Baking potatoes in an oven is surely a time-taking process that may get unbearable when you are too hungry. Pan-fried and deep-fried potatoes need a lot of cooking time. Mashing potatoes after a boil is also a complex thing to do. The simplest method to do this is by microwaving the potatoes. A Microwave baked potato is one of its kind in terms of all aspects, including taste.
As far as baking potatoes are concerned, people usually want to know how long they should microwave a potato. The simple answer to this is that you can cook a potato on each side in a microwave for 5 mins. Although, the cooking time may depend on the type of potato and other relevant factors.
The microwaving process remains unchanged for all varieties of potatoes. You can modify this process by boiling or baking the potatoes to serve various potato dishes. This post is going to take you through all that you should know about how to bake a potato in the Microwave.
How safe is it to microwave potatoes?
If you don’t have in-depth knowledge about cooking or don’t want to spend time in complicated recipes, simply baking the potatoes in a Microwave is the best option. It is absolutely safe for you to microwave the potatoes as long as you do it in the right way. You just need to poke within the potato using a fork not to explode while cooking. The steam generated inside the potato should get a way out.
How can you microwave a potato?
It is actually very easy to microwave potatoes. If you want a perfect microwave baked potato, you must follow the steps mentioned below:
- Wash the potatoes clean and scrub them. You have to cook these potatoes with their skin on, and it is important to wash the potatoes thoroughly and scrub their skin off with a brush to remove dirt. If you find any spots on the potato skin, you must remove them by using a knife.
- Let the potatoes dry.
- Poke them using a fork. As mentioned above, this is one of the essential steps to follow. If you miss this step, you may face an explosion in potato and mess up your Microwave.
- Pour olive oil over the potatoes.
- Season them using pepper and salt, along with other spices in your kitchen.
- Bake the potatoes in a Microwave for nearly 5 minutes at a high temperature. You should also ensure that the plate you are using is microwave-safe. You can line it up with a paper towel so that the potato doesn’t roll away.
- Flip the potatoes to cook them evenly. In case it is too hot, you can use a form to flip it.
- Keep microwaving them for 3-5 minutes more. If you cook just one potato, 3 minutes are enough to cook them completely. If there are more potatoes, you may continue to microwave them for 5 minutes extra.
- Put the potatoes out of the Microwave and serve.
By following the steps mentioned above rightly, you can get your hands on fresh, soft, deliciously baked potatoes in very less time. You might be willing to know how long to cook a baked potato in the Microwave. Keep reading below to know more.
How much time do you need to bake a potato completely?
The time duration required for a potato to get cooked in a Microwave depends on the potato size and your Microwave. However, there can be a few differences between the cooking time of different potatoes. Let us take a look below at the various potato types and their cooking time, respectively:
- Sweet potato- One of the essential points in how to bake a sweet potato in the Microwave is baking it for 5 minutes.
- Idaho- You should bake a medium-sized Idaho potato for 7 minutes in the Microwave.
- Russet Potatoes: The ideal cooking time for russet potatoes is 8 minutes.
- Red Potatoes: 4-6 minutes is the ideal cooking time for red potatoes.
- Yukon potatoes: The cooking time of these potatoes is the same as Yukon potatoes.
How to Know when potatoes are fully baked?
To get the best Microwave baked potato, you must be knowing when your potatoes are baked fully. It is easy to cook potatoes regardless of whether you roast, boil or bake them. But, the most important thing to do is season the potatoes with pepper and salt.
Even though the baked potato microwave can give you an idea about the time duration for which you should bake the potatoes, you should know how you can check if they are well-cooked. The simplest way to check this is using the good old skewing method. If you find a wooden skewer entering a potato easily without the use of any pressure, you must know that it is completely done. You can also use a fork or knife for poking the potato and checking its doneness.
As soon as you experience potatoes, you can easily identify whether they are completely baked by touching them. Already done potatoes will be easy to squeeze and soft. In all cases, you must remember that overcooking potatoes is better than leaving them undercooked as far as food safety is concerned. There can be a bit of loss in terms of quality, but you’ll be on the safer side.
How to store Microwave baked potato?
You can keep the microwaved potatoes in an airtight container and refrigerate them. They will be safe in the fridge for nearly five complete days. Reheating the microwaved potatoes is as simple as making a baked potato in the Microwave. Microwave them for some time till they are fully heated.
How to boil potatoes in Microwave?
You should know that boiling potatoes in a microwave is different from cooking them. For boiling, you must use water. You must note that boiling potatoes need more hustle than just baking them in your Microwave. If you don’t need to mash them, it is advised that you bake them without using water. You can boil both whole potatoes as well as potato slices, but for the most effective results, you must boil them in the Microwave for a while without even peeling off the skin. Boiling can impact the nutritional content of a potato, but boiling them without peeling off the skin will help in the retention of nutritional content.
That’s all you need to know about a Microwave baked potato. You can use many different ways to boil, bake or cook a potato in the Microwave. You must follow the tips mentioned above in this post to get the best results while microwaving a potato. As mentioned above, you can also store a baked potato in the refrigerator for almost 5 days. Overall, you must note that microwaving a potato is good as it ensures retention of the nutritional value and provides a better taste. However, you must make sure to use the right method to Microwave the potatoes depending upon the potato size and other factors.
Check out the best recipe of Microwave frozen pizza.
