7 Best Microwaves With Knobs In 2024! (Tested & Ranked!)

Today’s microwaves come equipped with all kinds of knobs and buttons. While these serve an important purpose, they can be counterproductive. I found that the Panasonic NN-SD975S offers the ideal combination of practicality and convenience.

You would have had to be living in a cave for the last decade if the name Panasonic doesn’t ring some bells. You might not have known they were in the microwave game, but you’ve likely at least have heard of the tech giant.

The NN-SD975S is just a mere testament to what the name has come to represent over the years. Regardless of your cooking desires, you want your food to be nutritious, textured, and evenly cooked.

That’s exactly where Panasonic’s patented cyclonic inverter technology comes into play.

Microwave technology can get pretty technical, but the cyclonic inverter technology comes down to ensuring your food always gets a steady stream of heat for the right amount of time.

The model features defrosting technology that works similarly. The defrosting technology heats your food via smart sensors monitoring weight and other essential parameters.

The controls look simplistic enough, but with the Panasonic NN-SD975S, you have the choice of 20 presets along with 10 different levels of power.

The blue LED display is absolutely stunning, and the blue-illuminated dial control offers visibility as well as aesthetics. There is also plenty of room for manual controls and settings.

Cook from scratch with all the versatility and customization one would ever need in the kitchen.

Because of Panasonic’s dedication to lower electronic space, this spacious microwave affords 2.2 cubic feet of interior cooking space.

That being said, you can see with the 1250 watts of power and ample cooking technologies there is no lack in the electrical department.

Despite the interior space, this aesthetically pleasing design still offers a practical footprint with exterior dimensions of 19.44” x 23.88” x 14”. Not the most compact, but more than doable for moderately spaced kitchens.

With budget being of the utmost concern, I knew I simply could not go wrong with the Commercial Chef CHM660. Affordable and simplistic at its foundation, the Commercial Chef CHM660 affords unbelievable heating versatility.

The dual dial operation might seem like more work and more things to go wrong, but it offers unbelievable versatility.

Combined with the six different power levels and 600 watts of power, you’ll be able to heat, reheat, and defrost and dish or food.

You can do it even easier and quicker with the simplistic and convenient 30-minute timer. Simply throw in your chosen items, set the timer, and the Commercial Chef takes over from there.

While there is no fancy LED interface, the bright interior light will allow you to monitor and maintain your dish’s texture.

The durable, glass turntable affords a spacious 9.5 inches interior to hold any bowl, dish, or plate you choose.

The removable design almost makes cleaning and maintaining the device a joy. Regardless, it certainly makes it easier.

The bright all-white design offers something refreshing and new in the aesthetics department. Its design and style will mesh with any color or décor imaginable.

It also doesn’t hurt that Commercial Chef is a well-reputed microwave brand.

Sharp has been dedicated to improving people’s lives with the convenience and advancement of their technology.

I can tell you they knocked it out of the park with the Sharp R-21LCFS. First, just look at the simplistic design and controls.

Although operating the microwave is simplistic and there aren’t many digital controls, the R-21LCFS is certainly not lacking in terms of technology.

Starting with the beautifully elegant LED display that offers at-a-glance monitoring. The classic dial timer can be adjusted from anywhere from 10 seconds to 6 minutes.

There are no digital presets, but the Sharp still takes out all the guesswork. Located above the dial, you’ll find the recommended cooking times for your favorite dishes. Set the classic dial and be done.

The exterior and interior stainless steel wrap not only offers pleasing aesthetics and durability, but it cuts clean up in half.

Simply wet and wipe the surface to remove mishaps and spills and continue to go about your day.

The 1 cubic feet of interior space with a well-sized 13 1/2 inches turntable provides all the room you need for even the most awkward of dishes.

With 1000 watts of output power at 120 volts, you’ll make quick work of the densest and deepest dishes without drying out your end results.

Even with the big power don’t worry about burning up unneeded energy. The model offers an auto-canceling door that cancels the remaining time.

This’ll help save tons of energy as well as overall wear and tear on the components.

Impecca might not be as universally known as Panasonic or Sharp, but you can tell by the aesthetically pleasing design of the CM0674 that this manufacturer means business.

They more than deliver by offering big cooking output power packed in an elegantly designed compact appliance.

700 watts of cooking output power gives you all the power you need to whip up dishes in a hurry.

The 9.65-inch cubic space isn’t the most spacious, but the durable turntable offers just the right amount of space for family dishes.

