Is It Worth Buying a Countertop Microwave Convection Oven? We debated this purchase for a while before eventually buying one ourselves, since a combination microwave convection oven costs noticeably more than a standard microwave and we wanted to be sure the extra functionality would genuinely get used. Is it worth buying a countertop microwave convection oven? Here’s our honest verdict after living with one for a couple of years.
What a Convection Microwave Actually Adds
Beyond standard microwave heating, a convection model adds a fan-assisted heating element that lets you genuinely bake and roast, browning and crisping food in a way a standard microwave simply cannot. We cover the basics of choosing a standard microwave in our guide on the best compact microwave for a small kitchen, but a convection model is a genuinely different category of appliance with broader capability.
Where We’ve Found It Genuinely Useful
We use the convection function most for small batches of roasted vegetables and reheating leftovers in a way that restores some crispness rather than leaving everything uniformly soft, which is the main complaint we’d had with standard microwave reheating before. It’s also been useful for small baking projects when we don’t want to heat our full-size oven for something modest.
Where It Hasn’t Replaced Our Main Oven
We want to be honest that a countertop convection microwave hasn’t replaced our full-size oven for larger meals or anything requiring substantial capacity. It’s genuinely a supplementary appliance for us, useful for smaller jobs and quick reheating with better results than a standard microwave, but not a wholesale replacement for proper oven cooking.
Is the Extra Cost Justified?
For us, yes, but we’d acknowledge this depends on your specific cooking habits. If you frequently cook for one or two people, reheat leftovers often, or want an alternative to heating a full oven for small jobs, the extra cost over a standard microwave is genuinely worth it. If you rarely reheat food beyond a basic warm-through and always cook full meals in your main oven anyway, a standard microwave would likely serve you just as well for considerably less money.
Our Honest Recommendation
Is it worth buying a countertop microwave convection oven? We’d say yes if you genuinely value the crisping and light baking capability and will use it regularly, but we wouldn’t recommend it purely on the basis that “more features sounds better.” Be honest with yourself about whether you’ll actually use the convection function regularly before paying the premium over a standard model.
