Microwave ovens are all about convenience. Whether you want to reheat leftovers, make tea or coffee, cook a fresh meal or just make popcorn for a movie marathon, no other appliance makes it as easy as a microwave.
To find the most suitable microwave, consider the types available and the capacity, before deciding on additional features.
To see and buy some of the best models of microwave ovens from an online platform.
Best Microwave Ovens
Toshiba Microwave
If you’re glancing for a microwave that does it all, the 1,000-watt Toshiba Microwave Oven with Convection cooks, bakes, reheats, and even roasts food fast and thoroughly. If you’re trying to reduce the number of kitchen appliances in your home, then the Toshiba Microwave Oven with Convection is an ideal multi-functional appliance to have. Not only does it serve as a traditional microwave, but it also bakes roasts and toasts. In addition, it allows you to fast start the microwave by just pushing digits one through six on the digit pad. The Toshiba microwave oven is strong. The microwave is heated adequately, the buttons are easy to utilize and smudge-proof, and the microwave beeps audible and clear. The only major downside is you will require plenty of countertop space to adapt this large oven, and at virtually 50 pounds, it isn’t effortless to move.
- Presets: Popcorn, Sensor Cook, Sensor Reheat, Auto Defrost, Favorites, and Time Defrost; also has bake, roast, and toast functionality
- Power: 1,000 watts
- Child-safety lock: Yes
- Pros: Quiet, many quick-touch preset cooking buttons, a multi-functional appliance that can bake and roast, includes a child-safety lock
- Cons: Heavy and bulky, convection feature heats up kitchen quickly
Panasonic NN-SD975S Microwave
The Panasonic NN-SD975S Microwave, which can also be installed as a built-in, is large enough to fit two plates at a time and features an easy-to-use dial to heat and cook your food. The Panasonic NN-SD975S Microwave Oven is large in both size and capacity; with a 16.5-inch turntable, it’s ideal if you’re cooking for a family. One dial controls the cooking time and it only adjusts in 10-second increments; a minor inconvenience, but it otherwise operates smoothly and easily. You can also use the dial to input weight for food you’re defrosting by turning the dial clockwise until you get to the proper weight.
- Presets: Popcorn (three levels), Coffee/Milk, Inverter Turbo Defrost, Keep Warm, Sensor Cook, Sensor Reheat
- Power: 1,250 watts
- Child-safety lock: Yes
- Pros: Quiet, powerful 1,250 watts, the dial is easy to use, comes with useful preset buttons, includes a child-safety lock, can be installed as a built-in microwave
- Cons: You can’t see the food well while it’s cooking, dial only goes up in 10-second increments
Panasonic NN-SN65KB Microwave
The Panasonic NN-SN65KB Microwave Oven fills 1,200 watts of power to cook food fast and evenly. It’s compact yet has an ample interior and practical preset buttons for easy cooking. However, the frozen Foods feature doesn’t cook accurately doesn’t have Express Cook buttons. The microwave’s power levels commence at P10, the highest cooking level, and go down to P0, the Keep Warm level. It catches the humidity level of the food inside and begins counting down the cooking time. You may also attempt the more niche preset buttons like Popcorn and Coffee/Milk preset, which worked better.
- Presets: Sensor Cook Reheat, Coffee/Milk, Turbo Defrost by the pound or kilogram, Popcorn, and Frozen Foods
- Power: 1,200 watts
- Child-safety lock: Yes
- Pros: Five useful preset buttons, 1,200 watts of cooking power (more than most microwaves), includes a child-safety lock button
- Cons: Fingerprint smudges are visible, the light inside isn’t bright enough to check food while it’s cooking, it’s loud,
GE Smart Microwave Oven
GE’s Smart Microwave is Alexa- and Google Assistant-enabled, so you can boil your food using voice commands or from your mobile. The GE Smart Microwave Oven examines like any standard microwave on the need. It’s bright and relatively compact, but a dinner plate still fits nicely inside. Its defining feature is its smart connectivity. The best part of having an intelligent microwave is that you can control the settings and check the status of your food from your smartphone or by using voice commands with a virtual assistant like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. The hands-free technology makes cooking more accessible when multitasking, and it’s more sanitary since you reduce how much you touch the microwave. It also features a scan-to-cook function where you can scan the barcode on a package of food using your mobile, and the cooking time and settings are automatically displayed. Then, all you have to do is press or say “start.”
