We say it’s the “first microwave you should buy” because, if you’re getting a first apartment or outfitting a dorm room, a microwave is probably going to be key to your cooking, but you don’t need anything fancy and you shouldn’t be spending a lot of money. This Panasonic ticks both those boxes as the best basic microwave we tested.
What we love: Panasonic originally held the patent for the inverter technology you’ve seen us mention. More on that below, but for now we’ll just say that they created a way to make microwaves heat more evenly. This Panasonic’s cooking results were some of the best of the microwaves we tested, indicating that its heating tech is still spot-on, even as the broader market has gained access to and replicated inverter tech over the years since its advent in the 1980s.
For example, this microwave blasted the competition out of the water when it came to making popcorn. The preset popcorn button allows you to choose among sizes of popcorn bag, a nice bonus feature we didn’t see anywhere else. It microwaved a three-ounce bag for 1 minute 59 seconds, and in the end we were left with a bag bursting at the seams, not a single kernel in sight.
We also microwaved many batches of frozen macaroni and cheese in these microwaves, and while all of them adequately warmed the meal, the one we made in the Panasonic had a distinctly better texture. The noodles weren’t mushy, and the cheese even browned and caramelized a little on the sides like a baked mac would.
When we defrosted chicken breasts in these microwaves, the results were often dubious, with cooked edges and still-frozen centers. The Panasonic performed far and away the best of the bunch in the defrosting test.
These superior results have to do with Panasonic’s sensor technology, a feature that detects the steam coming off of your food and adjusts its cook times and power levels accordingly. We made our best baked potato in this microwave, and steamed broccoli that was crisp-tender rather than mushy (a rarity in our broccoli microwaving journey).
At 1.2 cubic feet, the Panasonic has a lower countertop profile than many of the models we tested, but it offers just as much interior space as many models that take up more room. The 13.4-inch turntable can fit an 11-by-7 inch casserole dish, for example. We also combed Reddit threads of home cooks discussing microwaves, and found that this one had the very best reports of longevity.
What we’d leave: While the sensor cook feature will ultimately produce great cooking results, it has a learning curve. In order to figure out the right modes for each type of food we had to consult a chart in the manual. This information is also displayed on the inside of the door, on a sticker, but that particular design doesn’t feel built to last. It took a few tries to figure it out, but once we did, it was easy to use.
