I don’t use the microwave all that much these days now that I’ve got an air fryer in my kitchen. Microwaves tend to get a bad rap, and to be fair, some of it’s deserved. But they do have strengths. Microwave radiation is actually great for reheating certain foods, especially when you’re in a rush.
While the air fryer easily gets five times more use than the microwave in my home for making quick meals and reheating leftovers, I haven’t totally abandoned it. It’s handy for little tasks like softening butter for baking or quickly heating up last night’s mashed potatoes. And believe it or not, there are a few foods I actually cook from scratch in the microwave.
Here are five microwave foods that actually work.
1. Poached eggs
The microwave makes a mean poached egg and it only takes 60 seconds to do it.
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 I’m going to catch heat for this but microwave nachos are one of my comfort foods.
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
Bag a rubber popcorn maker and skip the over-salted bags.
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 (at least the first part)
Cook your potatoes in the microwave and finish them off in the toaster or air fryer.
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.
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5. Mug cakes
Mug cakes take very little baking prowess to pull off.
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
Microwaved rice isn’t my first choice but it works 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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What are the best microwave foods?
Good microwave foods are able to withstand the rays of heat without drying out or charring black during the cooking time. While making food from scratch with a microwave isn’t usually a good idea, some simple foods like nachos and baked potatoes will get sufficiently warm and gooey — which is what you’re looking for with those particular eats.
What should I do when I microwave my foods?
Microwaves reheat food extremely quickly, which is one of the biggest upsides to this kitchen appliance. But that also means you should keep an eye on anything you’re making in that tiny oven — leave something in for a couple seconds too long, and it might be burnt up.
You can prod foods like baked potatoes to make sure they’re sufficiently warm and put them back in if they aren’t (just make sure you don’t put the fork in the microwave along with it). For simple snacks like popcorn bags, you can listen for when the popping starts to fizzle out to shut off the microwave.
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