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Best toastie makers on the market in the UK

Liven up your lunches with an easy-to-use sandwich toaster and enjoy piping-hot treats in minutes! Here's our round-up of five of the best

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Published: May 18, 2022 at 9:00 am

Since Breville’s first toasted sandwich maker hit the high street in the 1970s, the humble toastie has been a staple snack for many. Today’s sandwich toasters offer a host of grilling possibilities, from classic toasted sandwiches to bistro-style toasted paninis, and even waffles. Read on to see our pick of the best toastie makers on the market, as reviewed by the HomeStyle team.

Toastie makers: what's the best style for you?

As with any kitchen gadget, you’ll want to consider your cooking style, storage and counter space when making your choice. If you’re looking to use your sandwich toaster for light lunches and snacks, a compact standard-sized plate model is a budget-friendly option. If you want to make bigger sandwiches or toast paninis, a larger-sized machine with broader, multi-purpose and deep-fill plates will offer flexibility.

Several machines on the market have additional features, such as grill and waffle plates, which can be a draw for families or keen cooks looking to experiment with their snack making possibilities.

How to make a cheese toastie

Get creative with your cheese toasties! How about this delicious pineapple, chilli & cheese recipe from Tesco? You'll need...

  • 70g tinned pineapple chunks (drained weight)
  • 100g Cathedral City Mature Cheddar, grated
  • 10g fresh coriander leaves, chopped
  • Butter
  • 4 slices wholemeal bread
  • 4 tsp Tesco Finest chilli relish

Directions for how to make a great cheese toastie

Best sandwich toasters

Cuisinart 2-in-1 Grill & Sandwich Maker

The choice of the keen cook

Cuisinart 2 in 1 Grill and Sandwich Maker £90 (5)
  • Price: £120
  • Size: 15cm H x 32cm W x 26cm D
  • Plates: 2 non-stick toasted sandwich plates and 2 non-stick grill plates, removable
  • Temperature range: Low, medium and high
  • Accessories: Instruction manual, recipe book and plastic scraper for removing melted ingredients from the plates

For serious toastie lovers, look no further than the Cuisinart 2-in-1 Grill & Sandwich Maker. It comes with large, deep-fill sandwich plates as well as grill plates, which you can use to toast paninis and grill meat and veggies. This sandwich maker is a little larger than your average toastie maker due to its extra functions, but if you like toasties on a regular basis, you’ll definitely want to make some space for this machine!

There are three heat levels so you can adjust your grill temperature. It takes about five minutes to get hot enough to toast. A green light indicates it’s ready and ours pinged on after just three minutes. You can toast both small and large sliced loaves, thanks to its generously sized toasting plates and a clever floating lid that locks into place no matter what size sandwich or panini you have, so you’re guaranteed to get an evenly toasted treat.

Thanks to the large deep plates, we didn’t experience any spillages. To clean, once the machine has cooled, pop the removable plates out and wash with warm soapy water. Overall this was a real treat to use, and the recipe book included gave us plenty of ideas for future toasties too.

Breville Deep Fill Sandwich Toastie Maker

The best for deep fillings

VST091_Breville_Deep Fill_Sandwich Toaster_White_Lifestyle_3
  • Price: £24.99
  • Size: 10cm H x 24cm W x 23.5cm D
  • Plates: 2 non-stick toasted sandwich plates, fixed
  • Temperature range: Single setting
  • Accessories: Instruction manual

Compact and lightweight, the Breville Deep Fill Sandwich Toaster is suitable for even the smallest of kitchens and it’s a breeze to use. It warms up in only two minutes with a green power light letting you know it’s turned on, and an orange light indicating when it’s ready to toast.

While the plates are small, and best suited to a small sliced loaf to avoid excess bread overhanging the sides, this is Breville’s deepest-fill sandwich toaster so there’s room for plenty of ingredients. The model also features Breville’s handy Cut & Seal system, allowing you to simply snap the two sides of your toastie in half once it’s cooked.

