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Make these tender and tasty Instant Pot Beets in under 20 minutes. Learn to cook delicious beets in a pressure cooker for quick weeknight side dishes.

a teal plate with sliced beets topped with flaky sea salt and chopped parsley.
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Cooking beets (or beetroot, depending on where you live) can take forever. How long? Fooooooorever. <— name that movie.

The good news is you can bust out some freaking rad steamed beets in under 20 minutes in your Instant Pot. And I’m going to teach you how. You sit tight and read on. 

a note from sarah

Sustainability & meal prep Tip

Double or triple the amount of beets that you cook to make yourself a meal prep rockstar.

Check out our tutorial on how to freeze beets to store the extras. And don’t let those tasty beet greens go to waste. Our tutorial on freezing Swiss chard also works with beet greens.

Let’s Make Instant Pot Beets!

Other recipes might recommend cooking the beets with the root and skin still on and then peeling them after the fact. That requires your hands to look like a scene from Carrie and plus, you’re going to be dealing with some hot AF beets.

You though? You are super smart and you’re cutting the skin off first and then steaming. Cut the beet top and beet butt (technical people will call it the root end, but whatevs) off.

Place the root end on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut downward to remove the skin. Save the greens for a salad or smoothies.

Put a trivet/steamer basket in your Instant Pot and add 1.5 cups of water. Place the beets on top of the trivet or in the steamer basket.

Secure your lid. Set the vent to “sealing”, then Manual>High Pressure>(see time chart below)

  • 10 minutes – best for wee little baby beets under 2 inches in diameter.
  • 13 minutes – best for medium-sized beets between 2 and 3 inches in diameter.
  • 20-25 minutes – best for bigger beets 3+ inches in diameter.

When the cook time is up, use a dishrag to carefully flip the vent to “venting”. Remove beets from the Instant Pot and allow to cool. Slice, top with some flaky salt, and enjoy! 

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

  • You can stack a few layers of beets in the Instant Pot if you want to cook a bunch at once. Add 2 minutes of cooking time if you’re cooking more than two pounds.
  • Even if you cook fewer beets, you need a minimum of 1 cup of water in the Instant Pot for it to function correctly.
  • Allow the beets to fully cool and then you can store them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.
a plate of beets topped with salt in front of an Instant Pot.
5 from 5 ratings

20-Minute Instant Pot Beets

Servings: 4
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 13 minutes
Depressurizing time: 3 minutes
Total: 18 minutes
a teal plate with sliced beets topped with flaky sea salt and chopped parsley.
Make these tender and tasty Instant Pot beets in under 20 minutes. Learn to cook delicious beets in a pressure cooker for quick weeknight side dishes.

Ingredients 

  • 2 pounds beets
  • 1.5 cups water

Instructions 

  • Cut the beet top and root end off. Place the root end on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut downward to remove the skin.
    2 pounds beets
  • Put a trivet/steamer basket in your Instant Pot and add 1.5 cups of water. Place the beets on top of the trivet or in the steamer basket.
    1.5 cups water
  • Secure your lid. Set the vent to "sealing", then Manual>High Pressure>
    *10 minutes – best for small beets under 2 inches in diameter.
    *13 minutes – best for medium-sized beets between 2 and 3 inches in diameter.
    *20-25 minutes – best for bigger beets 3+ inches in diameter.
  • When the cooking time is up, use a dish rag to carefully flip the vent to "venting".
  • Remove beets from the Instant Pot and allow to cool. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

  1. You can stack a few layers of beets in the Instant Pot if you want to cook a bunch at once. Add 2 minutes of cooking time if you’re cooking more than two pounds.
  2. Store cooled beets in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Stovetop Instructions
  1. Follow the first step above. To make the beets cook more quickly, chop into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Place a steamer basket in a pot and add enough water to cover the bottom.
  3. Place a lid on and steam for 30-50 minutes or until the beet is easily pierced with a knife.

Nutrition

Serving: 8ozCalories: 97kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 3gFat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 175mgPotassium: 737mgFiber: 6gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 75IUVitamin C: 11.1mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 1.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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About Sarah Cook

I'm here to help you make easy, seasonal, and no-fuss recipes for yourself and your family.

Whether it's a quick one-pot dinner or if I am teaching you how to can and preserve local produce, you can consider me your elder millennial grandma

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5 from 5 votes

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16 Comments

  1. I love doing beets in the instant pot. I don’t peel, but cut off either end, give them a good scrub, and then cut into bite-size pieces. It’s great having a bowl of cooked beets in the fridge ready to go for salads or a side dish.5 stars

    1. Try peeling half of the ahead of time next time you make them. You may find it easier. Fun little nerdy science experiment.

      I’ve found cooking without the skin makes them taste less “rooty”. I never mind that, but people who hate beets tend to point to how they taste like dirt.

    1. Yes, you absolutely can! The short answer to how long to cook them is “it depends on how you want to use them when they’re thawed”.

      I have a whole tutorial on how to freeze beets here that will give you more specific info depending on your intended delicious beet use.

  2. I’m right there with you, I love beets too – so smart for you to make them in the pressure cooker. I just love your recipe!5 stars

  3. My husband cooks up a batch of beets once a week because he thinks they make him run faster. Usually he does them in the oven, but now that I have an Instant Pot I gave this method a try and woah are those beets ever good. And so easy! I also love that they’re contained so the clean up is easier. Will definitely be using this technique from now on!5 stars

  4. Sometimes I double wrap the beets in tin foil and nestle them near the front of the embers in the woodstove. Oven roasted is good but fire roasted is a step beyond that.

      1. Not since I was a kid, but it’s an interesting idea. Potatoes are a little less dense than an beet so it would not take as long. I think.