A microwave appliance is provided, including a cabinet including a plurality of walls forming a cooking chamber, wherein a plurality of cabinet openings is formed at a front wall. A door is positioned adjacent to the front wall when in a closed position. A lighting system is positioned at one or more of the plurality of cabinet openings. The lighting system includes a circuit board at which a light-emitting diode (LED) is operably coupled. The lighting system includes a diffuser coupled to the circuit board and positioned around the LED. The LED is positioned in adjacent arrangement along the circuit board. The circuit board is positioned on a mount structure configured to attach to the front wall of the cabinet.

A lighting system is provided for illuminating a cooking cavity in a cooking appliance. The lighting system includes a light guide rod configured to guide an illumination and a reflective element optically coupled to the light guide rod for reflecting the illumination from the light guide rod toward the cooking cavity. A guide for insertion of the light guide rod extends longitudinally between an insertion end and a reflective element connection end coupled to the reflective element. The guide defines an inner surface that is tapered, becoming narrower from the insertion end towards the reflective element connection end, for guiding the light guide rod during optical coupling with the reflective element.