Instant Pot Steamed Beets are super delicious and naturally sweet vegetables. Learn how to cook fork tender and moist beets in Instant pot with this detailed post. You will love this easy and effortless method to cook juicy sweet beautiful colored beetroots in a jiffy.
On the surface, beetroots look hard as a rock and difficult to cook. But pressure cooking helps retain their moisture. You get tender and soft beets that can be used in multiple dishes.
Home Cooked Beets
It is super easy to make Instant Pot Steamed Beets. Home cooked beets taste so much better than canned or preserved beets sold in the grocery stores. Once you learn how easy it is to cook them, you will never want to buy the canned beets again.
This also is very economical and budget friendly to cook them at home. Fresh beets are plentiful and super reasonably priced. So buy it in bulk, cook it at once and freeze them in individual portions. You will also love the money savings!
Cooked beets give any dish a little sweetness and a burst of gorgeous ruby color. Enjoy this earthy, flavorful natural candy as is, as a side or in a salad!
WHY SHOULD YOU INCLUDE BEETS IN EVERYDAY MEALS?
- Beets are considered superfoods.
- They are powerful color in “eat your rainbow ” vegetable theme.
- A natural sweetener to satisfy sweet cravings.
- Beets are full of variety of nutrients, vitamins (especially folate), minerals and antioxidants.
- They are filling due to complex carbs yet low in calories and fat.
- They help detoxifying your liver
- Considered good source of anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.
- Great as immunity booster and improving hemoglobin.
RECIPE IDEAS TO USE INSTANT POT STEAMED BEETS
We love to use pressure cooked beets in variety of recipes. Plain beets with olive oil drizzle and sprinkle of coarse pink salt taste simply awesome.
You can use them in making different salads and sandwiches, rice and risotto, dips and hummus as well as soups and stews. Many folks include them in their daily breakfast juices and smoothies.
One of our popular recipe is Blushing Beets Pesto Pasta. We also love to combine multiple colors of food in this Kale Harvest salad. You can also make Beet Carpaccio by thinly slicing the beets. Serve it with Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus for healthy and gorgeous looking snack or light lunch.
Instant Pot Steamed Beets
Try to buy beets that are same in size. It helps with even cooking.
Wash and trim the beets leaves (if there are any).
Pour a cup of water into the Instant Pot. Place a steamer basket / trivet inside the Instant Pot and arrange the beets on top.
You can also use a steamer basket. Close the Instant Pot lid, with vent on SEALING. Choose the timing based on the size of the raw beets listed below.
Once InstantPot finishes cooking, wait on keep on timer for at least 10 minutes. You can release leftover pressure after that my moving the valve from SEALING to VENTING.
Open the lid and check if beets are cooked by inserting a clean knife or fork. If it goes through easily, the beets are cooked.
Remove the beets from the Instant Pot and on to a plate. Once they cool down, peel off the skin. ( to avoid stains, use gloves or paper towel. For well cooked beets, skin just skids off easily)
Slice or cut into desired pieces. Garnish them with your choice of toppings and enjoy!
A little more info on beet root vegetables
Beets can be eaten raw if they are tender and super fresh. You can also make them boiled, steamed or roasted. There is a myriad of useful information about this wonderful vegetable on JUSTBEETIT blog. I loved reading all about them including variety of recipes. Beet Orange Salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing is so delicious and we have made it countless times.
HOW LONG TO COOK BEETS IN ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER
Cook on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK (high) Mode. The size of the beets will determine how many minutes you need to cook whole beets.
- small size – cook for 10-12 minutes
- medium size beets – choose between 15-18 minutes and
- larger beets – cook for 20-25 minutes.
- If you cut the beets in half or into quarters, you can reduce cooking time to 10 minutes across the board.
BOILING VS STEAMING THE BEETS
I know it’s a personal preference, but I prefer to steam beets instead of boiling them in water. Steaming also helps retain nutrients better. When you boil beets and discard the water, nutrients get wasted as well which should be avoided.
Use a steamer basket or a trivet to elevate the beets without touching the water while cooking. Cover and cook so the moisture and nutrients get locked in.
HOW TO STORE COOKED BEETS
Let the cooked beets cool down completely. Peel them and cut the beets into desired pieces. Store it in air-tight container or zip lock bags for 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Use it as desired. You can also use vinegar to pickle beets. They stay fresh for longer period since vinegar acts as a natural preservative.
CAN YOU FREEZE BEETS
Raw beets do not freeze well. However cooked beats do a fantastic job of retaining the flavor and texture. To freeze your cooked beets, allow them to fully cool down. Then transfer to a freezer bag or airtight container. They can be stored in freezer up to 3 + months. This helps tremendously in meal planning.
OUR POPULAR INSTANT POT RECIPES
- CREAMY GNOCCHI SOUP
- HIBACHI FRIED RICE
- HEALTHY MINESTRONE SOUP
- VEGETABLE LO-MEIN NOODLES
- STUFFED PASTA SHELLS
- SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP
- HOMEMADE TAPIOCA PUDDING
- LENTIL QUINOA SOUP
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Instant Pot Steamed Beets
Ingredients
- 8-10 Small size raw beets
- 1 -1.5 cup water
Instructions
- Wash and trim the beets leaves.
- Pour a cup of water into the Instant Pot. Place a steamer basket or trivet inside the Instant Pot and arrange the beets on top of that. Close the Instant Pot lid, with the vent on SEALINGCook on Manual or Pressure cook (high) for 15 minutes.
- Note: Adjust the cooking time depending upon the size of the beets.
- After Instantpot finishes cooking and goes on KEEP WARM timer mode, let pressure release naturally, around 10 minutes, and then manually remove the remaining pressure by moving the valve from SEALING to VENTING.
- Open the lid and check if beets are cooked by inserting a clean knife. If it goes through easily, the beets are cooked. If required cook for additional few minutes.
- Remove the beets from the Instant Pot and on to a plate. Once beets are cool, peel off the skin using your hands or with the help of a paper towel.
- Slice or cut into desired pieces. Enjoy beets as a side or in a salad!
Instant Pot Cooking Beet - Time Suggestions
- For small size cook for 10-12 minutes, for medium size beets between 15-18 minutes and for larger beets cook for 20-25 minutes. If you cut the beets in half or into quarters, you can reduce cooking time to 10 minutes across the board
Donnie
Great recipe fo cooking beets in the Instant Pot! I love beets and your recipe was so easy! I didn’t realize beets can be frozen after cooking. I’m going to try that if I ever have left overs! Ha!