The Best Rotisserie Oven

A rotisserie oven for your countertop is your best choice for delicious roasted chicken, a leg of lamb, beef roasts, kebabs, and more. If your regular oven doesn’t have a built-in rotisserie, you can get a mini oven that allows you to take advantage of the capabilities of a rotisserie as well as several other easy-to-use specialty cooking options.

Simply place your favorite meats on the rotisserie system, attach it inside your new roaster oven, and watch as it cooks evenly on all sides.

After carefully reviewing the best options, these are our top picks right now:

• Best overall:
  Cosori C0130-AO Original Air Fryer Toaster Oven
• Best on a budget:
  Toshiba AC25CEW-BS Digital Convection Oven
• Best for air frying:
  Instant Vortex Pro Air Fryer Oven
• Most versatile:
  Yedi Total Package Air Fryer
• Best upright rotisserie:
  NutriChef Multi-Function Rotisserie Oven PKRT97

Best overall: Cosori Original Air Fryer Toaster Oven

The Cosori Original Air Fryer Toaster Oven has all the features you need to set up a beautiful rotisserie system for your meats and other dishes. With 12 preset modes for some of the most popular recipes you can easily get started with your cooking without having to consult a manual or the Internet. Simply turn the knob and press start.

Although this rotisserie oven has a glass door that provides a proper view of your food during cooking, the interior light makes it even easier to see whether your crust is coming along nicely or if you have to crank up the temperature for a while.

Based on our findings, we think the Cosori rotisserie oven is one of the easiest models to use on a daily basis. It makes for a great stand-alone oven that cooks anything you would want, while keeping your regular oven available for pies, cakes, and other dishes.

As an added bonus it works as an air fryer too. The air fryer is great if you want to reduce the amount of fat added during cooking, but we do miss the cylindrical fryer basket that comes with other ovens and easily inserts into the rotisserie mount. What we also missed is dishwasher safe accessories. According to Cosori, none of the trays and sheets included are dishwasher safe. You’ll have to wash them manually instead, which for some people is a disadvantage.

Although the rotisserie seems to work well, we would’ve loved if it had more than two prongs two hold the meat in place during cooking. As the meat tenderizes, two prongs might not be enough to ensure that it keeps rotating.

This review by NerdTechy, which is a good read, walks you through some of the key features of this rotisserie oven, and they round off their review by stressing how powerful it actually is. We believe

• Capacity: 32 quarts / 30 liters
• Exterior dimensions: 20.1 x 16.5 x 12.1 inches
• Weight: 27.4 pounds

Best on a budget: Toshiba Digital Convection Oven

The Toshiba Digital Convection Oven provides unbeatable value at a price significantly lower than most competitors. If you’re on a budget, this is our number one recommendation for you. It does anything you need of a small rotisserie oven, and it never failed to surprise us in a positive way by how easy and efficient it is.

One small detail that we found very attractive about this rotisserie oven is the fact that it stands on raised legs. This means that you can easily access the area beneath the oven, allowing for easy cleaning and no buildup of crumbles and grease. Perfect if you want to keep your kitchen spotless.

With a compact design you’ll easily find a vacant spot for the Toshiba rotisserie oven, and it doesn’t weigh as much as other products either. It has 10 preset modes for the most popular recipes, and we found that it heats up quickly as well.

One tradeoff is the overall build quality though, which is acceptable but leaning towards the cheap side. The trays are of a thin quality and the rotisserie system doesn’t seem to hold up very well, but so far it has been doing quite well.

We also discovered a minor issue, which was brought to our attention by another user: If the trays are pulled halfway out or more and you let go if them, they might slant downwards and cause hot contents to slide off. Based on what we’ve seen so far, we believe this is due to a slightly flawed rack design.

• Capacity: 25 liters
• Exterior dimensions: 11 x 18 x 16 inches
• Weight: 22.7 pounds

Best with a fryer basket: Instant Vortex Pro Air Fryer Oven

Most people know and love the Canadian Instant Pot brand for their kitchen appliances, and their popular rotisserie oven is of course no exception. We were pleasantly surprised to discover how versatile it actually is, as it comes with an air fryer basket that slots right into the rotisserie catch for circulation during the cooking process.

The air fry basket, trays, and rotisserie spit+forks are all dishwasher safe and therefore allows for easy cleaning after use. This stands in contrast to other models where the same accessories have to be washed by hand, hence making it a bit easier to clear the kitchen afterwards.

