The differences between a toaster oven and a microwave oven

Many home cooks are choosing to replace or supplement their microwave oven with a toaster oven. The reasons for this may vary from person to person. Here are a few of the differences between toaster ovens and microwave ovens to help you decide which is the best choice for you.
A microwave oven will essentially steam all food. While this is a great option for some items, such as asparagus or lobster, a microwave oven tends to make many other items soggy. Bread products tend to taste dry and very stale after being microwaved, unless they are loaded with chemicals and excessive fats (read the label on bread products made specifically for the microwave.) A toaster oven uses dry heat, just like a normal oven. This means food cooked in a toaster oven doesn't just simply get hot, it can also be cooked in many different ways.
Browning is one area where these two ovens greatly stand apart. A microwave oven has no browning capabilities at all. No matter how long you cook food in a microwave, it simply will never turn golden brown. A toaster oven can brown food. When foods are browned, a myriad of interesting and delicious flavor compounds are developed. French scientist Louis Camille Maillard extensively studied what happens when food browns in the early 1900s, which is why we now call that process the Maillard Reaction.
A good toaster oven can be used to cook anything a normal full-sized oven can, as long as the food is small enough. You can bake, broil, roast or toast. You can add liquid to a covered baking dish and steam or braise your food. A microwave can only steam.
There is some evidence, although disputed by some, that there are inherent safety issues involved when microwaving food. This is one of those issues where you must decide for yourself where you stand.
On the issue of speed, the microwave will always beat the toaster oven hands down. There is no appliance today that can cook food as quickly as a microwave oven, which is why that appliance is present in almost all modern kitchens. But I would argue that speed is not important if it produces bad food.
Overall, a microwave is great if you want to cook or heat food very quickly. A toaster oven is best if you want the food cooked well, offering as much flavor as possible. It takes a bit longer, but the average heat up and cooking time of a toaster oven is much less than that of a full-sized oven due to having a smaller space to heat and the close proximity of the food to the heating elements.