Black & Decker Countertop Convection Toaster Oven

A week with a big-capacity countertop helper

I set the Black & Decker toaster oven on my counter expecting a compact upgrade to my old unit. It’s not small. At 22.8 inches wide and 13.4 inches tall, it eats up more real estate than many toaster ovens, but the tradeoff is a surprisingly deep cavity that swallows a 12-inch pizza or a family-size casserole dish. If you’ve been frustrated by cramped interiors, the extra depth here is immediately useful.

The exterior wears brushed stainless steel, and the full-width glass door gives you a clear view of what’s happening inside. The appliance is fairly lightweight at a little over 12 pounds, which makes it easy to shift when cleaning, but it also means the body and door feel less substantial than heavier-built competitors.

Design and controls

The control panel is straightforward: a set of one-touch presets (Bagel, Pizza, Frozen Snacks, Potatoes, Cookies), plus Bake, Broil, and Toast, all tied to a 120-minute timer with start/stop. I appreciate the simplicity—tap a preset, tweak time and temp, hit start—but two design choices hold it back.

• The LCD is dim and lacks a strong backlight, so it can be hard to read unless your kitchen lighting is ideal.
• The bright blue status LED next to the display tends to overpower the LCD. I ended up covering the LED with a small piece of tape so I could see time and temperature clearly.

Labels on the buttons are on the smaller side. If you rely on reading glasses, expect to use them here. Once you’ve memorized the layout, it’s fine; it’s the first week of use that’s more fiddly.

The door opens fully and quickly—there’s no damping—so support it with your hand and keep your wrist clear of the hot air that rolls out. The handle is usable but does warm up during longer, hotter cooks. Oven mitts are your friend.

Capacity and rack options

The deep, curved interior is the star. A standard 12-inch pizza fits without diagonals or contortions. A casserole dish sits comfortably on the included broil rack. You get dual rack positions, which is genuinely helpful: toast on the upper position, cookies and sheet-pan dinners in the middle, and broil on the top. The included baking pan is sized to the cavity, so you’re not hunting for a near-fit tray.

Worth noting: the included pan and rack arrived with a slight oily residue from manufacturing—wash everything thoroughly before the first cook. I also recommend hand-washing the accessories rather than running them through a dishwasher; the coating on the pan benefits from gentler care.

Cooking performance

Convection is the headline feature, and it does speed things up. Preheating to 400°F is faster than my full-size oven, and air circulation helps get color on roasted vegetables and crisp edges on frozen snacks.

• Toast and bagels: Consistently good once I dialed in the settings. The toast function is more “time-based” than “shade-based,” so your perfect slice lives in a specific slice-count/rack-position/time combo. For me, middle rack, medium time, and a flip halfway through delivered even browning for four slices.

• Sheet-pan meals: The oven handled a 9x13 pan of chicken thighs and vegetables well. I used convection at 375°F and rotated the pan at the 12-minute mark to address a hotter rear-left zone. Finished in under 25 minutes with crispy skin and well-roasted veg.

• Cookies and baking: Here’s where you need a bit of technique. In my testing with an oven thermometer, actual temperatures trended lower than the set point—typically 20–40°F off—and the oven cycled a little wide around the target. I compensated by preheating a few minutes longer, setting 25°F higher than the recipe, and rotating the tray halfway through. With those adjustments, a batch of chocolate chip cookies baked evenly on a light-colored pan.

• Pizza: A 12-inch thin crust did fine on the middle rack at 425°F with convection, but the oven struggled to maintain truly high heat for thicker rising-crust pies. Expect longer cook times and be ready to rotate for even browning. The back-left of the cavity ran hotter in my unit.

• Broil: Effective, but aggressive. Keep the rack high, crack the door for airflow if your kitchen practice allows, and watch closely. It can go from golden to scorched quickly.

Overall, the convection fan helps, but you’ll get the best results if you treat this as a hands-on oven—use an oven thermometer, rotate pans, and favor light-colored cookware to mitigate hot spots.

Heat, noise, and alerts

Fan noise is present but not obtrusive—typical for a convection unit. The end-of-cycle beeps are on the assertive side and not adjustable. If you’re sensitive to loud alerts, you’ll notice them.

The exterior gets genuinely hot during extended high-temp sessions. Give the oven space on all sides, avoid tucking it under low cabinets, and don’t rest anything on top while cooking. The handle remains usable, but I still used a towel or mitt when opening after a long bake.

Cleaning and maintenance

This is one of the bright spots. The interior has a nonstick finish that wiped clean with a damp sponge after roasting chicken. The removable crumb tray is easy to access and keeps the bottom tidy. The glass door cleared up with standard glass cleaner once cool. As mentioned, hand-wash the accessories to preserve their finish.

Because the unit is relatively light, sliding it forward for a quick wipe-down is easy. Just remember to unplug and let it cool completely before moving.

Practical tips from testing

• Use an oven thermometer for the first week. Learn how your unit tracks against set temps and adjust accordingly.
• Preheat longer than the beep. Give it an extra 3–5 minutes for more stable temps, especially above 375°F.
• Rotate halfway through. Most toaster ovens benefit from a mid-bake turn; this one is no exception.
• Favor light-colored, rimmed pans. They’ll reduce scorching on hot spots and make rotation easier.
• Cover the status LED. A small piece of opaque tape makes the LCD easier to read.
• Leave clearance. This oven runs hot on the exterior; don’t park it right up against a backsplash or under a shelf.
• Wash accessories before first use, and hand-wash thereafter.

What I liked

• Generous interior that truly fits a 12-inch pizza and casserole dishes
• Convection speeds up roasting and crisping
• Simple, direct controls and useful presets
• Nonstick interior and crumb tray make cleanup quick
• Dual rack positions add flexibility
• Two-year limited warranty provides some peace of mind

What could be better

• Dim LCD paired with an overly bright status LED makes the display hard to read
• Door opens quickly without damping; handle warms significantly at high temps
• Temperature accuracy and stability require user compensation
• Hotter rear-left zone leads to uneven browning unless you rotate
• Loud, non-adjustable alert beeps
• Accessories need careful hand-washing; the coating doesn’t love dishwashers
• Big footprint for a “countertop” appliance

Bottom line

The Black & Decker toaster oven is a roomy, capable countertop cooker with true everyday utility if you’re willing to learn its quirks. It excels at toast, sheet-pan dinners, and reheating, and the convection fan helps you get crispy results without firing up a full-size oven. The flip side is a dim display overshadowed by a bright LED, exterior heat you have to manage, and temperature behavior that benefits from an oven thermometer and a habit of rotating pans.

Recommendation: I recommend it with caveats. If you want a large-capacity toaster oven for toasting, roasting, and general reheating—and you don’t mind compensating for temperature drift and hot spots—it offers solid value and easy cleanup. If you need precise, high-heat baking with minimal babysitting, or if your counter space is tight and you’re sensitive to bright lights and loud beeps, you’ll be happier with a more premium, better-calibrated model.