According to a review on The Spruce Eats, this rotisserie oven is the best pick overall due to its high ratings, versatility, and capacity. We do agree with all their points, and think it’s a great addition to any kitchen. We do think it’s on the small side with regard to the interior capacity, but it doesn’t fail to make a perfect, delicious 3.5-pound chicken roast using the rotisserie system.

On top of the cooking capabilities of this rotisserie oven, we also found the control panel very intuitive and easy to use. All buttons are touch sensitive, so all you need to do is wipe the panel over and it’s completely clean. No dust or grease collect around buttons and knobs because they don’t exist on this oven.

One small letdown is the fact that it doesn’t have a dedicated drip tray for the bottom of the oven. If you want to catch the drips, you either have to buy your own drip tray or use the baking tray on the lowest rack – however, this would lead to a sacrifice of capacity. Another thing which seems to bother some people is the fact that the illuminated display can’t turn off when the oven isn’t in use. Once turned off, the display has “Off” written in it and all touch sensitive buttons are still lit up as well.

• Capacity: 10 quarts
• Exterior dimensions: 13.8 x 13.2 x 14.4 inches
• Weight: 21.9 pounds

Most versatile: Yedi Total Package Air Fryer

The Yedi Total Package Air Fryer is not only a rotisserie oven. As the model name suggests, it is capable of air frying your food as well. With a complete rotisserie system, a rotisserie basket, a skewer rotisserie, and a steak cage included among other things, you’re more than ready to cook most things you can imagine.

With the compact size and design you can easily hide the Yedi rotisserie oven in a cabinet or keep it in the corner of your countertop, where space is often underutilized.

We were quite impressed with all the accessories included with this oven, as they enable you to make nearly anything from roasts to fries and cakes. In the meantime your regular oven can be utilized for other purposes, granting you enough space to cook an entire family dinner simultaneously.

Many users complained about the heat only coming from the top of the unit, which is true. This is great when using the rotisserie system, but perhaps not as great when using the trays for vegetables and other foods. You’ll have to turn over your foods regularly to cook them evenly, unless you put them into the rotisserie basket or utilize the skewer rotisserie.

We also saw signs of some burnt-on grease on some of the interior surfaces, and we don’t think these come off easily. This isn’t a big issue though, but worth considering if you want a rotisserie oven that remains completely spotless for years to come.

• Capacity: 12.7 quarts
• Exterior dimensions: 12.4 x 13.15 x 14.57 inches
• Weight: 18 pounds

Best upright rotisserie: NutriChef Multi-Function Rotisserie Oven

With the NutriChef Multi-Function Rotisserie Oven, cooking your own food becomes fun once again. The rotating rack allows for easy cooking of everything from roasts to kebabs, and with the adjustable heating elements you get to decide for yourself what angles you want the heat from.

According to the information we found, the accessories are perfectly dishwasher safe. This means less cleaning afterwards, and more time for you to relax. We also like how easy it is to use, and because of the simplicity of the control panel there’s no learning curve as it doesn’t come with a lot of preset modes and functions.

What we really like about this funny looking rotisserie oven, is the fact that it has a vertical rotisserie system. This allows for proper cooking of shawarma and kebab skewers, but also roasts and whole chickens are easily cooked with this setup. Because the meats “sit” on a plate you have a proper drip tray at the bottom, which supports your roast as well. This means less strain on the roast, and you don’t have to spend as much time ensuring that weight is balanced perfectly to all sides.

Although we like this design, it also has a few natural limitations. For example there’s no way you can add an air fryer basket with this, and it doesn’t actually air fry your foods either. We’ve also found a few examples of the manual being wrong about the temperature selection for cooking different types of meat, so it’s probably better if you find your own recipes online instead.

You don’t have any preset modes at your disposal, and because it is adjusted by mechanical knobs the timer only goes up to one hour OR stays on indefinitely. This may not be a disadvantage for you, but it means that your rotisserie oven doesn’t turn off automatically like other models do.

• Capacity: 24 quarts
• Exterior dimensions: 18.9 x 13.4 x 12.2 inches
• Weight: 11.1 pounds

Are rotisserie ovens worth it?

Yes, we believe a rotisserie oven is worth it. Here’s a video to convince you.

If you love roasts and chicken with a perfectly crispy outside while still juicy on the inside, a rotisserie oven is your best choice. Rotisserie ovens do more than just roasts, as they tend to offer more features than what you get in a regular convection oven.

