For today’s kitchen tip I’m following up on a promise I made last week. Some of you are wondering what a turbo oven is. You can see one here
I’ll tell you up front, the turbo oven is not super fast at cooking food. It definitely doesn’t match the microwave when it comes to speed. It is, however, faster than a conventional oven, and is useful for cooking things that you wouldn’t cook in a microwave.
What it is:
It is very simply a countertop convection oven. Convection ovens use a fan to force heated air to circulate around the food. Convection ovens cook food faster and at a lower temperature than conventional ovens.
What I like about it:
It was great having this oven during the hot summer months. It is very rare that I use my regular oven during the summer. The turbo oven allowed me to do things like roast a chicken without heating up the kitchen. Even in the winter I plan on using it this way unless I have something else to go in the oven with it.
I like the way it reheats food much better than the microwave. For example, when I reheat leftover pizza (gluten-free of course)in the microwave, it softens the crust but leaves it rather spongy. When I reheat pizza in the turbo oven, I place the pieces directly on the rack that sits in the bottom of the bowl, set the temperature 400 and heat it for several minutes. The crust comes out soft inside, but nice and crisp outside.
I have never liked meat cooked or reheated in the microwave. It always seems to come out tough and rubbery. I can heat leftover meat in the turbo oven by putting it on a plate and setting the plate on the rack. I set the temperature to 350 and heat it as long as necessary. The meat stays tender, has great flavor, and I often think it tastes better than the first time.
The glass bowl is easy to clean. With the top removed you take the bowl out of its stand and wash it in the sink. If there is stuck on food, simply add some soapy water to the bowl, put the top back on, and heat it at a low temperature for a few minutes.
What I heat/cook in the turbo oven:
Whole chickens (it browns nicely and cooks at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes per pound)
Roast beef (although I usually use my pressure cooker for that)
Roast potatoes
Roast vegetables
leftovers
toasted bread
nachos
frozen french fries
other frozen foods
some baked items (see below)
casseroles (see below)
What the turbo oven is not good at heating/cooking:
liquids in a glass container (the glass gets hot, not the liquid)
baked goods – I have tried corn bread and cinnamon rolls. They quickly get brown on top because it is closest to the fan. The glass dish (I also tried a silicon pan) didn’t allow the bottom to heat well. I wasn’t about to let anything go to waste, though, so I simply flipped the items over in their dish and cooked the bottom. They didn’t look quite as nice, but they got cooked through and tasted good.
casseroles – Again, the glass dish is the problem. When food is in a dish with sides, it is mainly heated from the top. Casseroles can work if it is an item you can stir occasionally as it heats.
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A big drawback for many people is the size. I am fortunate enough to have space for it on my counter. I don’t like to leave appliances on my counter that are not used regularly, but this one definitely is. It has been used almost every day to either cook or reheat something or both.
If you are considering buying one and have question, I’d be happy to help as much as I can.
For more kitchen tips visit Tammy’s Recipes.
hi, love your blog! Cornbread looks great! Thank you for your kindness in offering the book giveaway. This is a great way to be support for new people, too. Elyse, [email protected]
Gluten-Free Quick & Easy: From Prep to Plate Without the Fuss – 200+ Recipes
i purchased a kitchen living turbo convection oven at Aldi which I thought was going to be the same as the nu wave seen on tv. It seems to be pretty much the same thing except it says to defrost your foods. The nu wave advertise that you can cook from the frozen state. This is on of the things I thought would be convenient. It is called halogen, convection and infrared heat. I don’t think I even want it if you can’t cook frozen meats. Do you see any reason why I couldn’t do that? I would appreciate your help.
Judy, I have never cooked frozen meats in my oven. My guess is that thinner meats such as chicken breasts and steaks would work, but not something big like a whole chicken or roast.
I’ve cooked many types of meat from frozen in Aldi’s Kitchen Living turbo convection oven, both boneless and with bones. The directions say on p.12 that the oven does not require any thaw time and on p. 22 they also mention how you can cook a frozen whole chicken at 25 minutes per pound.
I was kind of wowed at first by the box saying it was ‘Halogen” (the heat source), “Convection” (circulated air) and “Infrared.” Most heat is in the infrared spectrum which is invisible, but when the halogen bulb here is on, you can definitely see light.
BTW, that statement on p. 12 probably was meant to say that the oven does not require any “pre-heating” time, not “defrost” time. Of course, frozen food takes extra time over thawed food.
My new turbo oven has a frozen section right on it to defrost it and then once defrosted you out it on the normal temp of the food.
I need some recipes and times for my kitchen living turbo oven. I have just purchased it and it didn’t give much instruction. Thanks to anyone who can help me.
Thank you for reviewing. I am looking to buy and this gives me a better insight into what is reasonable to expect!
I have had my Kitchen Living Turbo Oven for about five months now, and it has made my regular oven obsolete. I haven’t used the big oven in all of that time, except to bake large pizzas that don’t fit in the turbo oven.
Just this week, however, the turbo oven stopped cycling on-and-off. It does that to maintain the correct temperature. I think the thermostat has failed. Now, it only cooks at the highest temperature, and that means that some things will burn or cook improperly. I have contacted customer service.
I just got a new turbo convection oven and I was wondering if you have tried to cook anything directly in the bowl itself.. and if so what happened.. I want to make a casserole in it that can be stir d but don’t have a oven safe.bowl that’s big enough for us but small enough to go in it and I don’t get money like that.. hence why I was wondering about being able to cook directly in it…
Ashley, I don’t think that would work very well. Convection cooking needs the air to circulate around the food. Even putting a bowl of food sitting on a rack wouldn’t work that well. It’s best if the food is open to the hot air.