Cuisinart Convection Toaster Oven Broiler

For my most recent purchase I decided to pay for top quality. I based my purchase decision on my experience with other Cuisinart products and extensive reading of reviews from many sources. I've had my oven for about six months now, and I've been heartily pleased with my selection.

Besides durability, my chief concern in shopping had been size. It turns out this is even bigger than what I had before--both wide and tall. I can fit Corningware pans with the domed lids and knobs on top. Yet the outer dimensions are quite modest.

I wasn't sure I would use the convection feature, and in fact didn't get around to it until last week. It produced an excellent roast chicken, and I probably will use it more and more to make "weekend" dishes during the week. The additional cost for the convection over the regular was small, so it's definitely worth it even for occasional use.

The oven itself functions admirably. I love that it beeps when it's fully preheated, and the heat sensor really does keep it constantly and evenly heated to the correct temperature. I'm using this much more than my regular oven, especially during the summer.

The controls are easy to use and well thought-out as far as flow and intuitive functions. The only thing I'm not crazy about is setting the timer--one press for every minute, one for every hour. Gets to be a pain when you're setting 45 minutes. But, that is balanced out by the fact that the timer alarm keeps beeping until you come turn it off. No one little "ding" that you miss because you've stepping into the other room for a minute, leaving your food to burn.

Toasting is uneven as noted elsewhere, but this is typical of toaster ovens. Adjusting the rack can help. And honestly, it's really only an aesthetic problem. I do like that the toasting fuction includes a countdown timer so you know how long until breakfast!

My only real complaint lies with the broiler pan. Upon first inspection out of the box I was pleased with its apparent quality. But on the very first use it warped, and now buckles significantly on every use. Further, after the first washing I took it out of the drying rack only to discover rust along the bottom edge where water had pooled. I didn't even think it could rust, let alone do it on its first contact with water. I have to think my specific pan is lemon, as for them all to be like this would just be inexcusable in a product of such otherwise impeccable quality.

Also, the design team really fell apart when it came to the oven rack on which this pan sits. The rack--at least in one of its positions--actually wraps around the front corners of the pan. This means in order to take the pan out of the oven you have to lift it 1/2" vertically over the rack. Lift it and whatever's on it, plus whatever hot grease has accumulated, with nothing to grab it by. The other option is to take the rack out with it, which means tilting everything 30 degrees to get it past the stops. Not only is this bad design, it's dangerous.

But since I'm not using the pan every day, and since I love everything else about it, I'll still give it five stars.


We are using this every day!   January 18, 2002
 105 out of 105 found this review helpful

We found we love this convection oven. It is well made and does everything well. We are just two people, and find that the toaster oven makes two servings of baked fish, chicken, pork chops or steak perfectly. I also bake 6 muffins, biscuits, cookies or a small cake, custard or pizza in it - the convection feature makes them brown perfectly. It also makes good toast and perfect English muffins. I especially like the fact that preheating takes only 3 minutes or so. I have found that I need to reduce the temperature on my recipes about 25 degrees to keep them from getting overdone and often the cooking time is less as well - less time to preheat and less time to cook at a lower temperature - great! I purchased some nonstick Nordicware sheets to use - better than the pan that came with it but not as large. I warm my plates on top while I'm baking or toasting. I would have to buy another one right away if something happened to this one, but if it is like all my other Cuisinart products, that shouldn't have to be soon.


Quisinart Tops Out   December 27, 2000
 523 out of 556 found this review helpful

The two best convection toaster ovens I found for the quality and the money were the Delonghi AS670 and the Quisinart TBO-165. After many hours of research I settled on the Quisinart TBO-165. Both have a half cubic foot of space and two rack positions, but the Quiainart offers a drip tray for the fat to drip through for healthier eating. The thing that sold me on the Quisinart was the clock, oven shut off timer and the toast setting memory that Delonghi did not have. The Delonghi has an automatic shut off for toast only. The white Delonghi has a black face plate, but the Quisinart is all white. Some convection toaster oven doors have air gaps all around, both of these brand's doors shut snuggly and both doors open in the down position which is safer than doors that open sideways. If you prefer the Delonghi you'll need to rememeber when to shut the oven off.


Even better than I expected!   January 10, 2002
 69 out of 69 found this review helpful

After reading the reviews here, I expected to be impressed by the baking features, but disappointed by the toasting abilities. I wasn't disappointed at all, but then again I don't require that my toast be equally brown on both sides.

The owner's manual explains that the goal in toasting is to achieve the ideal combination of browning and dryness. The Cuisinart TOB-165 achieves this, I think, by not cooking the underside too much. The result is delicious toast that is not dried out too much, but is firm enough on the bottom to easily spread butter or condiments - such as when you want to use the toast for a sandwich.

The ability to defrost and perfectly toast a bagel is truly awesome. Again, not dried out, but a great toasted taste nonetheless.

I convection baked a 4.5 lb chicken in an hour. Because of the convection feature, it was evenly browned rather than the weird birds you pull out of a standard oven that are brown on top but unpleasantly pale on the sides.

I convection baked small potatoes in 45 minutes. The insides were nice and soft, and the skin had a good texture.

I have not had the problems described in some of the other reviews, for the most part. For instance, my broiler pan has not warped. I agree it is difficult to remove over the lip of the rack when pulling it from the oven, but you can finesse it with practice.

The claim in another review that this oven has no automatic shut-off is absolutely wrong. This safety information can even be found on the outside of the box, although you have to look for it. The oven will turn itself off after four hours.

This is a wonderful oven to supplement your standard one. I highly recommend it for anyone who wishes they had a second oven, but doesn't want to pay to install a wall oven.