REVIEW – Do you ever want to cook just one fried egg, one waffle, or a tiny cake for just one person, but then you change your mind when you don’t feel like dragging out a full-sized waffle maker, frying pan, or cake pans? Or maybe you don’t even own an oven, stovetop, or a full-sized waffle maker. For those times and more, the Dash Mini Maker line of cookers is a possible solution that is not only fun and easy to use, but is also inexpensive. Let’s take a look at this tiny line of kitchen appliances.
What is it?
Dash Mini Makers are miniature cookers designed to make portion control easy because they only make one food item at a time. Available in various styles, I was sent the waffle maker, griddle, and bundt maker.
What’s in the box?
- Dash Mini Maker
- Instruction and recipe booklet
Design and features
Each cooker features a clamshell design with two non-stick non-removable cooking surfaces. The interior of the cookers differs depending on the type of cooker.
The exterior of each Dash Mini Maker is plastic with an LED status light on top that turns off when the cooker is heated and ready to use. There’s also a non-removable power cord attached to the back of each cooker.
Dash Mini Waffle Maker
When I tell you that the Dash Mini Waffle Maker is small, I’m not lying. As you can see from the image above, it’s designed to make a 4 inch waffle. FYI, never touch the waffle maker plates when it’s plugged in!!! I just had my hand in the image above to give you an idea of the size of the cooker and the size of the waffle that it makes.
I was excited to test the waffle maker with a keto-friendly chaffle recipe. If you don’t know what chaffles are, they are 1 egg and a 1/2 cup of mozzarella or other shredded cheese. I changed mine up with a leftover sausage link chopped up. All you do is crack the egg, whisk it up with a fork, and stir in the cheese and other ingredients.
To use the waffle maker or any of the Dash Mini Makers, you just plug them in and wait for the light on top to turn off.
Once it is heated, give the plates a spritz of cooking spray, pour in half of the chaffle mixture, close the lid, and set the timer for around 6 minutes. As you see, I put a paper plate under the cooker to catch any spillage. When the time is up, unplug the maker, carefully lift the lid and take out the waffle/chaffle and enjoy! FYI, the recipe above makes 2 chaffles, so you really need two Dash Mini Waffle Makers 😉
Dash Mini Maker Griddle
The Mini Maker Griddle is great for making pancakes, cookies, fried eggs, grilled cheese, and other grilled sandwiches.
I tested the griddle by making a toasted cheese sandwich. I used some sliced deli American cheese between two pieces of buttered bread.
It made a perfectly toasted and melted grilled cheese sandwich in only 6 minutes. YUM!
Dash Mini Bundt Maker
Do you have a craving for cake but don’t want a bunch of leftovers that you’ll be tempted to eat every day? Then the Mini Bundt Maker is a perfect choice. This cooker is even a good choice for making an omelet because it’s deep and allows whatever you’re cooking to puff up.
I made a chocolate chocolate chip bundt cake in mine. I love being able to make an individual cake when my sweet tooth starts screaming.
Another perfectly cooked / baked snack in only about 6 minutes.
I like that the Dash Mini Bundt Maker has a removable plate that makes lifting the finished cake out of the cooker extremely easy.
What I like
- Portion control
- Simple to use
- Cute
- Fun
What I’d change
- Allow the cooking plates to be removed for easy cleaning
- Create one cooker and sell interchangeable plates
Final thoughts
There are two main downsides to these cookers. The biggest one is that the heating plates can’t be removed from the cooker, so they aren’t the easiest to clean. They are non-stick, but I do wish I could just remove them and throw them in the dishwasher after each use. As is, I usually take a paper towel and wipe the excess cooking spray from all the little nooks and crannies. The other downside is that you’ll want all of the different cookers and that means you’ll need a place to store all of them! I do wish that Dash would make one cooker and then sell the plates so that you could easily customize the cooker as needed. Even with those little grumbles, the Dash Mini Makers are a lot of fun to use, affordable, and with their built-in portion control, they make it easy to indulge in yummy snacks whenever the mood strikes.
Price: $9.99 and up
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Dash.
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We bought the mini waffle maker last week at HomeGoods for $8. My wife is on a special diet with premade foods, and one of them is a pancake you make from a mix. This 4″ waffle maker is perfect for it. I think it takes longer to mix the pancake than it does for it to cook. I agree that it would be good if you could remove the plates for cleaning. I was surprised that I couldn’t figure out how to get them out, until I read in the manual that they’re not supposed to come out. This was a definite winner for us. I might look for the griddle the next time I’m there.
Love the griddles. Bought one for each of my nieces and nephew. They learned to make their own pancakes and grilled cheese sandwiches. Next is going to be the Bundt cake minis. I agree it would be better if there was one unit with removable interchangeable plates for easier storage and cleaning. The colors make it easier to make sure fights don’t ensue and the units don’t get mixed up. So if aqua is not cared for properly I know who isn’t taking care of their cooking equipment!