Quarts Are a Total, Not a Tray: Best Food Steamer

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The quart figure on a food steamer is a total, not a tray. It adds up every tier, and on at least one machine here it appears to include the water reservoir as well.

The clearest example is in this roundup: a steamer whose title advertises 18 QT and whose own bullets describe a 13 QT double-layer steaming area. Both numbers describe the same machine. The smaller one is the space you can actually put food in.

The same applies less dramatically everywhere else. A 13.7-quart machine is two 6.9-quart tiers. A 5-quart machine is two 2.5-quart baskets. You are never cooking one dish in the headline volume, and the useful question is how much fits in a single tier.

Only two of the ten machines below translate this into something meaningful by stating servings — one to four, and three to six. That is the figure to look for, and its absence on the other eight is the main reason steamers get bought in the wrong size.

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At a Glance

Ten Food Steamers Compared

Capacity as stated and as split across tiers, with basket material and control type, and the gaps each listing leaves.

#	Model	Capacity	Tiers	Material	Control	Standout	Main Drawback	Check Price
1	AIRMSEN TL-1230	8.5 qt	2 tiers	Borosilicate glass	External water tank	All food-contact parts stated as glass	Price not shown on the listing	View on Amazon
2	Cuisinart Glass Steamer	5 L	Single chamber	Glass and stainless	5 pre-programmed settings	Steams from the top down	Heaviest and among the dearest here	View on Amazon
3	VEVOR DZG-008	13.7 qt	2 x 6.9 qt	SUS304 and PP	1500 W, 3-6 servings	Publishes wattage and servings	PP plastic in the construction	View on Amazon
4	COM-231 18QT	18 qt stated	2 tiers	304 stainless	12 presets	Biggest headline capacity here	Listing gives 18 QT and 13 QT for the same machine	View on Amazon
5	Secura DZG-A80A1	Double tier	2 tiers	Stainless steel	1200 W, 15 sec to steam	Steam in fifteen seconds, stated	No capacity figure published	View on Amazon
6	BUYDEEM G52	10.6 qt	2 tiers	Stainless steel	7 preset timings	Timings matched to what you are steaming	Lowest rating in the roundup	View on Amazon
7	Amazon Basics FS1000	9.5 qt	3 tiers	Not stated	60-minute timer	Only three-tier machine here	Material not specified	View on Amazon
8	Hamilton Beach 37430	Not stated	Tiers plus rice bowl	Plastic	Steamer, rice cooker and egg boiler	Three appliances in one housing	Plastic construction	View on Amazon
9	OVENTE FS62S	5 qt	2 x 2.5 qt	Stainless steel	Clear stackable baskets	Lightest and cheapest here	Smallest capacity in the roundup	View on Amazon
10	GY-575 12.7QT	12.7 qt	2 tiers	Stainless steel	8-in-1 with minute timer	Eight functions across a large capacity	Price not shown, and lowest-rated but one	View on Amazon

Specifications and ratings are taken from each manufacturer’s Amazon listing as displayed on 20 August 2026 and may change. The COM-231 states 18 QT in its title and a 13 QT steaming area in its bullets; both are shown. Two listings did not display a price when checked. Only VEVOR publishes a wattage among machines that also state capacity, and only VEVOR and BUYDEEM state a serving count. Amazon Basics does not state its basket material anywhere. Microwave steamers and hot dog steamers returned by the same category were excluded as different product classes.

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How We Chose These Food Steamers

We researched current listings, compared manufacturer specifications and documentation, and examined recurring patterns in customer feedback. We did not carry out hands-on testing, and nothing below is presented as measured performance data.

• Capacity per tier, not the headline total — the total adds every tier and sometimes the reservoir; a single tier is what holds one dish
• Whether servings are stated — only two listings translate quarts into people fed
• Basket material — steam sits in contact with it for up to an hour; one machine states glass, one states plastic, one states nothing
• Number of tiers — three tiers keep fish, greens and potatoes genuinely separate
• Time to steam where stated — the wait for water to boil is the dead time that stops people steaming
• Electric countertop only — microwave steamers and hot dog steamers were excluded as different products

The 10 Best Food Steamers, Reviewed

How Many Tiers Do You Need?

Tiers are the only way to cook different foods at once without them tasting of each other.

Two tiers suits most people and is what nearly everything here offers. Three earns its place if you routinely cook a full meal in the steamer, because fish above greens above potatoes is exactly the arrangement a two-tier machine cannot manage. The single-chamber Cuisinart trades separation for evenness — its top-down steam avoids the gradient that makes the upper basket on a stacked machine cook more slowly than the lower one.

What Are the Baskets Made Of?

Food sits in 100°C steam for up to an hour, in direct contact with the basket. Three answers appear in this roundup, and one listing gives none.

If the material matters to you, only one machine here answers the question fully — AIRMSEN states borosilicate glass for every food-contact part. Stainless is the sensible default and covers most of this list. Hamilton Beach is honest about being plastic. Amazon Basics says nothing at all, which on a machine whose entire function is prolonged steam contact is the one gap worth holding against it.

