Thaw and Order: Best Microwaves for Defrosting

When it comes to getting dinner from freezer to frying pan, we found some models do a better job than others

By Mary H.J. Farrell

It’s almost dinnertime and, whoops, you forgot to get the steak you planned to serve out of the freezer. Not to worry. If you have a microwave, you can defrost the meat in no time using the defrost setting. Almost all of the microwaves tested by Consumer Reports have this function, although we’ve found that some work better than others.

Using the microwave is one of the safest ways to defrost food, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The least safe way is leaving frozen food out on the counter all day, because bacteria begin to multiply at room temperature. Other less-risky options are immersing meat in cold water in a leakproof package or, better yet, planning ahead and leaving it in the refrigerator overnight. Using the microwave is the fastest way.

Meat is the most common food to defrost in a microwave, and that’s what we use to evaluate microwaves in our defrosting tests at Consumer Reports.

Getting to Know the Defrost Button
The most reliable way to defrost is by weight, according to Tara Casaregola, who oversees CR’s microwave tests. The defrost menu on individual microwaves may differ in name and functionality. Some are labeled “defrost,” some are called “auto-defrost,” and some have options specifically for defrosting meat, poultry, or fish.

Auto-defrost functions generally allow you to enter the weight of the meat you’re thawing and sometimes the type. Because microwaves vary in power levels, ranging from about 700 to 1,250 watts, it may take longer to thaw a pound of meat in a lower-powered machine than a higher-powered one. In addition, Casaregola says, “some manufacturers vary the power level through the auto-defrost program, starting higher and finishing lower.”

In our defrosting tests we freeze uniform 1-pound patties of 80 percent lean ground beef and test each microwave’s defrost feature with identical chunks, setting the weight at 1 pound. “After the test, we check that the meat is defrosted and note any meat that’s still frozen [not optimal] or cooked through [not desirable]” Casaregola says. With the best microwaves, the meat is thawed throughout and not cooked around the edges.

Although most microwaves offer the option of picking your own defrosting time, we don’t test that option. “That’s because the microwaves may differ in power, time, and whether or not you’re prompted to turn over the meat halfway through the cycle,” Casaregola says. Selecting the weight setting not only takes the guesswork out for home cooks but makes our test results consistent from model to model so that you can compare them better.

Of course, you may not know the weight of everything you want to defrost (for example, if you divided a package of chicken breasts into individual portions to freeze). So unless you have a kitchen scale, you may want to use the timed defrost option. Be sure to consult your owner’s manual first to acquaint yourself with how to use that function. You may have to experiment a bit at first.

Keep in mind that it’s better to underestimate the time it takes to defrost rather than overestimate it and ruin your dinner. You can always return the food to the microwave for another short interval. And while many microwaves have sensors that detect when your cooked or reheated food is done, “there is no sensor to detect frozen,” Casaregola says.

The FSIS cautions that no matter how you defrost your food you should cook it immediately afterward, whether you’re grilling, searing on the stovetop, or using the oven. And if you’d rather not defrost at all, the agency also says that it’s safe to cook food from a frozen statelike that leftover chilialthough it may take twice as long.

Following are some microwave models that excelled in our tests for defrosting. You can find out more about how each scored by checking out our microwave ratings. If you’re shopping for a new microwave, be sure to consult our microwave oven buyer’s guide.

Countertop Microwaves

LG NeoChef LMC2075ST

CR’s take: The large LG NeoChef LMC2075ST is top-notch at defrosting, earning an Excellent score on that test. Heating evenness and speed of heating were impressive, and this microwave runs pretty quietly. The controls are intuitive and easy to figure out. It’s equipped with a sensor so you don’t have to worry about overcooking your food.

Panasonic NN-SN67HS

CR’s take: For the price, you can’t go wrong with the midsized Panasonic NN-SN67HS. Speed of heating and defrosting evenness are both superb, notching Excellent ratings on both of those tests. It evenly heats a dish of cold mashed potatoes in our heating evenness test, and our testers found it easy to operate. It’s a bit noisy when running on high, but if you typically run your microwave in short bursts, that might not bother you.

Panasonic NN-SN77HS

CR’s take: We designated the large Panasonic NN-SN77HS a CR Best Buy for its combination of an attractive price and impressive performance. Heating evenness and speed of heating are top-notch, earning this model Excellent ratings on those tests. It’s also superb at defrosting ground beef evenly. It runs quietly, and the controls are easy to understand and use. Because it’s equipped with a sensor, you don’t have to be concerned about overheating your food.

Over-the-Range Microwaves

KitchenAid KMHS120ESS

CR’s take: The KitchenAid KMHS120ESS is a good choice if you forget to plan ahead. It earns an Excellent rating on our defrosting evenness test, in which we defrost 1 pound of ground beef. The KitchenAid also aces the heating evenness test and is very quiet. It has a cooking sensor and comes with a rack in case you want to cook two dishes at once.

LG LMV2031ST

CR’s take: The LG LMV2031ST is a good choice if you use your microwave to cook and not just for reheating and defrosting, although it aces the defrosting test. It’s equipped with a sensor that turns the microwave off to keep you from overheating your food. This model earns Very Good ratings for speed of heating and heating evenness, and it vents well, although—like most over-the-range microwaves—not as well as a dedicated range hood.

Whirlpool WMH53521HZ

CR’s take: A top performer from Whirlpool, the WMH53521HZ earns an Excellent rating in our defrosting and heating evenness tests. It has a cooking sensor that stops the appliance when your meal is done, and the capacity is large enough to cook a casserole. Our testers found this microwave to be very easy to use.