Sure, you're using your microwave to make popcorn or warm up last night's leftovers, but there's so much more you could be doing. Your trusty coffee mug can be repurposed in the microwave to make all sorts of super easy meals—from breakfast to dessert—completely pot- and pan-free and in minutes!
9 Yummy Meals You Can Make in Your Favorite Mug in the Microwave
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Microwave magic
You want a home-cooked meal, yet you’re short on time and don’t have fancy equipment, you say? Good news! We have gourmet meals that can be cooked up using your favorite handy coffee mug and a microwave—and only require a handful of ingredients. Read on for the recipes that will have you swearing off take-out for good!
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Eggs Florentine
“Using a microwave to cook eggs is a quick and easy way to squeeze a healthy meal into your busy schedule,” says Jim Chakeres, executive vice president, Ohio Poultry Association (OPA). “Eggs can be mixed with your favorite ingredients, microwaved for around one minute then topped with cheese, vegetables or any other ingredient of your choice. As the least expensive source of high-quality protein at only 70 calories each, eggs are truly one of nature’s most perfect foods.” Get the full recipe for Eggs Florentine, and find out 55 delicious more ways to eat eggs on the reg.
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 tsp. coconut oil
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. thinly sliced baby spinach
1 tbsp. shredded mozzarella cheese
3-4 sliced grape or cherry tomatoes
Directions
1. Coat 8-oz. coffee cup with coconut oil. Add eggs, water, and spinach; beat until blended.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Microwave on high for 30 seconds; stir.
4. Microwave until egg is almost set, 45 seconds longer.
5. Top with cheese and tomatoes.
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Breakfast in a mug
Eggs aren’t the only breakfast food that can be cooked in a mug—try French toast in a mug or fully loaded breakfast potatoes. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day but it’s often skipped, so we created easy breakfasts that you can make using your microwave and a few delicious ingredients,” Nicole Iizuka of PopSugar told SideChef. And clean-up is easy, to boot!
Here are some other quick breakfast ideas that are ready in under seven minutes.
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Coffee Mug Molten Chocolate Cake
There is nothing quite as satisfying as warm chocolate cake. The following recipe from America’s Test Kitchen is fool-proof and guaranteed to produce the perfect molten chocolate cake in just ten minutes. Best of all, you don’t have to feel guilty when you indulge. Read on to learn all the health benefits of chocolate.
Ingredients
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped, plus 1 ounce broken into 4 equal pieces
¼ cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
Directions
1. Microwave butter and chopped chocolate in large bowl, stirring often, until melted, about 1 minute. Whisk sugar, eggs, cocoa, vanilla, and salt into chocolate mixture until smooth. In separate bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Whisk flour mixture into chocolate mixture until combined. Divide batter evenly between two 11-ounce coffee mugs.
2. Place mugs on opposite sides of microwave turntable. Microwave at 50 percent power for 45 seconds. Stir batter and microwave at 50 percent power for 45 seconds (batter will rise to just below rim of mug).
3. Press two chocolate pieces into center of each cake until chocolate is flush with top of cake. Microwave at 50 percent power for 30 to 60 seconds. Chocolate pieces should be melted and cake should be slightly wet around edges of mug and somewhat drier toward center. Let cakes sit for two minutes before serving.
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Pizza
Enjoying your pizza via a mug is an easy way to practice portion control. “If you’re someone who can take down four slices of pizza this will definitely keep you in check,” says Vanessa Rissetto, a nutritionist.
Ingredients
4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
⅛ tsp. baking powder
1/16 tsp. baking soda
⅛ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. marinara sauce
1 tbsp. shredded mozzarella cheese
½ dried basil or oregano
Directions
1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a microwavable mug.
2. Add in the milk and oil with mix together. There might be some lumps, but that is okay.
3. Spoon on the marinara sauce and spread it around the surface of the batter.
4. Sprinkle on the cheese, pepperoni, and dried herbs.
5. Microwave for one minute 10 to 20 seconds, or until it rises up and the topping are bubbling (timing is based on my 1200W microwave so your timing might vary).
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Soft polenta
“Even when you only have a mug and microwave, you can get creative and stay healthy,” says personal chef Francesco Casetta. You need to think beyond pre-packaged, processed foods that you heat and serve, like this yummy polenta.
Ingredients
¼ cup purified water
3/4 cup whole milk
1/3 cup instant polenta
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 fresh twig of rosemary
1 fresh twig of thyme
2 sage leaves
1/3 tsp. salt
½ cup Parmesan cheese
Directions
1. Put all the liquids and seasonings in the mug.
2. Cook in the microwave for one minute and 45 seconds. Then let steep for five minutes.
3. Drain the liquid from the spices and put the liquid back in the microwave for one minute.
4. Add instant polenta to the liquid and put in microwave for 45 seconds on high.
5. Add Parmesan and mix well.
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Minestrone soup
“Experiment with fresh vegetables, herbs, and other fresh ingredients from your grocer or farmer’s market,” Casetta says “You’d be surprised how elaborate you can get and nobody will ever know it was prepared in a microwave.”
Ingredients
1 yellow potato cut in ¼ inch by ¼ inch
1 tsp. minced onion
½ tsp. garlic minced
8 oz. vegetable stock
1 leaf kale
¼ cup spinach
1 leaf of Swiss chart
¼ cup crushed San Marzano tomatoes
Directions
1. Put the potatoes, onion, garlic, and vegetable stock in the mug and cook for four minutes at high power in the microwave.
2. Let it rest for one minute.
3. Add remaining ingredients, cook on high power for three minutes.
4. Season to taste with also a drizzle of olive oil and heat in microwave for an additional two minutes.
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2-Cheese Mac & Cheese Mug
“This recipe works great and saves time and you don’t have a lot of dirty dishes,” says Nicole Pomije, Creator of The Cookie Cups. Bonus: It’s much healthier than boxed mac and cheese.
Ingredients
½ cup of small elbow macaroni
½ cup water
Pinch of Kosher salt
¼ cup milk
¼ cup of freshly grated American Cheese
¼ cup of freshly grated sharp white cheddar
Directions
1. Add the pasta, water, and salt to your mug.
2. Microwave for three minutes. Stir. Microwave another three minutes.
3. Add milk and stir.
4. Add the cheese and mix until blended.
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Mocha banana pecan oats
Oatmeal is a super healthy meal or snack any time of the day, and you can make it right in your microwave. “Simply brew a little extra coffee, with or without caffeine, for this recipe whenever you make a pot,” says Beth Witherspoon, RD, a consultant for Community Coffee Company. “Feel good about what flavors these oats: Cocoa is rich in antioxidant flavanols, and cassia cinnamon may help lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. Finally, you can change it up to include your favorite fruit, nuts, and other toppings. This is one good-for-you breakfast that will make mornings taste ever-so-much better,” says Witherspoon. If you aren’t into bananas and pecans, try these other 10 delicious oatmeal toppings.
Ingredients
½ cup rolled oats
1/3 cup milk
¼ cup strong brewed Community® coffee
2 tbsp. instant nonfat dry milk
2 tsp. honey
1 tsp. cocoa powder
¼ tsp. vanilla
⅛ tsp. cinnamon
½ banana, sliced
1 tbsp. chopped, toasted pecans
Directions
1. In a large mug, combine oats, milk, coffee, dry milk, honey, cocoa powder, vanilla, and cinnamon.
2. Warm in the microwave on high for two to three minutes.
3. Top with banana and pecans just before eating.
