A microwave–plasma interaction experiment for laboratory courses is described. The experiment employs a conventional microwave oven to generate breakdown plasmas over a pressure range of 0.02 to 36 Torr in argon. Temporally resolved measurements of forward, reflected, and transmitted microwave power are reported, as well as plasma optical emission measurements. Results indicate a uniform plasma of electron density less than 2×1010 cm−3 can be generated with over 300 W of peak microwave power.