Breville Mini Smart Oven with Element IQ

Editor rating

4/5

User's rating

1,730 reviews

PROS

  • 1800 Wattage toaster
  • Element IQ Technology
  • back-lit LCD screen

CONS

  • Difficult cleaning
  • door handle being too big
  • Defective units

VERDICT

I recommend this toaster to everybody, its features are unique and high quality and cooks evenly extremely well for a toaster oven due to its smart features being able to adjust heating distribution no matter what food its cooking

Features

  • 1800 Watt
  • Element IQ Technology
  • Can fit pizza up to 11″ and 4 toast slices
  • Powder coated steel housing
  • Non-stick interior cavity coating
  • Stainless Steel
  • Accessories: Baking pan
  • Small and compact
  • Tempered glass door
  • 8 pre-set cooking functions: bake, broil, roast, cookies, reheat, pizza, bagel, toast
  • Use orange color to show pre-heating and blue when done cooking
  • Dimensions: 15.5 x 14 x 8.8 inches
  • 15 pounds

Positives

Like with most Breville toasters the mini smart oven comes with the award winning element  IQ technology that cooks food evenly and efficiently. It has a clean design and interface that is simple to use. The mini’s main point is it’s small size and weight which is good for anyone who doesn’t want their toaster to take up too much counter space. It is a small 15 x 14 x 8, Its small enough that it can fit in some microwaves. Despite it’s compact size it heats up food very well by distributing heat to the top and bottom of your food for even cooking. After cooking is done the Breville Mini Smart Oven has a built in crumb trey that makes it easy to clean up. The trey slides out easily for easy cleaning.  The mini also allows you to customize your features to your liking and will remember them unless unplugged. The preheat function is another great addition that will alert you when the oven is ready at whichever temperature you set. For those wondering what can fit in the mini we have you covered! The following bakeware will fit into the oven:

– 7 ½” x 11” baking pan no handles
– 9” square baking pan
– 6 cup muffin tin
– 9” loaf pan
– Up to 11” pie plate

Complaints

Cleaning the mini is more difficult than it needs to be. Cleaning burned on grease off the wire is a nightmare as well as anything that drips on the elements. Other complaints against the mini mainly include cosmetic design issues such as the door handle being too big. The oven is not built into the door so every time you need to get something out of the oven you need to wear oven mitts. It would have been much better if Breville had connected the rack to door so needing mitts wouldn’t be necessary. Even though the mini has a broiling feature it doesn’t come with a broiling rack which forces you to buy one if you want to use the broiling feature. It was a poor mistake by Breville for not including a broiling rack but having the option to broil. Some customers have complained about the buzzer being too loud when cooking is finished. In our experience the buzzer wasn’t too noisy that it would wake the kids up but it’s something to keep in mind. The back panel is not insulated from the oven heat enough so the back can get hot enough to melt anything that is resting on it, such as a power cord. If a unit suddenly stops working and shows you an error there is a warranty on the mini up to a year and Breville will replace your unit with another one, or you can buy an extended warranty for any defective products should it be needed.

Summary

The Breville Mini Smart Oven is well made toaster worthy of the Breville name. It’s compact and small which is perfect for those who don’t want a toaster which takes up a large amount of space. The features such as preheating and element IQ technology lets the mini function as a great oven as well as being a great toaster. Not many toasters have such a great balance between its oven and toaster functions like the Mini Smart Oven. The crumb trey is excellent at catching crumb and comes out easily for easy crumb removal. It’s stainless steel finish gives it a nice sleek good to stand out in your kitchen. The problems against the mini include the lack of a broil rack despite having a broiling feature, and cleaning grease that spills on the wire. Some customers have reported about their units breaking down but those were rare complaints. A warranty is included that comes up to a year or can be extended. We recommend the Breville Mini Smart Oven to those looking for a compact toaster that’s cooks fast and evenly. As a whole the mini is a great toaster oven with many great features to enhance the oven experience. At the same time the mini works as a great toaster with its crumb trey and ability to evenly cook toast.