Steam is amazing in its applications. It’s powerful enough to propel a locomotive, yet can be gentle enough to give a relaxing facial or perfectly cook foods while leaving them tender and nutritious.
You’re probably already familiar with steaming as a cooking method, such as cooking steamed vegetables. But steaming for an omelet? How is that even possible?
Well it’s ridiculously simple and has become one of my cooking hacks for an easy breakfast. How easy? if you can whisk eggs and boil water, you can make a tender and scrumptious steamed omelette. Here’s how easy it is to make a steamed omelet.
About Omelets
Omelets are most often made in a pan on a stove, and they’re usually one of two main types of- the soft tender and milky white French styles, or the more western or diner style omelet that often has more browning to the exterior.
Both types can be filled or topped with ingredients, and there’s no wrong answer here. Each is delicious and can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Omelettes are packed with protein, and even with the current spike in egg prices, are an inexpensive meal. The usual method of cooking an omelet in a pan is technically via conduction, since the pan is transferring heat from the stove to cook the eggs. But that also leads to potential mis-steps like overcooking or undercooking the eggs, not getting the flip or fold correct, or the eggs sticking to the pan and making a mess instead of an omelet. It’s no wonder so many home cooks have feared the omelette.
Steamed Omelets
Well, enter my steaming method, which is absolutely foolproof. Steaming is a gentler way of cooking – convection, technically- and with my method there is no flipping or even moving of a pan to worry about.
We literally pour the eggs into a baking dish, put the dish in a steamer basket or pot, and cook. About 10 minutes later you get a fluffy, perfectly cooked omelet that you can then eat right from the dish, either then and there or the next morning. These have been an absolute game changer for my breakfast routine.
And the equipment needed to make this is probably already in your kitchen. If you have a pot and a steamer basket insert, making these is a breeze. And if all you have is a pot or pan with a lid, that works too via a method called pan steaming.
Even better, you can serve and eat the omelet in the same dish it is baked in. I use oval baking dishes from my collection of vintage CorningWare, but any small baking dish that fits in your pot or steamer basket will work. I make my steamed omelets in batches, refrigerate, and then pop in a microwave to heat when ready to eat. It’s that easy.
Here’s how to make a steamed omelet
Step 1: Fill a pot with about half an inch of water and heat over medium to ring to a simmer. In meantime, gather 2 or 3 eggs or simply egg whites, and whisk. You can also add ingredients like herbs, pre-cooked vegetables, or pre-cooked meat.
Step 2: Pour eggs into baking dish, then place dish into a steamer basket.
Step 3: Set the basket over into pot with simmering water, put on lid, then turn heat to low.
Step 4: Cook for about 10 minutes or until the eggs reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. When you lift the lid, the omelet will be puffy, then quickly deflate, like a souffle.
Congratulations: You’ve just made a steamed omelet. From here, I like to add cheese on top, put the lid back on and let it melt. You can also garnish with other ingredients of your liking. Carefully remove the baking dish and serve or cover and refrigerate for later.
Pan-steamed omelets
Another equally easy way to make a steamed omelet — or omelets, in this case — is to pan steam them. The procedure is the same, except we fill the pan with about half inch of water and set the bakers directly into the water. A bonus with this method is that you can usually fit an extra baking dish if using, say a 10-inch saute pan like I’m doing in the photo above.
From there, simply put a lid on the pan, and the simmering water will steam the omelets. A glass lid helps here, as you can see the omelets’ progress.
I hope you enjoy the no-worry, no-fuss results of steamed omelets. It’s made my mornings all that much easier, and I hope the same for you!