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How long to steam vegetables

How long to steam vegetables

0:00
5
Minutes for broccoli · florets
2 cm
Water in the pan · not touching the basket
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Steaming times for broccoli, carrots, green beans, asparagus and more, timed from the moment the lid goes on.

Cook to temperature, not to timeSteaming runs a minute or two longer than boiling, because steam gives up its heat more gently than water does. Keep the vegetables in a single layer: a piled basket steams unevenly and the pieces underneath finish minutes before those on top.

Timed from the moment the lid goes on over water that is already steaming, in a single layer.

More veg times

Common questions

Why does steaming take longer than boiling?

Water carries heat into food far more efficiently than steam does, even though both sit at 100 °C. Boiling water is in direct contact with every surface; steam has to condense on the vegetable first before it gives up its heat. That is why the same broccoli is 4 minutes boiled and 5 steamed.

How much water goes in the pan?

About 2 cm, and it must not touch the basket. If the water reaches the vegetables you are boiling them, not steaming them. Check it on anything cooking longer than ten minutes, because a small pan can run dry.

Can I steam without a steamer basket?

Yes. A metal colander over a pan with a tight lid works, and so does a heatproof plate resting on a couple of balls of foil. The only requirements are that the water cannot reach the food and the steam cannot escape.

Does steaming really keep more vitamins?

For the water soluble ones, yes, and the difference is real. Vitamin C and the B group leach into boiling water and get poured down the sink; in a steamer very little liquid touches the food. It is the main practical argument for steaming over boiling.

Egg times come from the thermal-diffusion equation for a spherical egg published by Charles D. H. Williams (University of Exeter), calibrated so a large fridge-cold egg at sea level matches the times cooks actually use. Size, starting temperature and altitude then follow from the physics. Treat the result as a very good starting point, not a guarantee, because pans, hobs and eggs all vary.