Best Microwave Broccoli: Steam in Bag Broccoli Taste Test!

The best microwave broccoli should taste like broccoli that was steamed on the stove top. It shouldn’t be total mush when you cook it according to the instructions on the bag. It should be firm (but not tough), bright green, and flavorful.

I used to consider it a point of pride that I don’t own a microwave (I can’t even totally explain why at this point), but the more I taste test products that are intended to be cooked in a microwave, the more I feel like a jerk. Steaming frozen broccoli on the stovetop isn’t a huge undertaking or anything, but tossing a bag in the microwave? That’s what I’m talking about. To find the best microwave broccoli, we stocked up on all the steam-in-bag broccoli we could find and cooked it according to the package instructions. Unfortunately, some brands come out way too tough. Others totally turn to mush. This is the best frozen broccoli you can (and should) cook in the microwave. We really stunk up the office for this one.

Runner-Up

Birds Eye Steamfresh Broccoli Florets

Target

For being billed as broccoli “florets,” Birds Eye microwave broccoli is pretty stemmy. I cooked this on high for 4.5 minutes as instructed and, sadly, the stems were a little tough, but the florets were very tender and tasty. Luckily, you get a lot of big pieces of broccoli in this bag and no sad, disembodied stems floating around. If you’re at a grocery store where you have to choose between Birds Eye and Green Giant, Birds Eye makes the better steam-in-bag broccoli. But if you shop at Walmart …

Credit: Merc / Target

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Great Value Broccoli Florets in Steamable Bag

Walmart

This broccoli smelled the fartiest but tasted the best. I cooked this bag of steam-in-bag broccoli for the suggested time based on our microwave’s wattage, and it came out firm and flavorful. The florets have long stems, but they aren’t tough. This tasted the most like actual stovetop-steamed broccoli by a mile. Plus, if you’re using this to make broccoli with cheese sauce, it isn’t going to turn to mush as you stir. We tasted a couple of presauced microwave broccoli brands and they were watery and a little gross—you’re better off making this and giving it a Velveeta drizzle. Trust me, this is the best microwave broccoli you can buy.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other products we tried: Green Giant Simply Steam, Green Giant Broccoli & Cheese Sauce, Birds Eye Sauced Cheesy Broccoli, Good & Gather Steam in Bag Broccoli Florets

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.