- Presets: Dinner Plate, Pizza, Defrost (by weight and time), Reheat, Potato, Popcorn, Beverage, Vegetables, an Add 30 Seconds quick button
- Power: 900 watts
- Child-safety lock: Yes
- Pros: Features smart technology and scan-to-cook technology at a reasonable price, heats food quickly, spacious yet compact enough to fit in a small kitchen
- Cons: Doesn’t cook food as evenly as other microwaves we tested, doesn’t come with a trim kit to mount over the stove or underneath cabinets, the voice commands are finicky.
Commercial Chef Microwave
The Commercial Chef is bare-bones but super easy to use. It’s relatively powerful, well-priced, and compact enough for small kitchens. Commercial Chef has a revised microwave model with digital controls at a lower price point. At less than 18 inches lengthy and 11 inches deep, The Commercial Chef Microwave is tight and well-sized for tiny kitchens or dorm rooms. In many ways, it compares an old-school toaster oven and even “dings” when cooking is complete. The controls consist of two rotary knobs — one for power level and one for cook time. If you desire a no-frills microwave that reheats and cooks food in a no-frills, quick manner, this is a significant opportunity, especially if you don’t have much kitchen space to operate with.
- Presets: None
- Power: 600 watts
- Child-safety lock: No
- Pros: Simple to use, compact, quieter than most models, heats evenly
- Cons: Doesn’t have a clock, can only set cook time by the minute, not very powerful (only 600 watts), too small for large dishes or plates over 10 inches in diameter
Types of Microwave Ovens
- Solo: A solo microwave oven is a basic or entry-level model. It has one magnetron to produce microwaves. Solo microwave ovens are cheaper when compared to other microwave models, like grill or convection.
- Grill: Grill microwave ovens are provided with additional grilling accessories. The microwave and grill functions can run simultaneously to make delicious grills in minutes. The grill microwave has heating coils which help in grilling, toasting or roasting.
- Convection: A convection microwave has a fan which circulates heat waves efficiently so that food can be cooked or baked faster and uniformly.
| Food | Solo | Grill | Convection |
| Re-heat | YES | YES | YES |
| Grilled Items | NO | YES | YES |
| Pizza | NO | NO | YES |
Capacity of Microwave Ovens
Family size vs Capacity
| People | Capacity |
| 2-3 | 15 – 30 Litres |
| 3-5 | 25-30 Litres |
| More than 5 | +30 Litres |
Features of Microwave Ovens
- Auto Cook Menu: The Auto Cook Menu feature has preset programs to simplify the preparation of a variety of recipes. Once the type of dish (code) is selected, along with its weight, the oven will automatically set the power and cooking time.
- Child Lock: If you have curious children at home, it may be a good idea to ensure your microwave oven has a child-lock.
- Rotisserie: This grilling accessory comes with a few microwave ovens. It is useful for grilling and barbecuing vegetables, paneer, meat and poultry.
- Defrost: Use the defrost function to unfreeze food quickly. Using auto defrost is easy: input the frozen food’s weight and the oven will set the best program. You can also program this mode manually by setting the power level and time, based on the food’s weight.
- Pre-heat: Preheating is getting your oven to a set temperature before cooking. It’s usually used before preparing cakes, cookies, and certain recipes that use the grill function.
- Timer: Set the timer to automatically end a heating or cooking program after a specified duration. A bell rings to indicate the program’s end.
- Panel Types: A good control panel can make it easy to use your microwave oven. From setting the timer to selecting a preset, access all the functions at the push of a button.
| Panel Type | Usage |
| Mechanical | Easy-to-use panel, Long Life |
| Feather Touch | Stylish design, Touch screen panel, Easy to clean |
| Tactile Buttons | Jog-wheel controls, Easy to set time and temperature |
Safety Tips for Micrwave Ovens
- Clean interior and exterior including door seal after use.
- Always use oven mitts, as vessels become hot in the microwave.
- Do not allow kids to operate the microwave.
- Do not operate the microwave when it’s empty.
- Use only microwave-safe cookware, like glass, ceramic, plastic, and paper.
- Do not use metallic cookware or vessels with metallic edges.