Is buying the best microwave convection oven combo worth it?
Let me answer it this way: I always love kitchen appliances that have a wide variety of uses or those that combine two kitchen appliances in one. This post on the best convection microwaves is going to be a pleasure to write.
The purpose of an amazing kitchen appliance is to make our lives so much easier and better. And to save a lot of space on the countertop.
Besides reviewing my picks for the best microwave convection oven combo, we’ll also talk about what you can actually use them for.
Well, you can probably tell what you can use it for since the microwave and convection oven words give a pretty good indication of their functions but I still want to talk about it because there might be things you haven’t thought of.
Contents
Best Microwave Convection Oven Combo: Top Picks
1. Overall best: Toshiba EC042A5C-SS
With a 1.5 cubic feet capacity, this Toshiba is on the larger size. The glass turntable has a 13.6 inches diameter. The price is good and, although I consider it to be one of the best microwave convection ovens at the moment, it has received a good deal of negative reviews. Make sure to check those out, too.
2. Top favorite: Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro
This Breville is not exactly a microwave oven with convection. It’s actually an air fryer and a convection oven with a reheat function. It’s definitely not a microwave in the classic sense. It’s also very expensive but more complex than any other microwave convection oven on the market. We can bake a 13 inch pizza so it’s quite roomy.
3. Very good: GE 3-in-1
The GE 3-in-1 is actually a microwave oven, a convection oven, and an air fryer all in one. It’s also very easy to use. The price is quite good and, overall, it’s a surprising model with a 12.4 inch diameter glass turntable. It’s on the smaller size.
Best Microwave Convection Oven Combo Reviews
What I want to say, before reviewing my picks for the best microwave convection oven combo, is that you should seriously read the user manual that comes with your appliance. You will learn from there anything you need to know about how to install it and how to use it.
Later on, I will also introduce a microwave convection cookbook in case you want more versatility in your cooking.
1. Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro: The Best Microwave, Air Fryer, Convection Oven
This oven-air fryer combo doesn’t exactly qualify as the best microwave convection oven combo.
For one, it doesn’t have the microwave feature mentioned anywhere.
It’s mainly advertised as a convection oven, air fryer, toaster.
But I selected it anyway because it does include a reheat function that will gently reheat leftovers without browning or drying them out. That sounds pretty close to a what a microwave is primarily used for.
I also decided to review the Breville BOV900BSS because it’s quite impressive, it has so many functions that will serve pretty much any need and demand.
It’s great but first check out how much it costs because the price is quite high. This one is the most expensive recommendation for the best microwave convection oven combo.
It’s also one of the most highly rated, although it has its fair share of negative reviews, as do all the ovens in general. Just make sure to read a bit of both the positive and the negative before making a final purchase.
Design, dimensions, power
The brushed stainless steel design looks absolutely awesome. It will fit in pretty much any kitchen.
It includes a 2-speed convection fan (super & regular) for greater cooking control. The super one provides greater volume of air for fast and even heat distribution – for air frying, dehydration, and roasting.
Its capacity is absolutely impressive: it can bake a 14 pounds turkey, bake a 13-inch pizza, or a 12-cup muffin tray.
The dimensions are: 21.5 x 17.5 x 12.7 inches.
Power: 1800 watts – quite powerful.
Temperature range: 80 to 480 degrees Fahrenheit. Breville always makes the most powerful countertop ovens, with the highest temperature range.
Warranty: 2 years.
Components
- 13-inch non-stick pizza pan
- wire rack (2) reversible for 8 different rack positions
- 9 x 13 inches broiling rack
- 9 x 13 inches enamel roasting pan
- air fry basket
- crumb tray
Functions
There are a lot of features to experiment with: toast, bagel, broil, bake, roast, warm, pizza, proof, airfry, reheat, cookies, slow cook, dehydrate.
Other useful buttons include: oven light, convection, phase cook, and frozen foods button.
