Would you feel confident cooking Thanksgiving dinner or some other fancy, extended family meal? Probably not! And I say that because over 70% of us feel that way.
It always feels like mom, grandma or grandad knew how to cook the perfect turkey, brisket or roast. And even if you are one of the few that feel confident in your cooking skills, a big dinner will also require you to cook a fancy desert, so you will have to be very organized in the way you use your oven.
In fact, there are a lot more reasons why more and more people choose to buy an electric roaster and some of the best cooking experts also resort to using one. So, we asked over 50 experts the following question:
If you needed to buy an electric roaster, which one would you choose?
Not all of them answered, but of the ones that did, here are their unfiltered, unredacted answers. Each one of them is a wonderful expert either in the kitchen or on the technologies that help make a kitchen run smooth so we encourage you to check them out.
They are the best of the best and if they choose to use an electric roaster, you can be sure that this tech is something that should be a part of every modern kitchen.
Alyssa Rivers is the food blogger behind The Recipe Critic. The blog launched in 2012 as a place to share her passion for cooking. For family tested and approved recipes, visit her blog!
Foodie, writer, blogger & influencer. She writes with culture & history simmered & stirred in. Follow her Pinterest for some great recipes.
I would probably buy the Oster 22 qt. roaster. Even though I don’t do turkeys, but it would be great for a few roaster chickens. This roaster also has various functions which makes it very versatile. I don’t currently own a roaster, but this seems like a good model. The price is right also. And, last but not least, it has a defrost setting.
Antya is a keto lover and cook who taught herself how to make beautiful and tasty meals from scratch as soon as she was old enough to cope in the kitchen on her own.
Electric roasters are effectively mini ovens that sit on your worktop. They do take up a bit of space, but are much more useful than most people realise. They are time, heat and energy efficient. Once you own one of these, you wonder how you managed without all those years. I bought my first one 9 years ago because of a house move which meant being without a kitchen for 8 weeks. Intended to be a temporary solution, it soon became a necessity, and I’d be lost without it.
Halogen Ovens are close relatives of the electric roasters. They bake, boil, roast, stew, grill (broil) and slow cook. My kitchens in Italy and Kent (UK) both have two built-in standard ovens, yet my halogen ovens get to be used the most. Yes, you read that right, I own not one but 2 halogen ovens, which is testament to how useful they are.
Firstly, they don’t use as much electricity as conventional ovens as they heat up very quickly. Secondly, they save time because they’re so fast at reaching the required temperature. Thirdly, grease splashes, steam and odors are contained, resulting in a more pleasant kitchen environment. Lastly, cleaning them is a breeze: you can use the self-cleaning function, but I prefer to simply wash and rinse the bowl and lid with a sponge and washing up liquid without removing any parts. Super simple and takes no time at all.
To offer an example of use, as a keto recipe developer, nuts are featured in many of my dishes, and roasting them is often necessary. If I roasted them in the ordinary oven, it would take time for it to heat up, then it would take about 20 minutes to roast them. Using the halogen oven, no pre-heating is necessary and they roast in just 5 minutes. No contest.
The machines I can genuinely recommend because I own both and use on a daily basis are Andrew James Halogen Oven 12 Litre with Hinged Lid and Accessories and Oyama TRO-110C Turbo Convection Oven 12 L.
Both these ovens are incredibly powerful. If I had to pick a favourite, I would choose the Andrew James one because the lid is hinged, which makes it easier to operate and clean, but both of them perform equally well.
One wife, two kids, one mortgage, lifelong food obsessive, recipe blogger and food photographer from beautiful St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.
I’d buy a the 22 quart Oster Roaster Oven. Buying a smaller one might prove a bad idea when Thanksgiving rolls around. Besides you can cook 2 chickens at once and plan for leftovers!
Beth is the owner of Blue Barn Kitchen – a health focused lifestyle brand with simple and creative recipes, meal planning and lifestyle programs, making living healthy effortless.
