren’t worth the price. Knowing what you like to cook and what you plan to use your oven for can really help narrow down which extra settings will be right for you. Additional Features When shopping for a new oven, check out the additional features and equipment that come with it. Some convection oven tasks, like rotisserie or pizza making, require special equipment. If you know you’re all about that crunchy exterior on every tater tot, an added air fry basket may be a good investment. If you’re looking for something an app can control to make cooking hands-free, smart features are also a worthy addition. Frequently Asked Questions What is the difference between a convection oven and a regular oven? The regular oven most of us have in kitchens are conventional ovens, and you may have even seen a ‘convection’ button floating around next to the self-clean button and wondered what exactly it means. Conventional ovens work by either an electric coil element or gas flame heating the space in the oven. Convection heat, however, utilizes a fan to move the heat around. This eliminates hot and cold spots in the oven and provides an environment where the entire food surface is heated evenly and more quickly than in conventional ovens.Paul Sidoriak, cookbook author and cook behind Grilling Montana, says the most significant difference between these two, besides the mechanics, is efficiency. “Convection ovens have powerful fans that circulate hot air around your food. This allows food to cook a bit faster and more efficiently than in a conventional oven. Convection ovens also often take advantage of dual heat sources both above and below the food.” What are the different types of convection ovens? Convection is usually categorized into “European” or “true” convection and “American” or “standard” convection. American convection has a heating element, usually on the bottom, and a fan at the back of the oven to blow the heat around. European convection is set up much the same as American convection but has an additional heating element behind the fan. This provides extra heat that helps with more even heat throughout the oven area. How do you clean a convection oven? There’s not much difference between cleaning a convection oven and a conventional oven or other countertop heating appliances, like microwaves. The most important thing to remember is to turn the oven off, unplug it, and let it cool completely before getting started. Two-time James Beard Awards Semi-Finalist, Chopped Champion, and executive chef Frontier and Ina Mae Tavern in Chicago, Illinois, Chef Brian Jupiter, also gave us this helpful cleaning tip: “Make sure there is no dust or impurities on the fans as these will fly all over the oven if it is turned on.”The best way to clean them is also the easiest: warm water, dish soap, and a kitchen towel. Wipe down the exterior with a damp towel or any disinfecting wipes you like. To clean the interior, start with any big pieces or wet spills. Then, go in with a wet towel and some dish soap. Finally, wipe with water and dry thoroughly. What shouldn’t I cook in my convection oven? Convection ovens are incredibly versatile, and there’s not much they can’t do. One limitation, though, is recipes with lots of liquid. Because convection utilizes powerful fans to move the heat around, it’s best suited for things that need to be golden brown, so things like braises don’t come out as well as they do in conventional ovens. Delicate baked goods, like cakes, custards, souffle, or cheesecake, are also not well-suited for convection since they require delicate heat and no disruption to cook up properly. Chef Yester Banuchyan of CookOnMonday, a site dedicated to helping people learn to cook, would never put her baked goods in a convection oven. “The airflow will dry them out, and the surface especially will have an unpleasant and dry texture.”Finally, anything that needs to be cooked low and slow for several hours isn’t a great match for convection. The whirling hot winds inside a convection oven can dry things out during long cooking periods. This movement of heat cuts down on cooking time, so ‘low and slow’ dishes might end up with an over-cooked exterior and under-cooked interior in a convection oven. What kind of cookware can be used in a convection oven? Any cookware used in a regular conventional oven is safe for a convection oven. That said, some materials are better than others. Nonstick or dark metal pans aren’t ideal since they conduct heat better than lighter metals and can overcook food in contact with the pan. Aluminum sheet rays and bakeware perform best in convection ovens. Pyrex or oven-safe glass is also a good choice for convection. Our Expertise Nick DeSimone wrote and compiled this piece. They have spent nearly ten years as a professional cook and have spent much of that time using convection ovens in professional restaurant settings. At home, Nick is an avid air fryer user and has tested out many of the available models on the market. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit