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best steamer for potatoes

Best Potato Steamer (Digital Steamers, Microwave Steamers, Basket Steamers)

One of my favorite ways to cook potatoes is to steam them so it’s only natural that I like looking for amazing products that can be picked as the best potato steamer for our cooking needs and budgets.

While oven roasted potatoes or oven roasted veggies will always be a crowd pleasing favorite in my household, I am particularly partial to steamers because they’re simply much easier to use.

When I crave some healthy food, steaming some of my favorite vegetables sounds like the best idea in the world. And I just love how easy it is to steam vegetables if we have the right tools.

I use a tier digital food steamer because I can add some fish, potatoes, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, beets, and more delicious veggies like that.

So I use a digital food steamer with tiers because I need a big enough space for all those veggies and fish and sometimes even some beef and chicken.

I also prefer digital steamers because I only have to press a button and the steaming is done for me while I take care of other things. Like maybe also making a delicious salad to go with my meal. Or maybe baking a sourdough bread in a Dutch oven for more sustenance so that I don’t end up hungry again in the middle of the night.

See, the fact that I use a steamer gives me a free oven for my bread. That wouldn’t be possible if I chose to oven roast my veggies, meat or fish. Of course, I could also be using my air fryer so I would still have the oven all empty for baking my loaf.

Moreover, there are a lot of rice cookers that include a steaming basket and the Steam cooking function so that’s another alternative.

Best Potato Steamer Reviews

steaming potatoes
Basically, I love digital steamers because they do the cooking for me. And I get a lot of space for steaming a whole dish for my family. It’s lazy, incredibly easy and healthy cooking. What more could we ask for?

I love appliances like that. That’s why I love food processors, stand mixers, rice cookers, air fryers, bread machines, and whatever other appliance can do some of the work for me instead.

However, if you don’t want an electric food steamer with one, two or three tiers for enough steaming space for a family sized meal, there are many other options to choose from.

We get microwave oven steamers, which are very cheap and come in a few forms. Some will look like a plastic food container with a steam release vent. Others will be silicone collapsible steamer cookers with a lid. And some of the cheapest options as the best potato steamer are potato cooker bags, which will cost about $10 or so.

Next, we have stainless steel basket folding steamers that are inserted into any pot that matches its size.

And silicone steamer baskets that are also placed inside pots and they’re pretty affordable. Even OXO makes a good one of these for about $20.

We could also choose stainless steel/silicone steamer baskets that are specifically designed for the Instant Pot.

I already reviewed the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 in my reviews for the best stainless steel rice cooker. You can check out that article if you want to know just how marvelous the Instant Pot is. It’s a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté pan, yogurt maker, food warmer, and sterilizer.

1. Bella Two Tier Food Steamer, 7.4 QT: Overall the Best Potato Steamer

 

While I certainly consider the Bella Two Tier Food Steamer to be my top recommendation for the best potato steamer, I would also consider it one of the best steamers for everything we want to cook.

It’s a pretty amazing appliance overall and I think it could be the perfect one for quite a lot of people.

However, if you don’t think that this is it for you, I have many other recommendations below.

I must mention that the Bella Two Tier Food Steamer is not only among the most popular and pretty highly rated among digital steamers, it’s also pretty cheap.

It’s only two times more expensive than the OXO Good Grips Silicone Steamer, which is simply a basket steamer that goes inside our pans.

On the other hand, this Bella is a digital steamer with two tiers, meaning we get plenty of cooking space, a larger 7.4 quart capacity, very easy to use, and it costs under $40. I would say that this is an amazing deal.

If we compare it with the Hamilton Beach Digital Electric Food Steamer & Rice Cooker, I would say that the Bella Two Tier Food Steamer, 7.4 QT is a better choice. It’s not only cheaper but it’s also more highly rated. Still, check out that Hamilton Beach model, if you want to see for yourself which would be the better choice

Features

A user review mentions that they steam vegetables all of the time now. That’s what I love about digital electric steamers. They’re very good at convincing people that steamed potatoes and vegetables are foods that we should enjoy more often.

The Bella Two Tier Food Steamer is great for fast and easy dinners. We can cook fish, red meat, poultry, shellfish, tofu, vegetables, and grains.

There’s a great variety in the dishes we can cook in these two tiers, including making rice, couscous, quinoa, and so much more.

