Tovala Gen 2 Smart Steam Oven with Multi-Mode Programmable Cooking Small Black and Stainless

Update: The food arrived today and I had my very first meal right away. I chose my meal, the Korean BBQ Steak with Sweet Soy Glazed Tater Tots and Siracha Mayo for dipping. It was so simple to put together and start cooking. I went by the instructions in the app and went from fridge to cooking in under 3 minutes, yes I timed it lol. I gave away the mayo dip because I don't dip my tots, but the glaze was delicious. The BBQ steak had an option for less cooked or more cooked and I chose less cooked and I was in love. I made a little salad while it cooked, that took longer than the prep. I had some concern that the meals would be small due to reviews I had read, but it was a perfect sizefor me. No leftovers and a full tummy. Great meals. Great robot appliance. Great versatility. Great job guys. One delighted customer. Apologies for any typos. Editing, First of all, I suddenly lost my vision 3 years ago. I truly loved to cook and I have struggled to adapt in the kitchen over this time. I have tried many countertop appliances and nothing else compares to this incredulous machine! , , So, I have not tried any of the meals delivered from the company yet, simply because they are on the way as I type this review. However, I have had the pleasure of a few pizzas and sandwiches and I must say, SCRUMPTIOUS! A perfect cook every good gosh darn time. I can do everything from the app. It has presets for a chicken breast, steak, egg or even just a hot dog. I am so much more capable already. When my 9 year old wants to scan his freezer pizza, he is able to handle the whole process himself, with some adult supervision of course. The machine gets a wee bit hot, so I do worry about him pulling food out on his own. It is helpful that it is sized perfectly for him. , , I am looking forward to the delivered meals. I spent a little part of my evening cruising the next few weeks of menus and created my order. I can go back in and change it up until the week before, but my order is saved in case I space it. I look forward to the healthy options and the ease of fresh food. Bottom line, this is the best kitchen gadget. It is a game changer for my little fam. We named ours Chef Robot Irvine and we are obsessed. I apologize for any typos or errors above. Have a good one., Edit box, Text message

I started searching for a new toaster oven to replace my older unit. I was looking for something that did more than just toast bread. I did a lot of research on a lot of different brands before hitting on this one. What really got my attention was it had 5 different modes for use. Not only would it toast but it also had an air fryer which I like. (I had a large bulky air fryer before and did not like it). If a buyer wants to purchase meals that go with this oven, can. They can set up an account with Tovala and have meals delivered to their home. I received a four - meal packet when I made the initial purchase. The meals were very good and preparation was simple. The oven has a scanner on the front which scans a bar code on the meal and cooks it accordingly. I chose not to subscribe to the meal service simply because I like preparing my own food. Also, it seems a bit pricey for me as well. That being said, the service might be just the right thing for a really busy or older person who my have trouble preparing their own meals. There are some store-bought brands that the scanner will recognize. A list of the companies is shown in the instructions. One thing I really like about this is I can place a piece of bread in for toasting, press the "toast" mode, choose "1" for time, (4.35 minutes), and when it shuts off, the bread is perfectly toasted. No under or over cook. No burnt bread. Using the air fryer takes some time to get to know the settings. I've found if the instructions on the product itself is followed, the results are pretty good. I've had to modify the time on some things, such as frozen potato wedges, but after using it for a few times I know how much time is required. Using the basket makes for easy cooking and cleanup as well. Oh, did I mention, you can control it with your smart phone as well? I conclusion, I would highly recommend this oven to someone looking to replace an older unit. It does so much more and does it well.

I am updating the review because Tovala replaced the defective units and the issues posted are fixed. I still wish the toaster had a programmable button on the toaster ( not just via the app), and I wish the unit had the option for a low temperature hold of 150f for a long period of time (hours). ****Original post***** Overall the oven is ok, but three main problems hinder a great experience. 1. The built in scanner function does not work on 2 ovens so far ( after following instructions from technical support) even though the scanner on the app works. This is bad for people in the family without the app. 2. The level 1 toast function (lowest setting) burns many toast items such as croissants and brown bread and there is no way to adjust this setting (according to customer service). This should an adjustment that can be made in the app and fixed on the toaster so you don’t need to create a custom cooking program in an app to make toast. Again relevant for people without the app. 3. The water needs to be topped up frequently and the old version of the toaster would beep when you were filling it to let you know it was full. The new version does not beep when full so you will overflow the reservoir and spill water as a result. All of these issues are software issues and should be fixed with software updates that could be sent to all users. Could be a great oven if @tovala fixed these issues.

