Smeg Combi Steam Oven review: a multi-functional countertop oven that looks stunning and cooks well
Smeg Combi Steam Oven: One Minute Review
There is no denying that SmegCombi steam Ovens are a stylish and beautiful piece of kitchen technology that can cook food in a variety of ways. I tried the bake, convection bake, air fryer and steamer functions as well as some of the preset recipe functions. Everything I made was delicious, although I did need to keep an eye on my food and I took some things out ahead of time to prevent overcooking.
However, I encountered one major problem when using the Smeg Combi steam oven. I have no idea who exactly this countertop oven is for or what it could replace in the kitchen. I already own a toaster oven and a toaster oven, and the Combi can’t replace either. It’s too small to replace an oven unless you live in a space that doesn’t have enough room for a full-size oven. I suppose it could replace a toaster oven, but it would have a much larger footprint than the toaster oven I already own (with similar interior dimensions). There is no designated toasting function on the Combi, although I’m sure you can use it to toast bread, as you would in any type of oven.
Smeg Combi steam oven: price and availability
- List price: $999.95 (approximately £770 / AU$1,500)
That’s right, once sales tax is paid, the Smeg Combi steam oven costs over $1,000. It can be purchased at high-end kitchen stores, e.g. williams-sonoma and crate and barrel.
As of this writing, the Smeg Combi Steam Oven is only available in the United States, but it may become available globally at a later date.
SMEG Combi steam oven: specifications
| price | $999.95 |
| cooking function | Conventional oven functions: Bake, convection cooking, grill, bottom, air fry, keep and defrost. Steam cooking functions: pure steam, combined convection steam, combined grill steam. |
| weight | Gross weight 57.8 lbs/26.2 kg Net weight 38.6 lbs/17.5 kg |
| size | Exterior: 19.7 x 20.1 x 15.7 in/50 x 51 x 40 cm (WxDxH) Interior: 14 x 12 x 8 in/35.6 x 30.5 x 20.2 cm (WxDxH) |
| Number of preset functions: | 33 |
| Number of racks that can be used at one time: | 2 |
SMEG Combi steam oven: design and features
- Beautiful medieval aesthetic
- Two knobs provide access to multiple functions
- Baking, air frying, steaming, etc.
The Smeg Combi steam oven is advertised as a 10-in-1 oven. Just don’t call it an oven! This is a countertop oven that can be cooked in many different ways. According to Smeg, this oven features “Galileo Multicooking technology: innovative airflow patterns and professional algorithms for outstanding results in a compact design.” It offers traditional cooking functions such as broil and convection roasting as well as steam and air frying Pot functions to perform a variety of cooking tasks.
Combi features 33 automatic chef recipes that take the guesswork out of cooking meat, fish, vegetables, bread, pizza and desserts. Just choose your preset, pop in your food, and get ready to enjoy.
Medieval enamel designs are stylish and ornate. You can choose from five different colors: black, white, red, cream, and light blue. It comes with the following cooking accessories: two grill racks, an enameled cooking tray and a perforated cooking tray. The rails on the sides of the oven have two different positions, so you can cook on the upper, lower, or both upper and lower levels. The rails are also removable, giving you easy access to the sides of the oven for easier cleaning. The windows are large and the lights inside are always on while cooking so you can keep an eye on the progress of your food.
The top of the Combi opens to reveal a water chamber into which you can pour water for the steam function. There’s a cheat sheet inside the lid that lists all the chef presets along with a QR code so you can access the user manual, how-to videos, and other information. This water tank is why the Combi is so big – much larger than any oven I’ve ever seen. However, the interior dimensions are actually the same as my large toaster oven, only two inches wider.
There are two knobs for controlling the SMEG Combi Steam Oven, with a screen between them. There are three menus you can access via the left turntable: traditional cooking menu, steam cooking menu and chef’s menu. The traditional cooking menu lets you choose from grill, air fry, bake, convection bake, convection bottom bake, reheat and defrost.
In the steam cooking menu, you can choose between Convection (for pure steam cooking), Convection Bake (for roasting plus steam), and Convection Grill (for grilling plus steam).
When you enter the chef’s menu, you can choose from a variety of meats, fish, vegetables, desserts and breads from 33 presets. Using the dial definitely requires some study of the user manual and some practice. This isn’t necessarily intuitive.
Smeg Combi steam oven: performance
So how does the Combi perform? Overall, very good. I’ve cooked a lot of meals in the Combi and not one of them was bad.
There was definitely a weird smell the first time I used it, even though I burned it for an hour (emptying the oven on the highest setting) to remove any residue left over from the manufacturing process. And the noise is very loud, sometimes as high as 65 dB(A).
