With a steam cooker, you prepare an entire meal in one go, by putting the ingredients (potatoes, vegetables, fish and even meat) each in a separate pan.
By Frank
Those pans are stacked on the steamer, cooking the ingredients by steam. Whether you are making a tasty Indian chicken tandoori or just potatoes, vegetables, meat, you are cooking healthy, preserving vitamins and without having to use oil or fat.
What is the best steam cooker for you?
What is the best steam cooker for you will depend on your budget, the size of your household and the desired ease of use, both in steaming and cleaning. In our Top 10, we have picked out the best 2024 steam cooker for a wide range of preferences.
The best steam cooker in the test
Magimix Le Cuiseur Vapeur
The Magimix Le Cuiseur Vapeur has 2 large stainless steel bowls, one of which allows the bottom to be removed, creating one large bowl. So flexibility combined with large capacity and professional Magimix quality. 4 temperature settings and a timer ensure ease of use and perfect results. Arguably the best steam cooker, but one you have to spend some money for.
- Large capacity
- Easy to operate
- Many options
- Robust construction
- Duur in aanschaf
- Stackable steam trays: 2, stainless steel
- Capacity per tray: 5.5 liters
- Water tank capacity: 1 liter
- Power consumption: 1,900 W
- Heating time 15 seconds
- Number of settings: 4
- Keep warm setting: yes
- Housing: stainless steel
The steam cooker with the best value for money
Russell Hobbs Cook@Home stoomkoker 19270
The works very simply. You fill the reservoir with water, put ingredients in the three pans and set the time. Handy is the extra insert basket you get with it for steaming rice. Too bad you can’t set the temperature on this steam cooker, but by choosing the right time, all dishes are cooked perfectly. A great appliance at a low price.
- Three scales
- Simple controls
- 60-minute timer
- Steaming basket for rice
- Low purchase price
- No temperature settings
- Stackable steam trays: 3, glass
- Capacity per bowl: 3 litres
- Water tank capacity: 1.2 litres
- Power consumption: 800 W
- Keep warm setting: yes
- Housing material: stainless steel
The best cheap steam cooker
Aigostar Fitfoodie 30 CFO
If you are low on budget and still want a good steam cooker, then the is an excellent choice. For less than 40 euros, you have a functional appliance with 3 steam bowls of 3 litres each. The Aigostar Fitfoodie 30 CFO features a 60-minute timer and comes with a basket for steaming rice. Moreover, this steam cooker heats up very quickly.
- Three stackable steam trays
- Simple operation
- 60-minute timer
- Steam basket for rice
- Low purchase price
- Short connecting cable
- No temperature settings
- Bowls: 3, plastic
- Capacity per bowl: 3 litres
- Water tank capacity: 1.5 litres
- Power consumption: 800 W
- Keep warm setting: no
- Housing material: plastic
The best large steam cooker
Russell Hobbs MaxiCook 32560
With three steam bowls with a total capacity of 10.5 litres, this steam cooker lets you make a complete meal for quite a few people in one go. The built-in timer ensures perfect cooking. The special rice basket is handy, the short connecting cable is not.
- Three large bowls
- Simple controls
- Electric timer
- Steaming basket for rice
- No temperature settings
- Short connecting cable
- Stackable steamer trays: 3, plastic
- Capacity per bowl: 3.5 litres
- Power consumption: 1,000 W
- Keep warm setting: no
- Housing material: stainless steel
The best compact steam cooker
WMF KitchenMinis
Small in size but big in performance, the steam cooker makes it easy to quickly prepare healthy meals. Thanks to the partition in one of the bowls, you can also cook three ingredients at once. A special basket makes it easy to steam rice. The sturdy stainless steel guarantees years of steaming pleasure. The WMF KitchenMinis is a top-quality steam cooker, which unfortunately also shows in its price.
- Bowl with partition
- Simple operation
- Electric timer
- 1-litre steaming basket for rice
- Porcelain bowl for pudding
- No temperature settings
- Refilling during use
- Expensive to buy
- Stackable steamer trays: 2, stainless steel
- Capacity per bowl: 2.15 litres
- Water tank capacity: 1.1 litres
- Power consumption: 900 W
- Heating time 15 seconds
- Number of settings: 4
- Keep warm mode: yes, 40 minutes
- Housing material: stainless steel
The best steam cooker with programmes
Tefal Convenient Series Deluxe VC502D
The Tefal Convenient Series Deluxe VC502D steam cooker offers optimum ease of use thanks to eight automatic cooking programmes for vegetables, fish, chicken, defrosting and keeping warm, among others. You control the steam cooker with an intuitive touchscreen. The Tefal Convenient Series Deluxe VC502D has three generously sized stainless steel bowls and comes with an extra steaming basket for rice. In short, it allows you to make a healthy meal for quite a crowd in no time. Read more…
- Large capacity
- Simple operation
- 8 cooking programmes
- Compact storage
- Expensive to buy
- Stackable steam trays: 3, stainless steel
- Capacity per bowl: 3 litres
- Water tank capacity: 1.2 litres
- Power consumption: 900 W
- Number of settings: 8
- Warm-up setting: yes
- Housing material: lacquered metal
The best stainless steel steam cooker
SEB Convenient VC1451
The steam cooker has 2 large stainless steel bowls, each with a capacity of 4.5 litres. Operation is very simple, with only a timer. Next to the dial, the required times are listed for the most common dishes. If necessary, you can top up water while steaming. You store the SEB Convenient VC1451 compactly, by placing the dishes upside down on the housing with the water tank.
