A good solo microwave oven comes with equal heat distribution and many basic cooking functions (including functions that allow you to reheat and to defrost). However, being a basic model, even the best solo microwave oven is unlikely to be equipped with functions like baking, grilling and roasting. You are expected to use it for your simple cooking needs.
Here’s a round-up of the 7 best solo microwave ovens of 2022 available in the market. We hope this helps you pick the one that fits your need and pocket best.
List of 7 Best Solo Microwave Ovens in India
Bajaj
It can be used for reheating, defrosting and cooking. You can adjust the power level as per its 5 levels.
It can be used for reheating, defrosting and cooking. You can adjust the power level as per its 5 levels.
Samsung
It has a ceramic coating inside for quick cleaning after every use. Its triple distribution system helps in even cooking.
It has a ceramic coating inside for quick cleaning after every use. Its triple distribution system helps in even cooking.
Panasonic
It comes with 5 temperature levels that you can adjust. It has a control knob for adjusting certain pre-set controls.
It comes with 5 temperature levels that you can adjust. It has a control knob for adjusting certain pre-set controls.
LG
It can be used for cooking, reheating and defrosting. It uses intellowave technology that helps in uniform heating.
It can be used for cooking, reheating and defrosting. It uses intellowave technology that helps in uniform heating.
Morphy
It comes with a 2-year warranty period. 20L capacity makes this microwave apt for a small size family.
It comes with a 2-year warranty period. 20L capacity makes this microwave apt for a small size family.
Whirlpool
Defrost function allows the food to cook quickly. It has a 245mm glass turntable.
Defrost function allows the food to cook quickly. It has a 245mm glass turntable.
IFB
It is ideal for reheating, defrosting and cooking. It also has 61 auto cook menus and auto-reheat feature.
It is ideal for reheating, defrosting and cooking. It also has 61 auto cook menus and auto-reheat feature.
This solo microwave comes with a 17L capacity, making it ideal for all your basic cooking needs. You can use it for reheating, for de-frosting, and – well – for cooking.
It allows you to adjust the power across 5 levels. It also lets you set the timer to a variety of cooking durations. The defrost function – as the name suggests – helps thaw frozen food.
This solo microwave is power-efficient and is built for low power consumption, as it consumes only 1200W. The body of the model is stainless steel, and white, which means when it’s placed in your kitchen, it’s a head turner.
Features
- Suitable for small family
- Comes with 5 different power levels
- 30 minutes cooking time alarm
- Reheating, defrosting & cooking functions
- Temperature control
Pros
- Stainless steel body
- User friendly
- 5 power levels
- Multipurpose
- Cooking alarm
Cons
- No multi-cook features
- Manual controls
This solo microwave from Samsung is perfect for a small family. It comes equipped with a quick defrost function and a healthy ‘steam cooking’ mode.
The ‘quick defrost’ is powered by its ‘fast defrosting’ technology that lets you thaw frozen items that may otherwise take a long time. The ‘healthy steam cooking’ mode helps retain the nutrition of the food while keeping the taste of the food intact.
This solo microwave has a ceramic coating inside the oven for quick cleaning after every use. Its triple distribution system helps in cooking your food item evenly (so no rude surprises when you’re eating). Its ECO mode helps keep the energy consumption in check (and your electricity bill).
Features
- Healthy steam cooking feature
- Quick defrost
- Child-lock for safety
- Home dessert feature for quick dessert making
- Touch keypad
Pros
- Suitable for cooking, defrosting and heating
- Touch-oriented controls
- Suitable for family of 3-4
- Scratch-resistant ceramic coating
- ECO mode for saving energy
Cons
No grilling function
This solo microwave, like the others, can be used for reheating food and defrosting food items. It, however, does not provide functions that allow for baking and grilling. It comes with 5 temperature levels that you can adjust as per need.
It has a control knob for adjusting preset controls, while you’re heating food. It’s a solo microwave oven that stands out due to its compact design, which allows it to easily fit into any little kitchen nook.
The Panasonic solo microwave has a fairly copious 20L capacity, and it ensures evenly cooked food. Equipped with a 255mm turntable, it lets you prepare large quantities of food at a time.
Features
- 5-power levels
- Reheating and defrosting in minutes
- Glass turntable
- Easy to use control panel
- Slim stainless-steel body
Pros
- Compact design
- Provides best basic cooking
- Quick defrosting and heating
- User-friendly panel
- Durable body
Cons
- Cannot operate in low light
- No baking and grilling option
The LG 20L solo microwave comes as a feature-rich oven. It has 44 auto-cook menu options – so even someone new to cooking can pull off a whole spread. It has a touch keypad that is easy to clean and a child-lock facility, which ensures the safety of children at home.
