Healthy Microwave Recipes: Quick and Nutritious Meals You Can Whip Up in Minutes!

In this fast-paced lifestyle, food preparation is tough. Microwave ovens are a solution for those who do not have enough time to cook. 

You can cook plenty of delicious and easy dishes with the microwave oven. It will save you time and money because microwaves are energy-efficient and faster to cook.

This article will explore the benefits of microwave cooking with easy and healthy recipes to try at home. Let’s start.

Some Quick Oven-Baked Meals for Families

Looking for fast and tasty meals to make in the oven? Here are some easy recipes perfect for busy families! These dishes are simple to prepare and cook quickly, so you can enjoy more time together. Whether it's a busy weeknight or a relaxed weekend, these meals are sure to please everyone at the table.

1. Microwave Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

The egg and cheese sandwich with the oven is an excellent item. The cooking method is also easy.

Ingredients Needed: 

• -One large egg, 
• -One tablespoon of milk, 
• -Salt and pepper to taste, 
• -Two slices of bread,
• -One slice of cheese, one slice of ham, 
• -Or cooked bacon (optional).

Cooking Method: Beat the egg and milk together in a microwave-safe mug. Then season it with salt and pepper. Run the microwave on high for one minute, or until the egg is fully cooked.

Place the cooked egg on a bread slice; top it with cheese and ham or bacon. Cover the first slice with a second bread slice..

Heat the sandwich for 20–30 seconds to melt the cheese. Bring it out and rest a few minutes to cool before eating.

2. Microwave Mug Cake

Microwave mug cake is a popular oven item for dessert lovers. It is an easy and delicious item to cook within two minutes. 

Necessary Ingredients: 

• -Self-raising flour (44 tablespoons), 
• -Caster sugar (4 tablespoons),
• -Cocoa powder (22 tablespoons), 
• -Egg (1), milk (3 tablespoons), 
• -Sunflower oil or vegetable oil (3 tablespoons), 
• -Vanilla essence (a few drops), 
• -Nuts, 
• -Chocolate chips, or raisins (2 tablespoons)

Cooking Method:

First, combine the dry ingredients (mixed flour, sugar, and cocoa powder) in a large mug. Then add an egg, milk, oil, and vanilla essence until it becomes smooth. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts, or raisins in the mix if desired.

Finally, cook in the microwave on high heat for 1.5–2 minutes, or until the cake is firm. Bring it out and rest it for a few minutes to eat.

3. Microwave Chicken Wings BBQ

The BBQs with Oven will not be crispy like the fried chicken but will be delicious. Use flat chicken wings for better results.

You first make the BBQ sauce to enjoy the chicken BBQ. It will take 6-7 minutes to cook the sauce. The sauce will make the wings thicken and glaze. The taste and flavor of this BBQ sauce is a little smoky and classic. Add some yellow mustard paste for the tartness.

Necessary Ingredients: 

• -Ketchup(1 cup ), 
• -Light brown sugar(3 tablespoons),
• -Apple cider vinegar(1 tablespoon),
• -Worcestershire sauce(1 tablespoon), 
• -Smoked paprika(2 teaspoons), 
• -Spicy brown mustard(2 teaspoons),
• -Garlic powder(1 teaspoon),
• -Ground cumin(1/2 teaspoon),
• -Kosher salt(1/2 teaspoon),
• -Chicken wing flats(1 pound) 

Cooking Method:

BBQ Sauce Making: Mix and stir the ketchup,  brown sugar, garlic powder, apple cider vinegar, smoked paprika, salt, brown mustard, and cumin, in a microwave-safe dish. 

Cover the dish with a paper towel(wet) and cook it for 7 to 8 minutes on high heat until thickened. Set aside the BBQ sauce and open the towel. The paper towel is reusable to cover the wings.

Cook the Wings: Cook the chicken wings for 6-7 minutes by placing them in a microwave-safe dish and covering them with the same towel. Pat the chicken wings with dry paper and keep them in the dish.

Coat the Chicken wings with sauce and finish cooking: Add ½ cup BBQ sauce with the wings and toss them for coating. Microwave the wings for 4 minutes until the sauce glazes, and stir at halftime. Cooking time may vary depending on the oven capacity.

