Review: The Anyday Square Dish Collection Is Effective And Fun, But Don't Sell Your Oven

If anyone's going to give their microwave the side-eye, it's this writer. I've been suspicious of microwaves for decades, ever since going on a homesteading kick in my early twenties and reading allllll kinds of crunchy books about their evils. I avoided my microwave whenever possible, knew nothing about things like adjusting power levels or cleaning it appropriately, and all but draped little lead bibs in front of my ovaries when I had to turn it on. My stance has softened somewhat since my uncle brought home his Geiger counter and checked the radiation levels of his microwave (answer: totally safe), but when Anyday asked us to do a review of two dishes from their new Square Dish Collection, I was still skeptical.

Well, I was wrong. Although you won't find these dishes a total replacement for your stovetop or oven, I found they dramatically sped up essential cooking processes and helped me make a full (and lovely) meal in a fraction of the time it would otherwise have taken. To be fair, Anyday doesn't bill themselves as replacing ovens; they just want to provide an alternative to labor-intensive, old-fashioned cooking, and they're pretty good at it.

True, the recipes I made definitely betrayed their microwave-forward origins and I'd hesitate to serve them to the King — like much of my cooking, tbh. But they in no way bothered me or my family, so if you're looking for a way to expedite weeknight meals, as well as an easier way to store and reheat food, you will probably find these dishes to your liking.

Anyday bills itself as "all-in-one microwave cookware to make meals faster, simpler, and more hands-off." The schtick: You can cook, store, and reheat food all in the same container. They are completely microwave safe, including the metal lid — which, speaking as someone who has definitely left a fork in the microwave before and is now terrified of all metal, is kind of crazy. As it turns out, the truth about metal in the microwave is not quite so simple. Some kinds are totally safe, which is why the walls of your appliance can be made of metal. You simply have to avoid items that can create an electrical arc, either because of their shape or composition.

Moving on from the science, Anyday's products are also oven-safe up to 500 F for the glass base and 400 F for the lid. They also claim to be freezer-safe, though I was not able to test that in the two days during which I conducted this trial. However, I can confirm that the containers are leakproof, and that the silicone seal around the edge and plunger that goes through the top of the lid are tight-fitting. I can also confirm that they are leakproof, stackable, and dishwasher-safe.

As stated, many folks have historically been really concerned about microwaving food, but it turns out there's some compelling evidence in favor. According to Harvard Health, some nutrients may survive the cooking process better in the microwave, assuming a quick cooking time, among other factors. How you feel about that is, of course, up to you.

Anyday cookware is available on their site, as well as some third-party sites, such as Amazon and Williams Sonoma. On their site, the Large Square Dish costs $52 and the Medium Square Dish $42 — these are the two dishes we were given in exchange for an honest review. You can also get a set of two Small Square Dishes for $48. All of these prices are without discount, though their site is, as of the time of this writing, offering discounts on several items.

They also offer several round options: The Extra Large Dish, the Large Deep Dish, the Large Shallow Dish, the Medium Deep Dish, the Medium Shallow Dish, and the Small Dish (which again comes in a set of two). Additional items include freezer trays, drain racks, and other sundries. You can also find many of their items in bundles. Most of the dishes come in three or four color options: kale (which I got), blueberry, black sesame, and onyx.

As for Amazon, if you search "microwave containers for cooking," you will find their items in the top few rows of organic results. You will also find several alternatives of varying prices. Amazon does appear to offer some discounts. For instance, the two medium round dishes, bundled, cost $69.99 on Amazon, whereas its full retail price on the site is $80, the latter of which is on sale for $60 as of the time of this writing. So as with anything else, you'll likely have to compare. Williams Sonoma also offered prices similar to the website. Never having been able to afford something from there in my life, I am shocked.

All right, time for the nitty-gritty: How was it to cook in the Large Square Dish? In a word: quick and easy. Their site offers tons of recipes to help you get started with using the dish, and I chose coq au vin. Since it's a dish I'm quite familiar with making, I knew I could do a good comparison. In general, this recipe provided clear instructions for ingredients, cooking techniques, and changing the power level of your microwave. I'd never done that before, and their site walked me through it just fine.

As for the cooking itself, it took an hour total. I marinated the chicken in wine sauce, cut up the veggies, and then cooked it all, flipping and stirring halfway through. I like how there was a built-in cover for marinating in the form of the lid; some of us have naughty cats and marauding dogs, or just errant pet hair, so a tight-fitting lid was a nice luxury. The coq au vin was done cooking in roughly the amount of time stated (I think I added three minutes), and had a nice flavor, with tender vegetables and a thickened sauce. The only complaint I have about microwave cooking versus the oven is that, without the proper browning action of meat and veggies, the sauce looked kind of purple from the wine. Which, ya know. Not ideal, but better than no coq au vin.

