I’ve been testing a variety of smart kitchen countertop appliances lately and thought I’d seen them all. What, really, could the next one do differently?
I found out when ChefiQ sent review samples of its iQ MiniOven, a countertop oven, and iQ Sense, a wireless smart meat thermometer. Here’s what I discovered.
My Favorite Things
Compact size that doesn’t skimp on capacity
11 cooking functions plus Dual Cook
Cooking presets
Voice reminders
Large color touch display
Useful app
Annoyances
Presets are a bit tricky to use
Some touch controls aren’t as intuitive as I’d like
Egg tray could be easier to clean
Key Features and Findings
I had a countertop oven I really liked, and I wasn’t planning to replace it anytime soon. However, almost as soon as I began using the iQ MiniOven and its connected wireless meat thermometer, I knew the combo would be my new kitchen power pair.
Look, the MiniOven isn’t perfect. It’s relatively new (released in July 2025), so some things are still in development with new releases on the way. But overall, this is an impressive compact countertop package that’s easy for anyone to use.
The iQ MiniOven has shelf-sensing lights, a stainless steel interior, and a large touch control panel.
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Design: For a countertop oven, this one’s surprisingly elegant. The black exterior makes it unobtrusive even in my off-white kitchen; the stainless steel-coated interior reflects light very well; and the door’s large glass window makes it easy to see how your food is coming along. The oven door also has soft-close hinges, something that’s exceedingly useful in my house of teens.
What stood out to me from the beginning was the control panel’s large, colorful touchscreen display. The settings are large enough to easily tap, a big deal for me since I tend to have a fat-fingered approach to any touchscreen and am constantly tapping multiple things at once. This touchscreen, though, didn’t give me any trouble. I tapped where needed and never had a problem with overlapping button touches.
Choose from manual or preset options using the large, colorful iQ MiniOven touchscreen.
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Features: There are simply too many to share here. The most important, from my perspective, are these:
- 11 cooking functions (Bake, roast, air fry, dehydrate, toast, slow cook, broil, air broil, reheat, keep warm, and proof).
- Dual Cook (The ability to set two cooking functions for a dish, such as air frying a quesadilla, then automatically air broiling it to ensure a crispy exterior.)
- WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity (Key to seamlessly using additional devices, such as the iQSense meat thermometer, with the MiniOven.)
- The ChefiQ app (Among other things, this lets you start the oven using several types of cooking functions from anywhere. You don’t have to use it, but you do need to download the app to create an account so it can pair with the oven and program oven settings.)
- Hundreds of intelligent preset cooking options (You have to try this to believe it. If you want, say, an egg cooked medium, the preset will not only give you instant settings to accomplish that, but also tell you which accessory and rack level to use. For those of us who aren’t professional chefs, the preset features make the oven completely worth buying!)
- Guided cooking (A library of recipes that tracks progress and can control the oven for you.)
The app includes tons of preset options with instructions, connects to the smart meat thermometer for intelligent cooking, and offers recipes with guided cooking options.
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Capacity: Don’t let the size fool you. The iQ MiniOven has a 25-quart interior, which means my kids can toss in an entire 13″ pizza, or I can use a 9″ x 13″ baking tray. You can fit a decent-sized whole chicken in there, bake a dozen cookies, cook 6 eggs at once, and more. Just like a big oven, you can use multiple shelves to cook more than one thing at a time.
The iQ Sense smart meat thermometer pairs with the iQ MiniOven to help ensure you never under- or overcook again.
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I’ve mentioned the iQ Sense smart meat thermometer as a companion to the MiniOven; it’s definitely worth adding on if you purchase the oven. It gives you real-time temperature updates, estimated cooking times, and even offers flip reminders. What makes this meat thermometer different is its five sensors and the related app, which pairs it with the oven. The sensors are, of course, critical for any meat thermometer, but having five means get very accurate readings.
It self-calibrates, is waterproof (dishwasher safe!), and can track internal temperatures, automatically stopping the oven once a target temperature is achieved. If you’re constantly under- or over-cooking things, you won’t anymore with the iQ Sense and iQ MiniOven combo.
Bonus: The thermometer also works with grills, smokers, deep fryers, and more beyond the MiniOven.
Important Specs to Know
Dimensions
16.1W x 16.4D x 14.4H
Capacity
25 Qt
Weight
37.41 lbs
Power
1750w/120V
Temperature range
70ºF – 500ºF
Accessories
Wire rack, a ceramic PFAS-free baking pan, an air fry/dehydrator basket, egg tray, drip tray, and a unique glide rack
Rack indicator lights
Yes
App for smart cooking
Yes
You can cook almost anything to perfection using presets.
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The Bottom Line
Smart cooking doesn’t have to mean complicated. The Chef iQ MiniOven and iQ Sense smart meat thermometer make an unbeatable kitchen duo that’s smart, speedy, and surprisingly versatile.
I didn’t think I’d get excited about a countertop oven, but here we are. The recipes with guided cooking have upped my kitchen game, the oven itself keeps surprising me with cool options, and the foolproof cooking instructions have taken a lot of the fuss out of meals.
Yes, it’s an investment. But factor in that I haven’t used my large oven in weeks; the app keeps me on top of every meal; my kids are obsessed with how quickly it heats up; and even my husband is cooking more, and you can understand at least a little why I’m in love with an intelligent oven.
This isn’t just smart cooking; it’s a smarter way to live.
Keep an eye out for sales on Amazon or the Chef iQ site.
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