More often than not your rotisserie oven also has an air fryer feature, which allows you to cook foods in metal mesh baskets with less fat than you’d normally use. You can see how it works in this YouTube video.

Furthermore, a rotisserie oven costs the same as a microwave oven. It’s quite cheap, which is definitely an incentive in itself. It works perfectly well as an extra oven, allowing you to utilize your regular oven for other purposes simultaneously.

Imagine cooking an entire family dinner with just one oven. That would be nearly impossible, because you’d have to cram your pies and cakes in with the roast or prioritize what you want to cook first and last.

What can you cook in a rotisserie oven?

A rotisserie oven cooks the same foods as in a regular convection oven, but in a smaller scale. It does everything from cooking delicious roasts to toasting your bread, and most people use it in addition to their regular-sized oven.

One of the things you can cook with a rotisserie oven, besides roasts and whole chickens, is a good portion of fried. You could either cook them in a tray or in a fryer basket, which is usually included if you opt for an air fryer oven.

Of course, the key feature of a rotisserie oven is the rotisserie. With this you can make all kinds of roasts that will turn crispy on the outside and perfectly juicy on the inside, with an even doneness all around.

These are some of the things that could turn out great in a rotisserie oven:

• Chicken
  The roasted chicken is a classic. With a rotisserie oven this is an easy task, and you’ll get perfectly crispy chicken skin on all sides while the meat stays juicy.
• Pork roasts
  With or without the skin on, pork roasts turn out great in a rotisserie oven. Especially when pork belly and other fatty cuts.
• Beef roasts
  Whether roast beef or prime rib, beef roasts turn out great in a rotisserie oven as all sides are equally exposed to the heating elements. This allows for even and gentle cooking with less gray/dry meat around the sides.
• Legs of lamb
  A leg of lamb has the perfect size for most rotisserie ovens, and they cook to perfection when rotating on a rotisserie spit.
• Turkey
  Holiday turkeys are traditionally cooked in a regular oven, but most rotisserie ovens are actually spacious enough to cook an entire turkey. This allows you to cook other things in your regular oven simultaneously, which is quite useful during a busy family dinner.
• Glazed ham
  Forming the perfect sugar crust on a ham isn’t an easy task, but with a rotisserie oven it gets slightly easier. Just add the glaze during the last minutes of cooking time, and the rotation will ensure that you get a nice, even crust.
• Potato fries
  With the amount of accessories you get with a rotisserie oven, chances are that you get a fryer basket too. Simply add your fries and allow it to spin until done. Your fries will be cooked evenly on all surfaces, just as they would do in any air fryer.

Identifying the best rotisserie ovens on the market

With all the rotisserie ovens available on the market, it wasn’t an easy task to curate a list of our favorites. During a careful reviewing process we managed to b(r)oil it down to just a few ovens that we believe are the best ones available right now.

Below are the things we looked for upon identifying the best rotisserie ovens.

Capacity

First and foremost, we looked at the capacity of the rotisserie ovens. This is important if you want to cook bigger portions, you’d also want to look for an oven that utilizes the interior:exterior ratio properly so it doesn’t take up more countertop space than necessary.

Capacity is more than just a number, though. We looked at the height, depth, and width of the interior space, in order to better determine the versatility. This is particularly important if you want to make sure that you can fit a chicken or a roast of a specific size in your new rotisserie oven.

Features

Rotisserie ovens come with a lot of features, that are very useful in a busy household. We evaluated all features included with the rotisserie ovens, in order to determine what models had the best ones possible.

Generally speaking, you want a rotisserie oven with plenty of features as it is often utilized for various purposes spanding from toasting bread to cooking a chicken.

The more features it has, the more gadgets it replaces.

Build quality

Build quality is an important factor to consider as well. You want a rotisserie oven that lasts longer than just a few years, as it would otherwise cause frustration and a waste of money.

Most rotisserie ovens are made with a combination of metal and plastic, so make sure the different parts are of a durable quality

Value

The last thing to consider is the overall value proposition, and this is something that you have to consider based on your personal needs.

As we skimmed through the features of each rotisserie oven, we noted that most models have different features that they highlight.

We recommend that you take note of all the features that are most important to you, and shop for an oven that meets the criteria you’ve noted down.

More often than not you could see yourself saving a bit of money by always prioritizing the things that actually matter, rather than getting blinded by gimmicks.