Learn an easy way to steam cauliflower. Steamed cauliflower tastes so much better than boiled and retains most of its nutrients. Try this easy recipe for a delicious cauliflower side dish – I like it most served with a butter breadcrumb topping and my kids adore it!
Ingredients
For this recipe, you will need a head of cauliflower, salt, and butter to serve.
If you’d like to try my favorite way to serve cauliflower, try making buttered breadcrumbs. You will need just butter and fine breadcrumbs (you can also use Panko breadcrumbs or better: a mix of both). For me, this is truly the best way to serve steamed cauliflower.
You can also use frozen cauliflower, simply add a couple more minutes to the cooking time.
Other ingredients/spices that are great with cauliflower:
- melted butter, lemon juice or lemon zest and chopped parsley
- parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese
- cheese sauce – such as this four cheese sauce or this beer cheese dip
- pesto – traditional Italian basil pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto, basil walnut pesto, celery leaf pesto, arugula pistachio pesto, parsley pesto, or ramp pesto
- romesco sauce
- gremolata
- Chimichurri sauce
Prepare the cauliflower (how to cut and core cauliflower)
Remove the stem of the cauliflower close to the florets. Cut out the core and remove the outer leaves. Divide the cauliflower into florets (you can do that with a knife or just break them apart with your hands). Cut bigger florets in half so that all the florets cook evenly.
What to use to steam cauliflower
Prepare equipment to steam the cauliflower. You will need three things:
- A large pot
- Something to place the cauliflower on/in, such as a steaming basket, a colander or sieve, or a splash guard
- Something to cover the cauliflower: a tight-fitting lid or a second pot.
Here are some examples:
Steamer Basket – You can purchase a professional steamer basket, which is a special insert with holes that fits on top of a pot with boiling water, covered by a tight-fitting lid. There are also bamboo steamers, commonly used in Asian cooking for steaming dumplings.
Although this is a professional steamer, I’m not particularly fond of this model. I actually prefer using the colander shown in the photo below. As you can see, it also has holes on the sides, which allows the cauliflower to steam more quickly and ensures that the steam reaches the top layers of the florets more effectively.
Another method to steam cauliflower is to place the florets on a splash guard. Then, use a second pot as a cover to trap the steam and cook the cauliflower.
How to steam cauliflower step-by-step
Add about 1-2 inches (2-5 cm) of boiling water to the pot. Place the steaming basket, colander, sieve, or splash guard over the pot. Arrange the cauliflower florets, stem side down, in the basket, layering them if necessary. Try not to layer the cauliflower too much; if you have multiple layers, it’s better to cook it in batches. Place a tight-fitting lid on top, or if using a splash guard, another pot.
Cook over medium heat until the cauliflower can be easily pierced with a fork, which will take about 10-20 minutes. The steaming time will depend on what you have used to steam the cauliflower, whether the lid is tight-fitting, and the size of the florets. Check on the cauliflower and cook it to your preferred texture.
Remove from the heat, transfer to a plate, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle with salt to taste. Alternatively, you can make a breadcrumb topping, which is my favorite topping for steamed cauliflower.
Breadcrumb topping: Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the breadcrumbs. Cook the mixture for a couple of minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent burning, until the breadcrumbs are golden in color. Drizzle the buttered breadcrumbs over the cauliflower and season with salt.
Enjoy!
Instant Pot – is a great way to steam cauliflower and it’s even quicker than the traditional method. Place the florets on a rack or in a steaming basket, close the pressure cooker, and set the high pressure to 0 minutes for crunchier cauliflower or 1 minute or softer cauliflower. Make the quick release and enjoy.
Storage
You can keep steamed cauliflower in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. Keep the breadcrumb topping separate and reheat in a pot. Breadcrumb topping stays crunchy.
More Cauliflower Recipes
- Cheesy Cauliflower Fritters
- Parmesan Cauliflower Rice
- Curried cauliflower soup with coconut milk
- Roasted cauliflower steaks
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
How To Steam a Cauliflower
Ingredients
for the steamed cauliflower:
- 1 medium cauliflower
- water
- salt
- melted butter optional, to serve
breadcrumb topping: (optional)
- 1/2 cup (115g) butter
- 1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs or 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs + 1/4 fine breadcrumbs
- salt
Instructions
- Prepare the cauliflower: Remove the stem of the cauliflower close to the florets. Cut out the core and remove the outer leaves. Divide the cauliflower into florets (you can do that with a knife or just break them apart with your hands). Cut bigger florets in half so that all the florets cook evenly.
- Prepare equipment to steam the cauliflower. You will need three things:
- – A large pot– Something to place the cauliflower on/in, such as a steaming basket, a colander or sieve, or a splash guard– Something to cover the cauliflower: a tight-fitting lid or a second pot (see the photos in the body of the post for a reference).
- Steam cauliflower: Add about 1-2 inches (2-5 cm) of boiling water to the pot. Place the steaming basket, colander, sieve, or splash guard over the pot. Arrange the cauliflower florets, stem side down, in the basket, layering them if necessary. Try not to layer the cauliflower too much; if you have multiple layers, it's better to cook it in batches. Place a tight-fitting lid on top, or if using a splash guard, another pot.
- Cook over medium heat until the cauliflower can be easily pierced with a fork, which will take about 10-20 minutes. The steaming time will depend on what you have used to steam the cauliflower, whether the lid is tight-fitting, and the size of the florets. Check on the cauliflower and cook it to your preferred texture.
- Serve: Remove from the heat, transfer to a plate, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle with salt to taste. Alternatively, you can make a breadcrumb topping, which is my favorite topping for steamed cauliflower.
- Breadcrumb topping: Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the breadcrumbs. Cook the mixture for a couple of minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent burning, until the breadcrumbs are golden in color. Drizzle the buttered breadcrumbs over the cauliflower and season with salt.
- Enjoy!
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