However, unlike every toaster I’ve ever used, the outside doesn’t get hot. Even at full tilt, the exterior only reaches a very touchable 76 degrees. After cooking is complete, the fan remains on while the oven cools down, presumably to help the oven cool down faster. Cooling does take some time, and an on-screen progress bar lets you know how it’s progressing.
I make two different kinds of (sweet potato) French fries: from scratch and pre-made frozen. For the scratch variety, I cut up a sweet potato and coated the wedges with oil and seasoning.
I just poured the frozen ones onto a tray. I used the French Fries Chef Menu preset for both, which is actually the traditional bake mode, not the air fryer mode you might expect. In both cases, the fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and very delicious. I also baked whole sweet potatoes using the convection baking method as usual and the results were great too.
I baked blueberry muffins using the waffle presets in the chef menu (including steam). The muffins came out moist and delicious. I will say that the browning was a little uneven; I took them out a minute early because I was worried that some of them would be overcooked. I probably don’t need to do this, though.
I use the roasted vegetable preset many times because I eat them almost every day. The most challenging vegetable I have prepared in a Combi this way is Brussels sprouts. I make them all the time; when I make them on the stove, they tend to be a little moist, but when I make them in the oven, they tend to dry out (unless I use a lot of oil.) In the Combi, I A minimal amount of oil was used, just a quick spray all over. They come out crisp, tender and amazing.
I also tried making the veggies in air fryer mode using a recipe I found online. I grilled the broccoli, red peppers, and frozen veggie burger patties at 390 degrees for 10 minutes. Likewise, the vegetables were delicious: crisp and tender. The burger was cooked perfectly, just right.
I have to make pizza in a Smeg Combi steam oven. There’s a dedicated pizza preset in the chef’s menu, but since Smeg is an Italian company, I knew it was talking about homemade pizza. I want to make frozen pizza. In fact, I made two different ones during testing.
In both cases, I followed the instructions on the box. I made one in convection bake mode and ended up taking it out a few minutes early so it didn’t burn. I made the second one in regular baking mode and actually had to add a few minutes to the baking time. But in the end, both pizzas were perfect: light brown, perfectly cooked in the middle, not burnt anywhere.
I use steam mode to steam frozen dumplings (potato dumplings). The dumplings were perfectly warm, moist and delicious.
I didn’t make toast. Why? Because there is no special toast function. Apparently you can Google How to make toast in any oven, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why Smeg doesn’t include a toast setting in the chef menu.
Cleanup is not a breeze as everything is hand washable only. The trays definitely require some work, but I get them completely clean every time. The oven itself is another story. The instructions say to let the oven cool and then use a regular cleaner (non-abrasive) to clean the Combi. That’s exactly what I did, using Dawn Powerwash and Scrub Daddy (a gentle sponge).
When that wasn’t enough, I went out and bought some Dawn Professional Heavy Duty Degreaser. Despite many efforts, this too was unsuccessful. I don’t want to damage it with abrasive cleaners or steel wool, so it’s not as clean as I’d like.
Should you buy a Smeg Combi steam oven?
| property | notes | grade |
|---|---|---|
| value | It’s very expensive and hard to justify since it doesn’t completely replace a toaster or toaster oven. | 3/5 |
| design | It’s gorgeous and designed for maximum flexibility, with tons of cooking options (except, oddly enough, a dedicated toast function). | 4.5/5 |
| Performance | Everything I made through the various cooking functions was delicious. However, thorough cleaning is difficult. | 4.5/5 |
| Comprehensive | I have no complaints about the way this oven cooks, but the price point and the fact that it doesn’t really replace anything in my kitchen make it less than perfect. | 4/5 |
buy it if
If you don’t buy it
SMEG Combi steam oven: also consider
If you’re not sure about the Smeg Combi steam oven, here are some other options to consider…
How I tested the SMEG Combi steam oven
- I use multiple chef menu features
- I tested air fry, bake, convection bake and steam modes
- I wash it after every use
I’ve tested quite a few kitchen gadgets over the years, both for review purposes and in my personal life as the primary cook in my household over the decades. I love cool cooking gadgets and anything that gets me a nutritious meal on the table quickly.
I tested the Smeg Combi steam oven for about two weeks. I cooked a variety of foods using various cooking modes, as described in the Performance section above. I used a few different presets in the Chef Menu section, as well as Bake, Convection Bake, Steam, and Air Fry modes. I cooked a variety of fresh veggies, French fries (fresh and frozen), waffles, dumplings, veggie burgers, and frozen pizza. After each cooking session, I clean all accessories and the oven itself to gauge how easy it is to clean.
Read more about How we test.
