Breville Smart Oven Pro Countertop Convection Review

Toaster ovens have been a common household go-to for decades now and that doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. All the major kitchen appliance brands have some version of a toaster oven and Breville is no different.

The Breville Smart Oven Pro holds up to a 13-inch pizza, has an oven light so you can see your midnight snack baking away, and has 10 different pre-set functions that will help you cook up whatever your most recent craving is. (Isn’t it always cookies?)

Breville even claims that the Smart Oven Pro will cut down on your cook time by 30%. But not everyone has fallen in love with this oven.

There have been some complaints about the exterior getting very hot, that not all the presets work the way they should, and that the oven stops working right after the warranty runs out.

But let’s take a closer look and then you can decide whether the Breville Smart Oven Pro is right for you.

Breville Smart Oven Pro Countertop Convection: The Details

In a Nutshell

• Weight: 8 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5 x 14.5 x 11 inches.
• Capacity: Hold up to a 13-inch pizza and six slices of toast.
• Settings: Toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies, reheat, warm, and slow cook.
• Timer: For baking and roasting: 120 minutes. Slow cooking: 10 hours. Broiling: 20 minutes.
• Power: 1800 watts.
• Stand-out Feature: Can hold a lot of food!

Features

Convection

With a convection oven, you can cook foods more evenly and faster. Convection means there is a fan in the back of the oven that moves the hot air around your food, so it will brown more consistently and be ready before you know it.

And with the Breville Smart Oven Pro, there are five independent heating elements that move the power above and below the food. Each element adjusts automatically for whatever setting you choose. It is almost intuitive!

You also won’t have to worry about knowing whether the oven is on or not. The start button glows when the machine is ready to roll.

Preset Functions

The Smart Oven Pro comes with 10 pre-set cooking functions including toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies, reheat, warm, and slow cook.

The slow cook function automatically activates to keep your tasty food warm once it’s complete.

There is also a timer for each cooking function; baking and roasting maxes out at two hours. For slow cooking, you can achieve up to 10 hours of cooking, and for broiling, you can cook for 20 minutes.

The knob located at the top of the control panel allows you to select what cooking setting you desire. The other knobs let you pick the temperature and/or the darkness you want for your toast or bagels.

When you preheat the oven, the timer starts automatically when it has reached the correct temperature. To adjust the temperature and time of a function, use the dials until you’ve arrived at the level you’re seeking.

There are also buttons to select defrost or turn the convection setting on and off, as well as to change between Fahrenheit and Celsius.

Capacity

The oven also holds a lot of food. As much as:

• A 13-inch pizza
• 4 ½ lb. chicken
• Six slices of toast

Oven Light

The Smart Oven Pro also features a light inside the oven, so you can see what you’re cooking and how it’s progressing.

Want to be sure if your food is too brown or too raw? Glance in for an update, and be able to catch a miscalculation in time or temperature before it starts to burn.

Display

The oven display shows whether the oven is pre-heating or cooking your food, which function the oven is set to, the time, and the temperature. Everything you need to know!

Stainless Steel Construction

The oven is also completely stainless-steel inside and out. It will most likely go well with whatever kind of décor you have in your kitchen and it’s sure to look quite nice sitting on your countertop.

The inside also features a nonstick coating.

Accessories

When you buy the Breville Smart Oven Pro Countertop Convection, you also get a:

• 12 x 12 enamel baking pan
• 13-inch non-stick pizza pan

Oven Racks

The Smart Oven Pro also includes an automatic rack ejector, which pushes the rack (when it is in the center position) outside of the unit when the door is open.

This helps make sure you won’t get burned when removing your food from the oven.

Backlit LCD Display

Another great feature on this oven is the backlit display, making it simple to read even in the wee hours of the morning when you don’t want to turn the light on, but your cravings won’t let you fall asleep.

Automatic Shut-Off

The oven also automatically shuts off the heating elements after it has finished cooking.

Even kids can use this machine, without worry of them burning the house down. What more could you ask for?

Breville Smart Over Pro Countertop Convection Review

The Positives

Cooking Time

Due to the convection feature of this oven, the cooking time on several of your desired items will be about 30% less than that of a conventional oven.