All these features are the reason why I decided to review the Breville BOV900BSS, mainly as an expensive alternative to convection microwaves.
One last thing: read the manual with attention because it has too many functions and you need to completely understand what each of them does. It’s quite complex but the instruction manual will make everything make sense.
In the user manual, you’ll also discover a table that suggest the rack position for each feature and the presets in terms of darkness, slices, temperature, timing.
For example, the proof feature, which transforms this oven into a dough proof box, is preset on 85 degrees F and timed for 1 hour. But you might prefer to proof for 1.5 hours and you can change that. And the rack position is 7.
Another example is that toast comes with rack position 4 and the presets are for slices 4 and darkness 4 but you can select slices from 1 to 9 and darkness from 1 to 7.
You can also go to their website and download the recipe e-book and another one only for breads recipes.
2. Toshiba EC042A5C-SS Countertop Microwave Oven with Convection: Overall Best Microwave Convection Oven Combo
In my opinion, the Toshiba EC042A5C is not only the overall best microwave convection oven combo but it also has a pretty great price. I really like that.
It’s not much more expensive than a fancy microwave oven that has no convection feature at all.
Design
It looks like a normal microwave, with a nice stylish stainless steel finish with an easy-to-clean stainless steel interior.
The external dimensions are 21.8 x 21.5 x 13 inches, while the internal ones are 15.5 x 15.35 x 10.2 inches. It’s quite spacious, you definitely have enough space to cook all kinds of foods.
The 1.5 cubic feet capacity is also a clear indicator for the fact that it’s on the larger size.
Also, the glass turntable diameter is 13.6 inches.
It’s also quite heavy, it weighs almost 45 pounds.
Features
There are 3 main modes for this model: micro. (microwave), conv. (convection), and combi (combination).
The microwave allows choosing from 10 power levels up to 1000 watts.
Convection cooking is done at temperatures between 170 to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
The top temperature is not incredibly high but that’s to be expected. After all, even very expensive countertop ovens only go as high as 480 degrees F. The difference is not that big.
It has a one touch start: it can be turned on for 1 to 6 minutes at 100% power by simply touching the number of minutes you would like to cook.
Considering that many recipes will require 20-30 minutes cooking time, you will use the START button to add additional 30 seconds of cooking time. There’s going to be a lot of finger-pressing on this button.
If you press the button 8 for 3 to 5 seconds, it will mute the buzzer of the microwave.
Preset buttons
Toshiba EC042A5C comes with the following presets: auto bake, auto roast, popcorn, sensor cook, sensor reheat, favorite, auto defrost, time defrost, and warm hold.
The auto roast feature comes with weight adjustments. You can cook beef, whole chicken, turkey breasts, pork.
Under the auto bake you can cook frozen pizza, muffins, biscuits/dinner rolls/bread sticks, and frozen French fries.
Sensor reheat allows you to optimally cook or reheat 9 of the most popular food items.
Favorite lets you program up to three favorite time and power combinations. If you have 3 favorite dishes that you’ll cook often in this Toshiba you can use this function.
Warm hold keeps the dishes warm up to 99 minutes at a ready-to-serve temperature. I still prefer eating together and not leaving the dinner in the oven to keep it warm for members of my family but it still happens.
Power
1400W for the convection cooking.
1000W for microwave function.
Unfortunately, there’s only 1 year warranty and that’s true for almost all models, regardless of manufacturer.
3. GE 3-in-1 Countertop Microwave Oven with Air Fryer, Broiler & Convection Mode
I quite like the GE 3-in-1. It’s another pick for the best microwave convection oven combo that also includes an air fry function. We can call it a trend by this point.
Well, this GE doesn’t escape the nightmare of negative reviews, either. Make sure to read a few.
Design
It doesn’t look all that different from the two Toshiba models that I also picked.
The noticeable difference is that we get a push-button door release. No handle on the door. I quite like the ideas of push-buttons on my microwave ovens.