Serve the BBQ chicken with the remaining ¼ cup sauce.

4. Microwave Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Microwaving sweet potatoes is quick and easy.

Necessary Ingredients:

• -Medium-sized sweet potato(1), 
• -Olive oil or canola oil(½ teaspoon, optional ),
• -Kosher salt(¼ teaspoon, optional).

Cooking Method and Instructions:

Preheat the microwave oven to 425°F to make yam skin crispy. Wash the yam but do not dry it. The moisture will keep the yam soft and moist. 

Pierce the sweet potato with a fork or a sharp knife all over the sweet potato. Tightly wrap up the yam with a wet paper towel. Then place the sweet potato on a microwave-safe plate. Cook on high for 5-7 minutes, or until the potato is tender when pierced with a fork. Remove the sweet potato and cut it to top with your favorite toppings, such as butter, cinnamon, or brown sugar. Enjoy your yam.

Note: Cook for 2 minutes more to cook more than one potato. 

5. Microwave Caramel Corn

Microwave caramel corns have the buttery smell of freshly made snacks. You will like it at any event or movie time. Making caramel corn is simple. 

Necessary Ingredients: 

• -Popped plain popcorn (8 cups), 
• -Brown sugar (11 cups), 
• -Corn syrup (¼ cup), 
• -Unsalted butter (3 tablespoons), 
• -Salt (½ teaspoon), 
• -Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), 
• -Baking soda (1/4 teaspoon)

Cooking Method:

Pop the unpopped kernels (¼) in your preferred method to prepare plain popcorn. Keep the popcorn in a large grocery paper bag. 

Prepare the caramel by combining the sugar, salt, butter, and corn syrup (4 cups). Cook it in a microwave at high heat for two minutes. Stir the mixture with a spatula and again cook for two minutes until you hear popping bubbles. 

Then add the baking soda and vanilla essence to the hot caramel. Well-cooked caramel syrup is lighter in color and foamy. 

Scrape one-third of the hot caramel over the popcorn in the bag immediately. Then close the bag by folding and shaking it to coat the popcorn. Do the same process two more times. 

Now microwave the caramel-coated popcorn in the bag for 45 seconds on high heat. Then shake the bag carefully and cook it again for another 45 seconds.

Rest for five minutes and serve the popcorn. You can store the caramel popcorn for three days in an airtight container.

6. Microwave Baked Potato

Microwave baked potato is a super delicious item to prepare within a fraction of the time. So I like this fluffy baked item with my favorite toppings.

Necessary Ingredients: 

• -Large-sized potato(1), 
• -Olive oil (1 teaspoon, optional), 
• -Kosher salt(¼ teaspoon, optional), 
• -Butter(1 tablespoon, optional)

Cooking Method and Instructions:

Preheat the microwave oven to 450°F to make the potato skin crispy.

Wash the potato and dry it. Pierce the potato with a fork or a sharp knife on all sides. Then place the sweet potato on a microwave-safe plate. Cook on high for 8-12 minutes. Flip the potato halfway.

Slice the potato to the halfway of its length to expose the inside.  Top it with your favorite toppings, such as butter, cheese, cinnamon, sour cream, or chives. Enjoy!

7. Omelet in a Mug

Omelet is a loving item for every egg lover. You can make it ready in 4 minutes using your microwave oven in a mug. 

Ingredients Needed: 

• -Large eggs(2),
• -Extra virgin olive oil to spray, 
• -Milk(1 teaspoon), 
• -Cheddar cheese(1 teaspoon), 
• -Chopped bell pepper(1 teaspoon), 
• -Onion or green onion(1 teaspoon), 
• -Pinch salt(as per taste), 
• -Pinch black pepper (as per taste).

Cooking Method: 

First, spray the microwave-safe mug with the cooking spray or coat the inside wall of the mug with olive oil. Add the eggs and milk and beat it with a fork or hand beater. Add the salt, cheese, pepper, chives, and red bell pepper. Stir until mixed well. 

Cook on high heat for 30 seconds. Then remove it from the microwave and use a fork to stir. Return the mug to the microwave and cook again for another 30 seconds. Then remove and stir again to cook for the last 30 seconds. 

