A cold burger will make you miss out on the real pleasure of a burger. You must reheat it to appreciate what you paid for.

There are several methods to reheat a burger, but can you microwave a McDonald’s burger?

Our write-up will answer the question and give tips to microwave the popular and desirable McDonald’s.

Can You Microwave McDonald’s Burger?

Yes, microwaving McDonald’s cheeseburgers is a winning hack on lazy days or late nights. You can microwave a McDonald’s burger and still have it juicy and tasty if you follow the recommended reheating tips discussed in this article.

Reheating burgers in the microwave is fast, easy, and convenient. It also requires less equipment hence saving you from cleaning many utensils.

Standard burger patties have a thickness of 0.5 to 0.75 inches, allowing microwaves to penetrate.

Leftover burgers previously stored in airtight containers give the best results when reheated in the microwave. You should never freeze burgers in their take-out boxes.

Uneven heating is a major concern when choosing the method to reheat your hamburger. Microwaving a burger will give different results based on its shape, microwave settings, and the starting temperature.

Microwaves guarantee you fresh, pillow-soft, and juicy burgers.

How to Reheat McDonald’s Burger

You need to follow the following tips as you microwave your burger to uphold its goodness and taste:

Separate stacked burger patties (quarter pound and Big Mac burgers must be deconstructed) to ensure thorough heating. A standard cheeseburger or hamburger can be reheated as it is without deconstructing it.
Remove raw toppings and condiments from the burger before reheating your burger in the microwave. The bun gets soggy if microwaved with the patty.
Place your burger on a microwave-safe plate wrapped with a paper towel. The patty and the bun should be handled independently on two separate microwave-safe plates.
Set your microwave on high power and timer at 30 seconds. You can also press the reheat button if it’s available on your microwave.
Flip your burger and run the microwave for another 30 seconds.
Get a separate microwave-safe plate wrap it with a microwave-safe paper towel and place the burger for 1 minute.
Repeat the process until the Big Mac burger attains your preferred temperature.
Use a kitchen thermometer to measure the internal temperature of your burger. We recommend a 165℉ equivalent to 74℃, the safest temperature for meat and dairy products.
Once reheated, reassemble your burger parts (the patty, condiments, and toppings) into a bun and enjoy.

You’ll need to consider the following additional tips if you are dealing with a frozen burger:

Remove the wrapper that was meant to prevent freezer burn.
First, defrost the frozen burger to room temperature before reheating.
Cover the burgers with a damp kitchen towel to maintain moisture and prevent them from drying up.
Continue heating but at a low power, level to allow generous heating. The burger must attain a safe temperature of 165℉.
Follow other steps of reheating an ordinary hamburger.

How Long to Microwave McDonald’s Burger

It takes approximately 1 minute (60 seconds) to reheat MacDonald’s cheeseburger in the microwave. The process can be done at 30 seconds to allow flipping.

Flipping allows even heating and eliminates uneven hot spots in the burger.

Microwave time for reheating McDonald’s burgers varies depending on the following factors:

The internal temperature of your patty

A burger with cheese or meaty parts must attain an internal temperature of 74℃.

Depending on the microwave and the initial starting temperature, some burgers will attain this temperature faster than others.

The microwave’s wattage

Modern microwave ovens are automatic with a reheating command. It goes off immediately after the burger is thoroughly reheated.

You must keep an eye on your burger if you are using the old model to ensure it attains the desired temperature.

The thickness of your burger

A standard burger is 0.5 or 0.75 inches thick and takes roughly 1 minute to reheat evenly under high or medium power.

A thicker burger will take longer to reheat under the same conditions.

Personal preference

How hot do you like your burger? Relatively warm or hot enough? You can adjust the reheating period based on your preference, less or more than a minute.

Storage conditions

Frozen burgers require prior defrosting than the actual reheating. This means it takes more than 60 seconds to reheat a frozen burger.

Burgers at room temperature will take 60 seconds to heat efficiently.

Safety Tips for Microwaving McDonald’s Burger

Safety concerns might hold you back from reheating leftovers or take-out burgers in the microwave.

The following safety tips guarantee you great results:

Use a microwave-safe plate, preferably glass or ceramic, to reheat food in the microwave. Only reheat burgers in their packaging wrappers or boxes if it has a microwave-safe symbol.
Line the microwave-safe plate with a paper towel to absorb excess grease that will otherwise soil your appliance.
Disassemble your burger by separating the bun from the patty; otherwise, reheating them together leaves the bun soggy.
Flip your burger at 30-minute intervals to ensure even heating.
Use a kitchen thermometer to monitor the burger’s internal temperature, especially if it has meaty or dairy parts. Cheese and meat burgers must attain the recommended safe temperature of 74℃.
Do not overstack hamburgers when reheating them in the microwave; otherwise, heat will not penetrate through the many layers.
Ensure that the burger you intend to reheat was previously stored under safe conditions and frozen in an air-tight container. A cheeseburger should be refrigerated within 2 hours.
Leave the burger to rest for 2 minutes for the excess heat to settle to avoid burning your hands when reassembling the bun or eating.
You can use burger buddy sandwich holders to hold hot burgers and to contain any greasy mess.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is It Safe to Microwave McDonald’s Burgers?

It is safe to reheat leftover burgers in the microwave rather than consuming it cold. High microwave heat destroys any harmful bacteria present on the burger patty.

You can reheat burgers in the microwave provided you observe stipulated safe temperature guidelines. A meaty burger must attain 74℃ internal temperature.

You must also use a microwave-safe container to avoid leaching chemical compounds into your snack. Most take-out boxes without a microwave-safe symbol contain harmful ink that melts into your burger when heated.

Use burger holders to handle microwaved burgers to avoid burning your hands.

Can You Microwave McDonald’s Burger Boxes?

You can only microwave a burger box that has a microwave-safe symbol. Such burger boxes are made of carton board and are free from metal and toxic plastics.

The burger take-out boxes are single-use and should be disposed of immediately after microwaving them.

However, we recommend that you transfer your burger from the take-out box to a microwave-safe plate and follow the abovementioned steps to reheat your favorite McDonald’s.

Microwaving burgers in the take-out boxes trap moisture leaving the burger soggy.

Reheating stacked burgers in their take-out boxes might also not give the best results because some layers end up unevenly heated.

Burger wrappers should never be microwaved since they contain wax and plastic, which melt under high temperatures and leach toxins into your snack.

To wrap it up

You can reheat a cold burger in the microwave provided you use a microwave-safe plate and follow temperature and time guidelines keenly.

You should deconstruct stacked burgers to allow consistent heating. It is advisable to ensure meat and dairy burgers attain a safe internal temperature of 74℃.

Condiments and toppings should be removed from the burger before placing it in the microwave.

You can use a burger buddy sandwich holder to handle hot, greasy burgers from the microwave.