I would choose the biggest one I can find. If I can make a week’s full of meals for my teenagers, I’m all in. But there are so many things you can cook besides a turkey in an electric roaster, roasting ribs, side dishes, keeping things warm – even desserts. Plus, if you’re having the crew over for a crowd, set it up and forget about it. Easy clean up too. Tried one today – I love the one by Cuisinart available at William Sinoma.
Blossom creates keto recipes for people tired of eating keto, gluten-free magic for those in need, and a host of amazing dishes for every dietary restriction in between!
When it comes to any small kitchen appliance, I always look for the most function with the smallest footprint. You may be surprised to hear that my kitchen space has less than 4 total feet of countertop! In fact, the entire room is 6×9 feet.
That is why I need a multi function unit – and that comes from the Cuisinart Multi Cooker. A non stick surface allows me to sauté right in the bottom, making for incredible roasted veggies for my perfectly roasted chicken. It doubles as a slow cooker, as well, for soups, stews and chili – I’ve even make pasta in there! 4 cook settings (slow cook, roast, sauté and steam) make this the perfect addition to my small space.
Bobbi is the founder of Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen, a mother, a grandmother and a cancer survivor! When not in her kitchen, you will find her piddling in her garden, chasing her granddaughter and spending as much time she can enjoying the outdoors.
I have never purchased an electric roaster but, if I had to, I think I would go with the Oster 22 quart with a self-basting lid. They have an 18-quart one as well but, for me, I would probably be using this for the holidays and the larger size would be better.
Chichi Uguru is the voice behind the blog www.mydiasporakitchen.com. My Diaspora Kitchen. She a Medical Doctor with a strong passion for nutrition. The blog was born from her love for cooking and baking and she wants to share that passion with the rest of the world! She wants to show us how tasty African dishes can be and that cooking African food or cooking in general isn’t as complicated as it seems.
2. It has other functions besides roasting. You can use it to bake or as a slow cooker too.
Ellen is the Managing Director and Editor in Chief at MIAbites – Miami’s Neighborhood Food Community. News, Reviews and Interviews about upscale dining,chefs, & drinking in Miami.
Living in a condo, I like the option of not using the oven for the turkey on big holidays like Thanksgiving, so I can use the oven for the other sides, and the Oster self-basting oven is my choice. Priced around $60.00, it is easy to clean and the self-basting top is a real bonus. I also like the stainless look as it matches all of my other appliances.
Chef Eric Jacques Crowley is a seasoned, professional chef and the founder, owner and chief instructor at his dynamic culinary school, Chef Eric’s Culinary Classroom, where he has shaped the careers of many professional chefs.
If I were looking to buy an electric roaster, I would buy a Hamilton Beach or an Oster. Both of these brands are really reliable and they have been around for years and have great longevity. Some of the options are self-basting, which is a real time saver for you as a cook in the kitchen. You can also go from the freezer to the dinner table with these roasters.
I always tell my students to utilize equipment like this whenever you can! Perhaps you are just out of school and don’t know how to cook. Or on your own for the first time and your apartment doesn’t have a stove. Or you want to roast a Chicken in the summer and don’t want to heat up your whole kitchen.
An electric roaster is a great option for you; it cooks quickly, easily and makes less of mess in your kitchen. You save on utility costs using these roasters, as well.
These are just a couple of the ways to utilize the roaster!
Heather McCurdy publishes Real: The Kitchen and Beyond where she gives families recipes, tips, and encourages them to savor life together in the kitchen, around the table, and on the road together. She loves bold flavors and is always trying something new whether its a new flavor combination or taking the road less traveled.
I own a Rival Roaster and I definitely would buy it again as I have owned it for about 4 years and it is still working well. It’s easy to operate without a lot of buttons and gadgets to remember. For the price point I feel this is a great value. It’s handy to be able to take the insert out and wash it rather than trying to wash it as a unit.
I like that you can make a variety of foods in it that you would generally make in the oven, freeing the oven up for other foods – not only does it cook turkeys and roasts beautifully, but it also tends to bake a little faster since it is a contained space.
