Welcome to our Breville bov650XL review. Looking for a smart oven that packs a punch? Well, this Breville compact smart oven might be the one for you. It packs all the high performance you’d expect from the bigger Breville products into a tiny package. Although you’re certainly limited in terms of capacity, the mini smart oven does a great job making most things: cakes, pizzas, or chicken.
This review will give an in-depth analysis of the product so that you’re in a better position to make your own judgment.
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Table of Contents
Brand Profile
Breville was founded in Sydney, Australia, as far back as 1932. The brand is well-known worldwide for its home appliances, specifically toaster ovens, blenders, kettles, coffee machines, and microwaves.
In fact, as of 2016, Breville has been the sole manufacturer of “Creatista” coffee machines for Nespresso. The brand has also distributed other Nespresso products in the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, including the “Inissia,” “Vertuo,” and “Citiz” series of machines.
Breville BOV650XL Review Summary
Let’s begin this Breville BOV650XL review with a brief product overview. The Breville BOV650XL toaster oven is the 2nd in line of the three smart ovens created by Breville. It sits in-between the top-range BOV800XL and is a step up from the BOV450XL model.
While it might not be the best in this specific line of products, it still comes with some excellent features. It is a quality machine that can make just about anything you want. It has 8 cooking functions which we found to be very useful.
It does most of the heavy lifting for you but allows you to completely control your cooking experience.
In the manufacturer’s own words:
“The Compact Smart Oven with Element iQ includes most of the features of a larger Smart Oven in a compact, counter space-saving design. From toast for breakfast, open melt for lunch to roasting for dinner, you can use it throughout your day.”
Specifications
The following are the specifications of the model:
- Dimensions: 15 x 17 x 10 inches.
- Colors: Stainless Steel.
- Material: Stainless Steel.
- Weight: 14.52 pounds.
- Wattage: 1800 Watts.
- Volts:120 Volts.
- Temperature: 450 °F.
- Warranty: 1 Year Limited Product Warranty.
Features
Cooking Capacity and Features
While you may be able to roast a whole chicken in this compact oven, it would have to be a small one. The cooking capacity is limited, so if you want to cook larger meals, you will have to cut the chicken in half or into smaller pieces.
It also comes with some neat cooking features. You can toast up to four slices of bread at the same time as well as four bagels. You can also cook a 12″ pizza, fit a 10×10 inch baking dish, and at least 2 open-faced sandwiches.
Another bonus is that the oven features a toast darkness adjustment setting. This means you have total control over how dark or light your toast is. It also remembers the last option you used, meaning you can personalize your toast settings, and they remain there next time you choose to toast your bread.
Lastly, the toast setting remains until you unplug the machine or change them. The same applies when you choose the bagel option.
Design
While this Breville compact smart oven is on the smaller side, the size is quite convenient because it does not take up too much countertop space. It is coated with a non-stick material on the inside, making it easy to clean.
The oven preheats with 1800W, but some owners have noticed that the outside of the toaster oven tends to get extremely hot and can cause burns if the user is not careful. Other than that, this appliance has a very sleek and elegant design and comes with an intuitive digital display.
The door is made from tempered glass that tends to also get hot during cooking. Thankfully the handle is big enough to prevent you from getting burned.
Heating
The heating on this smart oven is pretty standard. There are four quartz elements – two located at the top and the other two at the bottom. Each component is covered with metal to prevent them from cracking or breaking. We love how the covers protect the heating elements from food residue and oil.
This is an excellent safety feature that will help extend the life of the elements by protecting them. It also helps prevent fires when food comes in direct contact with the elements.
Additionally, the heating elements are controlled by Breville’s trademark Element IQ technology.
This model tends to be more expensive, but thoughtful additions like this make it worth the cost.
Rack Positions
This model comes with 3 rack positions that you can use depending on the cooking type. For example, the broil function can use the top rack height. On the middle rack position, you can use the toast, bagel, pizza, and cookie functions, and lastly, on the bottom rack, you can use the bake, roast, and reheat functions.
You don’t have to remember which rack to use because Breville included a rack position reminder on the glass door. You can refer to it when you need it. This is yet another thoughtful function that Breville included.
Lastly, while not every toaster can handle the use of foil, this one certainly will. So that is a plus with this model; just remember to ensure that the aluminum foil doesn’t touch the interior walls or heating elements.
Power Wattage
The maximum number of watts used during the cooking process is 1800 watts. However, the element IQ technology controls the heating elements. It adjusts the amount of power needed based on the cooking function you choose. In fact, the wattage can be as low as 1300 watts.
Extra features
Breville has packed a lot of extra features into this model. The first is the LCD display. While the display is not as large as the display on the BOV800XL, it is still a neat feature. It clearly shows all the necessary information you need to operate the Breville compact smart oven.
It shows you the toast or bagel browning settings, the selected cooking temperature, countdown timer, and so much more. We also liked that the display changes color from blue to orange when in use, making it an extremely user-friendly model.