It cooks well but certain foods that cause splattering into the oven’s walls will create smoke inside this oven. My Dyson read our air quality as “very unhealthy “ while baking certain foods. The air fry rack is chrome, which it turned rusty and black after trying to wash it with water and soap. Not food safe, I had to use parchment paper or foil to prevent contamination to my foods (see my pictures). The worst part is their customer service, Tovala won’t take responsibility for troubleshooting their ovens or accepting returns. Thanks goodness I bought it through Amazon.

This little oven is incredibly versatile- it provides the usual air fryer functionality and ups the ante with Programmability as well as a steam function. And although the manufacturer intended--and hopes--owners will subscribe to their meal delivery program, this oven works GREAT as a standalone Smart appliance. (More on that important functionality below.) We've used it for multiple items- from fish to cake to store-bought UPC-scannable items. It has performed flawlessly, delivering great results and is very quiet while operating. An AMAZING little device- very well thought out. BTW: Consumer Reports as well as America's Test Kitchen were very very impressed by this oven. Pretty sure you'll love it too, once you discover just how versatile it can be! The oven is perfectly sized, solidly constructed and looks great on the counter- it's very attractively designed. The app works really well, esp. once you understand the operations of a few oddly-named functions. Overall, great little app...and once your item is finished cooking it sends a text to your phone. Nice. Here's the unique and amazing Extra Something that Tovala brings to its game: while many many store-bought products are in its memory and thus are scannable to automatically program the oven, you can CREATE your own custom scannable UPC codes for any item you choose, whether store-bought or homemade! You simply take any UPC code the oven doesn't recognize (we used the UPC from a bar of soap!) and use it to create a cooking cycle. Then simply give the item a name and save the cooking instructions in the app. Next time you want to whip up that item, simply scan the now-programmed UPC...the oven recognizes it and automatically programs itself for you! Bam! And BTW: you can also tweak any parameters in any of the cooking cycles: you want an item a little more 'done' or a little less so? Simply dial in your preferences and then SAVE that to the app. Next time, the oven will use your new preferences to cook the item just the way you like it. Crazy Good concept!

I called this my super mini oven saver because I use this for everything. This saves me with my electricity. It saves me with having me to use my large oven, which would heat up my home during the hot days. I’ve cooked salmon with a preset, and it turned out absolutely delicious. Tovala heats all kinds of foods fresh or frozen beautifully. One of the cons of this toaster oven is the scanner does not always work With the frozen foods from the store. Maybe the product is not on the list. I’m not sure, that part is a little disappointing. I do love the air fryer. It does a really great job of crisping up french fries chicken tenders, etc. I love love, love, love the steam option, which helps by keeping the meat from drying out. I have baked a frozen Marie Callender‘s pie in it, which turned out beautifully. I have some visual challenges so the app on the phone working the toaster oven is a game changer so I would definitely advise anyone who is blind or visually challenge in any way definitely needs to get this toaster oven it makes life so much easier to be able to set the oven temperature to your desired baking/cooking mode just as a heads up after cooking is over the oven fan does run a little long, but one remedy is to keep the oven door open. You can fan it for a little bit or just keep the door open and it will cool the toaster oven off quicker. I’m having so much fun making my own meals in this toaster oven and I also love following the recipes on the menu options. You will definitely enjoy this toaster oven. I absolutely love it.

This oven is awesome! I got it to replace my microwave. I wanted a countertop convection oven that I could cook meals in and this oven works very well for just about everything. It steams as well so you can cook veggies. I’m verry impressed with how it cooks chicken and fish. The meat turns out tender and juicy. I’ve tried some of the recipes with success. I’m also on the meal delivery plan. These meals are so much better than microwave frozen meals. You get a full portion of meat and the sides are good as well. The rice cooks to perfection. I’m also impressed with the quality and look of the oven. The materials used are obviously durable. The smart features are very convenient and user friendly. I use my smartphone as a hotspot to connect the oven to wi-fi. I haven’t had any connectivity or other troubleshooting issues. Overall I’m very impressed with this product!

It works well. We bought it because it had great toast ratings. However, to get that toast it takes over 5 minutes. I'm not into the meal plan, so I can't speak for that, but strictly as a toaster, it's nice, but you can't just throw in your bread and run out the door a minute later.