Oster TSSTTVMNDG Toaster Oven Review

This toaster oven falls into the category of low end models, and it is extremely popular because of this. Oster was able to keep the price low by minimizing the features, while keeping several must have features that make this desirable for people who a lower end toaster oven that is large enough to cook a ham, roast, or even an entire chicken.

Although this is a lower end toaster oven, it has a very nice collection of features that are more often found in higher end models. It has digital controls that are intuitive, an interior light, and a convection fan. The interior is large capacity, large enough to cook a 12″ pizza!

Oster has done a great job of making an over-sized toaster that is affordable by paring down on higher end features, while including several desired features. The result is a toaster oven that a notch above the competition in this price range.

Exterior Housing Material

The exterior is made from stainless steel.

The interior is made of aluminum. Aluminum conducts heat very well so the use of aluminum in the inside helps the air heat up fast.

Exterior Color

The exterior is black with chrome accents. This toaster oven isn’t going to win any beauty contests, but it also isn’t offensive looking. One review said that this model has an 80s retro look to it and I think that sums it up well. Fortunately, black and silver are neutral, so this will look fine in just about any kitchen.

Cord Length

Length is about 25”, including the plug

As far as cords go for toaster ovens, the length of this cord is pretty standard. It is also pretty short compared to other items that have plugs. Modern kitchens with a lot of outlets will likely be able to use plug this in just fine. But anyone with an older kitchen or a kitchen with very few outlets might need to get an extension cord.

If you need an extension cord, look for a short one that is grounded and rated for major appliances. It should also have a minimum rating of 15 amps because this toaster uses a maximum of 1500 watts.

As for the plug, I am unsure if the plug has two or three prongs. Based on the instruction manual it looks like it is a two prong cord. The manual states that the plug is polarizing, meaning that one prong is wider than the other. The manual goes on to say that if the plug does not fit one way that you should reverse it and try it that way. It would be impossible to reverse the way the plug is inserted into an outlet if it has three prongs.

My confusion on this matter comes from the reviews on Amazon. Some owners of this toaster oven say that it has a three prong plug, while others say it has two prongs. I wonder if older models had two prongs and newer models have three, but I don’t know. I asked Oster to clarify which is correct and will let you know what they say.

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Convection

The Oster TSSTTVMNDG * toaster oven does have a convection setting, which is unusual for toaster ovens in this price range. The convection setting allows you to cook foods faster and more evenly because the convection fan blows the heated air around, which removes the blanket of cool air around the food being cooked.

The convection fan is used only with the CONVECTION BAKE cooking function. You do not have the option to turn the convection on for any other type of cooking. However, you can control the temperature, so this isn’t an issue for most people.

Almost all consumers agree that the fan used for convection cooking is pretty quiet and can barely be heard when they are not standing directly next to the unit.

The convection fan stays on when the door is opened, but this is also true of high end, expensive toaster ovens. It is best to open the door only when needed to keep the hot air inside the oven.

Heating Elements

4 elements

There are four heating elements, two on the top and two on the bottom.

The heating elements on this toaster oven work by powering on and off to maintain the set temperature. It is normal to see the elements appear to turn off during cooking.

The elements being used depend on the cooking function selected, so not every element will heat up during use. For example, when BAKE is chosen both the top and bottom elements will heat up, when BROIL is selected only the top will heat up.

Rack Positions

There are two rack positions that you can use for the wire rack that is included. The upper rack is best for toast, bagels, cookies, and pizza, while the lower position works best for baking chickens, roasts, and other larger foods.

Rotisserie

There is no rotisserie option on this toaster oven.

Temperature Range

200° F to 450° F for baking and cooking
150° F for WARM​

Watts

1500 watts

1500 watts is fairly standard for toaster ovens. It also means that most kitchens will be able to handle the power flow, since a circuit breaker will need a minimum of 15 amps and most meet this minimum. If your circuit breaker is for less than 15 amps, you may want to talk to an electrician to discuss upgrading it so it can handle more power without getting tripped.

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LCD DIsplay

This model * does not have an LCD display. It does, however, have a digital display that shows the countdown timer, as well as the selected cooking function. When not in use, the display shows the current time. Oster includes a clock on many of their brands, which is a very nice feature that not many other brands have.

