The Dash Mini is the cheapest pick here and the one with the narrowest job: a single four-inch waffle at a time, no controls beyond an indicator light. Reviewed rates it 4.3 out of 5 and TechGearLab scored it 71 out of 100 as one of the better mini-style makers. It cooks unevenly in a single cycle and cannot feed more than one person, but at this price that is the deal.
Full review
One four-inch waffle, 350 watts, no controls
Reviewed found the Dash Mini "preheats and bakes up quickly so you can easily churn out a short stack," but noted that "For the price, you don’t get any fancy features" and that "you might want to give it another minute or so if you prefer your waffles extra crispy." There are no dials: you plug in the 350-watt plate, wait for the indicator light, pour and close.
TechGearLab, scoring it 71 out of 100, called it "budget-friendly" and "among the best of the mini-style models tested." The four-inch plate is the point and the limit, one waffle per cycle, which is fine for one person and impractical for four.
The centre often needs a second cycle
The single-cycle result is inconsistent. The top can brown unevenly and the centre can come out slightly underdone, so most owners learn to run it a little past the indicator light for a crisper waffle.
With no browning control or timer there is no way to fix that except by feel, and the basic build does not feel as solid as the full-size makers. These are predictable trade-offs at this price rather than defects.
Chaffles and hash browns, not just waffles
The narrow plate has found a second life beyond breakfast: chaffles, hash browns and other single-serving items cook on it just as well, which is a large part of why it sells in the volume it does.
It stores in a drawer, comes in a range of colours and costs about $10, which makes it an easy gift and a low-risk impulse buy rather than a considered kitchen purchase.
A fraction of the WMR-CA's waffle
There is no real head-to-head with the full-size makers. The Dash Mini produces a fraction of the waffle the Cuisinart WMR-CA Round Classic does and nothing like the thick Belgian output of the WAF-F40 Double Flip, Presto FlipSide or Breville BWM640XL.
Think of it as a complement to a serious waffle maker rather than a replacement. If you want full-size or Belgian waffles, browning control, or to feed more than one person at a time, every other maker here is a better buy.
Strengths
- +Named one of the best mini-style waffle makers by Reviewed and TechGearLab
- +Tiny footprint stores in a drawer and heats up quickly
- +No buttons at all: plug it in and watch the indicator light
- +Around $10, the cheapest maker here by a wide margin
- +Handles chaffles and hash browns as readily as waffles
Watch-outs
- −Makes one small four-inch waffle at a time
- −Can cook the top unevenly and leave the centre underdone in one cycle
- −No browning control or timer
- −Basic build that feels less sturdy than the full-size makers
How it compares
By far the smallest and cheapest maker here, sized for single four-inch waffles and chaffles rather than breakfast for a family. It cannot approach the output or the browning control of the Breville BWM640XL Smart Waffle Pro, Cuisinart WAF-F40 Double Flip, Presto FlipSide or Cuisinart WMR-CA Round Classic.
Rating sources
Our 3.9 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