The dimensions are: 11 ⅞ H x 20 ⅗ W x 16 ⅗ D inches. We can say that it’s quite compact.
The 1 cubic feet capacity is also quite good.
The glass turntable has a 12.4 inch diameter so it’s quite big
Plus, the price is decent for this size. Overall, I’m impressed with this GE.
Features
It’s a 1,050 watts microwave, convection, air fryer oven, which is around the same power that Toshiba offers.
However, if you need a proper, powerful countertop air fryer toaster oven that also includes a reheat function, then the Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro is the one to pick as the best microwave convection oven combo, even if it’s not the classic microwave you might expect.
Getting back to our GE 3-in-1, there are 10 power controls.
Level 1 represents 100 degrees F. It goes all the way up to level 10, which is 425 degrees F. It’s a good range that even allows us to dehydrate foods. It’s a good temperature range, although Breville has an even more impressive one.
There are touch buttons for selecting the cooking mode: conv, air fry, combi, broil.
There are also a bunch of buttons for set clock, timer, cook time, power level, add 30 secs.
Besides the glass turntable, we also get 2 wire oven racks for 2 fixed positions and a crisper pan for the Air Fry mode.
4. Toshiba ML2-EC10SA Multifunctional Microwave Oven
The complete name would actually be Toshiba ML2-EC10SA Multifunctional Microwave Oven with Healthy Air Fry, Convection Cooking.
So, there are a lot of functions to explore for this one. It seems to be going even further than what one would expect from the best microwave convection oven combo. Due to that, it can also be considered one of the best microwave air fryer combos.
The price is just slightly cheaper than the above Toshiba. I guess it’s just a matter of sticking with the classic or choosing the more modern combo with the air fryer feature included.
Design
Compared to the above Toshiba oven combo, the Toshiba ML2-EC10SA is on the smaller side.
It only has a 1.0 cube feet capacity. So, it’s definitely on the smaller side, which can be a total advantage for those who need small kitchen appliances.
Even though it’s small, it’s quite as powerful: 1000 watts microwave power with 10 power settings.
The design is quite appealing, keeping in line with what this manufacturer has gotten us used to.
The external dimensions are: 20.5 x 20 x 12.8 inches, while the internal ones are 13.07 x 13.7 x 9.53 inches. It’s still pretty nicely sized inside, plenty of room for lots of dishes.
It’s still heavy, it weighs 40.6 pounds.
Toshiba ML2-EC10SA comes with bake rack, bake tray, glass turntable.
Features
There are quite a few modes to choose from:
- microwave
- air fry
- convection
- grill/combi
- low temperature cooking
On the grill function you can cook thin slices of meat, steak, chops, kebabs, sausages, pieces of chicken, toasting sandwiches, and grilling vegetables.
The included buttons are: power, air fry, broil, bake, homefry, combi, pro defrost, auto menu, keep warm, odor removal, yummy popcorn, timer/clock, stop/cancel lock, rotary coding switch.
There are 10 power levels for the microwave features and the air fry/bake can be used on temperatures from 100 degrees Fahrenheit up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Under the auto menu, we have quite the variety for: beverage, dinner plate, soup, potato, vegetables, oatmeal, pizza, cake, cookie, roast chicken.
The low temp cook is for: yogurt, proofing, keep warm, slow cook. It’s surprising to discover that this candidate for the best microwave convection oven combo can be turned into a dough proof box.
To add even more versatility, the homefry can be used for: frozen French fries, frozen onion rings, frozen chicken nuggets, fresh chicken wings, frozen chicken legs, escalope, frozen shrimps, fish sticks, spring rolls, mozzarella sticks.
5. Breville Combi Wave 3-in-1
Once again, Breville shows us that this is a brand that doesn’t know how to make cheap appliances.
