Are microwaves a thing of the past?

February 10, 2026 by
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I still remember when my grandparents got their first microwave oven in the late 1970s. Until they purchased their Amana Radarange, I had never seen a microwave. The unit was a pricey affair, costing hundreds of dollars, its shiny door practically screaming ‘Space Age’ to the six-year-old standing before it. For early adopters it was a status symbol as much as it was a practical cooking device, but as the price came down and the wattage went up, microwaves soon became a must-have appliance and became commonplace. Cookbooks dedicated to microwave cooking began to spring up, and people used it to quickly heat up the convenience meals that became popular in an increasingly fast-paced world.

Fast forward several decades and there are many other countertop appliances that rival the microwave for both speed (Instant Pot) and convenience (air fryer). So are they still worthwhile appliances? Mashed’s Sean Pagnotti attempts to answer this question, and comes up with a qualified yes. Even though the Instant Pot can speed up cooking times for items like beans and other long-cooking dishes, it’s not nearly as ‘instant’ as a microwave for certain tasks. Plus, you can’t reheat a plate of food or cook a frozen entree easily in an Instant Pot.

Air fryers and convection ovens may not have the speed either, but they offer significant advantages for browning, the microwave’s Achilles heel. Some newer microwaves use halogen bulbs or other technologies to improve browning, but most microwaves don’t have that feature. Plus, air fryers work better at making foods crisp with minimal fats and oils. It is difficult to get anything crisp out of a microwave (with the possible exception of bacon).

As with any cooking tool, how useful you find a microwave will depend on how you cook. If you never eat convenience meals, don’t have a lot of leftovers, and have a small kitchen, you probably will not opt for a big box that takes up valuable counter space. Others find a microwave to be nearly indispensable. I use my inverter microwave on a daily basis to reheat leftovers, melt chocolate and butter, preheat liquids for baking (no one wants a curdled cake batter due to fridge-cold ingredients), and defrost meat if I forget to take it out of the freezer in time. However, if I had a tiny kitchen I would consider nixing it – if the choice came down to choosing between a stand mixer and a microwave to live on the counter, the stand mixer would win. Where do you land on microwave continuum?

Category: Antipasto

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18 Comments

  • dbuhler  on  February 10, 2026

    I use my microwave daily, so it’s a solid yes from me, and I use it for all the same reasons (if I have to melt chocolate in a double boiler I can, but I really don’t want to). I feel the same way that you do about my stand mixer, and it gets prime counter space in my kitchen…which is why we opted for an above-the-range model of microwave so I wouldn’t have to choose between the two! We also use it to make popcorn in our HotPop poppers. I am sure I could live without one if I needed, but I do enjoy the convenience it provides.

  • FuzzyChef  on  February 11, 2026

    Our kitchen has a built in microwave cubby.

  • whitewoods  on  February 11, 2026

    I don’t do as much baking as I would like–so I still don’t own a stand mixer unfortunately. I do, however, have a combination microwave/convection/speedcook (halogen) above-the-range oven that I bought around 2007. Over the years I used it primarily as a microwave and occasionally as a convection oven. However, I never really understood the Advantium® speedcook feature and never used it. Now that I finally added The Art of Speedcooking to EYB and member-indexed it, that finally changed, and I actually made a stew in there. I still consider a microwave essential but haven’t yet cooked anything in there that really needs browning. I have 3 other microwave cookbooks in my collection–none of which are indexed yet. Perhaps I should get on that. I also need to buy more square/round casserole dishes in order to cook more in there, because of course the rectangular ones won’t fit in there.

  • dabhander  on  February 11, 2026

    Built-in microwave that we use every day. I use it every morning to make porridge. We use it every lunch to heat leftovers. We use it every evening to heat our dinner plates. We use it occasionally to defrost something from the freezer that we forgot to bring out in time.

    For our main meals, we do cook real food; the microwave really doesn’t come into play for that.

  • Ganga108  on  February 11, 2026

    I haven’t had a microwave for over 10 years. I rarely miss it and think it would only be used for the occasional defrost and for reheating leftovers.

