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Updated 2025-05-13T14:06:01Z
No substance however overmuch we emotion our aerial fryers and brag astir our sous vide steak dinners, the humble microwave volition ever person a spot successful our hearts. When you hide to defrost meal oregon your java goes cold, the champion countertop microwave solves room problems rapidly and easily.
Our reporters spoke to 2 microwave heating experts and tested 7 of the champion countertop microwaves, cooking everything from frozen mac and food to a sheet of marshmallows. As our apical pick, we chose the Panasonic Microwave Oven; it combines a 1,200-watt centrifugal with a compact exterior. If you're looking to sphere antagonistic space, the GE 0.7 Cu. Ft. Countertop Microwave Oven is compact and reliable. You whitethorn request to adhd other navigator time, but the results volition beryllium evenly cooked and worthy the wait.
We precocious tested 2 air fryer microwaves and compared their show to our apical countertop microwave picks. Unfortunately, we weren't excessively impressed, but we did find 1 we liked: cheque retired our air fryer microwave reappraisal to larn more.
Learn much astir how Business Insider Reviews tests and researches room products.
Our apical picks for the champion countertop microwaves
Best overall: Panasonic Microwave Oven with Inverter Technology — See astatine Amazon
Best large: Panasonic NN-SD975S Microwave — See astatine Amazon
Best value: Commercial Chef Countertop Microwave — See astatine Amazon
Best small: GE 0.7 Cu. Ft. Capacity Countertop Microwave Oven — See astatine Amazon
Best overall
The Panasonic NN-SN65KB Microwave Oven packs 1,200 watts of powerfulness to navigator nutrient rapidly and evenly. It's compact, yet has a spacious interior, and comes with galore adjuvant preset buttons for casual cooking.
At 1,200 watts, the Panasonic NN-SN65KB Microwave Oven cooks nutrient accelerated and heats remarkably evenly. The preset functions are really useful, similar the Sensor Reheat feature. Perfect for reheating leftovers, it detects the humidity level of the nutrient wrong and starts counting down the cooking time.
The Popcorn and Coffee/Milk presets some worked amended than the presets connected different countertop microwaves I tested — if you privation the champion microwave for popcorn, this is simply a large choice. During the marshmallow test, each expanded evenly, and astatine the extremity of 2 minutes, determination was lone a spot of burning successful the precise halfway of the marshmallows. We spot this model's quality to navigator evenly.
I was little impressed with the Frozen Food preset — the microwave overestimated the clip needed to navigator frozen mac and cheese. A fewer different insignificant downsides: the interior airy is dim, truthful it's hard to show the nutrient portion it's cooking, and fingerprints are highly disposable connected the power panel. However, this is the champion countertop microwave to equilibrium powerfulness and size with easy-to-use features and push-button opening.
Though we haven't tested the Panasonic Microwave with Alexa Compatibility, it has astir of the features of our champion wide pick, positive astute capabilities. If astute room appliances are a priority, this 1 is worthy considering.
Read our Panasonic Microwave Oven with Inverter Technology review.
Best large
This microwave, which tin besides beryllium installed arsenic a built-in microwave, is ample capable to acceptable 2 plates astatine a clip and features an easy-to-use dial to vigor and navigator your food.
With a 16.5-inch turntable, the Panasonic NN-SD975S Microwave Oven is perfect arsenic the champion countertop microwave for families. You'll apt request to alteration cooking clip by a infinitesimal oregon 2 from immoderate bundle instructions, but it volition navigator evenly erstwhile you adjust. It produced the champion results of immoderate microwave during our tests — nary blistery oregon acold spots, adjacent successful the center.
The microwave opens with a propulsion fastener astatine the bottommost of the power panel. One dial controls the cooking time, which lone adjusts successful 10-second increments — we recovered that annoying, but different it operates smoothly and easily. The dial is besides utilized to input the value of nutrient you're defrosting. You tin programme 3 stages of cooking, and the show surface volition fto you cognize wherever you are successful the cooking process. If you're utilizing the multi-stage cooking feature, you tin usage the Keep Warm mounting arsenic your last stage.
While it's a almighty microwave with tons of adjuvant features, it's highly ample and bulky, which is wherefore it's the champion microwave for families oregon ample households that volition instrumentality vantage of its sizable capacity. This is the champion microwave with a trim kit that we tested, which means it tin beryllium built into a furniture oregon different static diagnostic successful your kitchen. I tested it arsenic a countertop oven.
Best value
At conscionable nether $100, the Commercial Chef Microwave is the slightest costly microwave we tested that inactive passes muster. It measures astir 19 inches agelong and 15 inches heavy with a propulsion handle, a large size for smaller kitchens. The interior cooking abstraction is likewise small, but we were capable to acceptable a 10-inch meal sheet conscionable fine.
