The 5 Perfect Foods for Your Microwave Oven

I don’t use the microwave very often, especially now that my
kitchen
is equipped with an air fryer. Microwaves gets a bad rap and much of it is earned. Microwave radiation can be really good for reheating some stuff (here’s the best way to reheat everything), especially when you’re strapped for time.

But it’s hard to make a meal from scratch, and other appliances are able to produce a tastier end result. In my home, the air fryer gets tapped five times more often than the microwave for quick cooking, zapping and reheating eats. 

That said, I still use the microwave for a few cooking tasks, including to soften butter for baking or heat up last night’s potatoes. And there are even some foods I still cook from scratch in the microwave. 

Here are five you can try.

1. Poached eggs 

This might sound like an odd one but poaching eggs in the microwave is my favorite use of the common appliance. All it takes is one minute, give or take, a small bowl of water and an egg. Here’s my step-by-step explainer for making poached eggs in the microwave.

2. Nachos

I know some people are going to come for me on this one, but microwave nachos are still my favorite. I won’t turn my nose up at oven-baked nachos, but the microwave is my go-to for this classic snack. Why, you ask (probably in horror)? It’s because a microwave doesn’t dry out the chips or the cheese. 

What can I say? I like a soggy nacho. Plus, it only takes about 50 seconds to melt the cheese and heat the salsa into a gloopy, gloppy delicious nacho mess. 

If you’re not a soggy nacho lover like me, try using an air fryer since it will also melt the cheese quickly without drying it out or burning the corn chips. 

3. Popcorn

Popcorn is a microwave classic and that’s for a reason. It deftly turns those hard kernels into a puffy snack as well as any other method.

You might have to experiment with your microwave’s popcorn function, as it might leave too many unpopped kernels if you don’t add extra time. But once you figure out the perfect cooking time for your particular microwave, you’ll be able to consistently make a tasty move night snack in only a couple of minutes.

If you’re not keen on bagged microwave popcorn, this $12 device will make microwave popcorn from scratch and save you money on the packaged stuff. 

4. Baked potatoes 

Potatoes are another one of those rare foods that can handle a microwave’s mysterious heat and not crumble under the rays. For a fast-baked potato, microwave your spud on high for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the size, checking occasionally for doneness with a fork. 

I like to stick the cooked potato in an air fryer on high for 30 seconds afterward to get crispy skin. It sure beats waiting an hour for potatoes to bake in the oven. 

5. Mug cakes

I don’t do a lot of baking but the microwave turns out tasty cakes with very little skill required. Mug cakes were very trendy a few decades ago and there’s a reason. Mixing ingredients into a batter and flash-cooking them in the microwave nets a gooey cake that goes particularly well over ice cream or simply eaten with a spoon. 

Here’s how to make a perfect mug cake on any night that cake craving comes calling.

Rice, but only in a pinch

I’m a heavy rice cooker user — I always get it a little wrong trying to make rice on the stovetop — but when there’s no rice cooker to be found, I opt for microwave rice. It’s fast, cleanup-free and difficult to screw up. 

To make rice in the microwave, put 1 cup long-grain white rice, 2 cups water (or 1 cup milk and 1 cup water for creamy rice), and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a microwavable bowl and mix the ingredients together. Cook it on high for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the rice is tender. 

More on microwaves

If you’re wondering if the microwave is the right place to defrost meats or cook frozen foods, the answer is usually no. Here is the proper (and safe) way to defrost meat. As for frozen snacks such as pizza bites and empanadas, get yourself a $75 air fryer and thank me later.

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