Steamed Vegetable Recipes

They're quick, easy, and because they're only lightly cooked, they retain most of their nutrients.

In some cases (such as with broccoli), lightly steaming a vegetable can make other nutrients even more available that are not so in the raw vegetable.

There's a number of easy ways to steam veggies.

You can use:

-a metal steamer basket
-a bamboo steamer
-or just a pot with a lid and a tiny bit of water in the bottom.

Some pots come with an extra steaming basket insert that you can use and remove as you like.

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Steamed Vegetable Recipes
Basic Steamed Vegetables
Serves 3 - 4

Use approximately 2 cups of raw vegetables per serving.

Ingredients (one or any combination of the following):

broccoli
cauliflower
green beans
nappa cabbage
bok choy
sno peas
onions or leeks
eggplant
zucchini
regular cabbage
fennel
yellow summer squash
dark leafy greens
etc...

butter, ghee (clarified butter) or virgin coconut oil

Preparation:

Note: regular cabbage (red or green), fennel and a few other vegetables take longer to cook than the others. Plan accordingly. I usually add cabbage or fennel a few minutes earlier than other vegetables when steaming an assorted mix.

Cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Place a steamer basket in a pot large enough to hold the vegetables, but not so large that they will fall over the sides of the basket. Fill the bottom of the pot with a small amount of water. Add vegetables and cover. Place on high heat until they begin to steam. Reduce heat to low and let steam for 2-3 minutes more (to the tenderness you desire).

Serve them hot, topped with a generous dollop of butter, ghee (clarified butter) or virgin coconut oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.

The added fat helps our bodies assimilate the fat-soluble nutrients in the vegetables. Plus it makes them taste so good!

This is a deliciously spicy take on the steamed vegetable
recipes. You can use more or less chile paste as you like.

Use approximately 2 cups of raw vegetables per serving.

Ingredients (one or any combination of the following):

broccoli
cauliflower
green beans
nappa cabbage
bok choy
sno peas
onions or leeks
eggplant
zucchini
regular cabbage
fennel
yellow summer squash
dark leafy greens
etc...

4 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
3/4 teaspoon Thai chile paste (red or green, both are wonderful)
sliced scallions or cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

Note: regular cabbage (red or green), fennel and a few other vegetables take longer to cook than the others. Plan accordingly. I usually add cabbage or fennel a few minutes earlier than other vegetables when steaming an assorted mix.

Cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Place a steamer basket in a pot large enough to hold the vegetables, but not so large that they will fall over the sides of the basket. Fill the bottom of the pot with a small amount of water. Add vegetables and cover. Place on high heat until they begin to steam. Reduce heat to low and let steam for 2-3 minutes more (to the tenderness you desire).

When they're done, transfer them to a large mixing bowl.

Take 2 tablespoons of the hot water and mix it together with the chile paste in a small bowl. Drizzle this mixture over the steamed vegetables and add coconut oil. Gently toss it all together and serve immediately, garnished with the scallions or cilantro.

Steamed Vegetable Recipes
Steamed Artichokes with Homemade Aioli
Serves 4

4 medium sized artichokes – sharp leaves snipped, stems trimmed to ½ inch length
2 cups homemade aioli (recipe below)

Place a steamer basket in a large pot and fill with water just until the water is level with the bottom of the basket. Steam the artichokes over low heat for about 1 hour. They are done when you can remove a leaf very easily from the stem, and then, holding the top end of the leaf between your fingers use your bottom teeth to easily scrape off the tender part.

Remove pot from heat, uncover and allow to cool for a few minutes before handling artichokes. Use a set of tongs to remove artichokes from the pan, hold them upside-down for a minute to drain any excess water. Serve each artichoke, whole, with some of the aioli for dipping, and place extra dishes on the table for your guests to use for the discarded leaves.

Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise)
Makes about 2 ½ cups

4 large garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten--at room temperature
about 2 cups olive oil--at room temperature
juice of 1 organic lemon
¼ teaspoon sea salt or to taste

Put garlic cloves, egg yolks, lemon juice and sea salt in blender. Process until they are combined. Slowly add the olive oil in a very thin stream until you reach a nice emulsified consistency. You may not need all of the olive oil.

