We'll Bet You Didn't Know You Could Make These 14 Things In Your Toaster Oven
Toast — even avocado toast — pales in comparison to the spectacular creations your little toaster oven can produce. While you certainly can toast bread in a toaster oven, the fact is that there are many other things you can make with a toaster oven with surprising ease.
The art of making toast existed long before electricity; two-sided metal baskets could be held over a fire to toast bread. In 1893, the first electric toaster was invented, in Scotland, by Alan MacMasters. Today, pop-up toasters are the most popular method for toasting bread, with toaster ovens running a close second. While pop-up toasters are better for providing evenly toasted bread, toaster ovens can handle more tasks, like baking, broiling, and roasting — essentially functioning as a small, conventional oven.
Once you become aware of what your toaster oven is capable of, a world of recipe possibilities opens up. Some of the ways in which a toaster oven can be used may surprise you. For example, you may never have thought to use one for dehydrating fruit, but it is actually very easy to do. Baking bread in a toaster oven? That, too, can also easily be accomplished.
Because of its small size, the toaster uses less energy than a conventional oven, and in many cases works just as well.
Depending on the size and model of the appliance and the size and weight of the bird, it's even possible to roast a whole chicken in your little oven. If you're looking to make more space in your kitchen by utilizing appliances you already have on hand, or just want to try something new, there are many interesting and useful ways to use a toaster oven that will make your job in the kitchen a little bit easier.
Check out these surprising foods you can make in your toaster oven.
Additional reporting by Angela Carlos, Cook Editor at The Daily Meal.