The controls are intuitive to usage without consulting the manual. There is simply a propulsion grip and respective explicit navigator buttons, arsenic good arsenic the quality to acceptable a customized navigator clip (a large betterment implicit the earlier version, which consisted of a rotary knob, truthful you couldn't acceptable circumstantial seconds). This exemplary besides has six preset buttons (potato, popcorn, meal plate, beverage, pizza, and frozen vegetable) and 2 defrost settings (time defrost and value defrost).
At conscionable 900 watts, it's a small underpowered. I utilized the bundle instructions to navigator frozen mac and cheese. After the recommended 4 minutes, it was warmed done but not piping hot. You'll apt person to adhd 30 seconds to a infinitesimal to immoderate bundle instructions erstwhile cooking successful this microwave. This was confirmed erstwhile I did the marshmallow test; portion the vigor concentrated successful the halfway of the microwave, nary of the marshmallows were browned aft 2 minutes of cooking. Still, this is simply a large enactment if you privation the champion fund microwave that takes up minimal space.
Best small
We precocious tested further tiny models to find the champion compact microwave, and the GE Countertop Microwave Oven was an casual winner. This is astir arsenic classical of a plan arsenic you tin get. The interface is truthful intuitive that we're assured you could commencement popping popcorn wrong minutes of unpacking the box.
At 17 inches wide and nether a ft tall, the GE tin acceptable nether cabinetry oregon perch atop a mini-fridge. It is the cleanable size for a dorm room, galley kitchen, oregon adjacent a rented room.
Our compact microwave investigating revealed evenness to beryllium the biggest issue— lone the GE Countertop Oven produced marshmallows with dispersed browning and an unburnt center. Most countertop microwaves with capacities nether 1 cubic ft are conscionable 700 watts, which is simply a small underpowered for larger tasks. The GE cooked the frozen mac and food afloat successful the recommended time, leaving america nary frozen pieces, but it inactive wasn't piping hot. Adding different infinitesimal did the trick.
Previously we ranked the Commercial Chef Microwave arsenic the champion tiny option, but some the 0.7 and 0.9 cubic feet models of the Commercial Chef are larger than the GE. However, the models are besides cheaper, truthful the Commercial Chef remains our top-rated fund microwave.
How to take the champion countertop microwave
Power: The magnitude of powerfulness you'll request depends connected what you chiefly usage the microwave for. If your household lone uses the countertop oven to reheat food, you tin look for a cheaper exemplary with little wattage, said Schiffmann. "Around an 800-watt oven works [for reheating]." If you privation a microwave that really cooks your nutrient alternatively than simply reheating it, expect to walk a small much for a prime oven with much than 1,000 watts of power.
Functions and presets: Many consumers mostly run a microwave with the fig pad oregon Express Cook buttons. However, preset functions are adjuvant if you bash a batch of cooking oregon defrosting. If you privation a microwave that replaces adjacent the best toaster oven, opt for a exemplary with convection settings, but support successful caput that this functionality often comes astatine a higher price, and the exertion tin beryllium deed oregon miss.
Microwave safety
Are microwaves harmless to use?
According to experts, it is simply a story that lasting excessively adjacent to the microwave portion it's operating tin exposure you to radiation. "Microwaves are precise harmless — arsenic agelong arsenic they aren't damaged," Lodico said. "The metallic lodging and mesh surface connected the doorway enactment arsenic a shield from the radiation that is generated inside. As the radiation approaches the partition of the microwave it induces a existent and magnetic tract that cancels retired the incoming wave."
While determination was erstwhile immoderate interest astir operating a microwave if you person a pacemaker, the FDA says this is nary longer an contented with modern pacemakers, though individuals with pacemakers should ever cheque with their doc first.
Safety features: If you person young children, you volition privation to acquisition 1 of the champion microwaves with a child-safety fastener feature. "Many toddlers tin get injured erstwhile reaching successful the microwave, but galore manufacturers person a integer fastener present wherever you enactment successful a operation of numbers to fastener and unlock the microwave," Schiffmann said. Note that this diagnostic prevents the microwave oven from operating; it does not fastener the microwave door.
What benignant of microwave is champion for location use?
In general, microwave types are not interchangeable; an over-the-range microwave cannot beryllium utilized connected a countertop and vice versa due to the fact that of their antithetic ventilation systems. However, definite countertop models travel with trim kits that let them to beryllium fitted arsenic built-ins. For instance, our apical upgrade model, the Panasonic Oven with Cyclonic Wave Inverter Technology, has a abstracted trim kit to instal it over-the-range
How we trial the champion microwaves
In summation to speaking with Bob Schiffmann, a microwave heating adept and president of the International Microwave Power Institute, and Jared Lodico, a postdoctoral researcher successful physics astatine UCLA, I enactment each of the champion microwaves done a modular acceptable of tests.
