Naturally, since the microwave oven is a long-term investment, you want to make sure to protect it. Aside from daily maintenance and a wipe down after every use, you should also defend its exterior from dust by cleanup.
Another way to protect your microwave is by getting a microwave cover or splash guard that keeps your hot food like greasy bacon or soups from splattering all over the inside of your device. With that said, what makes for a quality microwave cover?
Best Microwave Cover Buying Guide
What should you look for in a microwave cover? Is it the size? Is it the material? Is it the price? All of the above and more. You need a clear plastic dome cover big enough to fit most serving plates. This is not be confused with the cloth cover you put over your microwave when not in use.
What Should Be Your Primary Priorities When Shopping for a Microwave Cover?
Your primary priority when searching for a microwave cover is one where you can cover food in a secure manner while keeping your microwave clean from splash-back or food splatters. They can also have a multi-purpose design, venting and steaming systems, and the right material.
Should it be made of glass or plastic? Plastic can withstand falls better but glass is more transparent when exposed to microwave radiation, allowing for full radiowave transference. It’s also more BPA-free.
Get the best deal you can acquire considering your budget.
What are the Dimensions and Size Available for Microwave Covers?
The dimensions of the microwave cover dictate what sort of microwave model it can deal with. You want to ensure it’ll fit properly with your specific microwave. These covers are typically 16 inches deep, 14 inches tall, and 24 inches wide.
Always remember that these are outer dimensions. A microwave with such size typically offers 1.5 cubic square foot capacity. Mini microwaves have about less than a cubic foot of space so you thusly need a cover smaller than what was described above.
Measure the microwave interior to get its dimensions and compare it to the dimensions of your cover. The inner dimensions should be listed on your microwave manual or its specs online. The covers listed on this article are diverse when it comes to size.
What’s the Best Material Composition for a Microwave Cover?
What is your microwave cover made of? This important factor in picking the right cover dictates longevity, food safety, microwave safety, and microwaving effectiveness. These covers are typically composed of ceramic, glass, silicone, or plastic.
- Ceramic: Ceramic covers are usually considered microwave-safe by default, but not all ceramics are microwave-safe. Some ceramic dishes can’t stand the heat or have a microwave-unsafe coating.
- Glass: Glass breaks when you drop it accidentally at a certain height but so do ceramic covers. A glass microwave cover is typical without paint or glaze.
- Plastic: A BPA-free and microwave-safe plastic cover is rated as such by the FDA because it doesn’t leach off plasticizers or dangerous chemicals into your food.
- Silicone: Another FDA-approved cover material is silicone. It’s even considered oven-safe, freezer-safe, and dishwasher-safe to boot.
Make sure the microwave cover of your choice has a microwave-safe symbol on it. It varies from material to material but it’s hard to miss. Usually, it features small horizontal squiggly lines representing the microwave rays as well as a label declaring the cover as microwave-safe.
Read more: Is it Safe to Microwave Food Without Cover?
What are the Different Functions and Special Features of Microwave Covers?
Come dish covers for microwave use are multipurpose. This means you can come across glass plate covers that can double as baking dishes. Other products allow you to adjust how much steam can get inside the cover in case you want your food more steamy and moist.
Controlling the steam or humidity of your food while it’s getting microwaved is super useful if what you’re cooking is vegetables or perhaps Chinese meat buns that are supposed to be steamed. The reviews list the functions of each microwave cover.
What are the Different Styles or Designs Available for Microwave Covers?
Style, design, and aesthetics collectively compose factors that boil down to personal preference. Some people wish for a translucent or transparent design so that they can see food cooked in real-time. Others prefer covers that side handles instead of a single top handle.
Still, others wish for different colors, ornamentation, and “trimmings” that some don’t care much about. You have plastic microwave plates out there colored light pink with a cartoon pig handle, which is quite cute.