Once the meat is pulled out I make gravy right in it with the drippings or start making stock right in it. It’s also handy to keep food warm in when you are serving a large quantity of food that you want to keep warm for a party or potluck but a slow cooker is too small or not suited for or when you have time between when you are taking food to something and the time you will eat (say, after a meeting).
It has a nonstick finish but if something is harder to get off I will turn it on the lowest setting with hot soapy water for a bit and soak it off that way to make clean up easier. I’ve made Thanksgiving turkey, ham, roasts, chicken (roasted and barbecue), baked potatoes, and meatballs in it. I’ve also put the rack in and kept egg dishes and quiche warm in it with great success.
A foodie and her pups exploring international flavours & ingredients – bringing you classic recipes with a twist!
If I was to buy a electric roaster, I would want to make sure it was multi-functional as well, something like the Oster 22-quart roaster oven. I like how I can also use it to bake, slow cook or keep food warm and the self basting lid and defrost setting is also a very nifty perk to have to save time! I could probably replace my slow cooker with this since it has temperature control which most slow cookers don’t.
Judi Strauss teaches cooking and gardening in the greater Cleveland area and beyond. She started her career working in the horticulture department of the OSU Extension Service. She also has written numerous cookbooks including “The Charmed Kitchen” for which her blog is named.
I like Oster. We used one to roast our Thanksgiving turkey a couple of years ago. Worked well. We could baste it without opening the roaster.
Julie is a chef, dietitian & food media expert – and most importantly, a Midwestern girl – who is on a mission to make healthy eating sexy and craveable!
As far as an electric roaster goes, I’d say I only use them on special occasion, not regularly. My mom and mother in law have used the Rival 18 quart roaster for many, many years and it always works like a charm. They use it to make large amounts of potluck-style dishes like homemade molasses baked beans, and also use it to roast turkeys at Thanksgiving.
Justin is the owner of Kitchen Sanity – a blog that focuses on kitchen tips, tricks, and reviews of helpful kitchen gadgets.
Our favorite electric coffee roaster is the FreshRoast SR500 for the average coffee drinking household. Unlike a large drum roaster, it can fit in the cupboard without too much issue, but it’s still big enough to roast enough beans for a fresh pot of coffee. It’s an automatic air roaster which means that it’s friendly for novices and is quiet to operate.
The Oster 22-Quart roaster would be our top pick for an electric roasting oven. It’s portable so that it can be moved around or taken to friend’s house for dinner. It’s also a great option for those with limited space such as in an apartment or small kitchen. It uses less energy than a traditional oven and won’t heat up your kitchen as a full sized oven would.
Karen is a freelancer food and travel writer, a food stylist and recipe developer with a passion for art, travel, books, photography, seasonal food and especially cheese and wine!
I’d buy a Delonghi toaster as it’s a brand I trust and I love their Italian styling, as well as their reliability too. I also like the fact that you can choose a 2 slot or a 4 slot toaster in a various colours.
Kat is the owner of Home Made Interest, a blog where she writes together with her best friend, Melinda. Kat loves to try new recipes – when she isn’t cooking something up herself she likes to go out to small locally owned restaurants and try different foods from around the world.
It’s also great for keeping things warm on the night of the party so I can focus on last minute cooking with my oven. I’ve had it for about 6 years and it’s still going strong. It makes entertaining so much easier!
Luke is the co-creator of Kitchen Expert. He is a tech writer, kitchen expert, and sushi enthusiast. He loves Asian cuisine and is always on the lookout for new techniques and devices that will allow him to improve his cooking style.
I have actually needed to buy a large electric oven last autumn when we celebrated Thanksgiving Day at my house. Every time before that the family had gathered at our parents’ house but since we had just bought our family home, we decided to have everyone visit here.
Because I run a food and kitchen gadgets website, I make it a point to own one version or another of the gadgets that we feature there, so I did own the Nesco 18-Quart, but this time I needed a larger electric oven since the entire family was joining us.
I did consider for a little while the possibility of using my regular gas oven, but I knew I would have to contend with my mom’s excellent turkey roasts and I did not have her years of experience. So I got what I though was the best, which is the Oster CKSTRS23-SB 22-Quart Roaster Oven.
