14 best combination microwaves
Thanks to their quick-heating powers, microwaves can be dinner time miracle workers for many busy households. And opting for a combination microwave over a traditional solo microwave can unlock even more culinary possibilities in your kitchen…
As well as heating and defrosting foods as you’d expect, the nifty appliances offer grilling or convection cooking capabilities too (some even have both!), which means you can also roast chicken, bake cakes and even achieve a crispy golden pasta bake crust. Essentially, it’s like having a small oven on your kitchen counter.
Torn between a solo and a combi? Consult our expert buying guide for all you need to know about each. Or, if you’re ready to shop, our experts at the GHI have tested 40 combination microwaves to find the best versatile cookers on the market. These are their top picks at a glance, but keep scrolling for their full reviews.
If you’re replacing an existing microwave, there are plenty of places for you to safely recycle your old one. Find your nearest electrical recycling point, or read our guide on how to donate or dispose of your appliances and tech for extra guidance.
What can you cook in a combination microwave?
The better question is what can’t you cook in them! Combination microwaves offer great flexibility thanks to their array of settings – use the convection function to cook with circulated hot air (like an oven), turn to the grill if you need a top-down approach, and opt for the standard microwave setting if speed is of the essence. Some models can even steam food or air fry; the possibilities really are endless.
Cleverly, you can often combine settings too. For example, using the grill and microwave at the same time to cook your ready meal means it would emerge quickly cooked and with a mouth-wateringly crispy topping.
Toast lovers take note though, the grill element may not be as powerful as conventional grills, so it may be slower to brown your bread than an oven or a toaster.
If all this seems daunting, many come with a host of pre-programmed auto-cook options that do all the hard work for you. Detailed instruction manuals also cover how to cook everything from a jacket potato to sausages.
How do I choose a combination microwave?
While solo microwaves are the more affordable choice, if you are after increased cooking capabilities, combination microwaves are undoubtedly a savvy investment.
Generally, they will use less electricity than traditional ovens because they heat a smaller space. But, if you’re feeding a crowd and need to run it for a longer period to cook everything, it may be better to revert to an oven that fits everything in at once. One way to increase your microwave's cooking capacity is by looking for a model with stackable racks, as that will allow you to cook a couple of dishes at the same time.
Here are the other main features to consider before you buy.
Size
Combination microwaves tend to have bigger footprints than their solo counterparts, so measure your space before you shop. You’ll need to factor in a gap for ventilation both above and behind it too; be sure to check the manufacturer’s recommendation because combis expel a lot of air, especially if you’re using the grill and microwave at once.
While we don’t have any on this list, it’s also worth noting that some combis are available as built-in models too.
Settings
Not all combination microwaves have the same features; some have a grill, some have convection cooking, and some have both. Decide which you’ll need before you buy, so you don't have any regrets later.
Automatic cooking settings can be helpful too, but some combis only have pre-set programmes for combination cooking. This means the microwave power level and convection or grill temperature are fixed, so you can’t tailor the settings to what you’re cooking. Generally, this shouldn’t prove too problematic, but for maximum control, look for a model with manual capabilities too.
Wattage
This determines how quickly your microwave will cook; in general, the higher the wattage, the quicker the cooking time. Most range between 650W and 1950W.
We’ve highlighted the maximum wattage for each function below (or in some instances, the max temperature of the convection cooking function depending on manufacturer information). These figures show how much power you can use to cook, rather than directly reflecting how much electricity a microwave may use when cooking.
How we test combination microwaves
Our experts at the GHI eat well during this test, as they use each combination microwave to heat, grill, bake and roast. On the menu was tinned soup, chilled and frozen ready meals, jacket potatoes, a roast chicken and homemade fairy cakes.
They also try out the defrost setting on minced meat and use the grill setting to cook toast, macaroni cheese and sausages. For every test, they assess the results, looking for even temperatures throughout each dish and a good colouring.
Finally, our testers judge each microwave for its ease of use and design, considering its overall quality and accompanying instructions. You'll find our top scorers below.
