The Best Steamer Basket for Every Kitchen

Find the right tool for you and gently cooked vegetables, fish, and dumplings can be part of your home cooking repertoire.
Photo of asparagus in a steamer basket.
Photo & Food Styling by Joseph De Leo


Finding the best steamer basket for you is a bit of a personal journey. Whether you're new to steaming or a seasoned pro, just looking for crisp-tender broccoli or interested in making pillowy bao at home, there is a tool on the market for you. Exploring the options of style and material is a good place to start. Below, we've compiled some of the most common steamer basket varieties for your side-by-side comparison; with the right tool in your arsenal, you can easily master the art of cooking with steam.


Collapsible baskets are steaming workhorses: They heat quickly, and can handle everything from delicate fish to wedges of hearty squash. Because they fold in on themselves when not in use, they're easy to store, and many expand to fit pots, pans, and pressure cookers of all sizes. Like the other items in the brand's Good Grips line, this OXO collapsible steamer basket is made for easy handling and maneuvering, and it's dishwasher safe. The nearly two-inch tall feet accommodate a lot of water underneath the basket, so you'll never run the risk of going dry before your food is cooked.

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Steamer with Extendable Handle


Bamboo steamer baskets aren't just for dumplings at your favorite dim sum restaurant—you can use them at home to achieve the same gently cooked results. To use a bamboo basket, place it inside a wok, or any other shallow pan with a wide rim. The pan should be filled with water up to a half inch above the basket rim (you want enough water to prevent scorching the bottom of your basket, but not so much that the water touches the food you're steaming). Bamboo steamers have a tightly woven lid that keeps steam from escaping. The process is sometimes slower than using a metal basket, but it's also more effective; bamboo absorbs some of the excess moisture while cooking, rather than allowing the steam to re-condense into water and drip back onto your food. If you're in the mood to do a lot of steaming at once, look for double-decker bamboo baskets (like this Joyce Chen model), which can hold twice as much food as a single layer.

Joyce Chen Bamboo Steamer Basket


Silicone steamers are often made specifically for pressure cookers, but can be used in other pots as well. The tall feet keep the basket well out of the way of the water, and the pleated silicone body can bend and fold into any size vessel. This version from Instant Pot features handles that interlock to fit under a lid while cooking, but extend higher than most to make transferring food from the pot a breeze. It is also dishwasher safe. If you plan to steam primarily in your pressure cooker, this may be the best steamer basket for you.

Instant Pot Silicone Steamer Basket


Donabe are traditional Japanese clay pots used for cooking over an open flame; they're formulated for a variety of culinary tasks. I love my donabe smoker, and have been considering adding to my collection with the version of pot built for steaming. Heavy, attractive, and meant to last for generations, donabe easily transition from the stovetop to the table, and are a staple in everyday Japanese home cooking. For the steamer with the most countertop appeal, this is definitely the move.

Nagatani-En Mushi Nabe Donabe Steamer

Wire mesh strainer and a lid

If you don't have space for a dedicated steamer basket in your kitchen but still want to to make gently cooked vegetables or dumplings at home, you can absolutely hack one together using a wire mesh strainer and a lid. Simply hook the same strainer you use for rinsing beans or draining pasta onto the lip of a pot that's filled with enough water to reach just below the base of the strainer. Any lid that's wide enough to cover your pot works; I use my trusty 10-inch GIR universal silicone lid.

Winco 8-Inch Fine Mesh Strainer

GIR Premium Silicone Round Lid, 10 Inches