We independently evaluate all of our recommendations. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. What to Buy Kitchen Tools The Best Steamer Baskets for Fast and Healthy Meals, According to Our Tests Our top performers make it easy to cook veggies, fish, dumplings, and more without oil or oven. By Nick DeSimone Nick DeSimone Nick DeSimone is a pasta-obsessed vegetarian chef who spent nearly 10 years in restaurants before becoming a food writer. They review kitchen products for Food & Wine and love plant-based and Southern Italian cuisines. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 8, 2024 In This Article View All In This Article Our Top Picks Reviews Our Favorite Steamer Basket Our Steamer Basket Tests Factors to Consider FAQ Other Steamer Baskets We Tested Our Expertise Photo: Food & Wine / Amazon When you think of steaming, you might conjure an image of mushy, unseasoned broccoli. But this doesn't have to be the case. The cooking method is a fast and easy way to cook all kinds of vegetables (and dumplings, chicken, fish, and more) while maintaining their texture. Steaming doesn't require oil or the oven, and it's better than boiling or blanching at making crisp-tender veggies — as long as you don't overcook them. You can even impart extra flavor by adding flavorful ingredients to your steaming water, like onions, herbs, and spices, or steam with wine for intensely flavorful and perfectly flaky fish. Steaming is also simple, but you do need one specialized tool: A steaming basket. This conveniently slotted container holds food above boiling water in a covered pan, allowing it to cook without touching the liquid. The best steamer baskets are simple to use, easy to clean, and don't cost a lot of money. After we tested the most popular models on the market for performance, capacity, and ease of cleaning, a few models emerged as clear winners. Our Top Picks Best Overall: KitchenAid Universal Steamer Basket at Amazon $20 Jump to Review Best Value: Joseph Joseph Bloom Steamer Basket at Amazon $12 Jump to Review Best Silicone: OXO Good Grips Silicone Steamer at Amazon $20 Jump to Review Best Versatile: SALE Consevisen Steamer Basket Stainless Steel at Amazon $13 $8 Jump to Review Best Large-Capacity: SALE Martha Stewart Stainless Steel Folding Steamer Insert at Amazon $13 $10 Jump to Review Best Overall KitchenAid Universal Steamer Basket PHOTO: Amazon $20 at Amazon Pros We loved the versatility and ease of use this basket provided. Cons The perforated metal "petals" can be tough to clean. Everything about KitchenAid's classic metal steamer just works. The sides open out farther and can sit flatter than other models, making it a good fit in large or small pots (as well as pressure cookers). In a big cooking vessel, this also increases the capacity so you can load it up with lots of dumplings and buns. The handle extends and retracts smoothly to make more room in a deep pot or let the lid fit on a shallow one. This steamer costs slightly more than average, but there's not a very wide price range out there and we say the extra dollar or three is worth it. Our only complaint is that we had more trouble cleaning this and other metal steamers than silicone ones. The overlapping "petals" can hide and hold onto stuck food bits, even after a trip through the dishwasher. Material: Stainless steel | Minimum Diameter: 6.5 inches | Maximum Diameter: 10 inches | Leg Height: 0.75 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes Best Value Joseph Joseph Bloom Steamer Basket PHOTO: Amazon $12 at Amazon $12 at Bloomingdales $12 at Macy's Pros This inexpensive, flexible silicone steamer is cute and cleans up in a breeze. Cons The folding "petals" make it hard to load and unload from the cooking vessel, and it's not pressure cooker–compatible. The Joseph Joseph Bloom steamer features colorful, flexible sides that fold up to fit snugly in different sizes of pot. It's a clever design feature, and it also looks like a cute little cauliflower holding and cooking your food for you. The plastic and silicone materials are impressively easy to rinse and wipe off; it's dishwasher-safe, but we didn't even need to bother in testing. And on top of that, it was the single cheapest steamer of the bunch. The design unfortunately also has its negatives. When you place it in the pot, this steamer's folding sides form a "cage" around the food. You can reach in with a pair of tongs but it's not easy to insert, remove, or move items around after the steamer goes in the cooking vessel. You pretty much have to load it on the counter before lowering it into the pot, but the fold-up sides can then end up smashing dumplings together and making them stick. The Bloom is a better option for something like chopped vegetables than items that have to be precisely spaced out. Keep in mind as well that the plastic material is heat-safe only up to 230°F, which is perfectly fine for standard steaming but doesn't work for higher settings in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Materials: Polypropylene, silicone | Minimum Diameter: 5.5 inches | Maximum Diameter: 10.25 inches | Leg Height: 0.88 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes Best Silicone OXO