Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
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Credit:
Reviewed / Betsey Goldwasser
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
This range offers some of the best cooking performance we have seen, and has useful features and smart tech to make cooking easier. Read More
If you need a versatile electric range with solid burners and many cooking options, the Bosch HEI8054U is a good fit. Read More
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While a beautifully-designed freestanding range can act as a visual focal point in an open-plan kitchen, for those who favor a more built-in look, an elegant slide-in electric range is the way to go. Slide-in ranges are designed to fit flush with your counters and offer the opportunity for seamless coordination with your kitchen aesthetic.
There are hundreds of electric slide-in ranges on the market, so it’s easy to get overwhelmed with your options. We’ve tried and tested the top-selling models to help you choose the best slide-in electric range for you.
Of the models we’ve tested, the GE Profile PHS93XYPFS induction range (available at Best Buy for $4,004.99) sits at the top of the list, offering best-in-class cooking performance and stylish good looks.
The GE Profile PHS93XYPFS is a sleek and stylish range packed with features.
The Bosch HEI8054U is our upgrade pick as it's one of the best ranges we've tested.
Many cooking options
Performs well
Versatile burners
Slow boiling times
Uneven baking
Short boil times
Useful smart features
Large oven capacity
Uneven baking
Slow preheat
Beautiful design
True convection
Voice activation and smart features
Uneven baking across multiple racks
Disappointing air fry function
Attractive design
Includes built-in meat probe
Remote preheat
Uneven baking
Can’t use many features without app
The GE JS645SLSS Electric Range is easy on the eyes and it faired well in most of our tests, baking cookies particularly evenly. But this 30-inch slide-in range is missing convection, so you can forget about achieving air fryer-like crispness. This function is quite basic and there’s really no reason an oven shouldn’t have it, especially one that’s over $1,000.
The appliance experts in our lab conduct rigorous scientific testing while the Kitchen and Cooking staffers evaluate usability features and the overall cooking experience.
Not only do we perform repeatable, lab-based tests on ovens, ranges, and cooktops, but we also do real-world evaluations (think: cookie baking, pizza cooking, and the like). That means we can tell you which products will perform the best, will give you the most bang for your buck, or have the sleekest looks.
Using a laser thermometer, we measure the maximum and minimum temperature of each burner. This information can help consumers identify which burners are ideal for simmering soup, and which can get hot enough to properly sear a steak.
A range with multiple burners that can reach very high and/or very low temperatures will score well. If burners cannot reach very high or low temperatures—or if only one burner can do each task—scores will be lower.
Using a stopwatch, we measure how long it takes for the oven to achieve a preheating temperature of 350°F. We stop the clock when the oven’s preheat indicator beeps.
Because no one wants to wait around forever, shorter preheating times result in higher scores, while longer preheating times obviously result in lower scores.
We bake cookies in both standard bake and convection mode (if available) to see how evenly the oven can bake the cookies.
One happy side effect of testing ovens is that there are always extra cookies lying around. In addition to being delicious, lightly colored sugar cookies double as a cooking/baking proxy for other thin food items, such as fish or vegetables.
We place 12 Pillsbury ready-to-bake sugar cookie chunks on an ungreased cookie sheet in a grid formation. After preheating the oven to 350°F for 15 minutes, we place the cookie sheet in the oven on the rack recommended by the manufacturer (or, if there is no recommendation, the middle rack) to bake for 15 minutes. We then remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 2 minutes.
We repeat the process if there’s a second oven, or if the range comes with a convection option. Because convection is commonly used to bake or cook multiple food items simultaneously, we place two trays of cookies on the two racks recommended by the manufacturer.
Keeping the cookies in their grid formation, we look them over to determine how evenly baked they are, both within a single baking sheet (regular baking mode and second oven baking mode) and between multiple baking sheets (convection mode). For an oven with convection to score well, it is important that the multiple food items on different racks be cooked or baked to the same degree.
For all of our cookie tests, the more evenly baked the cookies are, the higher the score will be. If the product has a second oven and/or convection capabilities, then the cookie scores for those tests and the main oven test are weighted and combined to arrive at a final cookie score. This way, products with just a single, conventional oven are not penalized for their lack of a second oven or convection capabilities.
When it comes to cooking meat, we want to be sure that each oven is capable of cooking meat evenly and to safe eating standards (160°F).
To understand how each oven cooks meat products, we also use fresh, never-frozen pork loins in our testing because they are exceptionally uniform as far as all-natural products go.
After placing the 3- to 4-pound boneless pork loin in a roasting pan, we place a temperature probe in the middle of the pork loin. We preheat the oven to 325°F and then place the pork on the rack recommended by the oven manufacturer, and cook until the temperature probe reads 160°F, which is the minimum safe temperature for cooking most meat products.
We then let the pork loin rest out of the oven for 10 minutes before cutting it into thirds so we can see how evenly cooked it is. An identical test is conducted if the oven has convection capabilities, using the Convection Roast option if available, or the standard convection mode otherwise.