MOE34CXIUK Combination Microwave
Score: 90/100
Proving a real all-rounder, our experts awarded this microwave full marks for its microwaved jacket potatoes and near perfect marks for its roasting, baking and grilling. Its clear manual and intuitive interface also make preparing more than your traditional microwave meals easy – even a roast chicken.
It was efficient too; cooking our jacket potato used just 10p of electricity. You can’t set its grill and convection power and temperatures manually, but otherwise it’s a real box-ticker.
The Combi Wave 3 in 1 Combination Microwave
Score: 88/100
Fulfilling all your air fryer and microwave dreams, this smart machine from Sage combines the two gadgets (along with a grill and convection oven), making it another great multitasker. It’s a premium buy, but because of its many functions, it can be a tad confusing to use, so keep the manual close by at first.
It’s an outstanding cooker though; our testers declared its roast chicken one of the best on test and awarded its mac and cheese and jacket potatoes a perfect score.
900W Combination Microwave RHM2574
Score: 88/100
This combi microwave was the simplest to use of all the models we tested, with an easy-to-read manual and responsive buttons that make cooking effortless. Our testers were impressed with its tender, juicy roast chicken and found the grill and combination cooking modes effective. It even baked cupcakes well.
Though not the sleekest or most powerful model on test, this means your electricity bill should be lower – we used just 11p of electricity for a jacket potato.
EK5817 DuoWave 2 In 1 Air Fryer & Microwave – 26L
Score: 87/100
Like the Sage above, this Salter is ideal if you want to join the air fryer train without sacrificing precious kitchen space. Its dedicated setting prepared fluffy yet crispy chips and some delicious chicken Kyivs too.
With a 26-litre capacity, it offers lots of flexibility; on test, our experts cooked a roast chicken in 41 minutes, and praised its ready meal and jacket potato prep skills too. But our mac and cheese lacked wow factor as the pasta was quite firm. Not all the features are dishwasher-safe either (although the turntable is) but this sleek microwave is well designed and simple to use, making dinner time simple.
RHM2366B 23 Litre Combination Microwave 900W
Score: 87/100
This reasonably priced design put in a stellar performance in our lab, scoring full marks when heating up soup and cooking jacket potatoes. It was fantastic at cooking ready meals from both chilled and frozen too. It dropped the odd mark for how quickly the food cooled afterwards, so you'll just need to eat up quickly for those.
The auto convection setting cooked a whole chicken well with lovely moist meat, and it grilled sausages beautifully. Note that you can’t change the temperature of these functions though – only the time – which limits its versatility when compared with an actual oven.
NN-CD58JSBPQ Combination Microwave
Score: 84/100
This powerful combi does it all, including cooking up a Sunday roast thanks to its 29 auto-cook programmes that include roast lamb and beef. Plus, when we used the convection oven and microwave combination, we tucked into a succulent chicken after just 45 minutes.
It effortlessly baked fluffy fairy cakes, grilled crispy-yet-juicy sausages, and produced a golden-topped mac and cheese. It’s ideal if you tend to cook for only one or two people, as it saves you heating a large oven and performs just as well.
NN-CS89LBBPQ 4-in-1 Combination Steam Oven
Score: 83/100
Another impressive offering from Panasonic, this one does everything the above model can, and it steams food too. Its large 31-litre capacity means it competently doubles as an oven when needed, with ample room to roast a big chicken or bake a generously sized cake.
The defrost function let it down, as our beef was still frozen after the programme concluded, but its intuitive, easy-to-use display and controls, plus the range of accessories to suit your cooking preferences (there's a steaming trivet), make this a versatile buy.
MC28M6055CK Microwave
Score: 83/100
Bakers, this one may be a game-changer for you, as it boasts a dough-proofing programme! Our fairy cakes were scrumptious too. It also has all the usual functions you’d want from a combi; it cooked a mouth-watering roast chicken in 41 minutes and defrosted minced beef well.