Style points don’t affect the effectiveness of the microwave except in the case of translucency vs. opaqueness in case you want to check on the state of the food being cooked. There’s no accounting for taste.
What Does a Microwave Cover Do?
A microwave cover offers multiple features and benefits. It keeps your microwave interior clean and shielded from food splatters. Their ventilation systems assist in cooking food faster care of recirculating hot steam. They also help retain moisture to boot.
They even assist in heat distribution for evenly warmed food. Some covers are multipurpose in nature and can be used in the oven or stovetop as well.
Is It Bad Not to Cover Food in the Microwave?
Yes. There are bad side effects when you neglect covering food. Uncovered food can easily splatter and make a mess inside your microwave oven. Furthermore, it prevents food from steaming, resulting in faster moisture loss and dry food.
Microwaving rice and beans without a cover can lead to them losing flavor when push comes to shove.
What is the Best Microwave Cover on This List of Best Sellers?
Here are the top 7 best-selling and most highly rated microwave covers we could find on Amazon.
1. Collapsible Silicone Microwave Cover is Dependable for Easy Storage
| Material | Silicone |
| Compatible Models | Any microwave with less than 0.9 cubic feet of space. |
| Size | 10.5 x 10.5 x 3.3 inches |
| Weight | 11.2 ounces |
| Special Features | Collapsible cover with steam perforations for ventilation. |
| Style | Red collapsible cover with top handle and white body (also available in gray or grey). |
The AMRZS Collapsible Microwave Splatter Cover has a lot going for it, and its rating is a reflection of such. It’s safe, flexible, and easy to clean. It’s also easy to store with its collapsible body. The perforations also make the steam escape readily.
The silicone material makes sure the dishes are free from BPA leaching. It’s also microwave-safe and dishwasher-safe to boot.
2. Heavy Grey BPA-Free Plastic Microwave Cover with Tempered Glass That’s Threefold Collapsible
| Material | Silicone and tempered glass |
| Compatible Models | Any microwave with less than 0.9 cubic feet of space. |
| Size | 10.31 x 10.2 x 2.2 inches |
| Weight | 26.24 ounces |
| Special Features | Collapsible silicone body and tempered glass top. |
| Style | Grey plastic and glass cover with top handle design. |
The CALFOLLOW Microwave Splatter Guard Food Cover is a space-saving cover that has a high-quality design that makes heating more convenient. Its folding technique allows you to pop it open, push it down to close or collapse it and flatten it to 1.5 inches.
It’s slightly more expensive than AMRZS because of the tempered glass. It’s about 4 times more expensive. However, the glass is fully transparent against microwave rays while remaining collapsible at the same time.
3. Amazon’s Choice for Microwave Cover by Layron That Doubles as a Steam Vent
| Material | BPA-free polypropylene |
| Compatible Models | Any microwave with less than 0.9 to 1 cubic feet of space. |
| Size | 11.5 x 11.5 x 4.5 inches |
| Weight | 4.97 ounces |
| Special Features | It has an easy grip top, a polished finish, and also doubles as a steam vent. |
| Style | It’s a clear plastic plate cover with top handle. Also available in gray. |
The lightweight Layron Large Microwave Plate Cover is blessed to get the award of Amazon’s Choice for Microwave Cover. It even has a high user rating to prove it. Then again, the easy-grip microwave splatter cover got that award by being scored so high.
In turn, it earned its stripes by being 11.5 inches in size, the durability to be dishwasher-safe, and BPA-free polypropylene material. It even has a polished finish.
4. Another BPA-Free Clear Plastic Microwave Plate Cover Renowned for Its Simplicity
| Material | BPA-free plastic |
| Compatible Models | Any microwave with less than 0.9 to 1 cubic feet of space. |
| Size | 11.5 x 11.5 x 4.5 inches |
| Weight | 5.76 ounces |
| Special Features | You can see through the transparent BPA-free plastic body to view the food as it’s being microwaved. |
| Style | Clear plate cover shaped like a dome with top red handle. |
The YCUPPLEIJ Microwave Plate Cover is renowned for costing only $10, being Amazon’s Choice for microwave plate cover, and having enough durability to be dishwasher-safe while at the same time serving as a BPA-free plastic cover.
