We all have memories of mom or dad staring us down at the dinner table as motivation to finish a plate full of veggies. My parents used to give me lectures on how good broccoli was for my growing body, but it never impressed 10-year-old me. Today, I appreciate that broccoli is jam-packed with vitamins A, C, and K, along with essential minerals like iron, potassium, and calcium. This blog will teach you how to steam broccoli: a base for many delicious recipes.
Broccoli is an efficient way to boost your nutrients for the day, and it can taste great, too! This quick but filling side dish can be prepared and served at your dinner table in under ten minutes, making it the hassle-free option after a long day.
Steaming Broccoli 101
You can cook a broccoli dish in a variety of ways, but gently steaming is the best way to preserve all of the important nutritional value of the vegetable. Learning to steam broccoli will change your meal-prep game entirely! Methods like boiling will decrease the vitamin and mineral content of your cooked broccoli, as the sustenance dilutes into the water. Raw broccoli is full of all the same nutrients, but steaming the vegetable will allow for better absorption of carotenoids (yellowish pigment that exerts antioxidant effects) into the body.
Wash Your Broccoli
Because of their shape, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli are easily contaminated with pesticides and other elements of their environment. Before you start cooking, you’ll want to thoroughly wash all of your broccoli by submerging it into water for a few minutes, occasionally massaging the creases of the florets.
Trim the Florets
Once your head of broccoli is washed, you can trim it into smaller, even-sized pieces. While you can eat the stems of steamed broccoli, many people prefer to cut them off. If you aren’t sure, look for any dry patches at the end of the stem. Be sure to trim that portion off, but the rest is edible!
Don’t Interrupt the Broccoli Steaming Process
The best thing you can do to impact the taste and texture of your broccoli is to not bother it while it’s steaming. Steam is a gentle method of cooking food, so tampering with a closed lid or changing up the ingredient proportions halfway through the cooking process will only harm your final result.
Steaming Method
There are a few ways to prepare this vitamin-packed veggie. Each method for steaming broccoli will enhance the food differently. How you choose to cook your broccoli can impact the taste, texture, and time taken out of your day, so experiment with them all to find your favorite.
Broccoli is a reliable vegetable that cooks the same practically every time once you’ve perfected your method. Our recipes below include fresh broccoli, but if you want to gauge how to steam frozen broccoli, simply add an extra minute to your cooking time.
Skillet
You can, in fact, make steamed broccoli without a steamer. No need to add any fancy tools or complicated steps. Let’s get down to the basics!
1. Fill a skillet with roughly ½ inch of water and bring it to a boil. Be sure not to add too much water to your broccoli skillet or the pieces will come out soggy.
2. Next, add your broccoli and cover the skillet with a lid.
3. Allow broccoli to cook until it reaches the desired level of tenderness. The optimal cook range is between 3-5 minutes.
4. Test your broccoli with a fork. It should be tender but not soggy, limp, or brown in color. 5. Drain skillet and season to taste.
Steamer Basket
Although it may take longer to cook than the skillet, using a steamer basket may be the most straightforward way to steam broccoli.
1. Pour about 1 inch of water into the bottom of a wok or skillet and boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the broccoli florets to your steamer basket and don’t forget to season with salt. 3. Top your wok or skillet with the steamer basket and cook until broccoli is tender. 8-10 minutes.
4. Remove the steaming basket from the stovetop.
Microwave
Use the microwave for a time-efficient way of preparing your broccoli, but it requires constant attention.
1. Add washed broccoli to a microwave-safe bowl. Do NOT dry the broccoli off. You want it wet enough for water to drip to the bottom of the bowl. If there is no water at the bottom of your broccoli bowl, add up to 3 tablespoons of water for moisture.
2. Cover the bowl with a microwave-safe plate.
3. Microwave on high heat for increments of 30 seconds. The full process should take about 3 minutes.
4. Remove broccoli from the microwave and season to taste. Careful, the bowl might be hot!
Instant Pot
Just another thing to experiment with in your instant pot!
1. Place 1 cup of water at the bottom of your instant pot.
2. Add broccoli to the steamer basket and place it inside the instant pot. 3. Close the lid and select the 0 steam setting. This will ensure that the veggies will be done as soon as the pot reaches the right pressure. The pressurization process takes about 10 minutes.
4. Remove broccoli from the instant pot and season to taste.
Steamed Broccoli Serving Recommendations
The general serving size for broccoli is 1 up. This filling serving of broccoli is dense in important nutrients but only has 30 calories, so spice it up with some of your favorite ingredients.
You can find some of the most filling and flavorful steamed broccoli recipes right here. Try Broccoli, Quinoa & Cheddar Muffin Frittatas in the morning or Broccoli & Cheese Tuna Casserole as a high-protein budget meal for dinner.
