To check every microwave, I opened and shut doorways, pressed buttons, and warmed, defrosted, cooked, and reheated dozens of meals, together with burritos, butter, rooster breasts, espresso, fried rice, frozen broccoli, mac and cheese, pizza, and popcorn. For convection/air-fryer fashions, I additionally air-fried, baked, and toasted.
Particularly, I consider:
Dimension: Microwaves might be small/compact (0.7 to 0.9 cubic foot of capability), midsize (1 to 1.6 cubic ft of capability), and huge (as much as 2.2 cubic ft of capability). I’ve discovered round 1.2 cubic ft of capability and a 12-inch carousel is good for many households. This measurement can match a 12-inch dinner plate, a 9-inch sq. casserole dish with handles, a big bag of microwave popcorn, two frozen dinners, 4 mugs, or two smaller bowls.
Construct and design: A microwave ought to really feel sturdy and be hefty sufficient to remain put if you open and shut the door. The show needs to be straightforward to learn, and any buttons, knobs, or handles shouldn’t be tough to show, pull, or press, notably for anybody with mobility points.
I additionally sought out fashions that look good, if not nice, with interesting shapes and our bodies made from extra metallic than plastic (or, at the very least, better-quality plastic).
Door latches: I choose microwaves with a button to open the door latch as a result of they’re typically simpler to make use of (and ADA-compliant) and safer (you’re much less prone to drag the machine if you open the door). However I do advocate just a few choices with handles, which some individuals (together with a few of Wirecutter’s paid testers) choose.
Noise: Bigger, extra highly effective, better-quality microwaves are usually louder than smaller ones. In case your microwave is very loud or annoying, contemplate transferring it in order that the sound isn’t reflecting off a wall or cupboard.
Even heating: All microwaves warmth meals considerably erratically. I evaluated evenness by cooking completely different meals — together with marshmallows, which present scorching spots and levels of doneness — throughout the breadth of the turntable. Microwaves with an inverter motor, which might run at variable speeds and permits for steady cooking at decrease energy ranges, cooked and defrosted extra evenly with much less energy. (Conventional transformer-powered microwaves cycle between bursts of full energy and nil energy to attain comparable outcomes.) To evaluate evenness, I microwaved uncooked, frozen rooster breasts at 50% energy for 14 minutes earlier than checking the temperature at three factors.
Pace and energy: All countertop microwaves have between 700 and 1,250 watts of energy. Increased energy heats issues extra shortly, however testing revealed that even a small, 700-watt microwave can warmth meals and liquids to acceptable temperatures, albeit barely slower. Plus, meals defrost and prepare dinner extra evenly at decrease energy ranges, which additionally helps keep away from splattering, drying out meals, and overcooking edges.
Helpful cooking features: Practically each microwave professional I spoke to mentioned that the overwhelming majority of microwave house owners solely ever use the “add 30 seconds” button. I heard the identical factor from testers and residential cooks, too. So I didn’t pay a lot consideration to particular presets for gadgets similar to a potato, popcorn, or pizza, or instant-start specific settings (for instance, urgent “2” begins the microwave at its highest energy for 2 minutes). However I did give further credit score to microwaves whose extra options produced higher outcomes with out imposing a significant studying curve.
Model and reliability: Nearly all of under-$100 countertop microwaves offered within the US, no matter model identify, are made by just a few firms abroad, primarily Midea and Galanz.
I give attention to microwaves made by the few manufacturers that both manufacture their very own microwaves or work with massive producers to supply fashions with improved design or performance. Their microwaves additionally are inclined to have better-quality mechanical elements, particularly the door latch, which regularly breaks (the machine gained’t function with a damaged latch). I checked for accessible firm web sites and customer support.
UL Options certification: I solely thought-about microwaves with certification from UL Options, a agency that units security requirements for many small home equipment in the US. Any UL Options–licensed microwave manufactured after April 1, 2024, requires a child-lock system to assist forestall burns, which suggests it’s a must to comply with two steps to open a microwave, as a substitute of simply opening the door. A few of these locking mechanisms are extra elegantly utilized than others, however adults can override them to make use of the microwave with out it in the event that they select.