  • rosajane8  on  February 11, 2026

    Ours died just before we moved…we did a test to see if we missed it enough to get another when we got to our new place…over 14 years later, we still have not replaced it. A toaster oven does the work of reheating better. 😂 I do miss it for melting chocolate and butter…but that’s not enough for us to buy one again. 😂

  • Lsblackburn1  on  February 11, 2026

    A microwave is invaluable for me at work, but when I tell my colleagues I don’t have one at home they’re shocked! I don’t want anything taking up so much space when I can just use the oven for reheating food.

  • KatieK1  on  February 11, 2026

    In addition to reheating things, we use it for poaching salmon, making risotto and polenta, as well as blanching and cooking vegetables.

  • FJT  on  February 11, 2026

    I mainly use mine for heating up an eye mask, melting butter or chocolate and reheating leftovers. I absolutely hate mine though; it came built into the kitchen in our new house and doesn’t have a turntable, so you have to move the food around every 30 seconds or so otherwise it doesn’t heat evenly. I use it because it’s there, but I’m sure I could easily survive without it and if we ever replace the kitchen I would probably rather use the space for something else.

  • vickster  on  February 11, 2026

    I agree with what you said and use microwave for the same things. But if I had a tiny kitchen . . .

  • eliza  on  February 11, 2026

    I use my microwave daily and had it built in to my kitchen when I renovated. I bake rolls a lot and freeze them, so fresh bread is only 55 sec away with built in portion control. I also use mine to rise bread on cold days…fill jars with hot water and cap, place in microwave with shaped rolls, air temp hits a good 22-24C.

  • saladdays  on  February 11, 2026

    I use mine all the time. Started off in the 1970s with a Panasonic sensor model which cost £270, very expensive at the time. Went on 3 sessions of a course on how to use it. I’m on my 3rd Panasonic sensor one now which cost £70 10 years ago ! I cook breakfast porridge it and most vegetables automatically, 2 settings for fresh and frozen. It reheats chilled and frozen meals I’ve cooked. I’d hate to be without it.

  • anya_sf  on  February 11, 2026

    We usually use our microwave multiple times a day. Definitely would not want to give it up.

  • lkgrover  on  February 11, 2026

    I usually cook on the weekends and then heat up leftovers in the microwave for 3-4 days. I also use the microwave several times a week to heat frozen breakfast burritos before work. I appreciate that my microwave is above the oven, so it doesn’t use valuable counter space.

  • SheilaS  on  February 11, 2026

    My over the range microwave is handy to take the chill off of fridge-temp cat food but I’d happily trade it for an actual vent hood!

  • nvernon  on  February 13, 2026

    Until 6 years ago I never had a microwave. guests thought it was super weird. But I had a toaster oven and a toaster and rice coooker, instapot, etc. I finally got one becuase the kids could use it and make less mess (I hoped). It was a smal toshiba. then it died and the household was beside themselves. We all had become dependent for fast reheating. So, I upgraded and got a Panasonic HomeCHEF® Connect 4-in-1 Multi-oven, 1.2 cu. ft., 1000W. Its freaking amazing!!!!!

  • Zephyrness  on  February 15, 2026

    We had one years ago, it caught on fire and I clearly remember heaving it out into the backyard! Didn’t have a lot of spare cash, so decide to wait on getting a new one. That was 30 years ago and I haven’t replaced it. We reheat leftovers (if we bother), in a pot on the stove or in the oven on cold days. I have an Instant Pot and an air fryer, but both are in a cabinet in the island. Easy to to put on the counter and out of the way when I don’t need them. Both get a lot more rotation in the summer, when I don’t want to heat up the kitchen

  • GenieB  on  February 26, 2026

    Our microwave is above the stove in our apartment — not an option to remove it. But I use it several times a week, mostly to thaw out bread from the freezer or heat up leftovers. My toaster/convection oven resides where a microwave might live on my limited counter space.

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