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The 5 best long-slot toasters of 2024, tested and reviewed
The Breville “A Bit More” Long Slot Toaster is a modern and thoughtfully designed, high-performance appliance with easy cleanup and user-friendly controls.
What we like
- Even toasting
- Attractive design that's easy to clean
- High-lift lever to protect finger tips
- Intuitive controls
What we don’t like
- Toasts slowly
The best long slot toaster delivers on both performance and aesthetics. The Breville "A Bit More" Long Slot Toaster has a brushed stainless steel exterior, giving it a polished and modern look. The control buttons are clearly labeled with words and steady LED lights. We appreciated the progress light parallel to the browning switch, which removed any "how much longer do we need to wait?" guesswork.
The Breville toaster successfully toasted standard slices of bread and sliced bagels, and thanks to the "Frozen" control option, we got an even brown on frozen slices. However, the "A Bit More" button really sets it apart. If your toast pops up and you're not happy with its level of brownness, you can hit "A Bit More" to give it a slightly longer toast cycle that's calibrated to darken the bread one more shade without the risk of burning.
Another thoughtful design feature is the High Lift lever, which helps lift the toast away from the heat source so you don't burn your fingers. The lever also has a "Lift and Look" notch that will lift the bread mid-toast so that you can check on its progress without interrupting the cycle. Plus, the crumb tray is flat enough to be fully concealed when using the toaster and spacious enough to catch any errant crumbs or seeds.
This toaster's price feels reasonable for its overall quality, and we recommend it for families, shared living situations, and any household that really enjoys toasted bread products.
Read our full Breville Long-Slot Toaster review to learn more.
The KitchenAid 2 Slice Long Slot Toaster with High-Lift Lever takes up fewer square inches than most of its peers, but its smaller size doesn’t reflect any compromises in terms of its toasting quality and its visual appeal.
What we like
- Accurate toast levels from light to dark
- Slim profile
- Springy high-lift lever
What we don’t like
- Only toasts 2 slices at a time
Anyone who has one of the best KitchenAid stand mixers knows how durable and powerful this brand's appliances are — we're pleased to report that KitchenAid's 2 Slice Long Slot Toaster is just as functional and display-worthy. The Long Slot Toaster is narrower than most competitors, making it an ideal choice for apartment dwellers and those looking to minimize countertop clutter.
This model can toast two standard bread slices or bagel halves at once, and the single long slot works nicely for larger slices. However, it may not be the best long-slot toaster for large households since it can't toast more than that at once.
When it comes to toasting, the KitchenAid toaster didn't produce the rich golden color that we expect from a medium-toasted slice of room-temperature or frozen bread. The texture proved crispy and appealing, but the coloration was lighter than we hoped to see. However, we found that the bagel function of this toaster was highly effective, producing perfectly golden halves. The high lift lever removes any need to bring your fingers close to the scalding toaster slots.
At half the price of many of our other tested toasters, the DASH ClearView Long Slice Toaster works quickly, thoroughly, and with a front window view that lets you watch your toast’s progress.
What we like
- Toasts quickly
- Clearly labeled control buttons
- Lightweight and compact
What we don’t like
- Can toast unevenly
- Only fits 2 standard slices of bread
For the best rated long-slot toaster on a budget, the Dash ClearView Long Slice Toaster is the way to go. The streamlined model can easily be tucked into a small countertop corner or kitchen cabinet, and its plastic facade hides scratches and dings.
The Dash ClearView is easy to operate; you just push down on the side lever to toast a room-temperature piece of bread. You have settings for bagels or frozen bread, and the temperature knob provides seven browning levels. We were impressed by the Dash ClearView's speed: it toasted a bagel in just 2 minutes and 20 seconds and fully frozen slices of bread in 2 minutes and 35 seconds. By contrast, the Breville that earned our top-rated position required 3 minutes and 5 seconds to toast frozen bread.
Our favorite feature on the Dash is the Clear View: a window on the front of the device allows you to watch the toasting process. If you don't like surprises, you'll find the Dash ClearVIew's window as reassuring as it is fun to watch. For more details, read our Dash ClearView Toaster review.
Another well-built budget toaster is the Hamilton Beach 4-Slice Long Slot Toaster, which features easy-to-read controls, even browning, and a "One Slice" option that calibrates the machine to properly toast a single slice of bread.
The sleek German-designed Zwilling Enfinigy 2 Long Slot Toaster makes a minimalist-chic addition to your kitchen. Its speedy and even toasting ability makes it worth the splurge.
What we like
- Bright LED lighting on control buttons
- Even toasting
- Well-integrated crumb tray
What we don’t like
- Buttons have symbols rather than words
- Expensive
A splurge-worthy appliance must feature striking visuals and a superior ability to do its job; the Zwilling Enfinigy 2 Long Slot Toaster succeeds on both fronts. The toaster's gentle curves and matte stainless steel finish feel crisp and modern. With LED lights that illuminate the control buttons, the setting symbols are cleverly designed and easy to interpret.
The Enfinigy 2's slots are spacious and capable of handling irregular bread slice shapes, along with multiple standard slices and bagel halves at once. We found that the toast level was even on all tested bread products, the timing was efficient (two and a half minutes for frozen bread and just over two minutes for bagels), and the concealed crumb drawer right at the front of the machine made post-toasting cleanup simple. The temperature knob offers seven browning options, and the push lever can be used to lift the bread out of the slots safely and smoothly.
Smeg appliances are synonymous with great style, and the 4-Slice Toaster fits into that proud tradition. This powerful little machine will both perfectly toast your bread and bagels and make your kitchen counter fully Instagrammable.
What we like
- Comes in multiple colors
- Iconic, retro shape
- Extra-wide slots
What we don’t like
- Bagel button is confusingly labeled
- Expensive
Smeg appliances regularly appear in upscale interior design spreads and aspirational influencer posts, and that's because these retro-inspired items are as photographable as they are useful. The top-rated Smeg 4-Slice Toaster can be purchased in eight enamel colors, all with a sleek stainless steel control panel. The toaster features a push lever, temperature knob with a reheat setting, Defrost button, and Bagel button. We did notice that the decal on the Bagel button is more reminiscent of a baguette than a bagel.
Our testing proved that, at least in the case of the 4-Slice Toaster, Smeg isn't just a pretty face. We experienced quick and easy toasting for standard bread, frozen bread, and bagels — the dark gold color of each toasted bread product was as photogenic as the toaster itself. The extra wide slots can easily fit multiple bread slices and bagel halves, and the lever knob smoothly lifts the finished toast away from the hot surface when you're ready to plate.
Toaster setup: We first evaluated how long it took to remove the toaster from its packaging, whether there were any extra pieces (like crumb trays) that needed attachment, and whether the toaster could be plugged into a 2-prong or 3-prong outlet.
Room-temperature bread slices: We began our toasting tests on the best long-slot toasters by determining how long it would take to toast two standard slices of room-temperature sandwich bread (we put two in each long slot) to "medium" brownness. Then we studied the toasted bread and looked for browning depth and evenness to see if it reached the color that we anticipated over the entire bread surface
Frozen bread slices: We repeated the bread toasting test, but with frozen slices. We used the "Defrost" mode on all models that included this option.
Bagels: We sliced a sesame bagel in half and ran it through the toast test (both halves went in the same long slot), programming each toaster to "Bagel" mode.
Cleanup: After each toast cycle, we pulled out the crumb trays and determined how well they collected and consolidated the crumbs and seeds, how easy they were to find and remove, and how easy they were to put back in place.
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Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
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