Several people said that the clock does not keep time well, which was a minor nuisance to them. On the flip side, whenever there is a power failure, the clock does not blink until corrected. It simply resets to 12:00. People appreciate that the clock doesn’t blink until changed.

Type OF Controls

When you first look at the controls on this model you may be reminded of microwave controls. There is a touch pad that you press to make choices, just like you do on the typical microwave, and the controls on the TSSTTVMNDG toaster oven * work pretty much the same way.

The controls on this model include (from top to bottom):

• • TOAST
  • BAKE
  • CONVECTION BAKE
  • BROIL
  • WARM
  • DEFROST
  • PIZZA
  • TIME +/-
  • TEMP +/-
  • CLOCK
  • LIGHT
  • STOP/CANCEL
  • START
    

Using the controls is pretty straight forward. Press the cooking function that matches what or how you want to cook (i.e. BAKE), press the + or – button to set the time, press the + or – button to set the temperature, then press the START button.

You may be pleasantly surprised by how well the DEFROST function works. One review said that the defrost setting on this toaster oven works much better than the defrost on her microwave, and that using it doesn’t dry out or cook the food. I know that my microwave often starts to cook the food when I defrost in it, so it is great to hear that this doesn’t happen with the Oster TSSTTVMNDG * toaster oven.

Several people wrote that you have to press hard on the touch pad, in just the right spot, to get it to respond. If you have painful arthritis in your index fingers then you might want to choose a toaster oven with knobs, such as the Cuisinart TOB-40, instead of this model.

Temperature Control Options

You can change the temperature for BAKE and CONVECTION BAKE.

It is easy to change the temperature for these two settings. After you press either BAKE or CONVECTION BAKE, all you need to do is press either + or – to raise or lower the temperature. That’s it!

There is some confusion about the BROIL setting. The description for this toaster oven on Amazon, provided by Oster, says that you can change the temperature for the BROIL function. However, this is not true. The instruction manual says you can only change the time, not the temperature, and many consumers also confirm that there is only one temperature available for BROIL – 450° F.

Toast Darkness Adjustment

There are six toast darkness settings. You can choose from 1 (lightest) to 6 (darkest). You can choose the toast darkness setting by pressing either + or – on the TEMP button. As is true of any toaster oven, you will want to play around with the settings until you find the perfect darkness for you.

Preset Cooking Functions

This toaster oven comes with the following preset cooking functions and their default settings:

• • TOAST – (you can change the darkness, which sets the temperature, but not the time)
  • BAKE – 350° F for 30 minutes (you can change the temperature and time)
  • CONVECTION BAKE – 350° F for 30 minutes (you can change the temperature and time)
  • BROIL – 450° F for 15 minutes (you can change the time but not the temperature)
  • WARM – 150° F for 30 minutes (you can change the time but not the temperature)
  • DEFROST – 150° F for 30 minutes (you can change the time but not the temperature)
  • PIZZA – 400° F for 20 minutes (you can change the time but not the temperature)

The oven will preheat before cooking. The oven does not notify users when preheating is done and cooking has begun. This is a complaint for some owners, but others deal with this by placing a small oven thermometer into the oven so they can see when the temperature has increased enough to start cooking food.

There is only one temperature for PIZZA. If you want the ability to change the temperature when cooking a pizza, use the BAKE or CONVECTION BAKE function instead. Many consumers agree that these two functions cook the pizza as well as the PIZZA function does. Just remember that you will want to shorten the cooking time by about 20% if you use the convection setting, since convection cooking requires less cooking time.

Speaking of pizzas, many people like to buy frozen pizzas. This toaster oven does an excellent job of cooking a frozen pizza.

Timer

The Oster TSSTTVMNDG toaster oven has a 90 minute timer that turns off the oven automatically when it gets to zero. You can change the cooking time, up to 90 minutes, for BAKE, BROIL, CONVECTION BAKE, WARM, DEFROST, and PIZZA.

I am surprised that Oster allows 90 minutes for the BROIL setting. Many other toaster ovens have a much shorter maximum cooking time for the BROIL setting because it gets very hot inside. For example, my Breville BOV800XL only goes up to 20 minutes when I broil.

The timers on many toaster ovens are knobs that work with a mainspring. Not so with this toaster oven, which uses a touch pad. This is great because more often than not the springs break on knob timers, rendering the toaster ovens pretty much useless. You do not have to worry about a timer spring breaking with this model.