It pre-heats super fast too, so you won’t have to wait around to get your food in the oven.

When you are in a rush to get dinner on the table, or if you’re just a general busybody, this feature will be invaluable.

Ease of Use

The Breville Smart Oven Pro is also very easy to use. With all the pre-set functions, you are sure to find one that fits your needs and ingredients.

Are you making cookies or want to slow cook a roast? All that’s necessary is to select that specific function from the display; it does the rest of the work for you!

Its extra features like the built-in light make it easy to see the progress of your food, and the rack ejector ensures that you may never burn your hands again.

Great for a Family

Due to the Smart Oven’s capacity and fast cooking times, it would be a great product for a family on the go. You won’t have to rely on fast food to sate cravings for a quick bite to eat.

With a little planning, you can have a healthy meal ready for your kids to eat before they go off to their soccer practice or their music recital.

 

It’s large enough to cook a big serving of food, which is handy when it comes to prepping for parties or hosting a dinner.

You can also easily use this as a quick, secondary oven should you need the extra cooking space.

Great for Small Spaces

You won’t need to clear out a great deal of room to have the Breville Smart Oven Pro in your kitchen.

It’s compact in size so it can sit unobtrusively on your countertop, and it’s lightweight enough to put away in a cupboard or closet until you need it.

This is great for those who are short on space, live in a studio or dorm, or those who just don’t want a crowded kitchen.

This is even great for offices where you can forget the take-out and have a tasty meal in no time.

Warranty

It’s always great to know a company has your back should anything be faulty with your appliance.

With the Breville Smart Oven Pro, you’ll have a one-year limited warranty covering any defects or manufacturing errors in your oven.

Should you find a fault, simply contact Breville’s customer service department and they’ll decide whether they need to replace or repair your device.

The Negatives

Outside Gets Very Hot

While this could be an advantage, allowing you to use the top of the oven as a plate warmer, it can also be a problem.

The exterior of the oven will become very hot, which can risk burning you, or an object that it might be resting against. This is more dangerous if you have small children or pets at home.

While this is the case with a lot of ovens on the market, it’s best to be aware. If you feel like this oven is a fit for you, be sure to set it in a safe place where others won’t be able to get hurt.

Washing the Accessories

This is more of a warning than a real negative, but make sure you don’t wash any of the accessories in the dishwasher. While it may be a hassle, they will last longer if you clean them by hand.

Some users found that the accessories lost their aesthetic looks once put in the dishwasher.

Pre-Set Accuracy

While the pre-set functions are a handy feature, there have been some questions about their accuracy. Some users experienced issues where settings worked subpar or weren’t as “smart” as claimed.

When you first use the oven, it’s worth noting that you’ll have to experiment with how long your food really needs to cook versus the recommendation of the oven.

Timer

The limited broiling timer was another factor that users found annoying. When you’re pre-heating the broiler, it starts the timer at this moment – while you’re still prepping the food.

You’ll have to restart the broiler all over again once the food is ready to be placed inside.

While not an insurmountable downside, it’s still necessary to have the food prepped before pre-heating, or you’ll be turning the broiler on again once you’re ready.

Here’s a video showing what the Breville Smart Oven Pro looks like out of the box.

Overall Verdict

After weighing all the positives and the negatives, we recommend the Breville Smart Oven Pro but it might not be the right fit for everyone.

It can cut down on your cooking time and can hold a lot of food, however, it gets hot and some of the pre-set functions lack the accuracy you’d expect, making it a delicate balancing act between advantages and disadvantages.

Where to Buy the Breville Smart Oven Pro Countertop Convection

Breville is a brand known for making affordable home and kitchen appliances. They’re definitely no amateurs when it comes to this department.

Chances are, you’ve seen this brand on the shelves of home, department, and specialty shops and the Breville Smart Oven Pro Countertop is no different available both in-store and online.

To kick-start your search, check out the following online retailers.

• Williams Sonoma (from $215)
• Bed Bath and Beyond (from $269)
• Breville (from $249)

And of course, you can also find this oven on Amazon.

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That’s it for our review of the Breville Smart Oven Pro review. Tempted to give it a go?