When it comes to steamers with two tiers or three tiers, it’s important to use the right baskets on the right level, otherwise water will leak.

So, pay close attention when you assemble the steamer and which layer goes where.

I love having two tiers because we can cook vegetables on top and place meats, fish or shellfish on the bottom. Or take advantage of the bigger space to cook a wide variety of vegetables.

Or use the two tiers to cook enough potatoes for making mashed potatoes for a large family.

The Bella Two Tier Food Steamer is very easy to use. We have a small window that indicates water level. And we have a timer for up to 60 mins.

We also get a small pictogram with cooking times for various ingredients.


2. OXO Good Grips Silicone Steamer: Best Silicone Potato Steamer Basket

This green silicone steamer looks adorable. But it’s also capable of steaming a wide variety of ingredients.

Whether you just want to steam whatever potato varieties you have, including sweet potatoes, or you want to cook some meat or fish or any other vegetables, this green silicone steamer from OXO can handle it.

It goes inside pots and we’ll see what pan sizes we need for this.

But we can also use it in pressure cookers, which is great as some of you are going to have such an appliance in your kitchen.

While the price is not the cheapest, it’s not all that expensive either. I would call it affordable and it can be considered good value for money.

Someone mentioned that it lasted 6 years until it ripped, which is incredible. And that’s why I say that it’s a good investment for our kitchens. And it won’t take up much storage space.

Features

This OXO steamer flexes to fit pots that are 7 inches (18 cm) or wider. Of course, if we use it in a larger pot, we can cook more in it. How far the surface of the steamer extends will also depend on the size of the pan we’re placing it in.

It has high walls. That keeps the contents contained and away from boiling water.

Moreover, the stay-cool handles allow for stable transfer. Pretty much, everything is easy and it will be done without inconveniences.

The flexible handles fold inward and lock in place. Thus, we can put a lid on our pots, which is definitely something we need to do for steaming.

And it can also be used in pressure cookers.

OXO mentions that the large capacity with flat bottom fits larger items such as filets of fish or if we want to cook a pretty big piece of beef. I find that steaming fish or meat is just as amazing as steaming vegetables.

Plus, steamed chicken breast is absolutely a must have for making some delicious, filling salads. Add whatever fresh ingredients you have in the fridge, a few shavings of parmesan, some croutons and you can quickly feed your entire family. It only takes about 30 minutes to steam chicken so you can make some quick dinners for as many people as you need.

Some people also love it for making hard boiled eggs, in case you’re tired of boiling your eggs and you want something different. It seems that steamed eggs are much better.

I also love that the steamer rolls up and the handles hook onto feet for compact storage. That’s the advantage with using silicone models.

It is dishwasher safe.


3. Cuisinart STM-1000 Cook Fresh Digital Glass Steamer

First of all, the Cuisinart STM-1000 is among the most expensive steamers we could buy. With a price around $150, it’s certainly not cheap when we consider that there are many other digital models that cost around $30-$50.

Well, this Cuisinart has a very nice design, that’s certainly true.

We get to choose between two colors: stainless steel and white. They both look really nice and the tall glass steaming chamber completes the nice looking design.

However, is it worth that expensive price? That’s up to you to decide. After all, we can buy a steamer basket for about $20 and still get some amazing meals in a very short time span.

Plus, make sure to check out a few of those negative reviews that the Cuisinart STM-1000 has received because it’s important to know what to expect.

Features

A powerful steam system delivers steam from top down in the 5-liter glass pot (approx. 5.3 quarts). It also has a 1-liter removable water tank.

The Cuisinart STM-1000 has a very nice, pretty big capacity so I like that. It can be considered large enough for family-size portions of vegetables, fish, chicken, rice, and more.

We can cook a variety of dishes and combinations.

We get an LCD control panel with a display for time.

There are buttons for: start/stop, reheat, pause. And a tiny knob for the timer.

It’s nice to see that reheat function, we can use it instead of a microwave oven.

There are also 5 pre-programmed food settings: seafood, poultry, grains, vegetables, and manual.

If we’re not satisfied with the pre-programmed food settings, we can set up our own time. We get up to 60 minutes, which is more than enough for anything we might want to steam.