Steamed Vegetable Recipes
Steamed Asparagus with Olive-Lemon-Ginger Salsa
Serves 3 – 4

1 lb fresh asparagus – tough ends trimmed and peeled
10 sun-dried olives – soaked in water for 1 – 3 hours, drained, pitted & minced
½ inch piece fresh ginger – peeled and minced
1 garlic clove – crushed and minced
finely grated zest from half a lemon
juice from the same half lemon
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Steam the asparagus until bright green and tender-crisp. Arrange asparagus on a serving platter. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients together. Use a small spoon to sprinkle the salsa over the asparagus. Serve hot or cold.

Steamed Vegetable Recipes
Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts & Asparagus with
Garlic & Ginger Pureed Sauce
Serves 3 - 4

Try this power-packed bowl of nutrients when you need an extra lift. This is one of my all-time favorite steamed vegetable recipes! Its very good for fighting off candida, especially if you use virgin coconut oil for the sauce, and its so easy, because you make a blender sauce from some of the same veggies you just steamed... Brilliant!

Ingredients:

½ lb. asparagus – trimmed and cut into 1” pieces
½ lb. Brussels spouts – trimmed and cut into halves or quarters, depending on their size
1 large stalk of broccoli – cut into florettes, stem peeled and sliced thin
1 or 2 large garlic cloves – crushed and minced
½ inch piece ginger – peeled and minced, more if you like it spicy
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Steam the vegetable mixture until tender but still bright green. Remove 1 cup of the vegetables and put into a blender. Add the garlic, ginger and butter or oil. Puree, using some of the steaming water if necessary, into a sauce. Season with salt. Serve the steamed vegetables with the blended sauce spooned on top.

Steamed Vegetable Recipes
Mashed Cauliflower
Serves 3 - 4

One of the simplest steamed vegetable recipes, and a good crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

1 large head cauliflower
3 tablespoons butter
good grey sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Roughly chop the cauliflower and steam until tender. Turn off the heat. Drain steaming water, remove basket. Mash cauliflower in the same pot with butter and sea salt and serve at once.

Variation:

Try it with turnips, or a combination of the two (turnips take longer to cook than cauliflower, so start the turnips first, adding cauliflower when turnips are already fork-tender). Dee-lish!

This is one of the steamed vegetable recipes that's good hot or cold!

Ingredients:

10 cups fresh kale leaves & stems – stems separated from leaves and cut into ¼ inch pieces, leaves chopped into bite sized pieces
2 inch piece fresh ginger – peeled and minced
1 tablespoon unrefined sesame oil, plus 1 tablespoon
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
4 drops liquid stevia extract (more or less to taste)
sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Heat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add one tablespoon of the sesame oil and the ginger, cook ginger for about one minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

When ginger has cooled, add apple cider vinegar, stevia, and sea salt to the skillet. Mix well. Pour into a small dish and set aside.

Steam kale leaves and stems for 3 – 4 minutes, just until tender but not overcooked. Drain and put in a mixing bowl. Drizzle the ginger mixture over the kale, add the remaining sesame oil and toss well.

Taste and adjust seasonings as you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steamed Vegetable Recipes
Mashed Kohlrabi
Serves 3-4

Oh my goodness. Talk about delicious steamed vegetable recipes...

If you've never tried kohlrabi you are in for a real treat!

I discovered this beauty while we were living in Belgium, at the local farmer’s market, and we’ve been hooked on it ever since. It’s perfect, paired with a roast chicken. When there are leaves still attached, I save them with their stems, then add them, chopped, to my mixed steamed vegetables.

Ingredients:

1 large kohlrabi – peeled & cut into cubes
1 tablespoon butter or drippings from a free range roast chicken
good grey sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Steam kohlrabi until its very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain all the water, remove the steamer basket, add butter or drippings to the kohlrabi in the same pot and mash with a fork or potato masher, or use a hand blender to puree it. Season to taste with a little sea salt and serve.

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