However, unlike the Breville that I reviewed above that is not a proper microwave oven, it’s a combination of an air fryer and convection oven with a reheat function, the Breville Combi Wave 3-in-1 is a proper microwave oven.
Since it’s a 3-in-1, besides being a microwave oven, this Breville is also an air fryer and a toaster oven.
Frankly, it looks amazing and I like it a lot.
However, there are two problems that kept me from declaring my favorite among the best microwave convection ovens.
It costs almost $500, which is just incredibly expensive.
And, another thing that bothers me is that there are quite a few negative user reviews for the Breville Combi Wave 3-in-1.
Sure, there are plenty of people who call it the best microwave air fryer convection oven on the market but the negative reviews should be taken into consideration.
Overall, I like it. If you have the budget for it you can decide if you want to take a chance on it or not. For now, let’s see what it offers.
Dimensions
It has a 1.1 cubic capacity. It’s definitely not big but it’s not the smallest either. It can be good for small families but it won’t work if you want to cook large meals.
The Combi Wave 3-in-1 measures 20.4 x 20.2 x 12.4 inches.
And it has a 1,200 watts motor, which is good.
Features
The Breville Combi Wave 3-in-1 combines an Air Fryer, Convection Oven and Microwave in one appliance.
We can make crispy French fries with the air fry function. We can bake desserts and roast a chicken with the convection oven function. And we can defrost and reheat our favorite dishes with the inverter microwave function.
We get the following functions: smart cook, smart defrost, smart reheat, fast combi, cook from frozen, air fry, oven, microwave, grill, a bit more, child lock, +30 instant start, turntable off, shortcuts panel.
There’s a shortcuts & one touch auto settings panel on the inside door. It’s a clever design with a lot of interesting functions and settings. I love this unique band on the inside door.
A lot of smart among those cooking functions.
Breville mentions that smooth low temperature delivers heat evenly without overheating and drying out.
We also get a Power Smoothing Inverter technology that does away with the old On-Off method. The Combi Wave 3-in-1 automatically adjusts power intensity and delivers smoot even power.
The Element IQ System uses a smart algorithm to steer power to where and when it’s needed for the perfect cooking environment.
It comes with the following accessories: combi crisp pan and trivet.
Recipe book
If you buy the Combi Wave 3-in-1 and you are totally satisfied with it, the easiest way to learn about how it works is to peruse the recipe book.
As one of the best microwave convection ovens combo, this Breville offers some interesting recipes.
Plus, it also works as an air fryer so we get the option to cook a lot of dishes in a single kitchen appliance. That’s the beauty of appliances like this one.
6. Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 Microwave Oven with Air Fryer, Convection Bake, FlashXpress Broiler, Inverter Microwave Technology
Since we’re talking about expensive microwave ovens that are also convection ovens and air fryers, I thought I should also review this Panasonic as a top pick for the best microwave convection oven combo.
It a price around $550, it’s certainly the most expensive among my recommendations.
Despite the really expensive price, this Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 is also quite popular.
It comes with a good share of negative reviews so make sure to check some of those out, too.
Is the Panasonic HomeChef 4-in-1 Microwave Oven with Air Fryer, Convection Bake, FlashXpress Broiler, Inverter Microwave Technology worth the price?
I guess if we’re talking about spending big money, I might prefer the Breville BOV900BSS Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro over this Panasonic.
Dimensions
It has a 1.2 cubic feet capacity, which is big enough.
It measures 22”W x 13.4”H x 17”D.
With 14.2” turntable.
The turntable fits a 9 x 13 baking dish or a whole chicken. We also get a round baking pan.
A wire rack is included, of course.
And the airfry basket that looks perfect on top of the wire rack.
Features
Panasonic describes it as being designed to be the ultimate home-cooking companion.
It is a Microwave Air Fryer, Flash Xpress Broiler and Convection Oven combined in one compact kitchen appliance.
What I really like the clean look of the control panel. We don’t get a million buttons, nothing too overwhelming.