Our testers were also pleased by the grill’s browning skills (note, you can't set its temperature manually), but found it struggled to heat soup and a chilled ready meal evenly. It gets bonus points for its thoughtful design functions though – you can turn the beeper off if it grates, and it has an eco-button that switches off the machine’s LCD display to save electricity.
Combi Smart Microwave Oven with Air Fry, 32L
Score: 82/100
This microwave offers convenience and flexibility with its cooking options. Testers were impressed with its general microwaving skills (which delivered a beautifully cooked jacket potato) as well as its grill function.
What makes this Samsung smart, though, is its app features. You can check cooking times, follow guides and recipes, and even add ingredients to your shopping list from your phone. We programmed it to defrost a 1.5-kilogram chicken, and it calculated the right length of time, fully defrosting it within 24 minutes.
It won’t start the programmes though, so you still need to do this manually, and its auto-cook function disappointed a little; our frozen lasagne needed an extra minute to reach a safe temperature for eating. Still, that's not a dealbreaker and there was a lot to love about this machine, including its large viewing window, easy-to-clean interior, and delicious fairy cake-baking skills.
NN-CD87KSBPQ Slimline Combination Microwave Oven
Score: 81/100
Perfect if you’re short on time, this combi gets grilling without any preheating, so you can tuck into those evenly browned sausages in no time. It fared well across most other tests too; our roast chicken emerged golden after just 40 minutes, while our batch of fairy cakes was also perfect.
When defrosting and microwaving, it proved largely reliable, but faltered when cooking our frozen ready meals, leaving one lasagne barely cooked after the recommended time. This aside, with its 34-litre capacity, it's a good family feeder.
R860M 900W Microwave
Score: 81/100
Uniquely, this combi doesn’t have a turntable, so your dishes remain static and cleaning is effortless because you don’t have to contend with any rotating parts. Handily, you can also fit in larger dishes. However our experts found the buttons weren’t always that responsive, and they would have liked an adjustable grill rack, as the one provided has a fixed height.
It wasn’t the strongest grill on test either; our bread and sausages weren’t that evenly browned. But it warmed our soup, mac and cheese and jacket potatoes evenly and it’s affordable, making it a solid pick for heating large amounts of food.
£149.00 at appliancesdirect.co.uk
NN-DS59NBBPQ 4-in-1 Steam Combination Microwave Oven
Score: 81/100
Another Panasonic model and another steam combi, this is a great buy if you want to cook in a way that locks in lots of nutrients. Overall, it’s well designed and simple to use thanks to clearly labelled controls and programme descriptions. It doesn’t have a turntable, but its cooking was reliable, producing excellent grilled sausages and a top notch roast chicken.
Note, however, that condensation built up when we used the steam function alongside the microwave one, so we had to wipe it down after we used it to cook our jacket potatoes. But a tea towel should absorb it in seconds, and it cleans up nicely, too.
MG23K3575AK/EU Combination Microwave
Score: 80/100
While this Samsung model doesn’t have a convection oven (so skip if you want one for cakes and roasts), it does have a grill with one temperature setting that’s perfect for giving microwave meals a crispy finish. It also has a whopping 40 auto programmes, including ones for rice and fresh fish, alongside a nifty “keep warm” function.
On test, we enjoyed evenly cooked food, well-defrosted minced beef and crispy jacket potatoes with fluffy insides. It’s not the fanciest of combis, but it’s more affordable and compact than many on this list – ideal for smaller kitchens.
NN-CT55JWBPQ
Score: 80/100
The speediest of chicken roasters, this combi’s auto roast setting served up a bird in just 37 minutes. Impressively, its breast meat was succulent, but the legs were a little overdone, so it may also be worth exploring its manual modes, as you can fully adjust the power levels and temperatures when combination cooking.
A detailed manual will guide you through this, along with all its other functions, which produced well-heated and cooked food as well as nicely defrosted meat. The grill gave our sausages a patchier finish than most, but given its extensive capabilities, this microwave is excellent value – especially for often pricey Panasonics.
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