There’s nothing worse than preparing an amazing meal, only to set it out on the table and find that it’s lukewarm, at best, when you bite into it. There’s a way that you can avoid eating barley-warm meals. How? – With a warming tray!
A warming tray is exactly what it sounds like: it keeps food warm for a prolonged period of time; it’s the perfect appliance for holidays, parties, or just weeknights when the family is super busy and can’t get to the table at the same time. Here’s a look at some of the best warming trays that will keep your food piping hot.
Warming Tray Review Center 2021
| Image | Warming Tray | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|
 | #1 - Broil King NWT-28S | 99.8% |
 | #2 - Chefman Electric Warming Tray / Trivet | 97.4% |
 | #3 - Betty Crocker BC-1586CY Buffet Server and Warming Tray | 95.4% |
 | #4 - Cuisinart CWT-100 Warming Tray | 92.2% |
 | #5 - Oster CKSTBSTW00 Buffet Server | 90.0% |
 | #6 - Elite Platinum EWM-6171 Buffet Server | 86.8% |
 | #7 - Broil King NWT-1S | 83.0% |
 | #8 - NutriChef Buffet Server Warming Tray | 79.6% |
 | #9 - NutriChef Electric Warming Tray | 75.4% |
 | #10 - Presto 03430 Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven | 72.2% |
Want to learn more?
Now that you’ve seen our top 10 choices, we’re going to give you a detailed review on each of them. We’ll also tell you what we like best about each of them and where you can find the best price. When you make your decision on which is the right food warmer for you, simply click the button and you’ll be able to buy.
#1 – Broil King NWT-28S Professional Extra-Large Warming Tray
First up is the Broil King NWT-28S. It’s a 300-watt commercial grade stainless steel warming tray that will keep large amounts of food warm for a long period of time. Since it is stainless steel, it’s extremely durable and has a polished, professional look that will look great in any kitchen.
The thermostat can be adjusted from 155 degrees to 205 degrees, so you can achieve the perfect holding temperature to keep your food warm. The cool-touch handles make for safe and easy transport; no need to worry about burning any fingers or even using potholders. This warming tray features non-skid feet, which will prevent the warming from moving about, and the safety signal light lets you know if it’s still on or turned off. A 2-year limited warranty offers peace of mind, too.
What We Like About It
- Offers plenty of space to accommodate lots of food
- Adjustable thermostat ranges from 155 to 205 degrees
- Stainless steel tray offers a professional look
- Cool-touch handles allow for easy transport
- Non-skid feet provide stability
- Safety signal light
- Non-stick heating surface
- Backed by a 2-year limited warranty
Reasons to Complain
- The price is a bit on the high side
Final Verdict: With the Broil King NWT-28S Professional Extra-Large Stainless-Steel Warming Tray, you’ll be able to keep all of your favorite dishes perfectly warmed for a long period of time. It’s easy to use, offers plenty of space, and has a stainless steel surface for a beautiful look.
#2 – Chefman Electric Warming Tray / Trivet
Another excellent warming tray is the Chefman Electric Warming Tray/Trivet. It has a 21 inch by 16-inch warming surface, so there’s plenty of space to hold all of your favorite dishes at the same time; you’ll have no trouble keeping your food warm for parties, holidays, and other special events.
What we really like about this warming tray is that it has a fuse safety feature, which prevents the tray from overheating, which stops food from burning. The cool touch aluminum handles allow for easy handling, and the black tempered glass surface is super easy to clean; plus, the stainless steel and black gives it a modern look. This warming tray can heat food up to 284 degrees; the perfect temperature for all of your dishes. The only thing that we wish it had was a temperature control setting and a timer; otherwise, we think that this is a great warming tray.
What We Like About It
- With a 21 inch by 16-inch cooking surface, there is plenty of space to hold several items one time
- Holds food at 284 degrees to keep it nice and warm
- A black tempered glass surface is easy to clean
- The cool-touch handles allow for easy transport
- Easy to clean
- Has a sleek, modern look
Reasons to Complain
- The temperature can’t be adjusted; it only heats to one temperature
- There isn’t a timer, which would definitely be a nice addition
Final Verdict: If you’re looking for a basic warming tray that you can rely on to keep your food warm for long periods of time, the Chefman Electric Warming Tray/Trivet is a great option. It has a modern look and does exactly what it’s supposed to: keep food warm.
