9 Tips For Cooking Frozen Meals In A Toaster Oven

While we’re all about wholesome dinners like these yummy spaghetti squash burrito bowls, sometimes it’s nice to take the night off from cooking. When it’s been a day or you’re not feeling well, frozen meals are a fantastic option.

They’re convenient and more affordable than takeout. And these days there are lots of great vegetarian and vegan options available.

Unfortunately, frozen meals tend to taste kind of terrible when microwaved. But, I get it. Turning on your oven to heat up one or two meals feels like such a waste.

Frozen enchiladas in a small blue baking dish.

Tips For Tasty Toaster Oven Frozen Meals

The good news is your toaster oven can help you make frozen meals that are not soggy, and dare I say…even appetizing.

And because they preheat faster and use less energy, toaster ovens are a more efficient way to get that home-cooked flavor you’re craving.

Now, your little oven isn’t magical. So it won’t cook your dinner faster but it will taste much better than a soggy microwaved dish.

Below are some of our best cooking tips along with a few of the baking dishes and pans we use to cook frozen meals in our toaster oven.

Disclosure: As a ThermoWorks affiliate, we may receive commissions from purchases made using the links on this page.

A box with the words "Microwave oven only" cooking instructions.

1. Read Before You Buy.

A lot of companies are developing frozen dinners that are only for cooking in the microwave. Don’t buy those if you want to cook frozen meals in your toaster oven.

Instead, look for meals with toaster oven directions or conventional oven directions that don’t prohibit the use of a toaster oven.

Our favorite frozen meals are from Amy’s brand – they’re vegetarian and every box includes toaster oven directions! I’ve been eating them since my senior year in high school, so cough cough…a few decades now.

Baked frozen enchiladas in a blue 7x5 baking dish.

*Why do some packages say “do not prepare in a toaster oven”?

Conagra, the maker of Marie Callender’s frozen meals and pot pies was one of the few companies that responded to our email inquiry and kindly offered the following reasons:

Because toaster ovens vary widely in size, heat distribution, distance from heating element and insulation, we do not recommend using toaster ovens. The product would be too close to the heating source and it can cause a fire.

In addition, Stouffer’s has a FAQ that states under the preparation tab “We do not recommend using a toaster oven due to the toaster oven’s small size and close proximity of the heating element to the meal container.”

Frozen vegetable pot pie on a toaster oven baking sheet.

2. Remove any packaging.

The Amy’s meals we buy usually come in paper cartons and are wrapped in plastic.

Each box has toaster oven cooking instructions that direct you to remove any packaging and transfer the meal to an oven-safe baking dish before cooking.

Toaster Oven Safety

Never put paper or plastic in a toaster oven, they’re a fire hazard.

3. Use a toaster oven pan or baking dish.

*Always review the manual that came with your toaster oven and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for materials that are acceptable to use in your specific oven.

First photo: Frozen meal in a metal baking pan. Second photo: Cooked enchilada bowl in a toaster oven baking dish.

I try to look for a pan or baking dish that’s close to the same size and shape as the frozen meal.

If the pan is too large, sauces and fillings can spread out and bake on the pan like with the enchilada bowl pictured above. In case you’re wondering, it was still tasty just a little on the dry side.

From casseroles to small dutch ovens, there are a lot of options for toaster oven baking dishes.

First Photo: Frozen meal in a small cast iron skillet. Second Photo: Cooked meal.
First Photo: Frozen macaroni and cheese in a mini pie pan. Second Photo: Cooked meal in a 6-inch round cake pan.

We’re big fans of this 7 x 5-inch baking dish for rectangular-shaped meals like enchiladas. For bowl-style meals, we’ll use either a 6 x 2-inch round cake pan, a mini pie pan (ours is a little small so it doesn’t always work), or a 6.5-inch cast iron skillet.

If I’m trying to cook two meals at once I’ll usually stick them both in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish.

We avoid glass baking dishes since most major manufacturers warn not to use them in a toaster oven and to avoid large temperature changes (you know, like tossing a frozen meal into a hot oven).

Frozen mac and cheese in a mini pie plate cooking inside a toaster oven.

4. Lightly oil the pan.

Totally optional but I find it helps to keep the food from sticking and makes clean-up easier (especially for metal pans).

5. Cover food as directed.

Covering food during baking helps to keep moisture in the dish. It’s usually called for when cooking frozen casseroles.

We’re trying to use less foil in our house so if a baking dish doesn’t have a lid we just cover it with a cookie sheet.

A dish of potatoes au gratin baking in the toaster oven.
This photo is from our potatoes au gratin for two but you get the idea.

Can you use foil to cover the pan?

Maybe? The answer is usually yes so long as the foil is tightly covering the pan.

But because toaster ovens vary and there’s no industry standard, each manufacturer has its own instructions regarding the use of foil. So it’s best to consult your manual or contact the manufacturer.

Learn More >>> Can you put foil in a toaster oven?

2 photos of frozen and cooked lasagna in a blue 7x5 baking dish.

6. Reduce the cooking temperature by 25 degrees.

We reduce the temperature for thicker items (like lasagnas or casseroles) or if we’re using convection. 

If the temperature is too high you can end up with dried-out edges and a frozen center. This same issue can occur if you’re cooking with a convection toaster oven.

Reducing the temperature by 25 degrees gives the oven time to slowly warm the meal throughout.

*If your oven heats aggressively, reducing the temperature for all frozen meals may work best. 