Can this oven get hot enough to cook a pizza? We put each oven to the test with a very basic pizza that has a temperature probe in it.
One of the most common reader questions we get is whether a specific oven can get hot enough to actually cook a pizza. To answer this question, we place a batch of Pillsbury Classic pizza dough on a lightly oiled baking sheet, put a temperature probe in the dough, cover it with tomato sauce and cheese, and bake it at 500°F for 10 minutes. Between the temperature data and our own subjective assessment, we determine whether or not the oven is capable of cooking a pizza all the way through.
While we go to great lengths to test the cooking/baking abilities of ranges, we also incorporate more subjective information into our overall assessment. For example, how easily can the cooktop surface accommodate multiple pots and pans? How easy is it to understand the control panel? How nice are the burner knobs or buttons? How loud is the preheat notification noise? We answer all of these questions and more to determine if there are any major drawbacks to the product that might not make it a good fit for most households.
A slide-in range is meant to be positioned between cabinets for a built-in look, while a freestanding range could be positioned anywhere.
In a nutshell, slide-in ranges are meant to sit flush with your countertops for a built-in look, while freestanding ranges can be placed anywhere there’s power, regardless of what’s around them. While these appliances may seem similar, the main differences between the two involve finish and placement of controls. Because freestanding ranges can be visible from all slides, they have a more finished look while slide-in ranges are meant to have their sides hidden by the cabinetry.
The controls for a slide-in range are found on the front or top face of the unit, while freestanding ranges usually have a back-mounted control panel to protect the wall behind the range. The oven controls are found on this back panel, and often the burner controls are there as well.
When it comes to replacing your existing range, if your current cooking setup has the range sitting in a cabinet or countertop cutout, you could replace it with either a slide-in or freestanding range, depending on the dimensions. However, if your range stands alone in your kitchen or one side is exposed, we'd recommend replacing it with another freestanding range.
Control placement is something to consider when buying a new range. While slide-in ranges usually have the burner controls on the front, the placement on freestanding ranges can vary from the front of the unit to the back-mounted control panel. Both arrangements have pros and cons.
On the one hand, having back-mounted controls means you may have to reach over hot food to control the temperature, but the controls are also far enough away that you’re unlikely to hit something on the control panel by accident. On the other hand, front-mounted controls are easier to reach, but that convenience can turn against you if you brush up against a knob accidentally, or have little ones that may be attracted to the knobs. Consider the ergonomics of using the range when it comes to picking a front- or back-mounted control panel.
Depending on how much time you spend in the kitchen, it might be worth it to invest in some extra options for your range. When it comes to the cooktop, anything above the standard four-burner setup is a bonus. Some ranges can have five, or even six burners; however, the more burners a standard-size range has, the more difficult it may be to fit large pieces of cookware, such as a spaghetti pot and a frying pan, on their respective burners at the same time.
Sometimes, those extra burners are specialty burners are designed to accommodate special cookware such as a griddle or a wok; other burners are bridge burners that are meant to keep food warm without continuing to cook it.
Another possibility is to have a dual-ring burner, or a burner that includes a stronger heat source wrapped around a weaker heat source. That way, on a single burner, you can choose to use just the smaller heat source for lower temperatures, but you can add the stronger heat source if you need higher temperatures.
Beyond the standard baking capabilities, extra oven features can include everything from accessories like a temperature probe to special cooking features like convection settings or air fry modes, fast preheat, bread proofing (where the oven settings are customized to activate yeast and make bread rise), steam cooking (where you pour water into a reservoir and gently cook something with the resulting steam), and many, many more options. Your oven-usage tendencies will dictate which features matter most, but don’t discount features you don’t use today because you never know what you might want to cook in the future.
True convection cooking involves an additional heating element and a fan, which circulates the hot air around the oven. True convection is great for ensuring that cookies or cakes baked on different racks will bake through at the same rate, rather than the cookies closest to the bottom heat source cooking faster than those on the upper rack. If you don't see mention of "true convection" or "European convection" but do see the word "convection" in a range's specs, it means that the unit lacks an additional heating element, but does have a fan to circulate the hot air. While you don't get the full effect that you would with true convection, the added heat circulation can cook or bake food more evenly than it would without a fan.
Convection isn’t a new feature, but it has become increasingly standard on new ovens. Be aware that there is a bit of a learning curve, and convection baking requires slightly different times and temperatures, so be sure to convert your recipes when cooking with convection. If you're a frequent baker or cook, convection can be a great time saver, but your dinners won't suffer unduly without it.
Sleek design
Even baking
No convection
Slow boil times
Aside from reviewing ovens and cooktops, James moonlights as an educational theatre practitioner, amateur home chef, and weekend DIY warrior.
Managing Editor, Kitchen & Appliances. Danielle has a B.S. from Syracuse University and a AAS in Culinary Arts from Newbury College. Previously, Danielle was a Test Cook and Associate Editor at America's Test Kitchen, as well as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. She’s the mom of two boys and loves making pizza on Friday nights.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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