Your omelet is now set to eat. 

Note: Cooking time may vary around 10 seconds depending on the power of your microwave oven.

Tips for Healthy Microwave Cooking 

You must be careful about microwave cooking. Follow the instructions below to cook with your Oven:

• -Always avoid metal utensils and metal-plated foil paper, cutlery, and crockery in the microwave cooking.
• -Use specially designed microwave-safe cookware such as a dish, plate,  mug, etc.
• -Cook thick and thin foods separately to avoid undercooking and overcooking items.
• -Try to cook fresh food items in your oven instead of processed foods.
• -Cut up the larger and thicker foods to cook fast.
• -Pay close attention to cooking times to prevent overcooking your food.
• -Pierce the foods like potatoes and stir them to cook all sides.

Cooking in the Oven for Beginners

If you just started to cook in the oven, you should be more careful. First, try to understand your oven settings using the manual. Know about the preheating techniques, cooking time of different recipes, and necessary tools. 

Start cooking with simple recipes like boiled vegetables, baked chicken, and sheet pan dinners.

Reheating Food Guidelines in the Oven for Safe and Delicious Leftovers: 

The microwave oven is a great option for reheating the leftovers. It offers even heating and a crispy touch for some dishes. Here are some key points to reheat leftovers:

Food Safety: Reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C) to kill bacteria. Use a food thermometer to see the temperature inside the food.

Temperature setting:  Reheat at 325°F (163°C) to 350°F (177°C) to prevent drying out extra moisture food.

Timing: Reheating times vary based on food type and quantity. Smaller items take 15-25 minutes, medium dishes 30-45 minutes, and thick foods 45 minutes to an hour. So be patient.

Moisture: Add broth, water, or sauce to prevent food drying. Cover with foil paper and uncover for the last few minutes for a crispy texture.

Additional Tips: Reheat only what you'll eat, use oven-safe dishes, and stir casseroles halfway through.

Microwave oven price in Bangladesh:

Microwave ovens are becoming popular in Bangladesh. There are different brands and models of microwave ovens with many features and prices. 

LG Microwave Oven: LG Microwave Oven prices in Bangladesh start from 10,000 BDT to 20,000 BDT. 

Samsung Microwave Oven: Sleek-designed Samsung microwave ovens prices are around 12,000 BDT to 25,000 BDT.

Whirlpool Microwave Oven: Advanced technology whirlpool ovens price starts from 15,000 BDT to 30,000 BDT.

Eco+ Microwave Oven: Eco+ is a budget-friendly microwave oven brand with prices ranging from 8,000 BDT to 18,000 BDT. 

Our House of Butterfly always offers the best oven price in Bangladesh. Visit us.

FAQs

1. Which is better, a microwave or an electric oven?

-Microwaves and electric ovens have strengths and weaknesses, making them ideal for different situations. 

Microwave ovens are speedy, convenient, and efficient. You can reheat the leftovers and easily defrost the frozen items with the microwave oven.

An electric oven offers versatile cooking, even heating, browning, crisping, and more capacity.

2. What can you cook in 3 minutes?

-The best three-minute recipes are Vegetarian Omelette, Mushroom Toast, Spring Salad with Shrimp and Brown Rice, Style Ratatouille with Chicken Sausage, Whole Grain Flatbread Pizza and Salad, Style Loaded Baked Potato, etc.

3. What foods should not be microwaved?

-You should not cook some foods in your microwave such as Chili Peppers, Hard-Boiled Eggs, Styrofoam, Takeout Containers, Mugs of Water, Grapes, Leftover Potatoes, and Processed Meats.

4. Suggest some oven recipes for dinner.

-Some easy dinner recipes with an oven are Chicken Stuffing Bake, Baked Fish, Meatball Pizza, Baked salmon, chicken pizza, baked potato, etc.

Conclusion

Foodie people always like to explore different items. Today I tried to guide foodies to cook with their microwave ovens. I hope you enjoyed reading the article and will try to cook them in your microwave.

Stay connected with our blogs to get more easy oven recipes. Happy culinary with the oven.