Good Grips Silicone Steamer PHOTO: Amazon $20 at Amazon $9 at Walmart $20 at Ace Hardware Pros This easy-to-clean model is an excellent value that can handle steaming and pressure cooking. Cons The floppy material means that food won't stay put during cooking. Silicone is the way to go for versatility in a steamer. The flexible material can squish into almost any size pot, and even sticky residues or dried-on dumpling bits slide right off under the slightest scrubbing. It's also a lot worse at conducting heat than metal, which is a good thing: Unlike with a steel steamer, you can grab the handles with your bare hands and not get any burns. The OXO model is also an excellent choice to use in a pressure cooker, as its 100-percent-silicone material can handle over 400°F. At its price, this basket is a great silicone value. We did find its material to be especially flexible and even wobbly during cooking, which made our broccoli tumble around while steaming. That could be an issue with sticky or delicate ingredients. Material: Silicone | Diameter: 8.5 inches | Leg Height: 1 inch | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes Best Versatile Consevisen Steamer Basket Stainless Steel PHOTO: Amazon $13 $8 at Amazon View on Consevisen.com Pros This inexpensive steel steamer basket saves your pans with protective silicone feet. Cons It was less durable than other steel models in our tests. Everybody knows the rule: Don't use metal tools in nonstick cookware! Well, that applies not only to spoons and spatulas but also steamers. The bare metal feet of the standard stainless steel model are apt to scratch up delicate pots and pans. Consevisen's inexpensive version solves that problem with simple silicone covers that can go from pot to table. (They also make the bottom of the basket sit a bit higher up, giving more room for steaming liquid.) The collapsible handle in the middle — which is plastic rather than silicone — has a nice design, with a hook you can grab with a fork or spoon when it's hard to reach. Where the Consevisen model disappointed was in our durability tests. After a few drops on the countertop, we noted dings, and that the "petals" didn't hold together as tightly. Materials: Stainless steel, silicone, plastic | Minimum Diameter: 5.5 inches | Maximum Diameter: 8.5 inches | Leg Height: 1 inch | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes Best Large-Capacity Martha Stewart Stainless Steel Folding Steamer Insert PHOTO: Bed Bath & Beyond $13 $10 at Amazon $21 at Wayfair $23 at Michaels Pros This simple steamer is well-built and extra-large in size. Cons It might be too big for even medium-sized pots. The Martha Stewart steamer was one of the largest we tested: It fit a whopping 23 dumplings! It's a good choice for someone who cooks often for crowds but doesn't have a lot of storage space. It's very sturdy, with thick metal sides and a durable handle, and it can extend out as wide as 11 inches in diameter. The feet are extra-tall, too, to make room for plenty of cooking liquid and ensure you'll never run dry. On the downside, this steamer can't squeeze down into small pots to cook only a single serving. You need a vessel that's 7 inches across at minimum, and you may find that the sides fold up so you'll have to force it into the bottom of even a large pot. Materials: Stainless steel, silicone | Minimum Diameter: 7 inches | Maximum Diameter: 11 inches | Leg Height: 1.25 inches | Dishwasher-Safe: Yes Our Favorite Steamer Basket The KitchenAid Universal Steamer Basket, snagged our top spot for outstanding performance in our tests and easy-to-use versatility. For a flexible, metal-free design, we recommend the OXO Good Grips Silicone Steamer, which can fit into any pot or pressure cooker. Our Steamer Basket Tests We chose 10 steamer basket models to evaluate for this roundup, putting them all through a series of identical tests. Broccoli test: We steamed a pound of broccoli florets in a 3-quart saucepan, noting how easy each basket was to insert and remove from the pan without spilling. We also looked at whether the broccoli cooked evenly throughout the batch. Dumpling test: As a test of capacity, we put each basket into a 5- or 5.5-quart Dutch oven and cooked as many frozen dumplings as would fit without touching. We recorded the total number of dumplings, whether they cooked evenly, and whether they stuck to each other or the steamer itself during the cooking process. Durability tests: To simulate long-term use (and abuse), we opened and closed the steamers 20 times, dropped them a foot high onto a countertop five times, and dropped them onto the floor from hip height five times. We then looked for any dents, dings, loosening of springs and hinges, and any other damage. Cleanup: After each cooking test, we hand-washed the steamers, looking for stuck-on bits of food and rating how easy they were to remove. We also evaluated overall design washability and whether folding sides and collapsable handles were apt to hold on to food. After completing our other tests, we revealed the retail prices of the steamers to consider value. At the time of testing, the 10 steamer baskets ranged in cost from $10 to $30, with an average of $17. Factors