Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave review: a solid microwave with multiple customization options

The best microwaves have been essential kitchen appliances since they were introduced in 1967. I’ve had my microwave for almost ten years and use it consistently—mostly to reheat leftovers, make popcorn, or heat a mug of water to make sweet tea.

My microwave has served me well, but it was time for an upgrade, so I was so glad to test the Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven. It’s been so long since I had an updated microwave that I didn’t realize how many functions it now offered—like an automatic two-step cooking feature.

I tested this compact microwave for over a week, using all the functions, settings, and features. I wanted to understand better what microwaves can do and how they can make cooking easier for me. Keep reading for an in-depth look at this Cuisinart microwave to see if it fits you well.

Alex Temblador

Alex Temblador has been reviewing household products since 2020. She has tested everything from vacuums to coffee machines, mattresses, gardening tools, hot tubs, and more. Alex reviewed the Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven in her 104-year-old home in the Dallas, Texas, area.

Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave: Key specs

Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave: Price & availability

The Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven retails at full price on the Cuisinart website for $129.95. Oddly enough, retailers like Walmart, Home Depot, and Office Depot sell the same model for a higher price, between $133 and $168. Amazon appears to be the only retailer that prices it lower at $124.80.

This microwave isn’t the largest and lacks smart features or cooking functions beyond heating – such as air frying or roasting – making the $129.95 retail price feel high. Plenty of similar microwaves are more affordable but may not have the Cuisinart name or reputation. 

Score: 6/10

Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave: First Impressions & Setup

Setting up the Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven took no time at all. It arrived in a cardboard box and was safely packed with foam pieces. After removing the microwave and the inserts (glass plate and turntable ring) from the box, I plugged it in and removed the stickers on the front of the door. When I first opened the microwave door, it smelled slightly like paint. 

The packaging included a manual that breaks down all cooking functions and provides insight into maintaining and cleaning the microwave. I kept the booklet on hand and used it during my testing.

The only thing I needed to do during the setup process was set the time, which took seconds. I also needed to configure a Memory Procedure. The Memory Procedure is a shortcut that allows users to select a specific cooking time and power level. This is especially helpful if I know I often cook items on a specific power level for one minute and 30 seconds. This helps ensure that my food is cooked evenly and consistently. I also don't have to worry about manually adjusting the power level. The microwave does not have a 1:30 cook setting. However, with the Memory Procedure, I can create that short cut, and the microwave will store it so that I can use it whenever I wish.  

Although I only tested one, the microwave lets you set three different memory procedures. It took seconds to do. When I want to cook something for 1 minute and 30 seconds, I only have to press the 0/Memory button once to use the shortcut. 

Score: 8/10

Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave: Design

The Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven is a small microwave with a .7 cubic-foot capacity, suitable for those with restricted counter space or who live in smaller units like an apartment. It’s black with stainless steel accents for a modern look.

The control panel is on the right side of the microwave. On the top are preprogrammed touchpad functions like Reheat, Beverage, Pizza, Potato, Popcorn, Frozen, Soften/Melt, and Veggie. The Cook Time, Weight Defrost, Time Defrost, Power Level, and Clock/Timer buttons can also be found. Below that area is the numeric touchpad and the Stop/Cancel, Memory, and Start buttons.

Inside the microwave is a removable turntable ring and glass plate. Overall, it has a very simplistic microwave design.

Score: 8/10

Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave: Performance

There are more functions to test with the Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven than meets the eye—I did so over a week. Overall, it’s an easy microwave to use. 

As mentioned, this is a small microwave, so if you have particularly large plates or tall cups, they might not fit inside the unit. For instance, I was defrosting some salmon in a package, which could not rotate on the glass plate because it was too large. I didn’t have an issue with popcorn bags, though I could tell that larger ones would not fully pop. 

Let me start by saying that this microwave allows you to adjust the cooking time and power level. I don’t see the point in changing the power level except when doing two-stage cooking (which I’ll discuss below), especially since this microwave is only 700 watts, below the 1000-watt average for microwaves. Adjusting power to a lower level isn’t in most people’s best interests. However, you have the option if you want it.

In the past, you would enter your cook time (like 1:45) and then hit start, and the microwave would begin. With this Cuisinart microwave, you must select Cook Time before entering the time. If you don’t, the microwave will enter into Express Cook mode and automatically set a time of 1:00 if you press the 1 button. This is at 2:00 if you push the 2 button. Express Cook mode is a shortcut that sets the power level at 100 percent and automatically selects 1 to six minutes. This is done when you press buttons one through six. 

Even though my previous microwave required the Cook Time button, I never got accustomed to it. Perhaps because I grew up when microwaves didn't have automatic functions. I only point this out because other reviewers noted how frustrating it was to get used to.

I liked the +30SEC button. You can use it with the Express Cook shortcut. If I hit 1, the microwave cooks at 1:00. However, if I wanted the cooking time to be 1:30, I'd hit 1, followed by the +30SEC button. I could also set the time in 30-second increments with this button by pressing it until it reached my desired cooking time.

There are two defrost settings based on time or weight. I typically prefer using the Time Defrost button as it's easier to input a time. With the Weight Defrost button, you input the weight in ounces between 4-100 oz. for the feature to work. I don’t have time to figure out the weight of what I need defrosted. Yes, I know some meat labels note the ounces, but often, I separate my meats when I freeze them, so I don’t have the label anymore – or the label shows the weight for all of the meat in the package and not the individual pieces that I would defrost.