We get slim buttons for:
- Airfry/Broil/Combo – pressing once selects Airfry, pressing twice Broil1, pressing three times Broil2, four times Combo 1, and last is Combo2
- Microwave – the max power level is 1000W, and the lowest level is Keep Warm
- Convection bake
- Quick 30
- Timer/clock
- Stop/reheat
- Defrost/auto cook
- Time
- Weight
The max temp is 425 degrees F, minim is 100 degrees F. The range is good.
There are actually 21 preset programs that we can select with a simple twist of a dail: defrost, popcorn, potatoes, steam vegetables, fresh fish, cream cheese, chocolate, butter, cake, cookie, frozen pizza, fresh pizza, roast chicken, slow cook/stew, beef rare, beef medium, tea/coffee, milk/hot chocolate, baguette/crusty rolls, croissants, steam clean.
The user manual for this Panasonic is one of the prettiest I’ve ever seen. It comes with good instructions.
And there are also recipes: udon noodle bowl, carrot and orange soup, frittata, lemon mug cake, vegetable fries, chili lime fried avocado, teriyaki glazed salmon, Mediterranean quinoa kale caked with tzatziki sauce, beef negimaki, goat cheese basil ciabatta, lamb burgers, cheddar cheese apple chips. anda bunch more others.
7. Cuisinart AMW-60 3-in-1 Microwave AirFryer Oven Bundle: Light & Small
It seems that I continue to take my quest of finding the best microwave convection oven by including another 3-in-1 product, just like the above Toshiba ML2-EC10SA.
The price is a bit more expensive but not by much. Let’s see what it offers besides the obvious that we can bake, airfry, and microwave a whole universe of foods.
I should also mention that this Cuisinart AMW-60 is my least favorite.
It has a considerable amount of negative reviews.
However, I decided to review it mainly for its slightly smaller size. It’s quite compact. Even so, it’s definitely my least favorite from my picks for the best microwave convection oven combo.
Design & dimensions
Exterior dimensions: 16 x 20.1 x 14.5 inches.
The height is a bit big but its length is one of the smallest if not the smallest on the market for this kind on combo appliances.
Internal dimensions: 14.4 x 17.9 x 13.8 inches. I like that it doesn’t lose too much and the internal dimensions are quite satisfactory.
Cuisinart AMW-60 looks really nice, very sleek. I must admit that I like the pretty much whole black design, although it might be a bit too much for others.
The interior is made of stainless steel, nothing new here.
What I’m not crazy about is its capacity.
It only has a 0.6 cubic feet capacity, which pretty much makes it the smallest option on the market.
Even so, Cuisinart reassures us that we can airfry 2 pounds of wings or bake up to a 4 pounds chicken. It seems that it’s still big enough for even a family of 4.
Plus, it’s surprisingly pretty powerful: 1500 watts airfry/oven and 700 watts microwave.
It’s lighter than most but still pretty heavy, it weighs 35.8 pounds. I would have to really strain myself if I were to set it up on the countertop.
Features
It comes with: rotating glass tray, airfry basket, bake/drip pan.
Cuisinart advertises that this model is equipped with a custom-engineered heater and fan designed for precision cooking.
The air fryer uses significantly less oil to bring nutrition and flavor to foods. I must admit that I’m not exactly crazy about airfry features but I am aware that many people have started to prefer this cooking mode.
We have adjustable time and temperature, as well as preset options: fries, wings, snacks.
The microwave feature comes with 1o power levels. They say 11 but they also include the 0 level.
If you need to check out some recipes, check out Cuisinart’s website.
How Does a Microwave Convection Oven Work?
A microwave oven works by converting electricity into high frequency radiowave by a magnetron tube. The water molecules within the food vibrate at extremely high speeds, producing friction, which produces intense heat to cook the food.
A convection oven utilizes a heating element in order to produce crisp, brown exteriors. In addition to that, a fan is used to circulate the hot air for uniform cooking.
