My kitchen counter used to be a battleground for space. Between the microwave, coffee maker, and a bulky pop-up toaster, I felt like I was constantly running out of room. The biggest frustration was firing up my huge conventional oven just to heat a slice of pizza or bake a couple of potatoes, which seemed wasteful and heated my entire apartment. I knew I needed a more compact, versatile solution, and the BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD 4-Slice Toaster Oven would have saved me so much time and energy.
Before you invest in a new countertop appliance, it’s important to understand what a toaster oven brings to the table. Its primary purpose is to offer the convenience of a small oven without the long preheat times and high energy consumption of a full-sized model. It’s the perfect solution for reheating leftovers, baking small batches of cookies, broiling a cheesy sandwich, or, of course, making toast.
The ideal customer for a toaster oven is someone with limited kitchen space or who cooks for one or two people. This includes college students in dorms, apartment dwellers, retirees, or small families. It’s a fantastic secondary oven for larger households during holiday cooking. However, if you have a large family and regularly cook full-sized chickens, large casseroles, or multiple trays of food at once, a toaster oven will likely be too small for your needs. In that case, you’d be better off with a larger countertop convection oven or sticking with your conventional oven. Before buying, consider the appliance’s footprint, its core functions (does it just toast and bake, or does it have broil and warm settings?), the simplicity of its controls, and how easy it is to clean.
- 9” Pizza, 4 Slices of Bread - The compact toaster oven fits nicely on the countertop, while the curved interior makes room for 9”...
- Four Functions - The stainless steel toaster oven’s cooking functions include: baking, broiling, toasting, and keeping food warm
A First Look at the BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD
The BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD 4-Slice Toaster Oven presents itself as a no-frills, dependable kitchen workhorse. Housed in a sleek stainless steel finish, its promise is simple: to deliver essential cooking functions—baking, broiling, toasting, and keeping food warm—in a compact design that won’t dominate your counter. When you open the box, you get the oven itself, along with a multipurpose bake pan and a broil rack.
This specific model is designed for the user who values simplicity and function over fancy digital displays and a dozen pre-programmed settings. If you’re tired of navigating complex menus just to make toast, this is for you. Conversely, it’s not for the tech-savvy chef who wants precise digital temperature control, convection cooking, or an air fry function. It sticks to the basics and, for the most part, does them well.
Pros:
* Compact, space-saving design
* Four essential cooking functions for versatility
* Simple, intuitive knob controls
* Removable crumb tray for easy cleaning
* Affordable price point
Cons:
* Toasting can be slow and uneven
* The 30-minute timer lacks precision for short durations
* The interior is a tight fit for four standard bread slices
* Some long-term durability concerns with the door handle
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A Deep Dive into Performance and Features
After years of use, I’ve gotten to know the ins and outs of this appliance. It has become a staple in my daily routine, and while it’s not perfect, its strengths often outweigh its weaknesses for everyday tasks.
Compact Design and Capacity
The first thing you’ll appreciate is the modest footprint of this machine. In a world where kitchen gadgets seem to be getting bigger and bigger, this one respects your counter space. The stainless steel finish gives it a classic look that blends in well with other appliances. The manufacturer claims it can fit a 9-inch pizza or four slices of bread. The 9-inch pizza claim holds up perfectly, making it great for frozen personal pizzas. The four-slice capacity, however, is a bit optimistic if you’re using standard-sized sandwich bread. You have to arrange them strategically, with some overlap, to get them all in. The curved interior helps, but it’s still a squeeze. Despite this, for one or two people, the capacity is generally sufficient, and that’s why many people look for a reliable 4-slice toaster oven like this one.
Versatile Cooking Functions: Bake, Broil, Toast, and Keep Warm
The true value of this appliance lies in its four-in-one functionality.
