You don't have to limit yourself to making simple toast when using a toaster to cook bread. In fact, toasters can be useful for putting together complete sandwiches. This is particularly useful when you don't have much time or don't feel like getting the griddle or the panini press out. In a toaster, grilled cheese is particularly simple. One such instance heats up flawlessly in a toaster bag, preventing crumbs and cheese from spilling but also holding the sandwich in place.

Toaster grilled cheese is a great option as long as having panini grill marks on your bread is not a deal-breaker. Simply layer your preferred cheese(s) on your preferred bread, add any additional ingredients you'd like (sliced tomatoes, deli meats, or even peanut butter for a tasty but unusual grilled cheese ingredient), put the sandwich in a toaster bag, and toast it for a few minutes to get ooey-gooey perfection and bread that's surprisingly crispy.

Pizza should never be reheated in the microwave, even though it might be the simplest method. Your slice will invariably have a crust that is almost inedible, and cheese that is more soggy than melty and gooey. The pan and oven are two better options for reviving your slice, but the toaster will also work if you chance to have some toaster bags on hand.

Delish claims that all you need to do to prepare leftover pizza is toss a slice into the toaster. Your slice will be restored to its molten splendor and taste almost as fresh as the time you ordered it if you use a low-medium setting. Of course, some designs and slice sizes fit in toaster bags better than others. Any sort of pizza will work as long as you're ready to cut and rearrange it a little bit, but square options like Sicilian and Detroit are best.

One of the greatest methods to keep bread fresh is in the freezer, but when it's time to use that loaf again, the toaster can really help. It can shorten the total heating time and hasten the thawing process. Even some toasters have an option for defrosting. This doesn't mean you should stuff a frozen chicken breast or salmon fillet into your toaster to defrost it, however, according to Women's Health, frozen bread may be put in the toaster to warm it up sufficiently to use in any recipe, including bread pudding and Panzanella.

You're set to go as long as you can cut your frozen bread into pieces that fit the toaster slots. After all, toasting bread to defrost it is far superior to letting it warm to room temperature, which only makes it stale.

Of course, toast is best made in the toaster. But why settle for a straightforward breakfast side? There are countless options for toasting bread than just spreading it with butter and jelly. In fact, toasters can be a great help with the appetizers during dinner parties. The ideal crowd-pleaser, bruschetta (also known as crostini) is one of those delicacies that you can customize to your heart's content and is simple and quick to make using a toaster.

Basically, just slice up some bread as if you were going to make standard toast; any loaf would serve, but Busby's Bakery claims that hearty rustic varieties, like ciabatta, are preferable. Before toasting the bread, drizzling it with extra-virgin olive oil contributes to the distinctive crunch of bruschetta. Once nicely golden brown, you may decorate and layer your bruschetta any way you choose, from a traditional recipe with tomatoes on top to strawberries, fresh mozzarella, butternut squash, and more.

Toasters are an easy tool for healthier cooking because they don't use oil (or really any fats). Although you may always add butter after the fact, the cooking itself is lean and clean, which provides a wealth of choices for more wholesome snack options. Making non-fried tortilla chips and taco shells is a prime example.

If you have freshly made wheat or corn tortillas on hand and don't want to deep-fry or pan-fry them, you can use a toaster instead. This method is considerably cleaner, quicker, and healthier. To achieve the best crunch, simply cut the tortillas into the desired chip size and shape, put a few in a toaster bag, and toast on high. As an alternative, you may make taco shells by simply sticking little tortillas in the toaster without using a bag, and they'll automatically toast into a hard-shell shape that's ready to be filled with your preferred filling.

The versatility of the sweet potato is unparalleled in cooking. It can be transformed into a delicious pie for dessert, a robust casserole for the main course, or a side of fries. Even toast can be made from the common root vegetable, replacing bread as the substrate for a variety of spreads and garnishes.

It only requires chopping fresh sweet potatoes into thin, even slivers that will fit into toaster slots and cooking them on the highest setting until they are fork-tender and the surfaces are gently browned. When the desired texture and color are attained, the possibilities for toppings are endless. You may top them with anything you like, such as goat cheese, almond butter, marshmallow fluff, or scrambled eggs, and treat them like toast or tartines. The toasted sweet potatoes can also be used in place of chips for dipping into your favorite spreads.

Toasted vegetarian burgers are such a surprisingly easy alternative to cooking on the grill or stovetop that you'll wonder why you haven't been doing it your entire life. They're especially fantastic if you need a quick and healthy meatless lunch. You only need to place a few patties into the toaster (you don't even need to thaw them from the freezer) and cook on high, whether you're using Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods, or the veggie burger brand of your choice.

If you prefer your patties with a little more crispiness, you might want to run it in the toaster a few times, advices vegetarian cooking hacks guru Jerry James Stone. Whatever the case, using a toaster is a practical approach to make vegetable burgers that cook evenly, consistently, and with great crispy edges that are prepared for the bun. Just be careful not to use any meat-based burger patties because they could catch fire and drop fat into the toaster.

Toasters can effectively cook plain old vegetables as well as plant-based burgers. One component that benefits from the even heating of the pop-up toaster is asparagus, a notoriously finicky stalk that is challenging to cook evenly and consistently due to the variation in thickness of the stalks to stems (via The Guardian).

Cooking in a toaster bag is essentially necessary because of their thinness, which makes it far too easy for them to fall through the slots. To make sure they all fit and that the points of the tops rest just below the toaster's rim, you might also need to cut the stalks, depending on their size. Cook on the highest setting twice, and you're done! You can quickly prepare asparagus that is ready to eat as well as a filling side dish by seasoning to taste and possibly cutting them into bite-sized pieces.

Toasters are useful for more than just meatless dishes and fryer substitutes. Even if there isn't any grease involved, you may still use your toaster to enjoy some of your favorite comfort meals. If you'd rather avoid the hassle of frying on the stovetop or cooking in the oven, tasty strips of bacon may be conveniently fried in a toaster.

Priorities first Bacon should never be placed directly in your toaster due to the potential fire risk posed by dripping grease. For safe cooking of the strips, use a toaster bag (source: I Forgot It's Wednesday). The bacon is pressed vertically by the toaster, which allows the meat to cook evenly and lets the fat drip to the bag's bottom. The result is bacon that is extremely crispy and still has the same delicious saltiness that you've come to love from this porcine snack.

Breakfast pastries reheat far more effectively in a toaster than in a microwave, similar to leftover pizza. It's all about getting the perfect texture, and toasters usually do a much better job of bringing back pastries to their crispy, golden-brown glory than microwaves do. Scones, Danishes, quickbreads (like banana bread and zucchini bread), and muffin tops are all excellent choices for toasting if you're wanting to warm up a morning snack.

With the help of accessories like a warming rack that attaches above the appliance, even pastries that don't always fit well into a toaster slot, like a croissant, can be cooked in a toaster. You may reheat your pan au chocolat in this manner without turning it into a pile of flaky crumbs.