17 Microwave Recipes To Make for Dinner
From arroz verde and shakshuka to omelettes and oyakodon, your microwave can help you whip up dinner this week.
Simply Recipes / Frank Tiu
To save space, I tried going without a microwave for a few years. My kitchen isn't very big, and it's not designed for a microwave over the range. As my kids got older, I expected them to make snacks and meals on their own when I wasn't home. It became clear to me: a microwave oven made it much easier for them to reheat leftovers, make popcorn, and most importantly to them, whip up a quick mug cake. I made room for a microwave.
For many, microwave ovens are an essential piece of kitchen equipment. They make reheating leftovers quick and easy, but they can do so much more—like poach salmon and make an omelette—that you'll be saying, "I didn't know my microwave could do that!" These 24 recipes show you just versatile the oft-overlooked microwave can be.
1. How To Microwave Corn on the Cob
Get Recipe: How to Microwave Corn on the Cob
Leave the husks on for the easiest microwaved corn on the cob ever. When it's cooked, cut the bottom off and the husk slips right off.
2. Microwave Shakshuka
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Get Recipe: Make Shakshuka Fast and Easy in the Microwave
Recipe developer Liz Mervosh says, "Make this microwave shakshuka in a pie plate (we used a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish microwave-safe glass pie plate). It has a larger surface area and will cook the tomato mixture and eggs more evenly. Also, it's better to position the eggs toward the center of the pie plate so that the yolks don't overcook before the whites set up."
3. Microwave Rice
Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm
Get Recipe: Microwave Rice
If you need perfectly cooked rice on the table quickly, this is the way to do it. This method works with jasmine, basmati, or plain old “long-grain white rice” as well as sushi rice. Place rinsed rice and water in a microwave safe bowl. Cook uncovered, and then covered, and then let it rest till it gets fluffy.
4. Microwave Bacon
Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Get Recipe: Microwave Bacon
Yes, you can cook CRISPY bacon in the microwave. The trick is placing the slices between paper towels to soak up the grease as they cook. You'll have bacon in no time for a BLT, to top a salad, or as a side for your favorite egg dish.
5. 2-Minute Microwave French Salad Dressing
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Get Recipe: This 2-Minute Salad Dressing Will Make You Feel Like You’re in a French Bistro
In just 2 minutes, you'll have a salad dressing worthy enough to be on a French bistro's menu. Traditionally, this dressing takes a lot of time and some dirty dishes, but you don't have to use a pan to sauté shallots in our version. Rather, you microwave them in oil to extract their flavor. The addition of Dijon, vinegar, salt, and pepper finishes off this hard-to-resist salad dressing.
6. Microwave Red Curry Poached Salmon
Simply Recipes / Tara Omidvar
Get Recipe: Microwave Red Curry Poached Salmon
Salmon gently poached in a Thai-inspired curry is on the table in under 30 when you do it all in the microwave. First, cook an aromatic oil mixture in the microwave. Add it to a pie plate with coconut milk, curry paste, and a few other ingredients to make the poaching liquid. Top with salmon, cover with plastic wrap, and cook.
7. Microwave BBQ Chicken Wings
Simply Recipes / Mike Lang
Get Recipe: Microwave BBQ Chicken Wings
Really? Wings in the microwave? Yes. I'll be honest here. They won't be as crispy as they would be if they were fried. But they will be fast and deliciously sweet, with much less cleaning up when you're done.
8. Microwave Garlicky Creamed Spinach
Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Get Recipe: Microwave Garlicky Creamed Spinach
Much simpler and quicker than making it on the stovetop, this garlicky creamed spinach recipe contains coconut cream, Parm, garlic, and plenty of seasoning. In 10 minutes, this side dish will be ready for your steak, pork chops, or vegetarian meatloaf dinner.
9. Microwave Sweet Potato
Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Get Recipe: Microwave Sweet Potato
Make a perfectly cooked sweet potato in your microwave in about 5 minutes, with an optional blast in an air fryer to crisp up the skin. Serve it as a side, or use it as the base for chorizo stuffed sweet potatoes.
10. Microwave Broccoli with Sesame Dressing
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Get Recipe: Microwave Broccoli with Sesame Dressing
This microwave broccoli with sesame dressing takes steamed broccoli up a notch. It takes just 15 minutes to make, and it's a good accompaniment for bulgogi, braised short ribs, and gochujang chicken thighs served with a big bowl of rice.
11. Microwave Baked Potato
Simply Recipes / Nick Evans
Get Recipe: Microwave Baked Potato
Just as delicious as an oven-baked potato, this microwave baked potato takes a fraction of the time. Top it with cheese, sour cream, and chives. Or, cook it in the evening, refrigerate it, and slice it up to quickly cook home fries in the morning.
12. Gyeran Jjim (Korean Steamed Eggs)
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Get Recipe: Gyeran Jjim (Korean Steamed Eggs)
Microwave adaptations of traditional Korean steamed eggs have become common for their speed and ease—not to mention their power to comfort. Serve them with rice and kimchi for a meal you can pull together on the fly.
A combination of cocoa powder and 60-percent dark chocolate chips yields a deep chocolate flavor and a dreamy texture in this microwave chocolate pudding. When it's hot, pour it into four bowls, let it cool, and devour, topped with homemade whipped cream on top for added decadence.
13. How to Steam Broccoli in the Microwave
Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek
Get Recipe: How to Steam Broccoli in the Microwave
Need a quick, healthy, simple side dish for dinner? Steamed broccoli is the answer. This easy method takes just 10 minutes, including cutting up the fresh broccoli.
14. Omlette in a Mug
Get Recipe: Omelette in a Mug
You can make an amazingly light and fluffy omlette in a mug in just 4 minutes. Add grated cheese and finely chopped red pepper and chives for extra flavor.
15. Microwave Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)
Simply Recipes / Frank Tiu
Get Recipe: Microwave Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)
The rice in question here is not actually cooked in the bowl. It's served alongside the oyakodon, a filling and simple Japanese dish of chicken and eggs. You scoop the soft, custardy, savory eggs over the rice and dig in.
Chocolate chips don't always melt as smoothly as chocolate bars. The microwave method cooks them for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between every 30-second interval, until they're smooth and ready to use for chocolate covered strawberries or pretzels.
16. Homemade Tortilla Chips
Get Recipe: How to Make Homemade Tortilla Chips
Seriously, you can make super fast homemade tortilla chips in the microwave with way less of a mess (and less calories) than frying them.
17. Microwave Arroz Verde
Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe
Get Recipe: Microwave Arroz Verde
Recipe developer Liz Mervosh says, "For this recipe, it’s important to rinse the rice until the water runs clear. If not, the rice will clump and get gluey, and the herb mixture will slide right off."
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