Tovala Smart Oven Review: Why I Replaced All of My Small Kitchen Appliances With This Gadget

I have a healthy skepticism about “wonder” appliances that claim to do over a dozen things. But when you’re low on counter space, they can be a tempting buy—and a real lifesaver if they hold up to their (admittedly high) claims. I’ve been using the Tovala oven for nearly two years, and honestly, it’s the main thing I use in my kitchen. As someone who runs out the door quickly in the mornings and is typically too tired to cook on weeknights, I welcome anything that makes meal prep seamless in my kitchen.

Since I added the Tovala Smart Oven Pro to my arsenal, I’ve hardly touched another kitchen appliance. I’ve been using it nearly daily, and in that time, it has replaced my toaster, my steam pots, my air fryer, and, unless I’m cooking for others, even my oven. It makes my life easier in so many different ways; it’s earned its spot on the countertop.

It’s not a microwave; it’s more like a souped-up toaster oven. It can bake, air fry, steam, broil, toast, and reheat with equal efficiency. It has so many functions and smart features that it can cook nearly all of my meals, saving me time, dirty dishes, and guesswork.

The main difference between the Tovala Smart Oven and the Tovala Smart Oven Pro is the model’s steam cooking function. The powerful combination of steam cooking and baking makes the difference. It gives my biscuits a crisp, flaky exterior and a soft interior, and cooks proteins like chicken breast all the way through without drying it out (something I never seem to accomplish in a pan).

As if that wasn’t fancy enough, the oven’s “scan” feature takes it to the next level. The Tovala has a built-in scanner connected to a database of over a thousand grocery items from retailers like Costco and Trader Joe’s. I scan the back of my frozen meal like I’m at a supermarket checkout, and the Tovala pre-loads the precise instructions to cook it, which always makes me feel like I’m in The Jetsons.

For many settings, it’s simply a matter of touching a button and adjusting temperature and time as needed. The toast, bake, steam, and broil functions allow you to set the temperature or heat level and cook time before starting. The included air fryer basket turns the bake function into an air fry function. My favorite way to use it, however, is the reheat function. You select a time for that one, and the Tovala works its magic, reviving even my most lifeless leftovers.

Tovala also has its own meal delivery plan. The meals are mainly crafted for lunch and dinner, but there are a few rotating breakfast options. For Tovala meals, scan the QR code on the included recipe card, and the oven knows just what to do. If you don’t want meal delivery, there are general recipes in the included Tovala app, so if you need to steam some broccoli or broil some salmon, you know exactly which setting to use. The app notifies you when it’s done cooking, and it gives you a countdown clock to keep track of.

The Tovala oven is designed to be used with the Tovala meal plan, which isn’t necessary but is super easy to use. It has a “shop-or-skip” model, and most weeks I skip it in favor of cooking my own food. But when I know there’s a busy week coming up, or my fridge will be empty after a trip, it comes in handy to have these easy-to-prep meals that still taste high-quality. It saves me money on takeout for every meal. The meals are pretty easy to customize to any dietary needs, and you can always add an extra snack, dessert, or protein to your order.

You select the meals you want for the week from a menu of 35 unique recipes. Once you choose your delivery date (a Tuesday or a Thursday), the box arrives fresh that morning. It’s filled with cold packs so that if it arrives while I’m in the office, my meals are still cold when I get home. You can choose between four, six, eight, 10, 12, and 16 meals. Depending on how many meals you order per week, it can cost anywhere from $62.95 to $218.83 per week.

The meals are actually really tasty. Like, lick the plate, “sad when it’s finished,” type of tasty. There’s a different lineup each week, which is great for variety, but sometimes, I find myself waiting for my favorites to make the rounds again. You can totally use the Tovala oven without a subscription, but I love how flexible the meal plan subscription is. Previously, I thought the Tovala was only a fit for people who live alone or with a partner. But now they’ve added Family Meals to their meal plan, so you can cook up to four servings of food at once and really take the headache out of weeknight cooking.

Yes, you can absolutely cook regular meals in a Tovala oven. I use it for everything, including perfectly jammy eggs for breakfast and sheet pan dinners in the evening. It’s also such a massive help for dinner parties—by using it to warm up appetizers while I work on dessert, it’s basically my very own sous chef. For busy commuters like me who want to prep meals but not do the ensuing dishes, this is for you. I can fit five chicken thighs in the Tovala to cook at once while I make overnight oats on my own, and suddenly, I have a week’s worth of breakfast and lunch. It’s truly the most versatile appliance I own. Here are just a few regular ways I use it in my kitchen:

• Reheating those truffle fries that got soggy on the way home
• Breathing life back into pizza so it’s the perfect balance of crispy and melty
• Heating soft tortillas and toasting bread
• Quickly roasting protein or cooking tender veggies during meal prep

The Tovala takes up a decent amount of counter space: It is 18.5 inches long, 12.32 inches wide, and 11.75 inches tall. However, the time and energy it saves me while cooking make up for the surface area. Below, I outline my main pros and cons.

Cons

• It takes up counter space, but replaces several appliances you would put instead
• It doesn’t replace a microwave for everything

To tell you the truth, I play pretty fast and loose with “hand wash only” dishes. So I’ve been washing my Tovala sheet tray, air fry basket, and the metal crumb catcher in my dishwasher. But after two years of daily use, the whole thing is still in pretty good shape. It’s not sparkling by any means—there are still the cooked-on stains of heavy use, but nothing that smells or affects how well it cooks. All of the electronic settings and capabilities still work like day one.

It’s an enthusiastic yes! from me. It’s my go-to because it also cooks the food so much faster than the oven or stove does. It preheats in under five minutes and shuts itself off when it’s finished cooking, so I never have that “Did I leave the stove on?” worry when I leave the house. I genuinely use the smart oven every single day, whether I’m toasting bread for breakfast, reheating a late-night delivery order, or meal-prepping chicken thighs to make my week easier. It saves me so much mental energy in figuring out how to cook my food daily.

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