The Cuisinart STM-1000 consists of a stainless steel steaming tray, glass lid with stainless steel rim & glass lid.

The tray flips to hold different types of foods. And that’s we can use this steamer for grains, as well.


4. Bakerpan Silicone Round Collapsible Steamer, 64 oz: Best Potato Steamer for Microwave Oven

This is a pretty nice option if we want to steam potatoes in the microwave in 10 minutes. It’s great and I prefer it over all other steamers for microwave ovens.

I know that we can get potato cooker bags for about $10, which means that they’re about two times cheaper than the Bakerpan Silicone Round Collapsible Steamer.

But I don’t particularly like those because they can only be used for 4 minutes and potatoes take a lot longer to cook than 4 minutes. Plus, those bags are not too big.

Overall, I much prefer the Bakerpan Silicone Round Collapsible Steamer if you want a container for microwave oven steaming.

Features

I am well aware that the 64 oz capacity is certainly not the biggest but we must also consider that we need a pot that can fit inside microwave ovens, which are not very big. Thus, 64 oz turns out to be quite big.

It is made of 100% food grade silicone, BPA-free, non-toxic.

I also like the idea that it’s collapsible. In a previous article I talked about collapsible camping kettles and now here we are reviewing another collapsible cookware as the best potato steamer.

However, keep in mind that this steamer can only be used in the microwave or in the oven.

It cannot be used on direct fire because, obviously, it will totally melt.

It is microwave, oven, freezer, and dishwasher safe.

Plus, it’s good for temperatures from -40 to 446 degrees F.

Besides steaming in the microwave oven, we can also use it for baking in the oven at temperatures up to 446 degrees F.

And we can use it for heating food.

We can also take it camping with us because it’s collapsible and use it as a salad bowl or as a bowl to serve food in. Just don’t put it on direct fire.


5. Instant Pot Official Large Mesh Steamer Basket

People who love using their Instant Pot often, will also love learning that they can buy the Instant Pot Official Large Mesh Steamer Basket.

We can use it to steam all kinds of vegetables, fish, and more.

Features

It’s a very nicely designed stainless steel mesh basket.

It has raised feet that protect food from boiling water.

And there’s an easy-lift handle.

Moreover, we can use it both as a steamer and a strainer.

It is compatible with 6 quart and 8 quart cookers.


6. Nutribullet Baby Bullet Turbo Food Steamer

If there were a contest for the most adorable food steamer ever, the Nutribullet Baby Bullet Turbo Food Steamer would win first prize.

However, we’re here to look for the best potato steamer.

While I think that the Nutribullet Baby Bullet Turbo Food Steamer is not overall bad, I have a big problem with it: it’s very small.

Maybe if you want to eat small portions or if you want to cook food for a baby or a small child, it can work well. But if you cook for more than one person, then it’s absolutely not a suitable appliance.

Features

It pretty much looks like a steamer for children.

The good news is that it can also be used to sterilize bottles, pacifiers, etc. So it’s certainly targeted towards that kind of use.

We can cook fresh food for warm purees, defrost batch-cooked baby food, and sterilize various things.

There are 5 steamer settings and a built-in timer.

To give you an idea about its size, you can steam a big sweet potato in 15 minutes. It’s certainly not the best potato steamer of my dreams but the Nutribullet Baby Bullet Turbo Food Steamer can be good for parents.


Why I love using a potato steamer

Overall, I love using steamers for cooking my potatoes because then I can use those steamed delicious chunks to make mashed potatoes, potato salad, etc.

Making mashed potatoes after the potatoes have been steamed is absolutely recommended. You can add milk, butter, some salt and pepper, and a bit of chopped chives at the end. You can also add some garlic although I don’t because I don’t like garlic in my mashed potatoes. Well, now I crave some pasta since we talked about garlic.

Or I can simply take my chunks of steamed potatoes and add some dried thyme, salt, pepper, a hand of chopped fresh parsley, and a healthy drizzle of olive oil, mix them all together until every potato chunk is coated in those herbs and I get the most delicious side dish of all time. Add butter instead of olive oil if you want a richer, more decadent flavor.

We can also use the steamer to make potato skins.

The options are endless . Once you decide which would be the best potato steamer for your kitchen, you’re going to discover a world full of new delicious possibilities regarding cooking a wide variety of vegetables, fish, and even meat.