#3 – Betty Crocker BC-1586CY Buffet Server & Warming Tray
The Betty Crocker BC-1586CY Buffet Server is the perfect option for those large dinner parties, family holidays, and any other event that you are hosting where you are serving a lot of food and want to keep it warm for a long period of time. It can be used as either a warming tray or as a buffet server; to use it as the former, remove the vessels and place your dishes on top of the tray, and to use it as the latter, set the three serving vessels in and place whatever dishes you want to inside! It’s really a multi-functional appliance, and whichever way you use it, it will keep your food nice and warm.
The three serving vessels are 2.5 quarts, so they can accommodate a good bit of food. The frame is made out of stainless steel, so it’s not only durable, but it’s also very sleek and modern looking. Each vessel comes with a see-through lid, so you can easily see what’s inside without having to take off the cover, exposing your food to any cold; that means food will be kept warmer loner. In fact, this warming tray can keep your food warm for up to three hours! Use the knobs to adjust the temperature; they remain cool, too, so there’s no need to worry about burning your hands. This really is a very good looking, efficient warming tray.
What We Like About It
- Can be used as a warming tray or a buffet server
- Comes with three 2.5 quart vessels, complete with see-through lids
- Holds food warm for up to 3 hours
- Adjustable, stay-cool controls
- The stainless steel frame is durable and looks great
- Easy to use
Reasons to Complain
- Some users said that the product that they received looked a lot different than what the picture looks like on Amazon
Final Verdict: The Betty Crocker BC-1586CY Buffet Server and Warming Tray can be used in two different ways; a warming tray or a buffet server. It has a polished, professional look, keeps food hot for up to 3 hours, and is easy to use.
#4- Cuisinart CWT-100 Warming Tray
The Cuisinart CWT-100 Warming Tray is by far our best-rated electric warming tray for food. With a large 17″ x 26.5″ surface area, you’ll be able to easily heat up most common household foods. If you’re catering for a larger event, the CWT-100 can easily handle any food warming for parties you want to have.
Powered by 400 watts allows it to be heated up to 200ºF. This is more than enough to handle any food you throw at it. Whether you want to warm soup, baked goods, a casserole, or anything else, the Cuisinart CWT-100 can handle it!
What we liked the most: While we liked pretty much everything about this warming tray, what we really loved was how consistent the heating surface was. Sometimes a food warming tray won’t stay heated evenly across the surface. We found no evidence of that here. Rest assured that the Cuisinart CWT-100 warming tray will warm your food to perfection. You cannot go wrong with this heating tray!
#5 – Oster CKSTBSTW00 Buffet Server
The Oster CKSTBSTW00 Buffet Server is a close runner up to the Better Crocker BC-1586CY for the best buffet heating server. This stainless steel buffet warming tray has 3 heating vessels, each holds 2.5 quarts. These vessels do a really great job of trapping in moisture. If you’re looking to mashed potatoes, eggs, green beans, stuffing, or any vegetable, this is the warming tray for you!
You’re not limited to using the heating vessels that come with the Oster warming tray. In fact, you can use nearly any tin-foil or aluminum pan with it. The Oster CKSTBSTW00 Buffet Server really excels at warming food when you’re watching the football game. We’ve used it for nacho cheese dip, pizza, stir-fry materials, and more with success. Food stays evenly and consistently heated. Your guests are going to love having food that’s warmed with this unit.
Of course, the 20″ x 13″ warming tray can be used separately. That’s the beauty of buffet servers – they have multi-uses!
What we liked the most: Moisture stays trapped within the food incredibly well. We’re able to have the moistest mashed potatoes ever with this buffet server. Also, it was really easy to clean up – making it perfect for when you’re having people over and don’t want to spend hours cleaning afterward. Oh, a better reason to get it is that it’s very, very affordable, and is considered the best cheap buffet server for warming food!
#6 – Elite Platinum EWM-6171 Maxi-Matic 2.5 Quart 3 Tray
The Elite Platinum Buffet Server is a world-class, affordable buffet server that’s perfect for warming food. Our heating tray review of the Elite Platinum EWM-6171 is quite simple – the 25″ x 14.5″ works exactly like a 3 tray, 2.5-quart buffet server should! It reliably and consistently heats food in each of its stainless steel heating vessels. Each of the vessels comes with a BPA free, high-quality plastic lid. Each of the lids also has a convenient spoon cutout, which is a very nice touch.