This model makes two toasties and ours were ready in 4-5 minutes and tasted delicious – the filling was piping hot and the bread was crisped to perfection. There was very little leakage and cleaning is simple: allow to cool and then wipe with a soft damp cloth.

Russell Hobbs 3-in-1 Sandwich Toaster

Our favourite all-round choice

Russell Hobbs Main CO
  • Price: £25
  • Size: 10.5cm H x 25cm W x 23.2cm D
  • Plates: 2 non-stick toasted sandwich plates and 2 non-stick waffle plates, removeable
  • Temperature range: Single setting
  • Accessories: Instruction manual, which includes sweet and savoury toastie-filling ideas and a waffle recipe

This toastie maker may be small, but it sure is mighty. Featuring deep-fill sandwich plates that click in and out at the touch of a button, it’s quick and simple to use and easy to clean with a damp cloth.

Once the lights indicated that our machine was up to temperature, around three minutes of wait time, it took roughly four minutes to create an evenly cooked, tasty, golden toastie. If you slightly overfill yours (like we did!) you may find that a little bit of filling leaks onto the plates, however, thanks to their non-stick coating, it’ll lift right out when you remove your sandwich.

If you’re short on space, don’t fret! This lightweight toastie takes up minimal room on a countertop and can be stored upright in a kitchen cupboard. It also comes complete with interchangeable waffle and grill plates and easy-to-follow recipes, so you can cook a variety of mealtime treats.

VonShef 4 Slice Deep Fill Toastie Maker

The best for those with a family to feed

HIGHEST-RES-2000121_insitu_01
  • Price: £34.99
  • Size: 12cm H x 23cm W x 29cm D
  • Plates: 2 non-stick toasted sandwich plates, fixed
  • Temperature range: Single setting
  • Accessories: Instruction manual

This sturdy toastie maker is the perfect choice for families. The large plates allow you to cook four toasties at once, so there’s no waiting around for separate batches. The deep-fill plates also give you plenty of room to pack in your tasty ingredients. The ridged design of the plates neatly sealed the edges of our toasties, so the ingredients didn’t bubble out and made cutting them easy.

It took just two minutes for our test machine to heat up, and we found the toasting time took around seven minutes for the cheese filling to sufficiently melt.

It’s worth noting the super-sized plates do make this quite a large appliance, but when folded with the handle clipped shut it can be easily stored upright or on its side.

Due to the non-removable plates, it’s best to clean the machine with a damp microfibre cloth, which helps to lift away crumbs quickly.

Judge Mini Sandwich Toaster

The best choice for those limited on space

JEA50 Judge Electricals Mini Sandwich Maker 350W - 2016 - Lifestyle In Use
  • Price:£17.99
  • Size: 7.5cm H x 21cm W x 13cm D
  • Plates: 1 non-stick toasted sandwich plate, fixed
  • Temperature range: Single setting
  • Accessories: Instruction manual

Light and dinky, this Judge single-sandwich toaster is ideal if there’s not much room in the cupboards. Straightforward to use, with a handy ‘ready for toasting’ light, which comes on right away, it took around three minutes to achieve a perfect golden crisp on the outside and delicious gooey cheese inside.

The built-in cutter didn’t quite separate the bread, but it easily broke away with the help of a knife. There was no leakage and, thanks to the non-stick toasting plate, it was easy to clean; just a quick wipe with a cloth was all that was needed and it was spick and span.

This simple, no-fuss model is the perfect choice for smaller households and compact kitchens. Look out for deals too: at the time of writing, we found this on sale for under £20.

How to clean a toastie maker

When it comes to keeping your toastie maker in tip-top condition, thankfully, they are easy to keep clean. Most simply require a wipe, although some models have removable plates that you can wash in warm soapy water – handy if you like a deep-filled sandwich, which might create a little more mess when cooking.

If you enjoyed our round-up, check out our other Buyer’s Guides! We’ve got guides to the best ice cream makers, coffee machines, and many more household appliances!

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