The default time for most of the cooking functions is 30 minutes. Every time you want to cook or bake and the desired time is more or less than 30 minutes you will have to repeatedly press the + or – touch pads to get to the time you want. This is a bit of a nuisance for some people. Some competing toaster come with internal memory that remembers the last setting used, but I am sure that adding internal memory to this toaster would have increased the price.

The timer is silent, which is not always the case on other models. Machines that have knob timers usually make a loud ticking noise, which is very annoying. The timer on my last toaster oven, which happened to be an Oster, made a ticking noise and none of us liked it.

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Alarm

The alarm goes off when cooking is done (the timer reaches zero). The alarm makes a pleasant beeping sound that is not too loud.

This toaster oven provides an additional kind of alert that tells you cooking is finished. After cooking is done the word “Stop” flashes on the control panel. It will continue to flash until you press the STOP/CANCEL button. I suspect Oster included this option for people who do not hear the audible alert so that they can see that food is done and still inside the oven.

Always On

This machine does not have an “always on” option. Personally I think this is a good thing. One of my previous toaster ovens had this feature and both my husband and I would sometimes leave it on by mistake. It was frightening to realize later that it had been on for who knows how long and no one knew it.

Automatic Shutoff

When any of the cooking settings are done the toaster oven turns off automatically. This is a really great safety feature because you do not have to worry that the oven is on without your knowledge.

Auto-Eject Rack

There is no auto-eject feature for the rack. You will need to use a hot pad if you need to pull out the rack.

Be aware that there is no stopping device to keep the rack from being pulled out completely. This means you need to take care since it is possible to pull the rack out too far and food can possibly slide off the rack. As long as you are careful when pulling out the rack you will be okay.

BPA FREE?

I do not know if the parts that come in contact with food are BPA free and I have asked Oster about this. As soon as I get a response I will update this information.

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Crumb Tray

The crumb tray pulls out from the front of the oven. This is the ideal location for the crumb tray since bottom-access crumb trays require you to lug the entire appliance to the sink just to remove food crumbs and drippings. It is also more convenient that crumb trays that are removed from the rear, meaning you do not have to rotate it to reach the tray.

Per the instructions from Oster, you should not use aluminum foil on the crumb tray (or anywhere inside the oven) to prevent overheating or fire.

The tray is flat, so it is important that you clean it off frequently. If you don’t clean it often food will build up on it and can fall off when you remove the tray for cleaning.

Door

The door on the Oster TSSTTVMNDG toaster oven * has a large glass window that gives you plenty of room to look inside. The handle on the door stays cool so you can safely open the door without getting burned.

Exterior Temperature During Cooking

The outside of this model does get fairly warm during use, but it does not get burning hot. That being said, it is a good idea to use caution when touching any external part, just to be safe.

Oster recommends that you pull the machine away from the wall by 6″ any time you use it to cook. This will prevent damage to the wall or counter above it from heat or steam.

Handles

There are no built-in handles. Although Oster did not include handles, they did give thought to how the machine would be picked up and moved. The front of this machine goes down to the counter, but not so on the sides. The bottom on the sides is about one inch above the counter, which is plenty of room for your hands when you want to lift it. Always make sure the machine is completely cooled before picking it up.

In Use Light

There is an “in use” light located under the START and STOP/CANCEL buttons. As you would expect, the light goes on when the machine is in use and goes off when cooking is finished. It is a nice sized light, and you can tell from afar by looking at the light if the toaster oven is on or off.

Interior Light

There is an interior light, located in the upper right corner in the back. The cover for the bulbs says, “25W MAX,” so you can replace the bulb up to 25W. The included bulb is 15W, so it is nice to know that you can get a brighter bulb if you want one. If the bulb needs to be replaced be sure to use an appliance bulb that can withstand the heat from the oven.

The interior light comes on by default whenever you cook. If you don’t want it on you can press the LIGHT button on the touch pad. You can turn it back on at any time, just like in a conventional oven.

Want a nightlight in your kitchen? If so then you can do what one reviewer does and use the interior light as a kitchen nightlight.

Nonstick Interior

The interior is not coated with a nonstick material. Although some people wish it had a nonstick coating, others specifically bought this model because it does not. If you are concerned about the potential health hazard from a nonstick interior then this machine is a good option.