This 300-watt buffet server comes with adjustable temperature control that can reach temperatures up to 300ºF. Food is warmed consistently, and safely with the Elite Platinum EWM-6171. This warming tray comes in 3 versions – 2 buffet trays, 3 buffet trays with cool-to-touch handles, and 3 buffet trays with silicone handles. Regardless of which version you buy, each vessel can hold up to 2.5 quarts of food.
What we liked the most: I like manufacturers that add a nice little touch to their products. The Elite Platinum did this with their spoon cutouts in the plastic lids. This is by far the best warming tray for hors d’oeuvres!
#7 – Broil King NWT-1S Professional 300-Watt Warming Tray
Here you’ll find the best professional warming tray review. If you’re looking to start your catering business or host plenty of small gatherings, then you’re going to need a commercial warming tray. The Broil King NWT-1S is right for you. This professional food warming tray has a temperature range of 155ºF – 200ºF. Foods are going to be heated quite well with this tray. In fact, if you’re looking to heat large quantities of food, then you’re definitely going to need the NWT-1S.
With a large heating surface measuring 15.25″ x 26″, you’ll be able to heat the largest of cooking dishes and soup pots. The temperature stays consistent throughout the warming process. The stainless steel warming surface is incredibly easy to clean and the unit itself has non-slip feet.
What we liked the most: Food warms up very, very quickly with this professional food heating tray. In fact, you can even take food right out of the freezer and throw it on here. Soon enough, your food will look, smell, and most importantly taste, exactly like it came out of the oven.
#8 – NutriChef PKBFWM33 Buffet Server Warming Tray
The NutriChef PKBFWM33 food warmer tray is a fantastic appliance from one of the industry’s leaders, NutriChef. This warming tray has a surface area of 25.6″ x 15″ and can heat food up to 175ºF. With the patented NutriChef ‘Prep & Serve’ technology, all you’ll have to do is plug this in and warm up your food. Each of the 3 heating vessels has a 3.5-quart capacity.
This is great if you’re wanting to heat up larger foods such as baked potatoes, wings, pizza from your pizza oven, and more. Heating trays for cooking that also double as buffet servers are becoming more and more popular. Why? Because a warmer like the NutriChef PKBFWM33 can easily serve up to 15 people. This makes hosting gatherings a breeze!
What we liked the most: We loved the large 3.5 quart capacity of each of the heating vessels. These are larger than any of the other buffet servers that we reviewed.
#9 – NutriChef Electric PKWTR30 Warming Tray
The NutriChef PKWTR30 Electric Warming Tray is an awesome electric food warming device. It’s excellent because it can be used for pretty much all possible kitchen cookware, whether it’s baking sheets, casserole dishes, pots, or pans! We love this kind of versatility.
Of course, since it’s made by NutriChef, it’s incredibly well constructed and will last you a very long time. With it’s an ultra-thin and sleek design, it’s a very portable warming tray that you can take with you wherever you go. Need a portable warming tray for Thanksgiving? Go with this one. It’s very reasonably priced and made by a great company.
What we liked the most: We really liked how this food warmer comes in 4 different sizes – 14.5″ x 8.6″, 16.5″ x 11″, 19.8″ x 11.9″, and 22.4″ x 6.7″. It’s awesome that you can get such great food warmer in so many different sizes. We recommend grabbing a couple of them so you always have the right one for the occasion!
#10 – Presto 03430 Pizzazz Plus Rotating Oven
Last on our list is a different type of warming tray. The Presto 03430 Pizzazz Rotating Oven is a traditional heating tray, but it’s round in design. The 15.8″ x 14.5″ round tray rotates continuously to ensure even heating. You can heat the food either from the above, from below, or both.
The Presto 03430 comes equipped with an adjustable thermostat and timer. The removable nonstick baking pan is incredibly easy to clean. It also cooks food evenly and consistently. This is the best rotating heating tray on the market – and for good reason! Presto was the first to make this sort of device. It’s an absolutely perfect design and we anticipate seeing more manufacturers shift towards this type of rotating warming tray.