There's nothing like a good toasted sandwich – crisp on the outside and oozing in the middle, it's the perfect lunch. But finding a toasted sandwich maker that crisps up the outside of your toastie, keeps the filling contained and is easy to clean, can be tough. In fact, one Real Homes staffer even makes her toasties in a frying pan after years of trying, and failing, to find the perfect machine. As part of the Real Homes Show, our online TV show, we've put three toasted sandwich makers to the test to reveal which works best and how much you really need to spend.
For the best prices on sandwich toasters, take a look at our best sandwich toaster buying guide.
The contenders
- – a bargain sandwich toaster that promises to make two perfect toasties in four minutes with easy-to-clean non-stick plates. RRP £20 on Amazon.
- – a mid-range product from the inventors of the toasted sandwich maker. Has a ceramic coating for easy cleaning and 20 per cent faster grilling, plus adjustable temperature. RRP £30 on Amazon.
- – a multi-purpose product with changeable plates for grilling or making toasties. Floating hinges mean it adjusts to the thickness of the contents and the heat is adjustable. RRP £89.99 at Lakeland.
The results
We wanted to know how quickly the toasted sandwich makers heated up, how evenly they cooked cooked, how well the filling was contained, and how easy they were to clean.
1. Speed of heating up
When your stomach is grumbling, the last thing you want is to be waiting around for a toasted sandwich maker to heat up. We plugged all of the machines in at the same time and the first to be ready, which is signalled by a light, was the bargain Salter machine (£20), followed by the Breville (£30) and Cuisinart (£90).
Winner = If you're in a hurry, the is the quickest to heat up
2. Cooking and crispiness
The only toasted sandwich maker in our test that promised to cook within a certain time was the Salter machine (£20), which claimed to cook two toasties in four minutes. To keep the test fair, we let all four machines get up to temperature and then popped two toasties (beans and cheese, in case you're wondering) in for four minutes.
Unfortunately, the Salter left the toasties a little undercooked after four minutes. The mid-priced Breville (£30) crisped the sandwiches up perfectly but did leave the top crust, which stuck out of the machine, a little soft.
The clear winner for evenness and crispiness was the Cuisinart (£90), which created perfectly toasted capsules of yumminess. It's worth noting that both the Breville and Cuisinart have adjustable temperature controls – perfect if you like your toasties extra crispy.
Winner = There's no denying that the £90 produced the most evenly cooked toasties.
3. Keeping the filling contained
There's nothing worse that a toastie where the filling leaks out and scalds you before you've even managed to take a bite. All three machines claimed to seal in the filling and have non-stick coatings, so you won't tear the toastie when taking it out. The non-stick coatings worked a treat and we had no problem removing our lunch from any of the machines, using a plastic spatula to make sure we didn't damage the coating, of course.
The Breville Deep Fill (£30) and Cuisnart 2-in-1 (£90) both sealed the toasties perfectly, with no sign of the filling leaking. Unfortunately, the Salter Deep Fill (£20) didn't seal the sandwich quite as well as we found some of the beans had leaked out onto the plates during cooking.
Joint winners = Both the and produced perfectly sealed toasties.
4. Ease of cleaning
However careful you are, there will be a time when you over-fill your toasties and some filling leaks out onto the plates. And even if you do manage to keep it contained, you'll still need to clean the plates after every use – so which is easiest to keep sparkling?
| Salter Deep Fill (£20) | Breville Deep Fill (£30) | Cuisinart 2-in-1 (£90) | |
| Removable plates | No | Yes | Yes |
| Dishwasher safe | No | No | Yes |
The winner = Being able to pop the plates of the in the dishwasher makes it a winner.
Which should you choose?
- It's a bargain at less than £20, but we'd only recommend the if you prefer your toasties less crispy.
- For all-round performance and value-for-money, the is a great choice. It grills well, keeps the filling contained and is easy to clean, which makes it great value for month.
- If you'll use the grill function, which can be used for everything from steaks to vegetables, then the is worth the almost £90 investment. It produced the best toastie and is easy to clean, but it's only worth the money if you'll actually use the grill function, too.
