Pressure Cooker Beets {Instant Pot Beets}
Make tender and nutritious pressure cooker beets in under 20 minutes. This recipe will teach you how to cook delicious Whole30 and paleo beets in the Instant Pot.
What I’m about to say may be controversial.
I freaking love beets. LOVE THEM! And I’m sick and tired of them getting a bad rap. Leave the beets alone.
Unless of course, you plan to eat them. In which case I’m all in and fully on board.
Cooking beets (beetroot) can take forever. Too long. To the point where most people just don’t even bother and they miss out on the beety goodness. If this has been you, don’t beet yourself up about it.
Oh, just a little root vegetable humor. Please forgive me.
The good news is you can bust out some freaking rad steamed beets in under 20 minutes in your pressure cooker (like an Instant Pot). And I’m going to teach you how. You sit tight and read on. I’ll be working on more beet puns.
Give me some thinking music. Let that beet drop.
Need help getting started off with your Whole30 round on the right foot? Download my totally free Trader Joe’s Whole30 Shopping List and Whole30 Costco Shopping List. I have done all the work for you with checking ingredients and figuring out safe foods. Happy shopping?
How Long Do You Cook Beets in a Pressure Cooker?
The simple answer is it all depends on the size of the beet(s). Wee little baby beets can be cooked in 10 minutes, bigger ones might take as long as 20-25 minutes. The beets in this photo were 2.5 inches wide and took 13 minutes.
How to Make Pressure Cooker Beets
*A detailed and printable recipe card is at the bottom of the post
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, sous vide egg bites or a quiche.
Put a trivet/steamer basket in your Instant Pot and add 1.5 cups of water. Place the beets on top of the trivet.
All the cool people have stained Instant Pots.
Secure your lid. Set the vent to “sealing”, then Manual>High Pressure>13 minutes.
When the cook 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!
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.
- Store beets in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.
How to Serve Pressure Cooker Beets
- Eat.them.plain. Just do it. They’re amazing. Maybe a sprinkle of salt and that’s it.
- Slice them and serve them in salads, or on a crudites platter.
- Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts and a round of fried goat cheese for this amazing salad.
- Add to this Farro Salad With Baby Beets and Snap Peas.
Other Recipes Like This
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Garlic
- Spicy Green Bean Stir Fry
- How to Roast Asparagus – Three Ways
- Crunchy Sauteed Cabbage and Bacon
Making this recipe or others?
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This recipe will teach you how to cook delicious Whole30 and paleo beets in the Instant Pot.
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. Save the greens for a salad, sous vide egg bites or a quiche.
Put a trivet/steamer basket in your Instant Pot and add 1.5 cups of water. Place the beets on top of the trivet.
Secure your lid. Set the vent to "sealing", then Manual>High Pressure>13 minutes.
When the cook 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!
Follow the first step above. To make the beets cook more quickly, chop into bite-sized pieces.
Place a steamer basket in a pot and add enough water to cover the bottom. Place a lid on and steam for 30-50 minutes or until the beet is easily pierced with a knife.
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.
Store beets in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week.
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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.
That sound sooooooo fun! I’m totally doing that in a few weeks. Do you ever roast potatoes like that?
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.
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!
Faster beets make for faster runners. That’s just science.
This is both delcious and easy to make! I love that about all of your recipes!
So glad you enjoyed them!