The smart oven also comes equipped with an alarm that can be used in two scenarios. The first to alert you when the preheating session is done and the second time when the food is done cooking. This prevents you from under or overcooking your food.
Other cool features include the automatic shut-off option when your food is done. It has an auto-eject rack, unlike the BOV800XL, which is a definite plus in our books. The smart oven has a crumb tray that is easy to access and clean.
The great thing about the design of this Breville BOV650XL is that the crumb tray is in front of the machine, under the door, so you don’t need to open the oven door to remove the tray. Additionally, unlike other brands, which come with flat crumb trays, Breville designed a recessed crumb tray.
The primary benefit of a recessed crumb tray is that it collects on the food residue in the recess. The residue stays put even when you pull the tray out of the appliance for cleaning. Lastly, the tray is coated with a non-stick material that contributes to the ease of cleaning as well.
Value
The Breville smart, the compact oven is quite affordable while having features that you will find on other higher brand toaster ovens. Additionally, it comes in a compact size while fitting a large food capacity inside. So this product is definitely good value for money.
Pros
- Quality: Everything in this model screams quality, from the material used to the features and accessories.
- Intuitive: This smart oven is very user-friendly, and even kids can use the appliance without using the instructional manual.
- BPA Free: All the parts that come into contact with food are free from BPA on this model.
- Cooks quickly and evenly: Thanks to the Element IQ technology, this appliance does an excellent job of heating and cooking evenly.
- Great extra features: The Breville compact smart oven has some fantastic additional features, including temperature conversion and audible alarms.
- Value for money: It is affordable with many features.
Cons
- Tends to use a lot of power: Some of the owners’ concerns were that the toaster oven uses a lot of energy. Your circuit breakers need to have at least 20 amps in order to operate the stove.
- No wire rack stoppers: The three racks can be pulled out completely, leading to accidents or spillage.
How does it compare with similar products?
It’s always crucial to invest in the right appliance for your lifestyle and cooking needs. While we’ve shown the fantastic features and quality of this product in our Breville bov650XL review, it might not be the right one for you.
So, to give you a comprehensive review, we have a brief comparison discussion and table of three alternatives to the Breville BOV650XL compact smart oven so that you can make an informed decision.
Ninja Foodi Digital Oven
The Ninja Foodi Digital Oven is one of the best smart ovens on the market right now. It doesn’t get better than that with excellent baking performance and temperature accuracy. This makes it an excellent alternative to the Breville BOV650XL toaster oven. Some bonus features of this oven include the dehydrate and air-fry modes. Another great bonus is that you can fold it upright when not in use, so you can save space.
Breville Bov900bss Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro
This Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro from Breville is quite large. It has enormous cooking capacity making it a more versatile machine than the Breville BOV650XL compact smart oven, although slightly more expensive. You could easily roast a whole chicken in the Breville, while the BOV650XL is simply not big enough. It also comes with many features, so it’s good value for money.
Nuwave bravo XL smart oven
Designed to be a user-friendly, affordable, and time saving, the Nuwave Bravo XL Smart Oven has been sold to over 6 million customers worldwide. It features a unique heating technology that ensures an even cook (or bake) for any vegetable or meaty dish and more. It is powered by 1800 watts of electricity, so you don’t need to worry about hot or cold spots.
The air fryer toaster oven comes with an integrated digital temperature probe and a triac digital switch. Both allow you to monitor the temperature levels as you cook.
Comparison Table
| Product | Breville BOV650XL compact smart oven | Ninja Foodi Digital Oven | Breville Bov900bss | Nuwave bravo XL smart oven |
| Outer Dimensions | 15″ x 17″ x 10″ | 19.72″ x 7.56″ x 14.96″ | 17.2″ x 21.4″ x 12.8″ | 20″ x 13.5″ x 11″ |
| Maximum Pizza Diameter | 13″ | 13″ | 13″ | 13″ |
| Power Consumption (W) | 1800 | 1800 | 1800 | 1800 |
| Accessories | 10 x10 inch Enamel Baking Pan, 10 x10 inch Enamel Broiling Rack | Air Fry Basket, Sheet Pan, Wire Rack & Removable Crumb Tray. | 13″ Pizza Pan, Oven Racks x2, 9″x13″ Broil Rack, Enamel Roasting Pan, Mesh basket rack | Rack
Chrome Mesh Rack Grill/Griddle Plate Crumb/Drip Tray Temperature Probe Pizza Peel Pizza Cutter/Server Manual/Recipe Book Cooking Club App |
Conclusion
This Breville toaster will undoubtedly do the heavy lifting. It comes with some nifty extra features and cooking functions. The quick-heating, versatility, and fast cleanup are pretty impressive.
We hope that our Breville BOV650XL review has given you all the necessary information you’ll need to make use of this beautifully designed and highly versatile compact smart oven.