Despite the fact that there is no nonstick coating, cleaning the inside is fairly simple. After the inside has cooled down you can wipe the walls and ceiling with a damp cloth. The only cleaning solution needed is a bit of mild soap. People agree that keeping the inside clean is easy.

Under Counter Mount

This model cannot be mounted under a cabinet.

Included Accessories

• • Baking pan
  • Broiling rack insert

You can clean both of these accessories, and the wire rack, by hand only. Do not place them in the dishwasher.

Optional Accessories

There are no other official accessories for this toaster oven. You can, however, use your own baking dishes, sheets, and pans as long as they fit inside. When measuring a cooking or baking item to see if it will fit inside be sure to take the handles into consideration. Handles are often not included in measurements.

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The video below is an owner showing off the various features of the Oster TSSTTVMNDG toaster oven *. I want to point out that he used aluminum foil when cooking his fish. Oster’s instruction manual says that you should never use foil in any part of this machine as this can cause overheating or lead to a fire.

Dimensions: Length 20” x Height 14” x Depth 16”
Weight: 20.3 pounds

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Duration

1 year limited warranty

Customer Support Experience

As of this writing there are over 640 reviews on Amazon for the Oster TSSTTVMNDG toaster oven *. Of those 640+ reviews, a very small number of them are about machines that stopped working, both before and after the warranty expired.

Some people simply complained about this fact but did not say if they contacted Oster. A few did contact Oster, and their experiences were, for the most part, not very good. One person said that she could not reach a live person on the phone because her machine was out of warranty. Another said Oster told her that this model is no longer available (despite the fact that it is still being sold in stores and on Amazon) and wouldn’t replace defective machines with this exact same model. They did, however, offer one of their available models.

It also seems that there are quality control issues with this model. The vast majority of reviews for this unit are very positive, but there are also some that say the toaster oven had problems. Problems include not working properly from the very beginning, the thermostat not being accurate, the clock doesn’t keep time properly, or that cooking is uneven or food burns no matter what temperature it is on.

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• • Interior Light – The interior light lets you see food as it cooks
  • Defrost Setting – The DEFROST setting does an excellent job of defrosting
  • Size – The large capacity size allows for cooking many different types and sizes of foods
  • Heats Up Quickly – The heating elements do an excellent job of heating up the inside
  • Even Toasting – Toast cooks fast and evenly
  • Convection Function – Convection cooking speeds up the cooking process
  • Easy To Read Digital Display

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• • No Alert – There isn’t a beep or other type of alert to tell you when the oven has finished preheating and cooking has begun
  • No Auto-Eject Rack
  • Size – The large capacity size may be too large for some kitchens
  • No Rack Stopper – The wire rack can be pulled completely out, potentially spilling cooked food
  • Quality Control Problems – There appear to be quality control problems at the manufacturing factory that result in machines that don’t always work properly, or for long
  • Touch Pad Pressure – The touch pad must be pressed very firmly

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Oster smartly left off a lot of features found on higher end models, such as rotisserie and and an LCD display, which helped keep the price low. Many consumers said they thought the TSSTTVMNDG * is worth every penny they paid for it, that it is priced well, and that they would buy it again.

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The majority of the 640+ ratings are incredibly positive for this model. There are also a small number of unhappy customers who had problems with their toaster ovens. Even though the average of all the 640+ ratings is 4.2 out of 5 stars, the 1 and 2 star ratings may give some people pause before deciding to buy this model.

If you are seriously considering this model but are worried about the possibility of getting a bad unit, you might want to consider investing in a three year extended warranty by Square Trade * on Amazon.

Here are the most helpful online sources I used to research the Oster TSSTTVMNDG toaster oven. You may find additional helpful information by visiting any or all of these sources:

• • Product information on Amazon *
  • Product Information on Walmart *
  • Oster Website
  • Oster TSSTTVMNDG Instruction Manual

The TSSTTVMNDG toaster oven is a nicely sized model that will accommodate a wide variety and sizes of foods. The fact that the oven includes convection is the deciding factor for a lot of owners.

People are able to use this toaster oven for most of their cooking and baking needs, rendering their traditional ovens useless. Even better, they are saving money by using this oven instead of their large ovens, and owners love this fact.

This is a great oven for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money, yet want features found on higher end models such as convection.

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