8 Reasons Why I Love My June Smart Oven

I consider myself a fairly frugal person, but if my June oven broke I would buy another that same day (and it costs about $500). Why? Because it’s my most-used kitchen appliance. 

The June oven kinda sounds like it’s out of The Jetsons. It’s a countertop oven that’s “smart,” which means it’s compatible with Amazon Alexa and comes with an app that can be used to control it. The oven also has a feature called “Food ID” that recognizes foods and knows the exact time and temperature to cook them at. It can also work like a regular oven, where you can set the time and temperature yourself. 

Toast, roasted carrots, pizza rolls, French fries, baked chicken thighs, roast salmon, baked potatoes, chocolate chip cookies, frozen waffles: I use the June to prepare them all. And they come out perfectly every time.

Here are eight reasons I love the June Smart Oven:

Have you ever thrown a batch of vegetables in the oven only to hem and haw over what temperature to use and for how long? Well the June's Food ID feature takes the guesswork away: simply add food to the oven and the June will recognize what it is with astonishing accuracy. The June knows the perfect time and temperature for baked potatoes, cookie dough, asparagus, chicken wings, and even tofu “steak” for when you don’t want to pull up a recipe.

This may seem like a small thing, but I’ve ruined my fair share (and money’s worth) of nuts by forgetting them in the oven for a couple of minutes too long. Now, I throw nuts onto a pan, pop it into the June and wait 7-ish minutes. The oven shuts off when the nuts are perfectly golden, so there’s no danger of over-toasting.

My June oven takes less than 9 minutes to preheat to 450F, whereas my regular oven takes 20-plus minutes. Plus, it’s cool that you can visually see the temperature going up on a graph on the oven’s LCD screen.

Most home ovens fluctuate an average of 50 degrees from the target temperature. I’m fine with this when I’m roasting a sheet pan of veggies or even a whole chicken, as things will eventually get done, but I use the June exclusively when baking. The June’s accuracy means I have yet to overbake cookies, singe pie crust, or over-brown blondies.

Sometimes I just want to watch Netflix on the couch while things cook. With the oven’s app and built-in camera I can check in on how dinner is going from afar and not have to run into the kitchen. Bonus: you can watch an instant replay of your dinner cooking, in case you want to relive the meal over and over.

The oven’s temperature probe ensures you don’t overcook (or undercook!) meat and fish. Stick the probe in, choose your desired doneness, and then the oven tells you what the target temperature should be and monitors the internal temperature as the food cooks.

With its mesh baskets, the June can air fry, too, and replace the need for an air fryer. I’ve been cooking my way through Air Fryer Perfection in my June (and also making a lot of frozen French fries).

All of these factors combine to make an oven that, I think, makes it easier for those who lack confidence in the kitchen to cook and do so successfully. My husband, who previously knew how to make only cereal, now uses the June daily: to make bacon, roast potatoes, air-fry French fries, and even just toast bread (he still gets a kick out of the June recognizing toast). I think appliances that make it easier and more exciting to cook are something special–it’s why I love doing my job, and why I love my June oven.

Access the ATK Reviews team's complete list of equipment reviews and taste tests as a member of ATK's websites, and check out these articles with some of the team's other picks:

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