Best microwaves for 2021 – CNET [CNET]

October 16, 2021 Thomas Giboney technology

Microwaves have come a long way over the years. If you’re not familiar with this essential appliance’s origin, here’s a quick rundown: While working on magnetron production for the military in World War II, Percy Spencer, a Raytheon employee and physicist, discovered that a candy bar in his pocket had melted. Spencer quickly filed a patent for an invention based on the strange accident, and the microwave oven was born.

Now, microwaves are used to warm up leftovers, make popcorn, melt chocolate and steam veggies, among many, many other things. They save valuable time in food prep when compared to a conventional oven and are an integral part of many cooking routines.

Today, modern microwave options come with plenty of size, power, color and function to choose from. You can get a convection microwave, range microwave, smart microwave, standard microwave, drawer microwave or a grill microwave. You even have smart microwave options such as the GE Smart Countertop Microwave and the AmazonBasics Microwave, which work with Alexa voice commands. We put nine popular models to the test to find the best microwave available today.

Best microwave overall

Farberware with Smart Sensor

$148 at Amazon

Best budget pick

Oster OGCMDM11S2-10

See at Target

Best large capacity

Panasonic NN-SN946W (Update: Out of stock)

See at Walmart

Best small microwave

Magic Chef

$60 at Home Depot

Other models we tested

The four microwaves above performed at the top of their class, but we tested a total of nine machines to find the best microwave. Here are the other models that didn’t quite make the cut.

GE JES2051SNSS: This stainless steel GE microwave is a strong contender, but fell short when it came to popcorn, and we were left with a few undercooked potatoes. Reheating beverages, boiling water and cooking frozen meals went well. It’s also the most expensive model we tested at $280.
LG LMC0975ST: This $160 LG microwave model has a small interior capacity of just 0.9 cubic feet. It’s also the only inverter microwave we tested that interfered with our Wi-Fi signal. Twinkly sounds and pretty design weren’t enough to woo us.
Hamilton Beach EM031M2ZC-X3: The $73 Hamilton Beach black stainless steel microwave offers 1.1 cubic feet and 1,000 watts of power but had poor cooking results, especially when it came to fully baking potatoes.
Toshiba EM131A5C-BS: This $120 Toshiba microwave oven produced mediocre results. It did have an easy to clean interior and plenty of special functions, but didn’t do well when it came to reheating leftover pizza or cooking small frozen entrees.

How we test

Finding the best microwave is about more than just the 30-second express button we use to heat up lunch. Microwaves come with dozens of special functions and adjustment levels that can turn them into truly helpful tools in the kitchen.

Special functions

For each microwave, we tested Potato, Frozen Entree, Frozen Pizza, Beverage, Popcorn and Reheat when those options were present. Testing the Potato preset requires three rounds of cooking pierced baking potatoes in each microwave using that function. Then, we take the temperature and record the doneness of the potato.

potatotemp — Hot potato!

Molly Price/CNET

For Popcorn, we popped three bags of 3.2-ounce popcorn in each microwave, recording the number of unpopped and burnt kernels. Frozen items follow, with similar temperature recording and notes about doneness. For beverages, we also record the temperature of 1 cup of water after being heated with the Beverage option.

We use frozen personal pizzas and frozen lasagna entrees to test each microwave’s ability to cook evenly and accurately. If you’re like me, I use my microwave most when I’m heating up leftovers, so we round out each set of tests with a slice of leftover delivery pizza.

We recorded the time and temperature for every test, so we could see which microwaves do their thing most efficiently.

popcornkernelcount — This microwave had mediocre popcorn results.

Molly Price/CNET

At the end of gathering all that data, we have a good picture of both the cooking power and effectiveness of each microwave’s specialty functions. And we have popcorn. Lots of popcorn. Of course there’s more to consider than just the special presets.

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What else to consider

In this round of microwave testing, we focused on microwaves with 1,000 watts of power or higher. These models are ideal for people who use a microwave to cook often or tend to reheat large meals. Chances are, you’ll start your microwave hunt by thinking about what size is right for you. A 2.2-cubic-foot, 1,250-watt microwave isn’t necessarily the best option for everyone.

If you’re in a tight space or have restrictions on wattage (my college dorm capped us off at a measly 900 watts), then you’ll do best to look for compact model options under 1,000 watts. Once you’ve settled on size, consider which functions mean the most to you. If you never eat popcorn but eat a lot of leftover pizza, make sure the model you choose has the single-slice option.

Narrow it down to the right size, power level and function set, and all that’s left is to pick a color. Each of the models we tested comes in multiple finishes, so if your microwave will become part of your kitchen landscape, you should be able to find the right hue.

One final tip: Don’t toss the manual as soon as you open the box! Your microwave’s owner’s manual is a great resource for exactly how to use each cooking mode. Every manufacturer seems to do things just a bit differently, and there were time guides and helpful explanations in every manual we encountered during testing.

Best microwaves for 2021 – CNET [CNET]