How do I cook vegetables in a microwave?

Steaming vegetables in a microwave properly — timing, water and covering — and why it retains more nutrients than boiling.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 10 min
Read: 2 min

Short answer

Put the vegetables in a covered bowl with a tablespoon or two of water and microwave in short bursts, stirring between. It is effectively steaming, and because they are not sitting in water, it retains more nutrients and flavour than boiling.

A microwave steams vegetables rather than boiling them, which means the water-soluble vitamins stay in the food rather than going down the sink. It is also the fastest method, and the main mistake is treating it like boiling and adding too much water.

What you'll need

Microwave-safe bowl
Plate or vented lid
Water
Kitchen paper (optional)

Step by step

Cut the vegetables to an even size.Uneven pieces cook unevenly, which is more noticeable in a microwave than in a pan.
Put them in a microwave-safe bowl with one or two tablespoons of water.Not covered in water — you are steaming, not boiling. Too much water defeats the point.
Cover with a plate or a vented lid.The cover traps the steam. Leave a gap or use a vent so pressure cannot build.
Cook in short bursts, stirring between them.Two minutes, stir, another minute or two. Microwaves heat unevenly, and stirring evens it out.
Start with less time than you think and test.Overcooked microwave vegetables collapse quickly. You can always add thirty seconds.
Let it stand covered for a minute before serving.Residual heat finishes the cooking evenly, exactly as with rice.
Drain and season with salt, fat and acid.Plain steamed vegetables need finishing — butter or oil, salt, and a squeeze of lemon.
For frozen vegetables, cook from frozen with no added water.They carry enough ice to steam themselves.

Tips

Approximate timings for 200g: broccoli or beans 3–4 minutes, carrots 4–5, peas 2–3, spinach 1–2. Wattage varies, so treat these as starting points.
Damp kitchen paper over the bowl works as a cover if you have no lid.
Never microwave in a sealed container. Steam pressure needs somewhere to go.

Common mistakes

Adding too much water — It boils rather than steams, and the nutrients and flavour end up in the water.
Not stirring — Microwaves heat unevenly, so some pieces overcook while others stay raw.
Sealing the container completely — Steam pressure builds with nowhere to escape.

Questions people ask

Does microwaving destroy nutrients?

Less than boiling does. Because the vegetables sit in very little water and cook quickly, more water-soluble vitamins stay in the food rather than leaching out.

How much water should I add?

One or two tablespoons for a bowl of vegetables. You are creating steam, not boiling them. Frozen vegetables need none at all.