Electric roaster oven is a handy kitchen appliance that not only provides that bit of extra space you need to roast a large cut of meat , but can also serve to bake , and as a slow cooker when needed.
Best of all, if you purchase one of the buffet inserts for an electric roaster you can turn it into a server that actually keeps food warm.
Holidays, family reunions, and community suppers are always fun. But they are also filled with frustration for many of the people who end up making a good deal of the food for these types of occasions.
The reason is simple, no matter how large your oven is or how much space it has when you cook or bake for your family, it suddenly becomes small when those occasions roll around when you need to cook for a dozen people or more.
Think about how many times you have found yourself shuffling various foods in and out of the oven trying to get everything done at the same time and wishing you had another oven.
Well, your wishes can be answered when you purchase an electric roaster oven.
Here is a look at the roaster ovens offered by different companies.
Table of Content
Electric Roaster Oven – A Must Have Appliance
Oster CKSTRS23 22 Quart Roaster Oven Stainless Steel Finish
Oster Roaster Oven with Self-Basting Lid, 22-Quart, Stainless Steel (CKSTRS23-SB-D)
, which is a 22 quart roaster oven with the following features:
- 22 Quart Capacity
- Removable rack with handles
- Enamel on steel roasting pan
- Lid rest for convenience
- Adjustable temperature
- Black lid
The lid rest on this roaster oven is a major convenience especially when using it to serve food, as it allows the lid to be removed and placed out of the way without taking up needed table space.
The stainless steel roaster with the black lid also makes a great looking roaster oven when on your counter.
Users Take
While a few people complained about the enamel peeling on this roaster, the majority of users had little or no problem and give this appliance exceptionally high marks for both form and function.
Benefits users find with this roaster include:
- Sturdy – While this roaster oven is super heavy, it is heavy enough to be sturdy, allowing you to transport to when you wish to prepare meals other than at home.
- Great for Cooking Any Number of Foods – It doesn’t just roast, it bakes, steams, and can be a slow cooker as well as comes in handy for roasting that turkey and other large cuts of meat.
- Fairly Easy to Clean – Although the insert for this roaster is large and won’t fit in most sinks well, users nonetheless feel it is relatively easy to clean.
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Nesco 4818-14 Classic Roaster Oven 18 Quart Porcelain Cookwell
Nesco 4818-14 Classic Roaster Oven, 18-Quart, Porcelain Cookwell, IvoryThe Nesco name is almost synonymous with electric roasters being one of the first companies if not the first to offer one of these ovens for sale to their customers.
Today, many cooks still turn to this brand just as their mothers and grandmothers did.
Features of the Nesco 4818-14 include:
- Comes in either ivory or red
- Circle of heat heating element heats the sides not the bottom of the roaster
- Oven temperature adjustable up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
- Extra high dome on lid, self basting
- Roasts, bakes, slow cooks, steams, serves
- Removable steel rack with lift out handles
- Stay cool handles
- Porcelain coated surface
- Indicator light turns off when oven reaches temperature
The Nesco company also makes a buffet server insert that fits this roaster and all other 18 quart roasters, making this roaster a great asset at holidays as you can roast your turkey in it and then use it with the buffet insert to keep mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables warm throughout your big family celebration.
Users Take
While some users do complain about the finish, especially around the lid of this electric roaster melting and problems with the thermostat not holding proper temperature the majority of users find that this Nesco roaster oven meets their needs beautifully and give it good reviews.
Features most users like about this roaster oven includes:
- Cooks Exceptionally Well – Most users feel that this appliance cooks exceptionally well and their large cuts of meats even cook faster than in a traditional oven.
- Saves Money – Several users stated that they use this electric oven instead of their larger kitchen oven and find that it saves them money on energy bills.
- Cooks Everything A Traditional Oven Does – Users also like the fact that it cooks everything a traditional oven does and that it turns out just as well.
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Nesco 4818-25-20, 18 Quart Stainless Steel Electric Roaster Oven
Nesco 4818-25-20, 18-Quart Stainless Steel Roaster OvenThe Nesco 4818-25-20 is the same exact roaster oven as the 4818-14 with the exception that it is Stainless Steel instead of coming in colors.
Features of this roaster oven include:
- Comes in Stainless steel with a stainless steel insert pan
- Adjustable temperature up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
- Chrome plated cooking rack with handles for easy removal
- Stay cool handles
- Circle of heat cooking element
- Red indicator light that turns off when oven is up to temperature
The Nesco stainless steel roaster oven offers users a stainless steel instead of porcelain coated cookwell, which many users prefer.
Other than the difference in cookwell and the stainless steel exterior this roaster looks and works just like the 4818-14.
Users Take
While some users experience minor and major thermostat issues with this electric roaster oven, the majority of users really like it and give it good marks.
Benefits of this oven include:
- Easy to Clean – While the cookwell of this roaster oven is large, users state that it is still pretty easy to clean.
