When looking for a microwave to add in your college dorm room, the first things to consider are the size, and whether it is used to reheat food or a cup of coffee. The perfect compact size microwave for a dorm room is 0.9 cubic feet or less interior space.
Other than size, look for other factors such as wattage and presets that are powerful enough to cook your food. Features like auto-cook, reheat food or making popcorn are also nice as well.
Between size, style, controls and wattage, there are a lot of factors to consider when purchasing a microwave for a dorm room. In this article, we are sharing reviews and detailed research you are going to want to evaluate when selecting a microwave for your dormitory.
Best Pick
Best Pick: Microwave for Dorm
With Alexa voice assistant and compact size saves small dorm room space, Amazon basics microwave makes it easy to defrost vegetables, make popcorn, cook potatoes, and reheat rice quickly. Even with 700 watts of power and 0.7 cubic feet of interior capacity, this microwave is the best pick for a dorm room.
Budget Pick
Budget Pick: Microwave for Dorm
Cool retro design microwave that offers 6 variable power levels with easy to pull handle to get the job done. The 360 degree rotating glass turntable helps to cook food evenly and efficiently.
The LED display is convenient to show the remaining cooking time and allow you to select by time or weight to defrost any frozen food.
Quick Comparison: Top 8 Best Microwave for Dorm
In the list below, we have put together some of the best microwaves for dorms available on the market. Hopefully, these recommendations and reviews will help you decide the perfect appliance for you.
Here are the best microwaves for dormitory use:
Best Microwave for Dorm
Best microwaves for dorm rooms that are compact in size, powerful wattage enough to cook and reheat basic food like frozen vegetables, beverages, popcorn, and many more.
From 0.7 cubic feet to 1.3 cubic feet, we’ve rounded up a diverse group with interior capacity to match your cooking preferences.
This microwave oven from COMFEE has stainless steel finish and offer mute functions, timer, auto-cook features as well as energy saving ECO mode to reduce power bill by 50%. Perfect compact microwave that can be widely used in dorm room to prepare meal easily.
Pros:Sound On/Off
10 inch glass turntable
1 year limited warranty
11 power levels
Cons:Takes longer to cook
Does not fit big bowls
Easy view interior LED lighting of this microwave lets you keep an eye on cooking without burning or spilling over. There are 10 power levels with 6 one-touch cooking programs for quick cooking tasks.
Pros:Easy to clean interior
Child safety lock option
Defrost by weight or time
Rotating glass turntable
Cons:LED light may not be bright enough
Slow respond on some buttons
Conveniently designed countertop microwave oven with 30 seconds instant start button. Comes with basic time cook, defrost, and auto defrost to make variety of meal quickly.
The reheat setting is for popcorn, potato, pizza, frozen vegetable, beverages, and reheat. For even cooking and reheating, the 10 inch carousel turntable is quite a useful element.
Pros:0.7 cubic feet compact microwave
Big enough for a single full-size dinner plate
Easy to clean glossy finishes
700 watts power
Auto defrost between 4 oz and 100 oz
Cons:No melt/soften feature
Elegantly designed door and rotating knobs that give minimalist design to fit your style. The 0.9 cubic feet interior makes this microwave oven more spacious to deal with large amounts of food from soups to sauces and desserts.
Pros:30 minute timer
Easy to operate rotary microwave
900 watts power
Able to soften butter or chocolate on the lower settings
Mechanical dial control
Cons:No LED lights or display
Not stainless steel
Simple basic 700 watts microwave oven that has everything you need from 10 power levels, 6 quick-set menu buttons with a bright LED display to cooking much easier. For any small spaces, this microwave is very easy to use and works great.
Pros:Removable turntable
0.7 cubic feet
10 power levels
700 watts
Cons:Not heat regulated
Suitable for limited spaces in dorms and apartments, this microwave is designed for small spaces, portable footprint, compact size with more interior capacity.
Pros:Bright Digital display
Easy to read control panel
Detachable glass turntable
Easy to clean
Child safety lock
Cons:Unable to turn off the sound
This Panasonic countertop microwave oven has turbo defrost feature with a multilevel popcorn button. It has the strongest power with 1100 watts compared to other compact microwaves, and has 1.3 cubic feet oven capacity to hold more food.
Pros:12.4 inches adaptable glass turntable
Smart touch controls
7 pre-set auto cook menus
10 power levels
Delay start
Cons:Pre-owned product
Not original accessories
If you use a microwave often to prepare meals, especially with chicken, beef, or pork, consider this microwave oven from Emerson. It is 1.2 cubic feet interior space with a grill power level to make meat delicious and juicy.
Pros:1100 watts cooking power
9 pre-programmed recipe settings
Removable turntable
Manual instruction included
Cons:Noisy
Things to Know Before Buying the Microwave for Dorm
Not only price, there are other factors to consider including wattage, size and style, heating method, and controls. These can ultimately narrow down your selection from abundant options in the market.
- Wattage: For a compact microwave in a dorm, look for an appliance with at least 700 watts. Avoid going lower than this because it will cook food unevenly and at a much slower rate.
- Size and Style: Countertop models are recommended for small spaces. These models generally have less cubic foot or interior space, which helps them to fit comfortably in the dorm.
- Heating method: Convection oven or inverter microwaves are typically more expensive. Therefore, look for microwaves that use intermittent pulsing to move air for more efficiency.
- Control: Best microwave for dorm is based on your plan for how to use the appliance. From pizza to reheating coffee, find a microwave with auto-cook presets, defrosting, adjustable power levels, and other features that interests you.
Dorm Room Microwave: Conclusion
With many choices available on the market, we hope these reviews for each microwave are helpful to determine which unit to add in your dorm. Size, shape, functionality and design will ultimately make or break the deal.
The best microwave for dorm depend on personal preference, space, and budget. However, simply owning a compact microwave will go long way to make pizza, prepare breakfast or dinner on a busy school week.