My favorite thing about this microwave is the auto cook functions: Soften/Melt Popcorn, Pizza, Potato, Frozen Veggies, Beverages, and Reheat. Let’s start with Reheat. When you click Reheat and the Start button, the cook time is 6 minutes. This seemed high for me, especially when I reheated pizza. Six minutes makes sense, however, when reheating a big meal like leftover pasta and chicken. The Pizza button has a cooking time of three minutes and is best used when cooking microwave pizza.

The Popcorn button has two options—a personal or regular popcorn bag. To switch between the two cook times, I pressed the button twice. The time differences are 1 minute and 50 seconds and 3 minutes and 20 seconds. The 3-minute and 20-second options were too long for my regular-sized popcorn bag. I had to stop the cooking time, or the popcorn burned, so I typically used the personal-sized cook time option.

I love the Soften/Melt option and can’t wait to try it in the winter. It can melt and soften butter or chocolate, which I rely on in my holiday baking. I had to push the button multiple times to switch between butter melt, butter soften, or chocolate melt. This resulted in three different time settings: 1 minute, 15 seconds, and 3 minutes and 30 seconds, respectively. Cuisinart suggests using it for ½ stick of butter or 4 oz of chocolate. I tested the butter melt and soften feature with scoops of butter and found that using the soften feature – or 15-second cook time – was a better choice than the butter melt feature because the butter usually became soft faster than the one-minute time.

I used the Beverage button to heat water in a mug to make sweet tea. It is available in three sizes: 4 oz., 8 oz., and 12 oz. of liquid, which resulted in cook times of 50 seconds, 1 minute and 40 seconds, and 2 minutes and 40 seconds. The 8 oz. and 12 oz. settings accurately warmed the water to my desired temperature. (I never heated a 4 oz beverage).

The Frozen Veggie function worked better than I expected. I usually don’t buy frozen veggies, but my parents do, so I got some of their broccoli and popped it in the microwave. I was impressed by how the microwave defrosted and cooked the veggies so they were ready to eat. Like many functions, it has three options: 4 oz. or 4 minutes, 8 oz. or 6 minutes and 30 seconds, and 16 oz. or 11 minutes.

Now for the final Auto Cook function – Potato. I’d rather cook a potato in the microwave, especially if I’m making a baked potato. Cooking a potato in the oven took an hour. In my air fryer? Forty minutes. I don’t have that kind of time. There are three cook time options under the Potato setting – 1 piece at 6 minutes, 2 at 8 minutes and 30 seconds, and 3 at 12 minutes. Six minutes is the right amount of time to prepare one baked potato.

I don’t often use the microwave enough to use the Two-Stage Cooking feature, but I tested it for this review. Admittedly, this is a pretty cool feature. Say I want to cook a food item for a certain amount of time at an 80 percent power level. Then, it must cook for a shorter time at 60 percent power. With Two-Stage Cooking, I can automatically set the microwave to do this so that I don’t have to return to the microwave and set the secondary time and power level. 

I’ll likely never use this setting outside of testing. It may be an excellent option for baking, though I struggled to figure out other instances where it might be helpful. I used it to cook noodles in a bowl. I set the cook time and power level higher than the secondary cook time and power level. The idea was to cook the noodles and then warm them for a few more minutes. It worked, though. Setting it up was a bit of a hassle. You'll probably not remember how to do it off the top of your head without a booklet on hand.

Finally, cleaning this microwave was easy. It’s a small unit, and the glass plate is easily removable. I washed it by hand. Cuisinart suggests baking soda and water to clean grease and food particles. However, I found water and a little soap to work well.

Score: 9/10

Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave: User reviews

The Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven has a 4.5-star out of five-star rating from 214 reviews on the Cuisinart website and a 4.2 out of 5-star rating from 304 reviews on Amazon. For a kitchen appliance, customers seem satisfied with this microwave.

Many customers pointed out they were looking for a smaller microwave like this one. They also pointed out that it didn’t take up too much counter space and was powerful and easy to use. Some noted that their plates, cups, or popcorn bags didn’t fit inside. (This was not an issue for me.) Some also mentioned the 700 wattage and that it wasn’t as powerful as they would've liked, but they overlooked this aspect because the microwave size was more significant. 

Should you buy the Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven?

Buy it if...

 Don’t buy it if…  

How does the Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave compare?

A great alternative is the Sharp 1.1 cu. ft. 1000W Smart Stainless Steel Countertop Microwave Oven (SMC1169KS). Not only is it larger and more powerful, but it also works with Alexa and is comparable in price.

The Hamilton Beach 1.1 Stainless Steel Microwave is an affordable option to consider. It lacks memory and two-stage cooking functions, but it’s larger and more powerful and has similar auto-cook functions for popcorn, potato, pizza, frozen vegetables, beverages, and dinner plates. Not to mention, it’s less than $100.

If you have the budget to purchase a microwave with air fryer functions, consider the Panasonic HomeChef. In addition to being a microwave, it also has three other functions: air fry, broil, and convection. While it has a high price tag, at least the microwave has multiple functions and comes with an air fryer basket.

How I tested the Cuisinart CMW-70 0.7 Cu. Ft. Microwave

I tested the Cuisinart CMW-70 Microwave Oven for over a week, cooking various foods and drinks with its various functions. This included reheating pizza, cooking rice and baked potatoes, and heating a mug of water to make tea. I carefully examined the microwave to write a thorough review.

See more about how we test.

• First reviewed: August 2024