It costs around the same as Layron, which explains its popularity. It’s a clear plastic cover with built-in steam vents for microwaving steamed vegetables. It can withstand a maximum temperature of 230°F or 110°C. It also fits most dinner plates by being about the same size.
5. Lightweight Vent-Filled Dome-Shaped Cover Best Seller in Cookware & Bakeware Lids
| Material | BPA-free polypropylene |
| Compatible Models | Any microwave with less than 1 to 1.1 cubic feet of space. |
| Size | 14.7 x 12.69 x 3.78 inches |
| Weight | 5.11 ounces |
| Special Features | It’s extra-big or much bigger than the average plate and requires more than 1 cubic feet of interior space. |
| Style | It’s a clear plate with vents near the top handle. |
The super lightweight ROSE RAIN Microwave Splatter Cover is also about $10 and is considered a Best Seller in Cookware & Bakeware Lids by Amazon. This splatter guard has a more ornate design but it’s also clear plastic.
For something so light it’s also quite large. This means you need bigger microwaves for it to fit and you can’t use 0.7 cubic feet mini microwaves with 700 watts of power on it.
6. A Specifically Dependable Splash Guard or Cover for Microwaves
| Material | BPA-free plastic |
| Compatible Models | Any microwave with less than 0.9 to 1 cubic feet of space. |
| Size | 11.5 x11.5 x 4.5 inches |
| Weight | 10.5 ounces |
| Special Features | Dishwasher-safe and BPA-free cover. The dome shape contains the splatter better. |
| Style | Green-labeled, top-handled clear splash guard with a much more dome-like design. |
Although the HENYU Microwave Splatter Cover is less popular than AMRZS is has a higher user rating. The fewer ratings might’ve influenced its higher ratings though. Regardless, it’s rated that way because of its dome-shaped body that keeps the splatters inside.
It’s double the weight of microwave covers like ROSE RAIN and YCUPPLEIJ, but it’s still much lighter than CALFOLLOW. However, it’s a bit more expensive than the ones.
7. Easy-Grip Microwave Splatter Cover That’s Popular Among Spanish Speakers
| Material | BPA-free plastic |
| Compatible Models | Any microwave with less than 1 cubic feet of space. |
| Size | 12.09 x 11.77 x 4.76 inches |
| Weight | 5.3 ounces |
| Special Features | Easy-grip microwave splatter cover with durable and thick body as well as a steam vent. |
| Style | Green-labeled, BPA-free plastic with dome design like HENYU. |
The Zdesign Microwave Splatter Cover is quite like HENYU, but it’s about $3 cheaper. It’s renowned for its easy-grip top handle is its most prominent feature, but it has all the requisites like being lightweight and made of BPA-free plastic.
This cover is popular under the “Tapa Microondas Para Cubrir” (Spanish) or “Microwave Wave Cover” category. Spanish speakers must love it for its ergonomic handle or how it easily fits into microwaves with 1 cubic foot of capacity.
Always Remember This As Well
Microwave food covers mostly look the same and have many of the same specifications. However, every one of them has its own set of variations that suit specific needs and demographics. This buying guide and product review article will assist you in getting the ideal cover fit.
You mostly need to match the capacity or interior size of the microwave with the size or dimensions of the cover in question. You also need to take note of the special functions and material of the product as well before buying it.
On that note, we mostly favor Layron Large Microwave Plate Cover. This is followed by HENYU Microwave Splatter Cover and Zdesign Microwave Splatter Cover. By ratings, the top 3 most popular covers are Layron, AMRZS, and YCUPPLEIJ Microwave Plate Covers.