The standard functions that most solo microwaves offer, are also offered by the LG Microwave, which is cooking, reheating, and defrosting. This microwave, however, uses the ‘intellowave technology’ to ensure uniform heating of the food, when cooking or heating. The good thing about this appliance is that it saves energy by turning off display, when the microwave is not in use for more than 5 minutes.
The other plus about this LG microwave is that it comes with a health plus menu, which is perfect for calorie conscious people. With anti-bacteria cavity feature, it has reduced bacteria growth inside and helps in easy cleaning (great feature for the hygiene conscious).
Features
- Keeps food warm for 90 minutes
- Saves energy by turning off display
- Comes with health plus menu
- Intellowave technology
- Even cooking
Pros
- Easy to clean
- Perfect for health-conscious people
- Attractive design
- Saves power
- Shuts off display after 5 minutes of idle time
Cons
No baking, grilling function
This versatile solo microwave can be used for defrosting, for reheating and for cooking. It comes with a 2-year warranty – a huge plus. With a 20L capacity, it is just the right size for a small family.
Besides, this Morphy Richards microwave comes with 5-power level controls, which allow you to adjust the speed of cooking. It also has a rotational knob, which is precise and allows you to switch between microwave functions. The reflective mirror-finish door adds to the style and design factor – a real eye-catcher.
It gives a power output of 800W, and has a built-in overheat protection to keep your food safe (no more ‘burnt by mistake’ stories). With 10 auto-cook menu options for quick cooking, it’s a compelling option. Moreover, it’s not bulky – and is designed to fit in practically anywhere in your kitchen.
Features
- Compact design
- Pre-set menu panel
- Mirror-glass finish
- Apt for cooking, reheating and defrosting
- Touch keypad
Pros
- Rotational knob
- Easy temperature setting
- Touch panel
- Reflective mirror-finish door
- 10 auto-cook Menu
Cons
- No multi-stage cooking
- No child-lock feature
This solo microwave oven from Whirlpool comes with a 20 L capacity. It promises effortless cooking, and it has defrosting and heating features as well. Loaded with ‘auto-power levels’, this microwave is super-efficient, with low power consumption.
Among the various little convenient features, it has one that makes it really easy to use: the ‘press door lock’ feature. It also comes with 5 different power levels to cook and a defrost function which allows frozen foods to cook rapidly. It has a 245 mm glass turntable that lets you cook large quantities of food.
There are 21 pre-programmed food recipes to choose from, while cooking – which can be a blessing for people with scrappy culinary skills. The clean and clear feather touch panel is easy to use – almost the difference between typewriter keys and laptop keys.
Features
- Large glass turntable
- Auto-cook menu
- Touch control panel
- LED display
- Cooking, re-heating, Defrosting functions
- Auto-clean features
Pros
- Powder coated inside cavity
- LED display control panel
- Jet-start feature to start microwave
- Pre-programmed menu
- Quick defrost function
Cons
No baking & grilling function
This solo microwave from IFB comes with a 25L capacity, and with the standard functions of reheating, defrosting and cooking. It is just the right size for a family of three.
Among the notable features of the IFB solo microwave, are its 61 auto-cook menus and its auto-reheat feature. Besides, the steam cleaning feature is also very useful, as it helps clean grease from the microwave without much fuss. Its jog dial too is designed for easy usage and easy cleaning.
What’s more, this solo microwave has an interesting feature – one that helps in disinfecting and sterilizing baby bottles and other utensils too; the value of this feature can be best understood by new mothers and people who tend (or have tended) to the sick and ailing.
On the cooking front, its quick start button is a great feature, which helps jack up the cooking speed. The trump card of this appliance is that it also allows you to bake and grill, which not many other solo microwaves do.
Features
- Stainless steel body
- Also bakes & grills
- Steam cleaning
- Disinfects utensils
- Child-lock feature
Pros
- Ideal for small family
- Auto reheating
- Multi-stage cooking
- Sensitive jog-dial button
- Child-lock
Cons
No digital display
Things to keep in mind when choosing the best solo microwave oven to buy
To be honest, a microwave is not a luxury anymore – it is more of an essential appliance for a kitchen and is meant to perform at the least the basic functions of heating and cooking food. So, the best solo microwave oven is not one necessarily loaded with fancy functions, but one that can address the simple tasks of cooking, heating, and defrosting of food items, along with some add-on conveniences.