Two simplistic manual dials eliminate all the complicated digital programming. All the while still going above and beyond the usual heating and defrosting with effective and efficient heating technologies.

The 30-minute express cooking timer helps speed things along while also adding a touch of safety.

The timer stops users from entering a longer than necessary setting and overcooking their dishes.

You’ll have plenty of power levels to choose from while the refreshing white design brings in an entirely different ambiance to modern kitchens.

The interior design makes cleaning and maintaining a snap, while also holding in essential heat for soups, gravies, desserts, and sauces. Serve warm when you want!

The Galanz GSWWA12S1SA10 offers ultimate cooking versatility combined with efficiency and supreme results. With its 3-in-1 interface, there isn’t much you can’t do with this bad boy.

Deliver up faster, healthier dishes with the air fry mode. Put delicious favorites like crunchy chicken, shrimp, wings, and classic French fries on the table in a hurry.

Don’t worry about making a mess while frying because the easy-to-clean interior and exterior make cleaning and maintaining the appliance as easy as you could imagine.

A lot of the mess and hassle of traditional frying is eliminated with the TotalFry 360 technology. This technology utilizes built-in heating elements to deliver the healthiest, crunchiest results possible.

True convection operation circulates around the interior of the oven while your food spins on the turntable. This produces the most evenly heated results possible for every cook.

The built-in humidity sensor is the cherry on the top, offering an additional backup to ensure your dishes are never over or undercooked.

It’ll go as far to automatically cancel cooks when they are properly heated and ready to eat.

All this comes in a neat, durable, and beautifully designed package. The dial interface makes operating the machine as simplistic as possible.

Avanti might not be the biggest or most well-known microwave manufacturer, but the Avanti MM07K1B delivers big results.

The two-dial operation does offer users more options but keeps the interface as intuitive and simplistic as it gets.

As far as that goes, you simply could not ask for a more simplistic design. This might seem like a disadvantage to many, but it offers a modern look that’ll mesh with any interior design.

The beautiful, sleek black design doesn’t hurt either. The black exterior offers a refreshing new look, but that doesn’t leave the interior lacking.

The 0.7 cubic feet of cooking space combined with a powerful 700 watts is equally astonishing.

Not only are these features astonishing, but they boast all the cooking power and versatility one needs to make quick work of frozen dinners.

For defrosting or quick reheats, you can take advantage of the easy-to-use 30-minute cooking timer. 

The retro accents and wild color schemes bring something entirely different into the kitchen. Choose between unique colors like aqua, classic white, ivory, and metallic red.

The Nostalgia RMOD7IVY meshes the retro design perfectly with the simplistic two-dial interface, while still boasting today’s top heating technologies.

Don’t worry about customization because there are still plenty of options and controls that’ll allow you to put your personal touch on all your dishes.

Take advantage of the low, defrost, medium-low, medium, medium-high, high, and 30-minute timers.

Weighing in at only 26 pounds, the Nostalgia offers a more compact footprint of 14 inches x 18 inches x 10.25 inches.

Don’t let the sleek and compact design fool you because this machine was designed to do more than just look pretty with its 700-watts of power output and 0.7 cubic feet of interior space.

What Has to Be Considered When Buying a Microwave With a Knob?

Microwaves with knobs might offer the most simplistic user interfaces possible today. However, that doesn’t mean choosing one will be any easier. There are still tons of things to weigh.

First and foremost, you’ll need to consider the types of dishes you desire to heat and cook. Are you looking for a model that will fry, broil, defrost, heat, or reheat? 

Just remember, the more you need, the more expensive it will be. Speaking of price, this is also something else you’ll need to factor into the equation. All that along with size, color, and design will need to be considered. 

Lastly, don’t forget about the interior space or power output. Most modern kitchens won’t have a problem meeting the electrical requirements of today’s top microwaves. Especially not the ones mentioned above.

I made sure the models feature technologies that keep power consumption to a minimum, while also offering the most efficient results possible.

Do Microwaves With Knobs Still Get Made?

Yes, microwaves with knobs are still being developed. As a matter of fact, you can see that some of today’s top manufacturers are reverting to the classic retro look.

Knobs might not offer the programming options that a digital interface offers, but today’s heating technologies are impressive.

If you take some time to look at the models listed above, you’ll see that today’s manufacturers are doing some impressive things with dial designs.

While also keeping things as simplistic as possible, dial controls limit the things that can go wrong.