- Large capacity
- Simple operation
- Durable stainless steel
- Compact storage
- No temperature control setting
- Stackable steamer trays: 2, stainless steel
- Capacity per bowl: 4.5 litres
- Water tank capacity: 1.7 litres
- Power consumption: 980 W
- Housing material: lacquered metal
The best designer steam cooker
Braun FS 3000
If you love design, then the will definitely appeal to you. This beautifully designed steam cooker is made of plastic, with a black bowl preventing discolouration when steaming carrots or red cabbage, for example. It can be stored compactly by putting the bowls together upside down, after which the lower housing fits back in there. In addition, the Braun FS 3000 is very user-friendly and fast: you have steam within 45 seconds.
- Attractive design
- Large capacity
- Simple operation
- Includes black steamer pan
- Compact storage
- No temperature control setting
- Stackable steam trays: 2, plastic
- Capacity per tray: 2 litres
- Water tank capacity: 3.1 litres
- Power consumption: 850 W
- Heating mode: no
- Housing material: plastic
The best steamer for baby food
Babymoov Nutribaby Plus
The is much more than just a steamer. It is a complete station, allowing you to steam not only healthy baby food, but also a blender, a bottle warmer and a warmer for jars of baby food. It also lets you defrost food and comes with three flexible bottles for feeding.
- Defrosting, blending, sterilising
- Also for heating
- Including 3 vials
- High purchase price
- Small capacity
- Stackable steamer trays: 2, plastic
- Capacity per bowl: 0.75 litre
- Water tank capacity: 0.7 litres
- Power consumption: 500 W
- Keep-warm mode: yes
- Housing material: plastic
The best microwave steam cooker
Joseph Joseph M-Cuisine Stomer
Finally, the odd one out: the for in the microwave. Especially if you are short of space and already have a microwave oven, this steam cooker offers a solution. You place it filled with water and ingredients in the microwave and it does the rest. very user-friendly, in other words.
- Steaming in the microwave
- Compact size
- Easy to clean
- Low purchase price
- Limited content
- Stackable steam trays: 3
- Capacity: 2 litres
- Material: plastic
The 10 best steam cookers at a glance
Do you already know which steam cooker suits you best? Or are you still in doubt? To make choosing between all those different steam cookers easier, we put the best 10 together in a table.
Steam cooker or steam pan?
First we need to agree on something: the difference between a steamer and a steam cooker. These are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably. We understand a steam cooker to be an electric appliance for steaming food. A steam cooker is put on the cooker; we have compiled a separate Top 10 for this category.
So here we are talking about electric steam cookers. We have tested several of them and looked at many reviews. Thus, we have compiled a Top 10 to help you choose the steam cooker that suits you.
Why choose a steam cooker?
Steaming is an easy cooking method. You feed steaming dishes with steamed water. A lid ensures that the steam does not escape. This way, you preserve maximum nutrients. Cooking with a steam cooker has several advantages over traditional cooking and baking:
- Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are better preserved because the temperature does not exceed 96 degrees.
- You don’t use oil or fat, which is healthy.
- You taste the pure flavour of all the ingredients.
- It is easy: you put the ingredients in the trays, plug in, switch on the appliance and the rest is easy.
- You prepare different parts of your meal at the same time.
- A steam cooker is electric, so you don’t use natural gas.
Buying a steam cooker: what to look out for?
With a steam cooker, you can put a healthy meal on the table in no time. A delicious steamed salmon fillet, a tasty piece of cod or a tasty Indian chicken tandoori. But what should you look out for when buying the best steam cooker for you?
What is the total capacity?
The larger your household, the more capacity the steamers should have. For a family of four, a steam cooker with a total capacity of 9 litres is perfectly adequate.
What is the power?
The more power your steam cooker has, the faster and the more steam per minute it produces. With a powerful steam cooker, you can make a complete meal without spending hours in the kitchen.
What are the options?
Almost all steam cookers have a timer, with which you set the steaming time, and an indication of the water level. usually they also have automatic shut-off after the steaming process. some steam cookers also have a keep-warm mode. Additional features include temperature settings and pre-programmed steaming processes. It can also be useful to have the option to refill water during the steaming process via one or two filler openings.
What is your budget?
Of course, which product you buy also depends on how much you have to spend. For less than 50 euros, you can already buy an excellent steam cooker, but there are also more expensive products with many extra features.
Conclusion: the best steam cooker for you
In our opinion, the best steam cooker of 2024 is the Magimix Le Cuiseur Vapeur, which makes it easy to prepare meals in a professional way. The only downside is the price. If you have a bit less to spend, consider the Russell Hobbs Cook@Home steam cooker or the even cheaper Aigostar Fitfoodie 30 CFO. Further, check out our top 10 if you have special features on your wish list.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. In fact, a steam cooker preserves the maximum nutrients in your food. Plus, you cook without oil or butter.
Steaming is a way of cooking that lets you put a complete healthy meal on the table without spending hours in the kitchen. You fill the reservoir with water and put the ingredients in the pan. Put the lid on and start steaming!
No. You can get one for just a few tenner. If you’re looking for the best buy, read the product description of the Russell Hobbs Cook@Home steam cooker.