To be fair, veggies and seafood are some of the easiest foods to steam, but there are plenty of other steamed recipes out there besides those. For instance, did you know you can make a steamed carrot cake? What about steamed sponge cake or steamed chocolate pudding? Yep. Those are all real things. You’ll find the recipes for them on this list, along with plenty of steamed veggies and steamed seafood, of course. Now, let’s get to it!
1. Steamed Vegetables
Let’s go ahead and get the most obvious recipe out of the way first. This recipe gives you three options for making steamed veggies – in a microwave, on the stove, or in a steamer basket. You can use whatever veggies you like. The standard options are usually carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli, but you can also steam leafy greens, peas, squash, potatoes, and more. Be sure to add the lemon pepper-garlic butter sauce before they finish cooking, though. It gives the veggies such a fantastic flavor.
2. Steamed Carrot Cake
When we think of cakes, we usually think of ovens – and for good reason. After all, the phrase usually is “bake a cake.” However, this delicious carrot cake will never see the inside of an oven. Instead, you’ll steam it on top of the stove. It has the same fantastic carrot cake taste that we all know and (most of us) love, but it’s infinitely softer and moister. That’s because steaming the cake traps the moisture inside it rather than baking it all out and drying it. If you’re looking for the juiciest, tastiest carrot cake in town, this recipe can help you find it.
3. Mediterranean Steamed Salmon
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could make a tasty, nutritious, all-in-one dinner in 30 minutes or less? With this recipe for Mediterranean steamed salmon, you can. The salmon is tender and succulent, and it has plenty of flavor, thanks to the lemons, garlic, white wine, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, and Aleppo pepper. You’ll also get a hefty serving of veggies with this dish. Besides the bed of parsley, there are also green onions and yellow onions for you to enjoy. Add a crusty loaf of bread for dipping in the juices, and you pretty much have a complete meal.
4. Steamed Spinach
Steamed spinach is a flavorful side dish that you can make in a little over 5 minutes. All you’ll need is salt, pepper, garlic, butter, and lemon juice. If you have people in your family who aren’t a huge fan of spinach, go a little heavier on the garlic. It gives it a phenomenal taste that masks the bitterness of the greens.
5. Steamed Rice
I can’t believe I forgot to mention rice when I was talking about typical steamed foods in the introduction! Rice is the quintessential steamed food, and all you’ll need to make it is rice and water. Of course, once it’s done, you might want to add some things to it. I’m a fan of sweet rice. I like to add butter, sugar, and just a dash of milk.
6. Steamed Cabbage
Steamed cabbage takes a bit longer to make than steamed spinach (about 20 minutes total cooking time), but it’s every bit as delicious. I think this cabbage is a very appetizing side dish with a few tablespoons of butter, garlic, salt, and pepper and garnished with dried parsley and red pepper flakes.
7. Steamed Potatoes
Potatoes are one of those foods that taste amazing no matter how you prepare them. Since we’re talking about steamed recipes, though, this one tells you how to steam baby Yukon potatoes. All you’ll need are the potatoes, some butter, salt, and your favorite herbs. If you’re unsure of what to use, my general rule of thumb is that you can never go wrong with garlic.
8. Steamed Broccoli
The best thing about steamed broccoli is how easy it is to make! It takes 15 minutes and nothing but your broccoli and some water. You can add salt, pepper, and herbs if you like, but you won’t have to add anything to make this tasty side dish. Broccoli also retains most of its flavor after being steamed, which is always a plus.
9. Steamed Mussels
If you’re one of those people who isn’t super comfortable cooking seafood at home, I suggest starting with steamed mussels. They’re unbelievably easy to make, and it’s almost impossible to mess them up. Simply prepare your base – white wine, garlic, chicken stock, shallots, and a few other things – and toss your mussels into the pot to steam them. The broth adds an insane amount of flavor to the mussels, even working its way inside the shells to tenderize and marinate the meat. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
10. Steamed Carrots
Because raw carrots are so hard, they take a bit longer to steam than some of the other veggies on the list. Even so, they require no seasoning beforehand and minimal hands-on effort. Simply toss them in the steamer basket, cover the pot, and let them cook. Once they’re done, you can add some seasoning – just a bit of butter, salt, and pepper – before serving them. They’re naturally sweet and 100% scrumptious.
11. Tamales
I know! I know! Tamales take a lot of work and a lot of time to make. Even so, I stand behind my belief that the end result is worth every bit of effort you put into them. However, if you don’t have all day to make them, use this recipe for steamed tamales. You can have them ready for the pot in about 45 minutes, and they’ll cook in about an hour to 75 minutes. Best of all, they’re just as soft, tender, and flavorful as the takes-all-day tamales.
12. Steamed Asparagus with Butter and Garlic
Anyone who claims not to enjoy steamed asparagus has never had it or has never had it cooked correctly. It’s all about that delectable garlic butter sauce. The lemon juice, salt, and pepper add some yumminess, as well, but if you get the garlic butter sauce right, everything else will just kind of fall into place.
13. Steamed Clams in Garlic Butter
I could just say “ditto garlic butter sauce” for this one, too, but I’ll give you a bit more than that. These clams are just as easy to make as the mussels, and the garlic butter sauce gives them the best flavor. They have the perfect combination of garlic, butter, herb, and umami flavors, and they’re so good that even people who don’t like seafood will enjoy them. It takes less than 30 minutes to make enough for four people, but you’ll probably want to make extra. Once you start eating them, it’s hard to stop.
14. Steamed Pears with Rock Sugar
If you get a sore throat and cough every fall or winter, you’ll need to memorize this recipe. It’s sweet, tasty, and fruity enough to enjoy for dessert. However, the Chinese also use it for cough relief! You can make this dessert by boiling or steaming it. I prefer the steamed version because it’s more syrupy and soothing.
15. Steamed Cinnamon Apples
It doesn’t matter if it’s the night before Halloween, New Year’s Eve, or the middle of the hottest summer on record. There’s just something about steamed cinnamon apples that makes it feel like fall. They’re so yummy and aromatic. I love to eat them, but I almost love the way they make my house smell even more. When most people make cinnamon apples, they bake them. That’s perfectly fine, but this steamed version results in juicier, more flavorful apples. Plus, it requires nothing but apples, cinnamon, and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. The most work involved in making these is in peeling and cutting the apples. Once you get them on the stove, they only take about 5 minutes to cook. Then, you’ll simply drain them and toss them in cinnamon. Viola! A delicious, nutritious, 15-minute or less dessert.
16. Steamed Chocolate Pudding
This chocolate pudding is pudding in the English sense of the word, not the Americanized Jell-O pudding definition. It’s lovely, rich, dense, and so unbelievably soft. The ingredients list is a bit long, but don’t let that scare you off. Just about everything on it is a traditional baking ingredient or spice. If you’re looking for a tasty holiday treat, this pudding could be it.
17. Chinese Steamed Sponge Cake
Sponge cake is another cake you can make without an oven. You can prepare it with only 10 ingredients – eggs, caster sugar, light brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, baking soda, evaporated milk, flour, baking powder, and canola (or grapeseed) oil. The cake is soft, moist, and incredibly filling, and you can make the whole thing on your stovetop in less than an hour. Click on a star to rate it!
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