2 photos of frozen and cooked macaroni and cheese cooked in a mini pie plate.

7. Check on your meal early.

Working on this post we cooked veggie pot pies, tofu bowls, enchiladas, and a bunch of other frozen meals in our toaster ovens. Most of them were ready about 5 to 10 minutes faster than the shortest time stated on the box.

Whether you’re using an old-school toaster oven or are cooking with a convection toaster oven it’s a good idea to check on your meal about 2/3 of the way through the cooking time.

If your meal’s not ready just pop it back in and add more time.

Mini pie pan with mac and cheese on a cutting board with a blue spoon.

When making things like macaroni and cheese I find it helps the food to cook more evenly if I stir the center of the item about halfway through the instructed cooking time.

This also gives you a chance to see if the edges are cooking too fast and make adjustments to the temperature if needed. Or cover the baking dish if the top is over-browning. 

Hand holding a blue thermometer in a pot pie.

8. Use a thermometer.

This is super important. In December 2022, the CDC released a report concerning cooking frozen stuffed chicken breasts in appliances other than a conventional oven and how that may be linked to food illnesses.

In the discussion section, it’s noted that “Studies indicate that microwaves, air fryers, and toaster ovens inconsistently heat frozen stuffed chicken or frozen raw breaded chicken.” This is another reason why some frozen meals might warn against using anything other than a traditional oven for cooking.

To make sure our food has been cooked entirely (regardless of the type of meal), I like to use a food thermometer. I stick it in a few different spots and especially in the center of the thickest areas.

Here’s a handy chart with the minimum cooking temperatures for different foods. Since our frozen meals are vegetarian, I use the casserole column and look for an internal temperature of 165° (unless the box states something different).

If you don’t own a thermometer, you can usually find them at most supermarkets and houseware stores. They’re fairly inexpensive and great for baking bread, frozen pizza, and more.

Oven thermometers, orange and red oven gloves, and an instant read thermometer.

Our favorite instant-read thermometer

We love our little Thermopop from Thermoworks. It’s one of our most used toaster oven accessories right up there with oven mitts and an oven thermometer.

Not only is it cute but the temperature read takes just a few seconds and the numbers are large and easy to see.

Overhead view of baked pie cooling on a sheet pan.
We used the thermometer a bunch during our toaster oven frozen fruit pie bake-off.

It’s nice to have a way to confirm everything has been cooked to a food-safe temperature. Especially when cooking frozen vegetable pot pies or any kind of fake meat item like chicken-less nuggets. 

The Thermopop comes in a variety of fun color options. I bought a blue one (it’s my favorite color) and liked it so much I got a purple one for my mom as a Christmas present. 

Tortilla chips topped with a cooked black bean and quinoa frozen meal.

9. Lastly, be kind to your pans.

Utensils can scrape, scratch, and damage metal pans so we transfer the food to a plate or bowl before eating.

Bonus: It’ll feel more like a proper meal and gives you a chance to zhuzh up the dish with a little hot sauce, extra cheese, or a sprinkle of fresh herbs. Bon Appétit!

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17 Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and views. It helped me by understanding the ways of my toasteroven of the do’s and don’ts.
    Thank you.

  2. I sometimes use the microwave to heat and then the toaster oven to toast or crunch up the top of pot pies, Mac & cheese and potato dishes.

  3. I have never used a toaster oven for baking, but I plan to do so on Thanksgiving. Can I bake a whole chicken leg in the toaster over? Any suggestions. Thank you. Karen

    1. Hi Karen, unfortunately, I don’t have any good suggestions as we’re vegetarian so I have never cooked chicken (or any kind of meat) in a toaster oven.

      For some good advice in that department, I’d suggest Googling “toaster oven chicken leg” or turkey leg. I know there is a guy on Youtube who has cooked every type of meat/poultry in his toaster oven and has lots of videos with tips.

      Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

  4. I’m interested in the Panasonic toaster oven (NBG251). But in the details section, it says no frozen food entrees….I don’t get it. Can you not bake frozen food in this model, or are they referring to the type of material the frozen food entree comes in.

    1. Hi Wally,

      I took a quick peek at the manual for that oven and there are directions for cooking frozen pizza and nuggets so I’d be surprised if they actually meant the frozen entree and not just the packaging but it’s probably worth sending Panasonic a quick email or doing a chat on their website to confirm before purchasing. If they do mean the entree you’d definitely want to know that beforehand.

    1. Yep, that’s why we said “most” major manufacturers warn not to use glass in a toaster oven. Though it’s worth noting that only the Littles have that designation from the company. At this time, the general Pyrex Glass Care and Use page states “DO NOT use on or under a flame or other direct heat source, including on a stove top, under a broiler, on a grill or in a toaster oven.” (https://www.pyrexware.com/use-care-pyrex.html)

  5. Yes! Recipes for 5×5 please. That little one is perfect for the one dish recipes. I use it frequently for reheating casserole servings I’ve frozen and thawed.

  6. What a great email, suggestions I’d not thought of. Love that little 5X7 dish I got soon after getting my mini Breville, your suggestion way back then. Also love my 5X5 dish. Always look forward to your emails.

    1. I’m so glad you’re enjoying your little oven and the baking dishes. That 7×5 dish is my favorite too, though we don’t use the 5×5 one enough – we’ll have to work on some recipes for it 🙂

      Thanks for stopping by, Shirley it’s always nice to hear from you!