Best Alternatives

Reading the Capacity Figure Correctly

Under 6 quarts — OVENTE FS62S at 5 qt. Two 2.5-quart baskets. That is a portion for one or two people per tier. Small, light, cupboard-storable, and genuinely limiting for a family.

8 to 10 quarts — AIRMSEN 8.5 qt, Amazon Basics 9.5 qt. The practical middle. The Amazon Basics splits its 9.5 quarts across three tiers plus a rice basket, so each individual tray is modest but the separation is the best here.

10 to 14 quarts — BUYDEEM 10.6 qt, GY-575 12.7 qt, VEVOR 13.7 qt. Family capacity. VEVOR is the only one that states the split honestly as two 6.9-quart tiers, and the only one to give servings, at three to six.

18 quarts stated — COM-231. The largest headline figure, and the machine whose own bullets give 13 QT for the steaming area. Plan from 13.

The general rule: divide the headline figure by the number of tiers to get roughly what one dish can occupy, then ignore the total. A 13.7-quart steamer and an 18-quart steamer both give you about six to seven quarts of usable tray.

How to Choose a Food Steamer

Divide the Quart Figure by the Number of Tiers

The headline capacity is a sum. A 13.7-quart machine is two 6.9-quart trays and you cannot cook a 13.7-quart dish in it. Work out the per-tier volume before comparing anything, and prefer the two listings here that state servings instead.

Decide How Many Foods You Cook at Once

Two tiers is the standard and suits most people. Three, as on the Amazon Basics, lets you steam fish, greens and potatoes without shared flavours. A single chamber cooks most evenly but separates nothing.

Check What the Baskets Are Made Of

Steam sits against the basket for the whole cycle. One machine here states borosilicate glass for all food-contact parts, most state stainless, one states plastic, and one does not say at all. If it matters to you, that last case is an unknown rather than a reassurance.

Look for the Wait Time, Not Just the Wattage

The dead time on a steamer is waiting for water to boil, and it is why people give up on them. Secura states fifteen seconds to steam and VEVOR publishes 1500 watts; most listings here give neither, so you cannot tell how long you will be standing around.

Prefer Preset Timings to Preset Programmes

Steam is 100°C regardless of machine, so there is no temperature to program — only time. BUYDEEM’s seven timings from five to sixty minutes map directly onto greens, fish and potatoes, which is more useful than a vaguely named programme.

Think About Refilling Mid-Cycle

Long steams run the reservoir dry, and on most machines refilling means lifting a hot wet tier stack off the base. The AIRMSEN’s external water tank is the only design here that solves it, and it is a bigger convenience than the spec sheet suggests.

Common Food Steamer Buying Mistakes

• Reading the quart figure as usable space. It is a total across all tiers, and on one machine here the title and bullets differ by five quarts.
• Buying two tiers when you cook three things. Fish flavours whatever sits above it; only a third tier fixes that.
• Ignoring the basket material. Food sits in 100°C steam against it for up to an hour, and one listing here does not state it at all.
• Opening the lid to check. It releases the steam you are cooking with and adds minutes; clear baskets avoid it.
• Expecting temperature control. Steam is 100°C on every machine; only the timing changes.
• Overlooking the refill problem. A long steam empties the reservoir, and most machines make you dismantle the stack to top it up.
• Buying on presets alone. A named programme is only useful if it maps to a time you would have chosen anyway.

Which Food Steamer Should You Buy?

Buy the AIRMSEN TL-1230 if you want no plastic or coating in the food path. It is the only machine here stating borosilicate glass for every food-contact part, the only one with an external water tank, and the highest rated in the roundup.

Buy the VEVOR DZG-008 if you want family capacity at a sensible price, from the one listing that publishes wattage, servings and an honest tier split.

Buy the OVENTE FS62S if you cook for one or two and need it to live in a cupboard. Lightest and cheapest here.

Buy the Amazon Basics FS1000 if you steam three foods at once — the only three-tier machine here, with a rice basket as well.

Buy the Cuisinart if even cooking matters more than separation. Top-down steam removes the gradient that makes stacked tiers cook unevenly.

Buy the Secura if the wait has put you off steaming before — fifteen seconds to steam, stated.

Buy the Hamilton Beach 37430 if you want a steamer, rice cooker and egg boiler in one, and accept a plastic body.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict

Food steamers are sold on a number that does not mean what it appears to. The quart figure totals every tier, and on at least one machine here it appears to include the water tank as well — which is how a steamer can advertise 18 quarts and describe 13 in its own bullets.

So work it out before you compare. Divide the headline by the tiers to get the usable tray. Decide how many foods you cook at once, because that sets two tiers against three. Check what the baskets are made of, since steam sits against them for the whole cycle and one listing here will not say. Then look for a stated time to steam or a wattage, because the wait for the water to boil is what decides whether you keep using it.

Do that and the steamer that suits you is usually smaller than the quart figures suggest — and considerably easier to live with.