- Nice Looking – Users really appreciate the nice clean look of this roaster oven especially if they are serving food in it to guests.
- Cooks Well – Users also point out that this roaster oven cooks as well as their traditional oven, making for wonderful roasted, baked, and even slow cooked meals.
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Rival RO180 18-Quart Roaster Oven
Rival Roaster Oven, 18-Quart, White (RO180)A subsidiary of the Jarden Corporation Rival is a small appliance manufacturer of kitchen appliances including the well known “Crock Pot”.
The Rival Roaster Oven is one of this company’s popular home appliances and consists of the following features:
- Holds up to 22 quarts
- Can fit and roast up to a 22 pound turkey
- Enamel on steel roasting pan
- Removable rack
- Lid rest Stay cool temperatures
- Can be used as a traditional oven for baking, as well as a slow cooker
- Adjustable temperatures from 150 degrees Fahrenheit to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
- Measures: 23” X 17” X 9”
- 1 year warranty
The Rival roaster oven may well become one of your kitchen’s workhorses. It offers a nice low heat range perfect for slow roasting pork or even making large slow cooked dinners that are too large for the normal size slow cooker.
Users Take
Users give this Rival roaster oven impressively good scores with most users liking more that this roaster oven’s large size.
Like many enamel coated roaster ovens, there are some users who experienced the enamel coating flaking off, while a few others reported that this roaster gets hotter than the stated temperature.
However, although these problems are worth noting, it does appear that the majority of users enjoy problem free use of this appliance.
Here are some of the general comments users made regarding this roaster:
- Can make all types of foods in this roaster oven from soups and sauces, to casseroles and that holiday ham and turkey.
- You can use it like a conventional oven to avoid heating up a big oven just to heat a batch of brownies.
- Can be used to keep food warm as well as to cook food in it
- Durable
It appears that if you sometimes need extra oven space, or are looking for something smaller than your conventional oven to use, then this Rival roaster oven is just capable of meeting your needs.
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Hamilton Beach 32229 22 Quart Roaster Oven
Rival Roaster Oven, 18-Quart, White (RO180)The Hamilton Beach company is a well known company for small kitchen appliances and versions of their electric roaster has been around for decades and for good reason.
This oven offers some great features that really benefit the home cook.
Features of the Hamilton Beach 32229 Roaster oven include:
- Holds 22 quarts
- Can be used for baking, roasting, cooking , steaming, slow cooking and serving
- Control Knob is adjustable up to 450 degrees
- Removable insert pan and Lid
- Lift out wire rack
- Cool touch side handle
- Stainless steel housing
- Easy to clean design
- User manual with recipes
- Measures: 18” X 25 2/7” X 11”
- 1 Year warranty
Most users use the Hamilton Beach roaster oven (and in fact most roaster ovens) for making larger cuts of meats such as turkeys for big holiday meals.
However, this roaster can actually be used for making pretty much anything you make in an oven and is a great alternative to heating an entire oven and the house to make smaller meals during those hot summer months.
This oven works great for roasting meat, but it also works extremely well for serving sloppy joes to that entire boy scout troop, large casseroles for that Church or community supper and so much more.
Users Take
Users really like the Hamilton Beach 32229 22 quart roaster oven and give it exceptionally high ratings.
Some of the benefits that users find when using this oven include:
- Makes Really Moist Turkey and Ham -Most users really like the fact that this roaster oven makes some of the most moist turkey, chickens, and hams they have ever had. Ribs cooked in this oven also falls right off the bone.
- Keeps Kitchen Cooler in Summer – Several users stated that they use this roaster oven in place of their large kitchen oven during the summer months to help make delicious food and keep their kitchen cooler.
- Bakes Well – Users are surprised and thrilled that they can actually bake terrific desserts in this appliance.
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Electric roaster oven complaints
There are two complaints about every roaster oven in this review and most other roaster ovens as well that need to be addressed.
First, the complaint that outside of these roasters get hot.
This is true, but one needs to remember that most pans on your range top and oven doors get hot as well.
So, the heating up of the outside of these roasters is not a fault, but just part of owning an oven of any type.
The second complaint for these roaster involves the length of the cords.
The manufacturers of these roaster ovens deliberately make these cords somewhat short to force people to keep these appliances pushed back on counter tops out of the reach of small children who would get burned.
This is a safety feature and not a flaw in design.
Overall, the roasters in this review, are considered the best based on user reviews and offer people a way to increase their oven space when cooking for large groups of people.
More Electric Roaster Oven Choices
Oster Smoker Roaster Oven, 16-Quart, Red Smoke (CKSTROSMK18)Roaster Oven with Self-Basting Lid by Oster 18 Quart, Black (CKSTRS18-BSB-W)Oster 24-Pound Stainless Steel Turkey Roaster Oven with Highdome Lid and 18-Quart Capacity