Baking: The bake function is probably the one I use most. With a temperature range of 200°F to 450°F, it’s perfect for anything you’d make in a regular oven, just on a smaller scale. It’s fantastic for reheating leftover pizza to crispy perfection, baking a couple of chicken breasts for dinner, or roasting a handful of vegetables. It preheats significantly faster than my large oven, saving both time and electricity. On busy weeknights, this stainless steel toaster oven proves its worth by turning out small meals efficiently.
Broiling: The broil setting is excellent for finishing dishes. I use it to melt cheese over open-faced sandwiches, brown the top of a small portion of mac and cheese, or give a little char to sliced peppers. The included broil rack positions the food at the right height, close to the top heating element, ensuring a quick and effective melt or sear.
Toasting: Here is where the BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD has a notable flaw. While it does make toast, it’s not its strongest suit. The process is considerably slower than a dedicated pop-up toaster, often taking around five minutes for a medium shade. Furthermore, the results can be inconsistent. I’ve often found my toast to be darker on the top than the bottom, or more toasted in the center than on the edges. If you are a toast connoisseur who demands perfectly uniform browning every morning, this might be a source of frustration.
Keep Warm: This is an underrated but incredibly useful feature. If my main dish finishes cooking before my side dishes are ready, I can place it in the toaster oven on the “Warm” setting. It holds the food at a ready-to-eat temperature without continuing to cook it, which has saved many meals from getting cold.
User-Friendly Knob Controls
In an age of touchscreens and complex digital interfaces, the three simple knobs on this oven are a breath of fresh air. The top knob controls the temperature, the middle one selects the cooking function, and the bottom one is a 30-minute timer that also controls the toast shade. This design makes the BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD incredibly straightforward to use.
However, the timer knob has a quirk that many users, including myself, find slightly annoying. To set any time, you must first turn the knob past the 10-minute mark and then turn it back to your desired time. This makes setting precise times under 10 minutes a matter of guesswork. It’s a minor inconvenience but a definite design flaw in an otherwise user-friendly interface.
Ease of Cleaning with a Removable Crumb Tray
One of the best features of this appliance is how easy it is to clean. The removable crumb tray at the bottom is a lifesaver. It catches all the stray crumbs and drips, and you can simply slide it out, dump the contents in the trash, and wipe it clean. This simple feature prevents old food from burning at the bottom of the oven, which keeps your kitchen smelling fresh and reduces fire risk. The interior walls are non-stick and can be wiped down with a damp cloth once the oven has cooled. Keeping this toaster oven clean requires minimal effort.
Durability and Build Quality Concerns
While my unit has held up well over the years, it’s important to address some durability concerns I’ve seen from other users. Several reviews mention the door handle becoming extremely hot at higher temperatures (400°F and above) and, in some cases, even breaking off. Others have reported issues with the door hinge failing after a few months of use. While the stainless steel body feels sturdy, these potential weak points are worth considering. It seems the build quality can be inconsistent, as some people receive damaged units or ones with wobbly, uneven feet right out of the box.
What Other Users Are Saying
I wasn’t surprised to find my own experiences mirrored in reviews across the internet. Many users praise the oven for its convenient size and simple operation, calling it a perfect solution for small cooking tasks without heating up the main oven. However, the common complaints consistently revolve around the slow and uneven toasting function, the imprecise timer knob, and occasional reports of a hot or faulty door handle. The consensus seems to be that it’s a great value for basic baking and reheating, but falls short for those who primarily want a high-performance toaster.
Final Thoughts and Recommendation
The daily challenge of making quick, small meals without waste or hassle is a real one. Firing up a large oven for a single person’s dinner is simply inefficient. The BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD is a great fit to solve this problem due to its compact efficiency and multi-function design. It excels as a mini-oven for baking, broiling, and reheating, saving you time and energy. While its toasting capabilities may not satisfy everyone, its overall utility and affordable price make it a strong contender for any small kitchen.
For an affordable and functional countertop solution to your everyday cooking needs, Click here to check out the BLACK+DECKER TO1322SBD 4-Slice Toaster Oven.
Last update on 2025-10-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API