When we combine these two together, the combo works by alternating between convection and microwave heating.
They work together to provide the food with the browning from the convection and the speed of microwaving.
How long does it take to cook food?
In general, you can reduce conventional cooking times by one-fourth to one-third.
It can be ideal for roasting meat because it quickly browns the meat without losing any of its juiciness.
Furthermore, casseroles are cooked more quickly. At the same time, they won’t demand the same attention as when you simply microwave them.
Best Microwave Convection Oven Combo: Is the Price Worth It?
I think it’s time go back to the question that served as an opening for this article.
Is the price of the best microwave convection oven combo exceeding the price of a microwave oven and a home oven or even an countertop convection oven bought separately?
In my opinion, they’re pretty evenly matched.
You could even get a better deal by just going for the best microwave convection oven combo than by choosing to buy these two appliances separately.
I compared a lot of prices for a lot of appliances regarding these 3 separate categories and that’s my conclusion. I won’t go into actually talking numbers because we’re not here for that but you can make those comparisons yourself.
First of all, it’s well worth it if you want to avoid buying two pretty big appliances and just go for one that can easily fit on the countertop. This combo saves a lot of space so, it will be a favorite with people looking to do exactly that.
Secondly, newer models can actually replace an air fryer by including the air fry function. These are the new microwave air fryer combo.
What Foods Can You Make in a Microwave Convection Oven?
Like with any oven, the most popular dishes will involve cooking meat, fish, and vegetables.
Other uses include warming bread or melting cheese on pizza.
Lovers of desserts will definitely explore the capabilities of a microwave convection oven, especially if they also own a good mixer, where it’s a hand mixer or an amazing stand mixer.
The bottom line is: you can use this kitchen appliance for cooking anything that you would make in a home oven or for anything that you would steam in a kettle.
Use cookbooks
The Microwave Convection Oven Cookbook by General Electric Co. can definitely offer the extra inspiration that you might need.
The chapters included are:
- appetizers & beverages
- soups & stews
- meats
- poultry
- fish & seafood
- casseroles
- eggs & cheese
- sauces
- vegetables
- pastas, cereals & grains
- breads
- desserts
Just from listing these chapters, you can tell what foods you can make if you buy the best microwave convection oven combo. So much variety.
The instructions for each dish are very easy to follow and the pictures look pretty nice, too.
Can you make pizza in a microwave convection oven?
Since I recently wrote an article on the best pizza makers, I would like to answer the question of whether you can make pizza in a microwave convection oven.
The answer is that you can but don’t expect the results to compare to using a portable pizza oven for the outdoors.
This is how you do it:
- preheat the convection microwave
- if you’re going to use a pizza stone, preheat the stone when you preheat the oven
- place the pizza on the stone on the center rack and it should be ready in 15 to 20 minutes, you should check on it until you get the timing right
I believe that using a baking stone/steel will prevent the center to remain uncooked.
Baking frozen pizzas obviously works, too.
I also found this veg pizza microwave oven recipe for a bit of an alternative. It works for all models.
What Pans Can You Use in a Microwave Convection Oven?
Pretty much the same cookware that is used in conventional cooking can be used in convection ovens and thus in our combo, too.
Glass baking dishes, stoneware, and pottery utensils will work very well.
The most important thing to remember is to not place the ingredients in cookware made of metal because the microwaves won’t penetrate.
Obviously, metal racks are only used on the convection function.
Since we’re on the topic of what you can’t use inside a convection microwave, I should tell you that you can’t use wax paper.
Just as well, don’t use paper products and plastic utensils.
Aluminum foil can be used for shielding. You can use it only on the convection cooking feature.
Aluminum cake pans work only during convection cooking.
The idea is to make distinction between the microwave and the convection features.
Otherwise, carefully read the instruction manual for your best microwave convection oven combo and you’ll see that it’s pretty easy to use.
