Cardamom and Tea

Here’s how to steam broccoli in the microwave easily, with no plastic, no special equipment, and no sogginess:

The problem: Throwing your broccoli in a bowl, shrink-wrapping the bejesus out of it, and hitting “START” can lead to shriveled, dried-out florets. On the other hand, adding water to the bowl does keep them from getting all raisin-ey in the microwave—but unfortunately water turns half of the florets totally soggy. Gross.

The solution: Just slice the broccoli stalk thinly (you know, the crunchy stem that the florets grow from), place those slices in the bottom of the bowl, top off with a bit of water, and throw the florets on top. The florets are kept aloft by those hearty stalk pieces, which in turn simmer away. The stalk needs a little extra tenderizing, so it’s a win-win!

To summarize the perks of this recipe:

Plastic-free.
Zero special equipment.
Crisp broccoli, never soggy.
Less wastage. The stalk bits are super enjoyable!

Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or read on for a bit more background on how to steam broccoli in the microwave.

Why I love this method of microwave-steaming broccoli

Here’s a breakdown of those 4 perks I listed in the intro:

1. It’s plastic-free:

In this BA piece, experts argue that it is important to avoid heating foods in plastic. I do tend to follow this advice in my own kitchen—but I do not have a PhD in public health, so I am not here to tell you what you should do with your plastic wrap.

But if you, like me, want to avoid heating your food in plastic, I’m here to tell you that as a culinary expert, there is absolutely a better way! All you need is a microwave-safe plate that completely covers your microwave-safe bowl. As long as your plate completely covers the bowl, it will trap enough steam inside to properly cook everything.

Note that if you have a particularly heavy bowl and plate situation, it might take an extra 30-60 seconds to cook through. And if you’re used to microwaving with plastic wrap, you may need to go a bit longer than usual. But it really does work.

2. Zero special equipment:

This is thanks to that broccoli stalk technique! I adapted this method from a decades-old episode of Good Eats, and have been cooking my broccoli this way since 2008. In 18 years, it has never failed me!

The one key is that your bowl must actually be bowl-shaped. Don’t use a deep plate or a rectangular storage container. You want the water to have very little surface area, so that none of the florets sink into it.

So do not rush out and buy one of those microwave steamers. In fact, if your serving dish is microwave-safe, you can even go ahead and skip the extra dishes, steaming the broccoli right in the dish you plan to serve in. Just pour off the excess liquid and serve!

3. Crisp broccoli, never soggy:

Thanks to that technique, our florets stay out of hot water.

4. Less wastage

If you’ve been throwing away the stalk pieces because it’s too annoying to have to cook them differently from florets, that ends today! This way of cooking them is definitively not annoying, and everything turns out crisp and green. If you like them even more tender, you can slice them even more thinly.

Note: these photos are actually from an older post about steaming broccoli! For that post, I developed a recipe that would work both ways, for either stovetop or microwave, and I took some photos from a microwaved batch and some from a stovetop batch. They all looked so identical, I now have no idea which photos are from which batch.

But feel free to watch the video in the recipe below if you want a step-by-step of how to steam broccoli in the microwave (as well as video-confirmation that it indeed turns out this bright green and perfect every time).

Microwave Steamed Broccoli

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Author: Kathryn Pauline

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli
1/4 cup water
Salt
Butter or olive oil (optional)

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Instructions

Slice the broccoli stem into 1/2-inch slices and trim the florets into bite-sized pieces.
Find a microwave-safe bowl* that will fit all of the broccoli. Place the 1/4 cup of water in the bottom of the bowl, place the sliced stem pieces in the water, and place the florets on top. The florets should sit above the water/stems.
Cover with a microwave-safe plate.
Microwave for about 4 minutes (this will vary by microwave), until the broccoli is bright green and tender.
Season to taste with salt and dot with butter or drizzle with olive oil.

Notes

* Make sure your bowl is the actual shape of a bowl, not a steep-sided rectangular storage container. We want the water to contact less of the broccoli.

