Microwaves
Microwaves for Meal Prep
Microwaves keep meal prep practical by handling the fastest tasks with minimal effort. Reheating prepped meals, steaming vegetables, softening frozen portions, and warming sauces all happen in minutes. For weekly prep, a microwave matters because it preserves momentum. You can portion food, store it, and reliably bring it back to eating temperature without drying it out or dirtying extra cookware.
What separates a good microwave from a mediocre one comes down to power, interior layout, and consistency. Low wattage leads to uneven heating and cold centers. Awkward interiors limit container size and force you to rotate food constantly. Complicated controls slow down something that should be automatic. A solid microwave for meal prep should heat evenly, fit common meal prep containers, and operate predictably so every portion comes out ready to eat.
Toshiba EM131A5C-BS – Best Microwave for Reliable Daily Reheating
Quick Take: A 1.2 cu. ft., 1100-watt countertop microwave with humidity sensor reheating, designed for meal preppers who want consistent results across multiple containers every day.
Key Features:
- 1.2 cu. ft. interior with 12.4-inch turntable: Fits most standard meal prep containers and dinner plates without tilting or spinning off-center
- 1100W with smart humidity sensor: Automatically adjusts cook time based on steam from food, reducing over- and under-heating on reheat cycles
- Mute function and ECO mode: Silences the beeper for shared spaces and cuts standby power draw between uses
Cold centers are the main failure mode when reheating prepped meals. The Toshiba EM131A5C-BS addresses this with a humidity sensor that reads steam levels and adjusts cook time automatically. You don’t have to guess at power levels or manually add time for different foods. The 1.2 cu. ft. cavity fits full-size meal prep containers and most dinner plates without tilting. Defrost performance is strong across independent testing, with evenly thawed meat and no cooked edges. Reported problems include a clock that drifts over time, a touchpad that occasionally freezes and requires unplugging to reset, and uneven heating on larger dense portions that still benefit from stirring mid-cycle. The easy-clean interior wipes without scrubbing. One-year limited warranty.
Price: ~$100-$140 | Buy on Amazon
BLACK+DECKER EM720CB7 – Best Compact Microwave for Tight Counter Space
Quick Take: A 0.7 cu. ft., 700-watt countertop microwave with push-button door and simple controls, suited for solo meal preppers or secondary kitchens where counter space is tight.
Key Features:
- 0.7 cu. ft. interior with 10-inch turntable: Compact footprint fits small kitchens, offices, and dorm spaces while still clearing a standard dinner plate
- 700W with 10 power levels: Lower wattage runs on circuits that larger microwaves can trip, useful in older apartments
- Push-button door with child lock: One-hand opening frees up your other hand when pulling containers from the fridge
The problem with most compact microwaves is that they sacrifice usable interior space to hit a low price. The BLACK+DECKER EM720CB7 keeps a functional 10-inch turntable in a form factor small enough for a single counter shelf. Six preset buttons cover the basics. Defrost by weight and defrost by time both work reliably. The limitations are real: 700 watts is noticeably slower than 1000-watt models, steam-bag vegetables take nearly double the time, and independent lab testing found uneven heating on dense frozen meals like lasagna. The unit slides on smooth counters when you open the door. Presets are serviceable but not precise. Buttons can feel stiff. One-year limited warranty.
Price: ~$60-$80 | Buy on Amazon
Farberware FMO07AHTBKJ – Best Budget Microwave for Simple Reheating and Defrosting
Quick Take: A 0.7 cu. ft., 700-watt countertop microwave with a mid-flip defrost reminder and surprisingly even reheating, built for meal preppers who need a no-frills daily reheater under $70.
Key Features:
- 0.7 cu. ft. interior with LED interior light: Compact cavity stays visible during cooking without creating a blind spot when checking on food
- 700W with defrost-by-weight and defrost-by-time: Both defrost modes prompt a mid-cycle flip reminder, reducing partially cooked edges on meat
- 6 one-touch presets plus multi-stage cooking: Lets you chain power levels for foods that need different heat intensities across a single cycle
Forgetting to thaw protein is a common prep-day problem. The Farberware FMO07AHTBKJ handles it better than most budget options by prompting you to flip meat halfway through the defrost cycle. Independent testing found about 80% of a pound of ground beef fully defrosted without cooked edges, which is strong for this price range. Reheating performance is more even than its wattage suggests for basic single-serving portions. The limitations: 700 watts noticeably extends cook times on dense meals, frozen pasta dishes come out wet and unevenly heated, and user reviews show mixed reliability over the long term. Controls are simple and easy to read. Dimensions are 14.4 x 11.2 x 8.5 inches. One-year limited warranty.
Price: ~$50-$70 | Buy on Amazon
Buying Guide
What to Look For
Wattage: 1000 watts and above heats food faster and more evenly than 700-watt models. For daily reheating of full meal prep portions, 1000+ watts is the practical baseline. 700-watt models work for light use but extend cook times on anything dense.
Interior Capacity: A 1.2 cu. ft. interior with a 12-inch turntable fits most standard rectangular and round meal prep containers. Anything smaller forces you into smaller containers or tilting lids. Check interior dimensions separately from the quoted cubic footage.
Sensor Reheating: Humidity sensors detect steam from food and auto-adjust time and power. This matters for meal prep because different foods reheat differently. Rice comes back faster than chicken. A sensor reduces the guesswork across those variations.
Control Layout: One-touch express cooking (press 1 for 1 minute at full power) is more useful for daily prep than elaborate preset menus. Look for models with direct minute buttons rather than menus requiring multiple steps.
Defrost Quality: Mid-cycle flip reminders improve defrost results on dense proteins. Weight-based defrost is more accurate than time-based. If you regularly thaw chicken, beef, or fish from frozen, this matters more than most other features.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Buying a 700-watt microwave for daily full-portion reheating. You’ll spend 30 to 50% more time heating each meal. Over a week of prep, that adds up.
Ignoring interior dimensions. A listed 0.7 cu. ft. oven sounds similar to 1.2 cu. ft. on paper but fits far fewer containers. Measure your most-used containers before buying.
Paying extra for presets that don’t work well. Lab testing consistently shows most budget preset buttons underperform compared to manual time and power settings. The sensor reheat on the Toshiba is the exception worth paying for.
Assuming any microwave will heat evenly without stirring. Even high-wattage models have hot spots. Stirring halfway through dense meals is good practice regardless of the model you buy.
Budget vs Premium
At $50 to $80, compact 700-watt models like the Farberware and BLACK+DECKER cover basic reheating for small portions and occasional defrosting. They suit solo households, secondary kitchens, or people with limited counter space. Slower cook times and weaker performance on dense meals are the trade-offs.
Spending $100 to $140 on a 1000+ watt model like the Toshiba EM131A5C-BS gives you a meaningful jump in speed, a larger cavity that fits real meal prep containers, and sensor reheating that actually adjusts for different foods. If you prep five or more meals a week and reheat daily, the extra $40 to $60 pays for itself in time and fewer cold centers.
The Farberware earns its spot for one specific strength: defrosting. If your prep routine regularly involves thawing protein from frozen, it punches above its price with the flip reminder and controlled defrost cycles.
Microwaves pair well with countertop ovens and air fryers for a complete meal prep reheating setup.