Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro Review: Can It Replace Your Oven?

Looking for a countertop oven that can handle everything from toast to a full roast chicken? The Breville Smart Oven Pro has been one of the most talked-about toaster ovens for good reason—it promises to replace your full-size oven for most everyday cooking tasks.

The Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro is a convection countertop oven featuring Breville’s Element IQ technology with five independent quartz heating elements. It offers 10 cooking functions including toast, bagel, bake, roast, broil, pizza, cookies, reheat, warm, and slow cook—making it far more versatile than a typical toaster oven.

I’ve been testing this smart oven for everyday cooking tasks, from quick toast in the morning to slow-cooked roasts. As the video review demonstrated, this oven can fit a whole chicken and handle meals for two to three people without issues.

The short answer? At 4.3 out of 5, the Breville Smart Oven Pro delivers excellent build quality and versatility, though the premium price tag and some cooking inconsistencies mean it’s not perfect for everyone.

What I Liked

Convection Cooking Excellence

The convection system in the Breville Smart Oven Pro is one of its standout features. An inbuilt fan circulates hot air throughout the oven cavity, reducing cooking time by up to 30% compared to conventional cooking methods.

The fan gets rid of the cold air surrounding your food and distributes heat more evenly. You can toggle convection on or off for most cooking functions, giving you control over how your food cooks. This feature proves particularly useful for roasting vegetables and baking—foods come out with better browning and crispier textures.

10 Versatile Cooking Functions

With 10 preset cooking functions, this smart oven handles nearly everything I throw at it. Beyond the standard toast and bake settings, you get specialized modes for bagels, pizza, cookies, and even slow cooking for up to 10 hours.

What impressed me most is how the presets optimize heat distribution for each cooking mode. The settings automatically adjust the heating element output based on what you’re cooking—select pizza and it prioritizes bottom heat for a crispy crust. The slow cook function automatically switches to keep warm when finished, so you don’t have to babysit your meal.

Premium Build Quality

The Breville Smart Oven Pro feels substantial in a way that cheaper toaster ovens don’t. The brushed stainless steel exterior looks professional on any countertop, and the construction feels solid with no rattling or flimsy components.

The LCD display is easy to read with good contrast, and the control dials turn smoothly without any resistance or looseness. The oven door closes firmly with a satisfying feel. This isn’t an appliance that feels like it’ll fall apart after a year of use.

Element IQ Smart Heating

Breville’s Element IQ technology uses five independent quartz heating elements positioned throughout the oven. Smart algorithms direct power where it’s needed most, adjusting automatically based on your selected cooking function.

The 1800-watt system preheats quickly—I found it reaches cooking temperature in just a few minutes. The quartz elements respond faster than traditional nichrome heating elements, which helps maintain more stable temperatures throughout the cooking process.

Generous Interior Capacity

Despite being a countertop appliance, the interior space is genuinely useful. The oven fits up to six slices of toast, a 13-inch pizza, or a whole roast chicken. For slow cooking, you can fit a 4.4-quart Dutch oven inside.

This capacity makes it practical as a primary oven for smaller households. For meals serving two to three people, I rarely need to use my full-size oven anymore. The three adjustable rack positions let you optimize cooking based on what you’re making.

Easy Cleaning

Maintenance is simpler than expected thanks to thoughtful design. The removable crumb tray slides out easily for cleaning, catching everything that falls during cooking. Just pull it out and wipe clean.

The oven interior features a non-stick coating that makes wiping down the walls straightforward. The included accessories—oven rack, broiling rack, baking pan, and pizza pan—clean up without much scrubbing.

What Needs Improvement

Uneven Toasting Results

The most consistent criticism of the Breville Smart Oven Pro is its toasting performance. In professional testing, toast came out with a golden brown center but noticeably lighter coloring toward the rear of the oven.

Good Housekeeping’s testing found that toasting took approximately one minute longer than competing models, with uneven browning across the bread surface. For casual toasting this might be acceptable, but if perfect toast matters to you, dedicated toasters perform better.