Video note: If you don’t see the video for this post after scrolling up, please disable ad block and try reloading the page.

This chocolate oatmeal is such a treat. And my particular recipe is super flexible. You can make it vegan, with whatever milk you prefer. You can change out the sweet cocoa topping for whatever sweetener you prefer. And you can make it either creamy or chewy.

After developing eight oatmeal recipes (and spending way too much time thinking about oats), I’m convinced the key to great oatmeal is customization. People have ridiculously specific preferences about their oats—more so than with most other foods. For some reason (I’m not sure why!), oats are deeply personal. And so is this recipe!

My hope is that you’ll be able to use this recipe to make the oatmeal of your dreams, whether creamy, chewy, or somewhere in between, with whatever sweetener you’d like, and with whatever ingredients you’ve got.

Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or read on for more details about how to create your perfect bowl.

Chewy vs. creamy oatmeal

This oatmeal recipe has you covered whether you prefer your chocolate oatmeal chewy or creamy. If you like it chewy, you’ll just add less liquid and simmer for less time. If you like it creamy, you’ll add more liquid and simmer it longer.

You might see the pairs of photos in this post and have an instant instinct about which you prefer. But if you don’t, here are some things to consider:

Do you generally like the recipe on the back of the box (team chewy), or do you find it disappointing (team creamy)?
Do you often like things with a silky smooth texture like butternut squash soup, polenta, and congee (team creamy), or are you someone who often dismisses certain foods as “too much like baby food” (team chewy)?
Are you always trying to recreate hotel breakfast bar oatmeal at home (team creamy), or does that sound more like unappealing cafeteria food to you (team chewy)?
Did you have trouble answering the above questions because you’re like “it depends!”? You might want to try both and see which one you prefer!

Here’s a video to help you decide (the oatmeal pictured in it is cinnamon oatmeal, but the same idea applies, and the recipe card at the end of this post has a separate video for this chocolate oatmeal recipe).

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Adding sugar to chocolate oatmeal

The fact is, we absolutely must add some amount of sweet stuff to chocolate oatmeal for it to taste good. But there’s a lot you can adjust based on your own preferences and dietary needs:

1) High impact, less sugar

I am not a dietitian so I cannot tell you how much added sugar you should be consuming. But I am a professional recipe developer and cookbook author, and I can tell you precisely how to create the biggest impact with the least amount of an ingredient possible.

So here’s how to create the sweetest oatmeal with the least amount of sugar possible:

chocolate oatmeal with cocoa dusting on top

Sprinkle, don’t stir!

You absolutely can stir sugar into the oatmeal itself. But any sugar you stir in while it cooks will get a bit lost in the mix.

This is actually a very tasty direction to go, but it’s a lot more sugar for much less impact. Sprinkling sugar on top means you don’t have to use quite as much to get the same level of perceived sweetness.

Do with that information what you will!

If you are totally cool with any amount of added sugar, add some to the oatmeal while it cooks and sprinkle some on top.
If you’d like to use less added sugar, sprinkle it on top and don’t add any sugar while it cooks. The recipe in this post defaults to just sprinkling sugar on top.

2) The kind of sugar is up to you!

Refined sugars: The recipe in this post uses a combination of brown sugar and cocoa, perfect for dusting and creating melty dark chocolatey pools of syrup. You can also use plain old granulated sugar to the same effect.

Unrefined sugars: If refined sugar isn’t your thing, it’s also great with maple syrup drizzled on top. You can even mix the syrup with a little cocoa powder if you wish, but you don’t have to. However, I recommend against honey, which doesn’t have the right flavor profile.

Sugar-free alternatives: If you must avoid added sugar entirely, you can use Splenda or Stevia—just make sure you don’t overdo it. Remember that it is usually significantly sweeter than brown sugar per tablespoon. Read the package instructions and use a tiny amount of sweetener with a little cocoa powder thrown in. Dust on a small amount at first, and add more to taste.

How to Steam Broccoli in the Microwave