Quick, Easy Baked Potatoes Start in the Microwave (2024)

FAQs

How long should I put my potato in the microwave? ›

All you need to know about microwaving potatoes

Potatoes take about 5-6 minutes in the microwave for a 1000w microwave. We recommend cutting the potato in half lengthwise for quick, even cooking. For lower wattage microwaves, add 1-2 more minutes of cook time for a fully cooked potato.

The rapid heating can cause the granules to burst, and release sticky, gelatinized starch. The result: A gluey potato that's also often marred by hard nodules where the starch has crystallized.

Prep – using a fork, poke holes in each potato. Then, wrap each potato in a damp paper towel. Microwave – place the paper towel-wrapped potatoes in the microwave and microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Don't Forget to Poke

These little holes allow steam to escape while the potato is cooking. Forget to poke, and your potato could end up exploding in your microwave from the pent-up steam.

Because a microwave steams the inside of the potato rather than baking it from the outside, the resulting potato has a fluffier inner texture. The only downside of microwaving potatoes is that the skin gets soggy and doesn't have the crispy texture that you get from the oven.

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

While oven heats, scrub potatoes under cold water, dry with a towel and pierce a few times on each side with a fork. Place potatoes on a microwavable plate and microwave for 6 minutes, turning halfway through the process.

According to USDA data, microwaving potatoes is the best way to retain its nutritional value, boiling potatoes causes the most nutrient loss, and frying adds fat and extra calories. None of the cooking methods destroy fiber. Still, potatoes are rich in key nutrients regardless of how they are cooked.

Why do potatoes get hard in the microwave? Potatoes get hard in the microwave when they're overcooked and the overcooked sections lose too much moisture and become dry and hard.

A microwave uses significantly less energy than either a gas or electric oven.

So, I like to jumpstart the cooking process with the microwave. Clean and poke your potatoes as described above. Then, wrap 'em in plastic wrap and pop it into a microwave for 5 minutes. (If you use this trick a lot, you can even invest in or make a reusable potato sack.)

Why does wet paper towel help in microwave? ›

The damp paper towel helps your food retain moisture, so food like rice or noodles don't come out hardened and rubbery. Also, transferring food (like rice) to a plate helps the rice heat faster because of the increased surface area.

The old plastic bag baked potato trick. Put them in a plastic bag, a little bit of water, add. Put them in the microwave for seal up the back. Put them in the microwave for 8 minutes, 10 minutes if you have bigger potatoes, and there you go.

The explosion is created by the trapped moisture that are inside the potato! The way microwave oven cooks starts from the inside, as the heat generated by the RF radiations is focused at the center of the oven..

Scrub potatoes, but don't peel them (or do peel them, if you wish). Cut into chunky, bite-sized pieces. Place in a microwave-safe dish, add 1 tablespoon of water, partially cover with a lid or waxed paper and microwave for 3 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly—a few minutes will do.

"Yes, it's good to prick them," Smith told Food52. "It pokes holes in the skin, which allows steam to escape. Otherwise, they could explode—it doesn't happen all the time, but it happens every once in a while. The potato is full of water it's trying to turn to steam, or water vapor.

If you're microwaving multiple potatoes, just add a minute per side for each additional potato (i.e., start at five minutes on the first side for two potatoes and six on the first side for three). Try to keep them from touching on the plate; this will allow them to cook more evenly.

A microwave can cook a potato fast. Depending on the size and quantity of your potatoes, you can cook a whole potato within 6 minutes or so, from start to finish. Compare that to baking them in the oven, which can easily take an hour, or boiling them in hot water, often taking over 15 minutes.

Did you know most microwave ovens have a baked potato button? You just press the button for however many baked potatoes you have and they come out perfect every time.