The Hamilton Beach 31156 is the toaster-first pick: a clever 2-in-1 that sets a long-slot pop-up toaster on top of a small bake/broil oven. Consumer Reports called it the only model to earn top-notch scores in all its toast tests, and it toasts up to 40% faster than a typical toaster oven. The oven cavity is small, with no convection or air fry. For fast toast plus occasional light baking under $100, nothing matches its form factor.
Full review
Real-World Cooking Performance
The Hamilton Beach 31156 solves a problem the other four picks don't: oven-style toasting is slow and uneven, so the 31156 puts an actual long-slot pop-up toaster on top of a small bake/broil oven. The result, per Consumer Reports, is the best toast in the category — it was "the only model in our ratings to receive top-notch scores in all of our tests for toast," with excellent full-batch and toasting-time results. Hamilton Beach claims it toasts up to 40% faster than a typical toaster oven, and the pop-up slots deliver more consistent browning than radiant oven elements.
The oven half handles light baking and broiling. HGTV's long-term reviewer, replacing a beloved 13-year-old Hamilton Beach combo, reported the 31156 "lives up to its predecessor" and noted "the oven can fit a 9-inch pizza, yet the overall size of the entire unit is not that much bigger." It is a quick-toast-plus-occasional-bake machine, and within that lane it's excellent.
The 2-in-1 Design
The defining feature is the dual form factor: a two-slice long-slot toaster with a five-shade selector sits above a 16.5-liter oven, and a slide lever switches which one is active. BestChoice describes it as "a space-saving combination of a long-slot toaster and a countertop oven that bakes, broils, and toasts in one compact unit." For a small kitchen that wants both appliances without two separate boxes, this is genuinely clever.
Controls are simple analog dials plus the mode lever, with a 60-minute timer and auto shutoff on the oven side. There's no learning curve and no digital menus — a deliberate contrast to the preset-driven Breville and Ninja.
Build Quality and Value
At around $80 the 31156 is the cheapest pick here, and the stainless finish looks tidier than its price. It is a 1450-watt unit with a one-year warranty, standard for the segment. The value proposition is narrow but real: you get class-leading toast plus a usable small oven for less than a third of what the Breville costs. For a dorm, a small apartment, or a household that toasts daily and bakes only occasionally, that's a strong deal.
Tops out at a 9-inch pizza, no convection
The 31156's limits are versatility and oven evenness. The oven cavity is small — a 9-inch pizza is the ceiling — and there's no convection, no air fry, and no digital presets, so it can't roast a chicken or crisp fries the way the other four can. Some owners report toast occasionally sticking in the pop-up slots, requiring a nudge, and a few note the bottom of oven-baked items can overcook before the top browns. These are the trade-offs of a budget toast-first design, not deal-breakers for its intended use.
Faster toast than any oven-style rival here
The 31156 is the odd one out — a toast specialist among multi-function ovens. It makes better, faster toast than the oven-only browning of the Breville Smart Oven Compact BOV670, Cuisinart TOA-60, Ninja Foodi SP101, or Toshiba AC25CEW, but it's far less capable for everything else: no air fry, no convection, no rotisserie, and the smallest oven. If toast is your priority and baking is occasional, it wins; if you want a true do-everything countertop oven, any of the higher-ranked picks is a better fit.
A toast-first pick for dorms and small households
Buy the 31156 if you toast every day and want pop-up-toaster speed and consistency plus a small oven for the occasional pizza or melt, all for under $100 and in a compact footprint. It's ideal for small households, dorms, and anyone who finds oven-style toasting too slow. Skip it if you want air fry (the Cuisinart TOA-60 or Ninja SP101), even multi-rack baking and roasting (the Breville BOV670 or Toshiba AC25CEW), or the capacity to cook a whole chicken — this is a toast-first machine and proudly so.
Strengths
- +Unique 2-in-1: a long-slot pop-up toaster on top plus a real bake/broil oven below
- +Consumer Reports' only model to earn top-notch scores in all toast tests
- +Toasts up to 40% faster than a typical toaster oven
- +Compact footprint with a slide-lever to switch between toaster and oven
- +Around $80 — the cheapest pick here
Watch-outs
- −Oven cavity is small — fits only a 9-inch pizza
- −No convection, air fry, or digital presets
- −Some users report toast sticking in the pop-up slots
- −Bottom of oven-baked items can overcook before the top
How it compares
The toast specialist: its pop-up long-slot toaster makes faster, more consistent toast than the oven-only browning of the Breville Smart Oven Compact BOV670, Cuisinart TOA-60, Ninja Foodi SP101, or Toshiba AC25CEW — but its small oven cavity and lack of convection or air fry leave it the least versatile of the five.
Rating sources
“The only model in our ratings to receive top-notch scores in all of our tests for toast, with excellent full-batch and toasting-time performance.”
“Hamilton Beach's newest toaster and oven combo lives up to its predecessor — the oven can fit a 9-inch pizza, yet the overall size of the entire unit is not that much bigger.”
“A space-saving combination of a long-slot toaster and a countertop oven that bakes, broils, and toasts in one compact unit.”
Our 4.3 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