It needs to be compact in size – considering the modern kitchen – and should be easy to use (kitchen-time is usually hectic – you don’t want the added task of figuring out control knobs). Most solo microwaves come with limited functionalities and capacity, so it is basically meant to cater to smaller nuclear families. The best solo microwave ovens have a variety of auto-cook menus (these are pre-sets) that help in cooking food quickly and usually also consume less power, saving on your electricity bill.
A good compact design is another strong feature of the best microwaves, as they can be accommodated easily in relatively smaller spaces.
So, considering the importance of the humble Solo Microwave in your kitchen, we’ve put together a smart ready reckoner to help you single out the brand and make that can make things easy for you in the kitchen:
Capacity
Most microwaves are available with capacities that range from 15 liter to 42 liter. Make sure you consider the inner space of the microwave when making your choice. Remember, your food items will be placed inside – and if you don’t want stuffing food in it and making one thing jostle for space with another, you should make sure the inside of the microwave is spacious. The capacity of microwave that you require should be judged by your family size. For a family of 3, a 15-20L solo microwave should be good. So, pick your solo microwave oven with one eye at its capacity and one at the size of your family.
Auto Cook Menu
The best solo microwave ovens come with a good preset menu, one that helps in cooking faster too. This feature saves time by automatically setting the power level. It also sets the time it takes to cook any particular dish. It’s as simple as this – you stick the ingredients in the microwave, and you select the dish from the menu. The auto-system does the rest.
Power Consumption
Remember, the higher the wattage, the quicker will your food be ready. Most microwave ovens use 700-2400W of power consumption. Large microwaves use higher power whereas a solo microwave uses 700-1200W of power. It all depends on your usage and the size of the microwave that you use for cooking. So choose wisely.
Functions
As mentioned earlier, microwave ovens have functions like defrosting, heating, grilling, baking and convection cooking. The best solo microwave oven is one that is used for reheating, cooking, and defrosting. Grill microwaves help in grilling, heating, and defrosting, whereas convection microwaves are used for baking, heating, defrosting, and baking. So, your choice depends on what of these function-sets are higher up on your kitchen priority.
Turntable
The turntable (the part which revolves like its namesake record-player does) is an important part of the microwave, as it helps in moving the food in a circular motion, ensuring even heating and cooking. It is generally made up of glass and is usually easy to clean. Make sure the microwave you pick has a turntable large enough to accommodate your utensils and plates easily, while heating.
Control Panel
Control panels are either in a ‘knob form’ or in the form of ‘push buttons’, or they are touch sensitive. Dial control is mechanical, as you need to turn the knob to a desired setting. Push-button controls start when you give a ‘press start’ to the button. We recommend the ‘Touch control panel’ as it has a preset temperature control and timer. Just press the button and it will start working on your food item. The touch control panel is also easier to clean compared to the other two control options.
Warranty
Most of microwaves are covered under 1-year warranty period. Make sure that you check the warranty period before buying. Also, check what all is covered under the warranty period of your microwave.
Safety Tips While Using Solo Microwave
- Never use stainless steel or unsafe plastic in microwave while cooking. Make sure that you use microwave-safe plastic containers, ceramic, and glass while cooking. It is best to use utensils that are marked ‘microwave safe’.
- Cover the food with a vent option on the lid while you microwave food. This will allow the steam to escape through the lid while the food heats up. It will be difficult to open the container if it is totally sealed and heated up in the microwave.
- While heating food, stop the microwave for a bit. Stir the food with a spoon and then again switch it on to get an evenly heated dish.
- Always wear cotton or rubber gloves while taking out hot utensils from the microwave. This will prevent your hand and fingers from burning.
- Do not operate the microwave if the door is damaged or is not closing properly.
- Never operate a microwave when it is empty, as this will damage the interior part of the oven.
- Always clean your microwave from the inside after every use. This will help keeping it odour-free and bacteria-free.
- Never use a scrubber inside your microwave to clean. Simply clean it with a moist cloth or a soft sponge. A scrubber will scratch the inner body of the microwave.
- To remove any odour that lingers in your microwave, take a bowl of water and add some lemon juice or vinegar to it. Heat it on high for 5 minutes. Leave it inside for at least 15 minutes. Remove the bowl and wipe the inside of your microwave with a clean cloth.
- Always keep small pieces of food items in the microwave while you cook. Large pieces tend to take more time in cooking.
If you’ve read through thus far, you should have a fair idea about how to select the best solo microwave oven. If you consider the features, the budget and the space it occupies and its capacity, you should be able to buy the best that suits your requirement. Before using your microwave, we suggest call someone for a demonstration or read the user manual carefully (yeah, we can hear you groan).
This will help you in understand the features of your microwave and will save you the trouble of grappling with knobs and parts. So, when selecting this appliance, just go by the book!