Whether you love cooking or you find the process to be tedious, a smart oven can enhance your experience. Nearly every appliance is a smart device these days. With all of our electronics going smart, the world seems to be getting closer to turning into an episode of The Jetsons. While smart lights, fans and doorbells are more common -- smart ovens exist too and they can take your cooking to the next level.
The smart oven is an unexpected yet handy smart gadget. It's a good example of smart appliances invading our kitchens, making it easier than ever to manage and cook meals. A smart oven can function as your very own sous chef, with features like recipe walkthroughs, a smart display and more, that make cooking a breeze. There are even Bluetooth thermometers to monitor cooking temps and appliances like Samsung's Family Hub smart refrigerator.
Just when we thought smart kitchen stuff had peaked, smart countertop ovens appeared and they're much more exciting than a conventional oven. They're microwave-sized, but they can perform dozens of tasks, including cooking, baking, roasting, dehydrating and even proofing dough.
Some work with voice assistants; others recognize food with AI cameras or scan packages of frozen food or frozen pizza from your local grocery store. Here are the standout smart ovens we've tested.
The Tovala Smart Oven is built around Tovala's chef-curated meal kits. Those meal kits are pricey at $12 per serving, but you can purchase the oven without the meals and still get plenty of use out of it.
That's because the Tovala Smart Oven can scan 750 different grocery items from your local store and use steam, bake, broil and toast functions to cook your dish during the cooking process. There's no voice assistant compatibility, but there is a Tovala app where you can control the oven, see recipes and more.
Amazon's Smart Oven also scans foods, but only a handful and most coming from the Whole Foods inventory. If you're interested in the Tovala countertop toaster oven, I'd recommend giving the meal kits a try, because they are easy to make, delicious and interesting. The oven is often on sale or other promotion for less than the $299 MSRP, so if price is a hindrance, check the Tovala website for deals.
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The June Oven in its second generation is the best oven we've tested when it comes to recognizing food. There are plenty of cooking mode options including settings for convection bake, slow cooking, toaster, broiling and more. The oven also offers onscreen recommendations for how to cook different foods and several handy accessories. Use it for air frying and dehydrating, or use it as a convection oven for baking and convection cooking, or as a toaster oven for toasting.
The June Oven works with Alexa for voice commands, and the June app lets you control the oven from anywhere and view live video of your food as it cooks. A smart cooking function tracks the core temperature for the perfect cooking time.
You can buy the oven in a Standard package that includes a food thermometer, roasting rack, baking pan, wire shelf and crumb tray for $499 or in a Gourmet package for $699 that adds baking pans, air-fry baskets, a recipe subscription and extended warranty. (Note: This item is currently out of stock, but availability on Amazon tends to fluctuate.)
| Amazon Smart Oven | June Oven (Currently out of Stock) | Tovala Smart Oven | |
| Cost | $250 | $499 | $69 |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 21.8 inches x 13 inches x 21.4 inches | 19.6 inches x 12.75 inches X 19 inches | 18.5 inches x 11.75 inches x 12.32 inches |
| Voice assistant compatibility | Alexa | Alexa | None |
| Cooking modes | Microwave, convection bake, auto roast, keep warm, air fry | Convection bake, toast, air fry, dehydrat, slow cook, broil, keep warm | Steam, toast, broil, bake |
| Included accessories | Tall and short grill racks, temperature probe, air fry pan | Thermometer, roasting rack, baking pan, wire shelf, crumb tray | Oven mitt, baking pan, wire oven rack, measuring cup |
This category is only a few years old, and we've seen plenty of growth. We tested a limited-release smart oven from Whirlpool's WLabs. The
These ovens might be the best out there right now, but they certainly won't be the last. More and more companies are expressing interest in this category, so we'll continue to test out new models as they appear.
Originally published earlier and updated periodically as we review new products.