I got the version with the self-basting lid because I do have a large home and a large kitchen so I can afford to waste a little bit of space on extra gimmicks that will give my cooking the edge. The oven itself, when you place it next to my old Nesco is not that much bigger, but on the inside, you do have space for even the largest turkeys.
The lid sticks out much higher than on the Nesco, but, as I was saying the extra height is worth if for the way it allows the air to circulate and the moisture to accumulate on the top and drip on the turkey as it is cooking.
I should say that my mom looked a little jealous when she saw the roast and then when she had her first taste, and that is really the best compliment I could have gotten. Since then I have cooked everything from chicken to pork and even lamb for this past Easter and everything came out exquisite. Speaking of lamb, I should point out, and I am going to finish on this, that the Oster has a low heat setting which allows for the tougher meats to tenderize over a longer period of time, and that is what makes the Oster truly stand out from the crowd.
Mely Martinez is a former Mexican school teacher, home cook, and food blogger. She moved to the United States about ten years ago, after living in Mexico her whole life. Now she loves to share home-style recipes for authentic Mexican food.
If I needed to buy an electric roaster, I will buy one that is big enough to cook several pieces of chicken with vegetables at the same time, a whole turkey, large pieces of pork, like ham or pork shoulder. Another features to consider when buying a roaster is the removable roasting pan for easy cleanup, an insert rack that doesn’t take too much space, a lid handle that stays fairly cool to handle after the roaster has been in use for a couple of hours, and a rounded dome-like lid that will allow the steam to rise and them fall back to moisten the meats. And last but not least, a knob with clear settings.
Robert is the owner of Kitchen Gadgets Wars – a place where he is exploring some of the most modern kitchen gadgets available on the market today while trying some awesome international recipes!
I tried a few electric roasters over the years, but my all time favorite is definitely The Rival RO180 18-Quart Roaster. I personally think it’s the best electric roaster for its price – you can find it at half the cost of the others in the 18-quart category. It has all of the great attributes of your regular oven at a fraction of the energy cost. I also like that it is designed with the domed lid that allows for better heat circulation. Definitely look it up!
In the Spring of 2018, Stephanie made the scary, yet exciting decision to leave her full-time office job and fully pursue her passion for food blogging. That’s how The Cozy Cook came to life.
I would definitely say that the Oster 22 quart electric roasted is the best on the market. It has a self-basting lid, can fit a 25 pound turkey, and comes in a beautiful stainless steel! It’s definitely the way to go.
When it comes to food, Tera believes in cooking with clean, whole ingredients. She also believes cooking healthfully is both easy and fun, and she wants to show us how. Many of her recipes are inspired by my Midwestern roots and memories made with family, friends, a kitchen, and a table.
I would choose a Nesco!
Wendi is a mom, a nurse, a town councilman, a cooking website owner, a dishwasher, and most importantly, a working mother with a busy life who felt like a failure when she had to choose between serving a nourishing home cooked meal or preparing something quick to put on the table, so she began to study cooking in depth. That’s how Loaves and Dishes came to life!
While I thought this would be an extremely easy question to answer and would only require a peek into my kitchen cabinet, I am HORRIFIED to find that I am WRONG! I own a large electric GE roaster/slow cooker combination unit and I LOVE it! I would buy it again in the flash of a minute.
The problem? I can not find mine online and I fear that it isn’t produced anymore. Now that I think about it, I did purchase mine at a Black Friday sale about 15 years ago (could it have been that long already?).
Which leaves me with my final searching method for kitchen artillery. Star reviews to read what other people have to say about various roasters and the features that work and do not work.
If I were going to purchase a roaster, I would be looking for: 18-25 quart capacity, sturdy and well made, dial heat selection with NO electronic readouts, fancy gizmos and “other things” that the roaster does, easy storage, clip on lid for moving it to another location and excellent reviews from other people with no obvious defects in heating.
That brought me to my likely purchase, and the winner is… The 18 Quart Nesco Professional Stainless Steel Roaster Oven with the Porcelain Insert!
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