to Consider Material Steamer baskets made to sit inside pots are generally made of either stainless steel or silicone. Both materials have positives and negatives. Steel heats up faster and retains heat longer, steel steamers often have a flat bottom with room for lots of items, and they can typically fold flatter for storage. But food is more likely to stick to steel, and the tiny holes are a pain to scrub. Flexible silicone can contort to fit just about any pot or pan, and it's heat-proof enough to use in high-temperature pressure cookers. It's also easy to clean, but the floppy nature might not hold items and place and can let delicate dumplings stick together. Size Executive chef Lydia Solano of Bakery Bar in New Orleans says size is the most important factor when shopping for a new steamer basket. “It is important to make sure you are buying a steamer basket that fits a pot you already have. Since you cannot put the steamer basket directly on the stove, you will need a pot to place it in and want it to sit properly above the water in the pot.” Larger baskets are great for big families or regular jobs like steaming a lot of dumplings for a crowd. Still, if you plan to use your basket only occasionally or for a smaller household, a smaller basket is a better way to go. Cleanup Some baskets, especially those made of silicone, can easily be wiped clean, while others take more time and elbow grease. Stainless steel models with a petal design can be the toughest to clean since the moving pieces can trap food bits between them. several pieces move around. Most steamer baskets are dishwasher-safe, too, though that may not be necessary for light jobs. Over time, trips through the dishwasher can degrade hinges and springs and damage metal steamers. Frequently Asked Questions How do you use a steamer basket? Start with a pot or pan that will fit your steamer correctly, and add water or other cooking liquid to a level just below the bottom of the steamer. Place it over medium to high heat and bring to a light boil to generate steam. Add food to the steamer basket, extend its legs if needed, and place it in the pan. Cover, and cook until your food is done. (When steaming for longer periods, make sure to keep an eye on the liquid level and add more if it gets low and threatens to boil dry.) How do you steam without a steamer basket? It's a little more awkward than using a dedicated steamer basket, but you can use a metal mesh strainer in a pinch. Use a pot with a lid that can hold the strainer in place above the bottom, add an inch or two of water, and proceed as above. This won't work as well as a real steamer setup, as the lid won't make a good seal for the steam and the curved strainer can lead to uneven cooking —but it can be good enough in a steaming emergency. What's the best steamer basket for an Instant Pot? An Instant Pot works just like a pressure cooker: It seals in pressure to create higher-temperature steam and accelerate the cooking process. While water boils at 212°F at sea level, an Instant Pot can raise that to 250°F or more. (This is basically the opposite of high-altitude cooking, which has to take into account water boiling at lower temperature.) Most steamers can handle Instant Pot heat, but some — especially ones with plastic parts — might warp or even melt. Check your manufacturer's instructions and don't exceed the maximum temperature for your steamer. What is the best material for a steamer basket? The best material for a steamer basket depends on your preferences. Generally, the best two will be flexible silicone or durable stainless steel. Silicone offers easy cleanup and flexibility that can fit more sizes of pans, but its lack of rigidity won't hold items securely in place. Stainless steel is more durable but is usually harder to clean and can’t adapt to as wide a range of pot sizes. Other Steamer Baskets We Tested Strong Contenders Farberware Professional Vegetable Steamer ($16 at Amazon) This good-sized steamer has a very traditional steel design and worked nicely in testing. It just didn't particularly stand out, either. Our major negative is that its semi-collapsible handle sits fairly high and might block the lids of smaller cooking vessels. Starfrit Stainless Steel Vegetable Steamer ($12 at Amazon) A small and inexpensive steamer, the Starfrit fits nicely in a 3-quart pot but potentially not something much larger. The handle also doesn't have a loop for lifting out with a fork or tongs, which makes it easy to spill. What Didn't Make the List There's not a heck of a lot of difference in design from one steamer to another, so it came down to small details to separate winners from losers. All-metal feet — which can scratch pots — and small, all-metal handles — which are tough to grab and can burn fingers — were two aspects that really lowered scores in our book. Our Expertise Food & Wine staff writer Nick DeSimone compiled this roundup using the insights we collected during our lab tests. Nick has worked in professional kitchens for nearly a decade and is familiar with all types of kitchen equipment, and also spoke to three culinary professionals for their insights. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit