The Best Collapsible Steamer Baskets

All the steamers fit into the same array of pots and pans (we tested with a 10-quart stockpot, 7.5-quart Dutch oven, and 4-quart saucepan) and were capable of producing evenly cooked food. Unfortunately, some were just too small to make very much of it. The two silicone models had bases of less than 30 square inches, so they held only two to three chicken breasts or five to six dumplings; the other models, including a spacious two-tiered steamer, fit four chicken breasts and up to 26 dumplings. And while we could technically fit 1½ pounds of broccoli (enough for four people as a side dish) in the silicone models, we had to pile the florets on top of each other in so many layers that steam couldn’t penetrate to the center, leaving the innermost ones undercooked. We preferred bigger steamers: Those with at least 60 square inches of usable area gave us plenty of space to position and cook a full recipe in one go.

Other design flaws made certain steamers harder to use. All four of the metal steamers had looped or rod-like handles that stemmed from their centers, but at less than 3 inches high, the handles on three of the models weren’t tall enough to grasp securely with tongs or an oven mitt. That meant that as we tried to remove them from a hot pot, these steamers often tilted and spilled food back into the water.

Still, height wasn’t everything. The two silicone steamers had longer handles stemming from the outer edges of the baskets. These interlocked and were easy to grab, but they sprung a little too high in some pots, preventing the lid from closing tightly and allowing steam to escape. Another downside to these models was that their floppy sides didn’t always do a good job of containing food. They pitched outward when eggs or dumplings slid against them and sometimes sent the food into the pot.

Our favorite model was sturdy and had a centered telescoping handle that could be extended to 4 inches in height for removing the steamer and collapsed back down to a more discreet 2½ inches so it didn’t interfere with the lid.

The silicone models did have two small advantages, though: They were easier to clean and more durable. While all the steamers were dishwasher-safe, the plastic and metal models often required extra work to remove bits of food from the perforations in their overlapping leaves. Additionally, the leaves and handles on some of these models bent out of shape over the course of testing, though all but one product remained entirely functional. In the end, however, the silicone models’ performance issues outweighed their modest benefits; testers didn’t care how durable or easy to clean they were because they were just too small and floppy, making them impractical and hard to use.

Our old winner, the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Steamer with Extendable Handle, remains our favorite. It is a little finicky to clean and a few of its leaves bent slightly over the course of testing, but that didn’t affect its functionality. It has a large usable space of 63.6 square inches, allowing us to cook plenty of food at once. But its long handle—redesigned since our last testing to smoothly telescope up and down—was the real asset here, making this model the easiest to insert and remove from a variety of cooking vessels and collapsing to a shorter height when not in use.