Premium Price Point

At $269.95, the Breville Smart Oven Pro costs significantly more than capable alternatives. The Cosori Air Fryer Toaster Oven, priced at $189.66, actually achieved higher performance scores (8.0 vs 6.9) in independent testing while costing $80 less.

This price premium would make sense if cooking performance matched the build quality, but that’s not consistently the case. You’re paying extra for design and brand reputation rather than superior cooking results.

Mixed Cooking Performance

Independent testing revealed a disconnect between the oven’s excellent design (9.3/10) and its actual cooking performance (6.9/10). While the Breville excels at roasting and baking, other functions showed inconsistencies.

Pizza baking, for example, produced uneven results—a quarter of the crust achieved golden brown coloring while the rest remained undercooked. French fries took longer to cook than competing ovens with similar wattage. The Element IQ system doesn’t distribute heat as evenly as its marketing suggests.

Long-Term Reliability Concerns

Some users have reported convection fan failures after two to four years of regular use. More concerning, Breville no longer sells replacement motors for this component, meaning a fan failure could render the convection feature unusable without expensive professional repair.

The one-year warranty doesn’t cover these failures once they occur outside the warranty period. If you’re expecting the same decade-plus lifespan as a traditional toaster oven, there’s elevated risk in the first few years of ownership.

How It Compares

The countertop oven market offers several strong alternatives to the Breville Smart Oven Pro. Here’s how it stacks up against the competition.

Cosori Air Fryer Toaster Oven

The Cosori represents the most compelling value alternative. In standardized testing, it achieved an overall performance score of 8.0 compared to the Breville’s 6.9—outperforming it in toasting, pizza baking, and whole roasted chicken tests.

The price difference is substantial: $189.66 for the Cosori versus $269.95 for the Breville. The Cosori also offers smartphone app connectivity and runs notably quieter during operation. Choose the Breville if design aesthetics and build quality matter more than raw performance. Choose the Cosori if you want better cooking results at a lower price. I tested the basket-style COSORI Pro Gen 2 air fryer separately and it excels at quick, crispy cooking for everyday meals.

Ninja Foodi XL Pro

The Ninja Foodi XL Pro matched the Cosori’s 8.0 performance score and offers a key advantage: extra interior height that allows cooking two dishes simultaneously on different rack levels.

Testers found the Ninja maintained more consistent temperatures and distributed heat more evenly than the Breville. The control interface is also more intuitive despite having fewer toggle switches. The Breville wins on aesthetic appeal and countertop presence, while the Ninja delivers superior functionality.

Panasonic FlashXpress Digital

For budget-conscious buyers, the Panasonic FlashXpress at $153.64 deserves consideration. Despite costing nearly half the Breville’s price, it tied or exceeded the Smart Oven Pro in specific cooking tests, particularly pizza baking.

The Panasonic lacks the Breville’s capacity—it won’t fit a whole chicken—and has fewer cooking presets. But if your needs are simpler and you don’t require the slow cook function or large interior, the Panasonic offers excellent value. The Breville’s advantages lie in its versatility and larger cooking chamber.

Final Verdict

The Breville Smart Oven Pro earns a 4.3 out of 5 rating. It’s a well-built, versatile countertop oven that excels in design and usability while delivering solid—if not exceptional—cooking performance.

America’s Test Kitchen has selected the Breville Smart Oven as their winning recommendation multiple times, and with good reason. The 4.6-star average from nearly 11,000 Amazon reviews reflects genuine user satisfaction with build quality and everyday functionality.

However, the premium price tag requires honest consideration. You’re paying for exceptional design and brand quality rather than best-in-class cooking performance. If your priorities align with aesthetics, build quality, and versatile cooking options, the Breville Smart Oven Pro delivers. If maximum performance per dollar matters more, competitors offer better value.

For small households wanting to reduce reliance on their full-size oven, this smart oven is an excellent choice that should serve well for years of daily use.