How do I steam vegetables without a steamer?
Improvising a steamer from a colander, a sieve or a plate, and the water level that decides whether you are steaming or boiling.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
Put 2 to 3cm of water in a pan, raise a colander, sieve or heatproof bowl above it on a trivet or upturned saucer, and put a well-fitting lid on. The food must sit above the water — if the water touches it, you are boiling.
Steaming is boiling water cooking food with its vapour rather than its liquid, which keeps colour, texture and water-soluble vitamins in the food rather than in the pan. Nothing about it requires a dedicated steamer.
Step by step
- Use 2 to 3cm of water.Enough to last the cooking time without boiling dry, shallow enough to stay below the food. Check it if you are steaming for more than ten minutes.
- Raise the food clear of the water.A metal colander or sieve sitting in the pan rim, a heatproof bowl on an upturned saucer, or a plate resting on three balls of scrunched foil.
- Use a well-fitting lid.The steam has to stay in the pan. A lid that does not fit means the pan boils dry and the food never gets hot enough.
- Bring the water to the boil before the food goes in.Steam needs to be present from the start. Starting cold means the food sits warming in humid air for several minutes.
- Do not crowd the food.Steam has to circulate. A packed colander cooks unevenly, with the outside done and the middle still raw.
- Time by vegetable.Broccoli and green beans 4 to 6 minutes, carrot batons 6 to 8, new potatoes 15 to 20, asparagus 3 to 5. Test with the point of a knife rather than the clock.
- Season after, not before.Salt on food in a steamer draws water to the surface and drips through. Butter, salt and lemon go on afterwards.
- Use a lidded frying pan for a shallow steam.A splash of water in a wide pan with a lid steams greens, fish fillets and dumplings very effectively and needs no rig at all.
- Steam in the microwave for one or two portions.A covered bowl with a tablespoon of water, three to five minutes. It is genuinely steaming and it is faster than heating a pan.
- Keep the water and use it.The pan liquid picks up flavour and can go into a sauce or gravy rather than down the sink.
Tips
- If the water touches the food you are boiling it, and the flavour goes into the pan.
- A wide lidded frying pan with a splash of water is the easiest improvised steamer of all.
- Do not salt food in the steamer — it draws moisture out and drips away.
Common mistakes
- Filling the pan so the water reaches the food — The food is then boiling in the bottom and steaming at the top, which cooks it unevenly and leaches colour and flavour into the water. The whole benefit of steaming is that the food never sits in liquid.
- Steaming without a proper lid — The steam escapes as fast as it forms, so the food never reaches steaming temperature and the pan boils dry. A plate or a sheet of foil works if a lid does not fit.
If it doesn't work
Vegetables watery and pale
Cause: Water touching the food — Fix: Use only 2 to 3cm and raise the food higher.
Pan boiled dry and scorched
Cause: Too little water, or lid loose — Fix: Top up during long steams and use a well-fitting lid.
Outside cooked, middle raw
Cause: Crowded — Fix: Steam in a single layer, or in two batches.
Taking far longer than expected
Cause: Lid not sealing or heat too low — Fix: Keep the water at a proper boil and the lid firmly on.
Food soggy on the base
Cause: Sitting in condensate on a plate — Fix: Use a colander or sieve so liquid drains away.
Questions people ask
Is steaming better than boiling?
For most vegetables, yes. Water-soluble vitamins and flavour leach into boiling water and are poured away; steaming keeps them in the food. It also gives better colour and a firmer texture.
Can I steam in a microwave?
Yes, and for one or two portions it is the quickest method. A covered bowl with a tablespoon of water for three to five minutes genuinely steams the food rather than just heating it.