LG NeoChef 56L review: Australia’s chonkiest microwave

Where to buy

LG knows what it's doing when it comes to home appliances. In fact, it took home 2 wins and was a finalist twice in this year's Finder Retail Awards. Released in 2020, the LG NeoChef Smart Inverter 56L Microwave remains Australia's largest capacity microwave with 56 litres and 1200 Watts of power – a "chonk" as the cool kids would say.

I spent some time using the NeoChef 56L and found they're not wrong when they say bigger is better.

LG NeoChef 56L review: Design

Image: Dylan Crismale/Finder

The NeoChef 56L is, as you you'd expect, a bit of a beast. At just over 60cm long, 34cm high and a depth of 49cm it's going to take up a fair amount of space in the average kitchen.

The door glass is tinted and the touch panel display sits on the right of the appliance. It features a discrete clock display with white lighting, which is easy on the eyes during midnight snacking.

Below that you'll find 4 control buttons for its various settings, numeric pad, power level and timer buttons, and dual stop/clear and start/quickstart buttons. It also has a child safety lock, which is handy if you've got little ones. A push-to-open button sits at the bottom right-hand side and the door opens out to the left. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The interior features an easy clean coating (which claims to eliminate 99.99% of harmful bacteria) and a bright LED light so you can see inside during the cooking process.

Image: Dylan Crismale/Finder

You've got a clear view of the inside while cooking is underway while the large tinted glass screen doubles as a great mirror first thing in the morning (yikes).

It has a pleasing matte black finish and overall feels like quality making it a welcome addition to the household kitchen.

Performance

The NeoChef 56L is an easy plug-and-play set-up but due to its bulk and weight (14.8kg) I suggest you have a second person on hand for the unboxing. Once you've got it where you like, unpack the glass turntable (carefully) and it should rest right in place on the track. Turn it on at the power point, set the timer and you're off to the races.

Apart from the base settings you've got the choice between sensor cooking, reheating, inverter cooking and inverter defrosting.

Early on in the process, it was hard to find the right settings for a few simple dishes. This included my breakfast staple, porridge, which exploded. Twice. Turns out it doesn't need to be heated for 2 minutes on high when you're working with 1200W.

At least now I can really vouch for how easy it is to clean.

I also encountered a few scenarios such as defrosting meals that weren't well-heated all the way through. However, I chalked this up to user error. Fun fact: the manual is your friend! In this case you should definitely use the proper inverter defrost settings to get your desired outcome.

Some adjusting is to be expected. I've found most products in my household have directions for anything between 850–1100W microwaves. Once you get a feel for the power settings it becomes a lot easier to match the power level to the instructions on the back of the packet of whatever you're cooking.

Image: Dylan Crismale/Finder

LG NeoChef 56L review: Features

The appliance's Smart Inverter does a decent job of distributing the heat evenly throughout your food as well as defrosting evenly.

Reheating works like a charm and with such a large size, you can just about cook anything you can think of. You can even check out LG's online CookBook with nearly 20 recipes for inspiration.

Image: Dylan Crismale/Finder

Apart from melting cheese, mug cakes, reheating and defrosting, I decided to give (of all things) cooking pasta a go.

The suggested recipe calls for spaghetti in a flat dish, which I didn't have. But several online recipes suggested penne in a large bowl would do just fine. And it did! Although it's got a 20-minute cooking time with the sensor setting, so you might be tempted to just stick with the stove method instead.

Image: Dylan Crismale/Finder Move over pasta al forno it's pasta al microwave time. Apologies to the Republic of Italy and my Nonna.

A feature I absolutely loved: The extra 30+ seconds button. It's a godsend when you've just put something on to cook and think you were a bit short.

The kitchen timer is not the most reliable feature (although I understand it's not a key feature for a microwave). For example, say you've microwaved something, the timer will chirp on and off in intervals seemingly endlessly. But if you're just using the timer function (say you've got something on in the oven), it will play a melody for a few seconds when the timer ends and then remain quiet.

Should you buy it?

If you've got the space, regularly use your microwave and are after a trusted brand, it could be well worth your time investing in this magnificent beast. Especially if you're cooking or reheating large meals or have a fair few people in your household.

However, compared to other inverter microwaves in the market, the NeoChef 56L sits at the higher end of the scale when it comes to price. For a couple hundred more and you could get a decent convection microwave with a grill or an all-in-one device.

If you want all the features of this NeoChef then check out the 23L model we think is the best small microwave.

If you're after a large microwave but 56L is too much, the Westinghouse WMF4102SA 40L 1100W Microwave ($259 RRP) is a cheaper option.

LG NeoChef 56L review: Pricing and availability

Price

RRP: $469.00

Where to buy

From $461.00 at eBay

Check availability at Amazon

Check price at Appliances Online

Specifications

How we tested

The NeoChef 56L Smart Inverter Microwave Oven was tested over the course of a couple months with regular use in a home kitchen. During the course of testing, we tested cooking, defrosting, and reheating. The author has written hundreds of articles at Finder comparing everything from travel to utilities.

The NeoChef 56L Smart Inverter Microwave Oven was provided by LG.

Images:Dylan Crismale