Marshmallow test: The archetypal trial I performed with each countertop microwave was the marshmallow test, an industry-standard mode to cheque your microwave for blistery and acold spots. To behaviour this test, I covered a furniture of parchment insubstantial connected the microwave's solid trays with mini marshmallows. I cooked the marshmallows successful the microwave for 2 minutes connected high. The marshmallows that expanded archetypal revealed the microwave's blistery spots, portion marshmallows that appeared earthy showed the acold spots.
Frozen mac and food test: I besides cooked frozen mac and food successful each of the champion countertop microwaves, utilizing the aforesaid marque and navigator time. I checked for evenness and burnt oregon acold spots.
Ease of use: I looked astatine however casual and intuitive the microwaves were to use, and however overmuch abstraction they occupied connected my counter. I besides evaluated however overmuch sound they made during cooking and however large and persistent their alarms and beeps were.
Presets and functions: Where applicable, I utilized and tested each model's preset buttons according to the manufacturer's instructions. This included Popcorn, Reheat, Sensor Cook, and Keep Warm buttons. I evaluated however good these settings performed their intended relation and however casual they were to use.
FAQs
Is 900 watts bully for a microwave?
For astir households, a microwave with astir 1,000 watts of powerfulness is plenty. Smaller microwaves mostly person little wattages (our fund prime has 600 watts), truthful they prevention antagonistic abstraction but suffer the quality to vigor ample meals and navigator dense foods from scratch.
How overmuch does a countertop microwave oven cost?
Schiffmann said you should expect to walk betwixt $100 and $150 connected a bully 800 to 1,000-watt microwave, and a spot much arsenic wattage increases. You'll besides wage much for other features, similar convection settings oregon tons of presets. You don't person to interruption the bank, but Schiffman cautions astir considering microwaves nether $100. "Anything cheaper volition astir apt interruption down and beryllium unstable," helium said.
Can you defrost nutrient successful the microwave?
Yes. Defrosting sets your microwave's powerfulness betwixt 30% to 50% truthful it thaws your nutrient without cooking it. Although it's recommended to safely thaw nutrient successful the refrigerator, you tin usage your microwave's defrost fastener to thaw nutrient successful a pinch arsenic agelong arsenic you navigator it instantly aft you thaw it.
According to the FDA, microwaves whitethorn vigor nutrient unevenly which could effect successful harmful bacteria maturation if the nutrient isn't cooked instantly aft defrosting. Schiffmann besides said it's important erstwhile cooking oregon defrosting nutrient successful the microwave to support an oculus connected nutrient temperature. "When cooking your food, measurement respective places with a nutrient thermometer to debar undercooking oregon underheating," helium said.
How bash microwaves work?
"Microwaves make 'microwaves,' which is simply a signifier of electromagnetic radiation," Lodico said. "This electrical tract transfers vigor to the nutrient arsenic the waves walk done it." The vigor transportation causes h2o molecules successful the nutrient to vibrate, producing vigor that cooks the nutrient practically from the wrong out. Because of this, foods that are precocious successful h2o content, similar potatoes oregon different caller vegetables, navigator overmuch faster successful the microwave than they bash successful different appliances.
What foods tin I navigator successful my microwave oven?
"Microwave ovens are truly poachers oregon steamers, truthful those foods that acceptable that illustration bash well," said Schiffmann. "They're large for cooking fish, vegetables, and chicken, but don't expect adust foods to crisp oregon brown." Any nutrient with precocious h2o contented does good successful the microwave, similar potatoes oregon caller vegetables, and you tin besides usage them arsenic a shortcut erstwhile making boiled foods. For example, you tin enactment adust pasta successful a vessel of h2o and microwave for the cooking clip connected the pasta package. The pasta volition navigator perfectly, and you don't adjacent person to hold for the h2o to boil.
Farima Ferguson
Freelance Writer
Farima Ferguson is simply a freelance writer for location and room guides astatine Business Insider Reviews. She has spearheaded guides to the champion microwaves, vacuum sealers, and much tiny appliances. As an avid cook, she loves researching and investigating room products to assistance others find the close products for their homes.Along with penning for Insider, Farima has worked arsenic a writer and exertion for large manner brands similar HGTV and Travel Channel, covering a wide assortment of topics from vacation acquisition guides to the champion eats astir the world.Farima presently lives successful the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia with her hubby wherever you tin find them exploring the nationalist historical parks adjacent and enjoying the wineries and breweries close down the roadworthy successful Northern Virginia vino country.
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