While cooking, check whether the little steam vent plunger on the seal is supposed to be up or down, or whether the lid should be on at all. These differ by recipe.

Microwave cooking is not what I'd call intuitive. There are all kinds of rules about what you can put in them. You can't necessarily whip food in and out; sometimes you have to let it stand after microwaving. And some dishes really do better with analog cooking methods. Reheated soup is often better on the stovetop, for instance. While reheating with the Large Square Dish, however, I had the most intuitive experience yet.

After the first taste test, I covered the dish and pushed down the plunger on the lid. I then put the dish in the fridge and left it until it was completely chilled. Then I popped it back in the microwave and simply reheated, plunger up, until it was steaming again. I like how you can keep the lid on, with the plunger up to let steam out, while you're reheating food in the dish. Splatter is a common problem in our microwave, so we always have to use that round plastic lid with holes in it, which often isn't the right size and falls off as the tray rotates. It was a huge relief to plonk the lid on top for refrigerating and pop it in the 'wave as is.

So, how good was the food after reheating? Just as good as the first time around. It changed the consistency of the chicken a little bit, but no more than any other leftover reheating process. Also, I love that while the part of the glass that's touching the food does get quite hot, the other part stays surprisingly cool.

For the Medium Square Dish, I chose a dessert: maple pecan bars. With the exception of the pecans, these were made with inexpensive ingredients you'd already have lying around. The nice thing is, the recipe offers lots of ideas for ingredient swaps so that you can use what you have on hand, which is what I ended up doing, switching out pecans for chopped peanuts and almonds. The lid-off recipe also offers notes for making a quicker version of the bars, though at roughly 45 minutes with no sweltering oven on and less than 10 minutes total prep time, I did not find the original version onerous.

When choosing the recipe, make sure choose how many servings you want in the dropdown at the top of the recipe, and then you'll see which dish to use on the righthand side. Alternatively, you can just play with the dropdown options until you see the dish of the size you want to use, which is what I did since I knew I was using the Medium Square Dish.

If I have one complaint, it's that the recipes could be a bit clearer. Sometimes getting a bunch of content up can lead to slight missteps in editing (not going to throw stones in that glass house), but there were a couple points of confusion in both recipes. For instance, in this one, it was unclear which butter — in the filling or in the crust — was meant to be melted, so I was forced to guess. But as everything came out fine in the end, I'm not overly fussed.

I have, of necessity, less to say about reheating in the Medium Square Dish, because I made cookies, which do not need warming back. However, in the interest of science, I did opt to see how they would take a reheating, since I do sometimes like to warm dessert up in the oven. I am happy to report that this recipe was nice when rewarmed, with the chocolate chips melting fine and the cookie staying crunchy. However, it may get hot again, so make sure you hate oven mitts nearby if you need. This goes for all stages of the cooking process.

Perhaps my favorite thing about these dishes is the ready-on tops, though. The bars don't need to go in the fridge, but they do still need to be protected from my carbs-obsessed cat, who has been known to tear into a plastic bag and eat half a challah in the night. (This cat is only 10 pounds. Some things cannot be explained.) Once the cookies were completely cooled, I plopped the lid on top (instant cat-proofing!), pushed down the plunger, and set it on the countertop, where it will live until we're done eating the bars ... which won't take long.

It must be said that with the lid on, which I first tested with a full batch of bars in the base, the dish looked really nice. I can totally see making a dessert in the base, then either cooling it and putting the lid on (cookies) or keeping the lid on for warmth (cobbler) and taking it to someone's house as an offering.

When you are reviewing a product given for free, it is always a challenge to weigh the actual merits of the item with the necessity of being honest. I was delighted to be able to try a new cooking method, but going into it, I was dubious and worried about whether I could give a good report. Truly miraculous kitchen revolutions are few and far between. At the end of the day, though, I would recommend the Anyday Square Dish Collection wholeheartedly, and will probably buy a set of Small Square Dishes as well.

Julia Child's thoughts on microwaves are that she wouldn't be without one, but it doesn't replace most culinary techniques for her. I have to say, I agree. I'm still not the world's biggest fan of microwave cooking, and given the time, I will choose to make coq au vin and cookie bars in the oven. However, I often do not have the time, resulting in weird quesadillas and steamed zucchini followed by — okay, I'm just going to admit something here — candy when my children request it. (Please don't judge me too harshly.) So it feels great to be given an option that allows me to make a full pot of meat, vegetables, and sauce as well as a dessert that is, if full of sugar, full of the rich nutrients of nuts as well.

These dishes are an investment, but you do get to do some serious double-dipping: microwave cooking, oven cooking, fridge storage, and freezer storage. That's actually quadruple-dipping, if we're being pedantic. My take: It's definitely worth grabbing a dish and seeing if you like it.