Steam Brussels sprouts, delicious in 3 ways!

It’s something different for once, steaming Brussels sprouts! Also very tasty because the taste stays in the Brussels sprouts and not in a lot of water, for example, but also because the bitterness of the Brussels sprouts comes out less. It is also nice to see real green sprouts. This is also because you are steaming Brussels sprouts! A nice side effect when steaming Brussels sprouts. There are several ways to steam Brussels sprouts. With a steamer on top of the pan, with a steamer basket and in a colander in the pan, but also in a steam oven. It all comes down to the same thing.

Steam Brussels sprouts: Put a small amount of water in a large saucepan. Place the bamboo steamer with Brussels sprouts in the large pan. Do not let the bottom of the steamer touch the water. Place the lid of the steamer basket on top and then the lid of the large pan. Turn on the heat source and let the water boil and evaporate in the pan. The steam will cook the sprouts after about 15 minutes.

Cooking Brussels sprouts is completely different from steaming. Steaming can be done in a steam oven, but also ‘normally’ in a steamer, bamboo steamer or set-top steamer. We’ll start with the newest method: the steam oven

How to steam Brussels sprouts in a steam oven

Clean the Brussels sprouts: remove the bottom and the old leaves. Set the oven to steam and it will preheat. When the oven has finished preheating, the Brussels sprouts can be placed in the perforated tray. Set the time to 17 minutes. After the 17 minutes are up, poke the Brussels sprouts. Are they done enough or do you want them a little more al dente next time?

Just like with ‘normal’ cooking, you have to try out how long you want to steam your Brussels sprouts to cook. With some ovens you can even save the correct cooking time of your vegetables.

How long to steam Brussels sprouts

When you are going to steam the Brussels sprouts in a large pan with a bamboo steam basket or an iron type of colander on the pan, it will take about 15 minutes for the Brussels sprouts to be cooked through the steam. When you use the steam basket, add a small layer of water to the pan so that the bottom of the steam basket is just not in the water.

If you use the iron steamer basket, put the lid of the large pan over this basket before you start steaming. This way no steam escapes into the air, but the steam stays with the sprouts for cooking. The time will be significantly shorter with steaming than without the lid.

When you think they are done, pierce the Brussels sprouts and taste. You may want to steam them a little longer (or shorter next time).

Brussels sprouts Steaming Microwave

You can also steam Brussels sprouts in the microwave. Clean the Brussels sprouts, which means that you cut off the bottom of the Brussels sprouts and remove the old ugly leaves. Take a shallow microwave dish where all Brussels sprouts are doubled as little as possible. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the bowl and put the lid on the microwave bowl.

Steam at 700 WATT for about 4 to 6 minutes, the Brussels sprouts are tender. Prick with a fork if you think it’s done enough, and taste if necessary. If you want the Brussels sprouts even more tender, you can let the Brussels sprouts run for 1 minute in the microwave, for example. Remove the Brussels sprouts from the microwave, add a knob of butter and some nutmeg, for example and let the Brussels sprouts rest a bit (so leave the closed dish on a trivet on the counter, 5 minutes).

Give the Brussels sprouts a quick stir to stir in the butter and herbs and possibly some salt. If you want to know which herbs go well with Brussels sprouts, read our blog ‘ which herbs for Brussels sprouts ‘.

Steam or boil Brussels sprouts

One likes steaming, the other likes to cook. There is no arguing about taste. The steaming effect of Brussels sprouts retains vitamins and during cooking, a part will disappear into the water, which we therefore do not eat. That’s too bad. For me, steaming Brussels sprouts is also the tastiest method. The color of the sprouts is a nice bright green.

So the advantage of steaming is:

• beautiful green sprouts,
• vitamins are better preserved
• taste is better preserved.

And the advantage of cooking Brussels sprouts is:

• do what you are used to
• salt can be cooked with the Brussels sprouts
• When cooked briefly, Brussels sprouts are not bitter