instant pot steamed vegetables

Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables

These Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables are super easy to make and a foolproof method that will give you the perfect veggies every time.

Ingredients and substitutions

This Instant Pot steamed vegetables recipe is as flexible as you need it to be! Use any veggies you like and only 3 other ingredients! As easy to make as Instant Pot eggs and Instant Pot yogurt recipe.

• Vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, baby carrots, green beans, asparagus, zucchini coarsely chopped.
• Water: You want the water cold, to heat up along with the veggies. Adding hot water will steam the veggies too quickly.
• Butter: Adding melted butter to steamed veggies is drool-worthy. It’s the only way to eat them!
• Everything bagel seasoning: To taste. Add as much or as little as you’d like.

How to Steam Vegetables in Instant Pot

Once you learn how to steam veggies in Instant Pot, buy pre-chopped and trimmed cauliflower, broccoli, green beans and baby carrots, and steam them for a healthy and quick side dish any day!

• Prep Instant Pot. Add cold water and trivet or basket with vegetables.
• Pressure cook the veggies. Close the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and press the Manual or Pressure Cook button. Pressure Cook the vegetables until done.
• Do a quick release. Turn the valve to Venting immediately to quickly release the steam.
• Drizzle and serve. You don’t want to use the keep warm function for these veggies. Transfer vegetables onto a serving plate immediately, so they don’t continue to cook in the pot and turn to mush. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with tasty seasoning. Serve immediately while the veggies are at their best!

Is it better to pressure cook or steam vegetables?

When it comes to steaming veggies, the pressure cooker is the way to go. Instead of spending 20 minutes steaming your vegetables in a pot on the stovetop, they’ll cook in the pressure cooker for 0 minutes. It’s the ideal solution for people who are super easy! It’s also super easy and doesn’t require any kitchen tools – all you need is your Instant Pot.

Most (if not all) of the models of Instant Pot brand pressure cookers are sold with a free steamer basket. If you own an electric pressure cooker made by a different company, that may not be the case. You have nothing to worry about, though. Any steamer basket that fits inside of your pressure cooker will work just fine.

Do I need a steamer basket for this recipe?

Usually, I’m using my steamer basket on these kinds of recipes. But I got some comments from users who are just starting out with the Instant Pot and don’t have all the fancy accessories yet.

So I decided to make this Instant Pot steamed vegetables recipe inside the pot, to show you that it’s possible.

What if I wanna use a steamer basket?

If you DO prefer a steamer basket, just follow these simple instructions:

1. Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot.

2. Place the steamer basket on the bottom of the Instant Pot.

3. Place the vegetables inside the basket

4. Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.

5. Do a quick pressure release and serve.

What’s the best steamer basket?

In my opinion, these are the best out there:

1. Stainless steel steamer basket
2. Silicone Steamer Basket

How Long to Steam Veggies in the Instant Pot?

For tender, yet crispy veggies, follow these guidelines. How long to steam vegetables in Instant Pot? Depending on the size of your pressure cooker, times may vary slightly. Size of the pot matters a lot when steaming veggies in Instant Pot because its volume will dictate how long pot comes to pressure, thus cooking vegetables at same time.

• 3 quart Instant Pot: 1 minute on High Pressure.
• 6 quart: 0 minutes on High Pressure.
• 8 or 10 quart: 0 minutes on Low Pressure.

Pro Tip: If your Instant Pot doesn’t have low pressure, cook on High Pressure and Cancel as soon as it pressurizes.

HOW TO USE THIS RECIPE FOR MEAL PREP

• Cook the vegetables ahead of time to reheat later. Steamed vegetables can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. You can reheat them as needed.
• Prep and chop the vegetables ahead of time, store the fresh veggies in the refrigerator, and steam as needed. This way, you will always have freshly steamed vegetables and don’t need to worry about reheating them.
• Cut and chop the vegetables and place them into the Instant Pot. Use the Delay Start function or turn on the pressure cooker before setting the table for dinner. You can leave the fresh vegetables in the Instant Pot for up to 8 hours.

Why Is the Cooking Time for Steamed Veggies Zero?

Raw veggies, especially ones that have been cut into smaller pieces, will cook pretty quickly using steam. Because Instant Pot takes the time to build up pressure, it’s already steaming while it’s doing that. So, by the time it reaches full pressure, the veggies have already finished cooking. Neat, isn’t it?

What Veggies Are Best to Steam?

Basically, any that will hold its shape and remain sturdy when steaming. Asparagus, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans are all great choices. Dark leafy greens are also great for steaming, but as we know they don’t take much time at all, and can usually wilt in the residual heat. Check out my grilled lettuce recipe, you will be blown away!

CAN I STEAM VEGETABLES IN AN INSTANT POT WITHOUT A STEAMER BASKET?

If you are planning to steam vegetables in the Instant Pot regularly, I highly recommend purchasing a steamer basket. But if you want to try and see if steaming in Instant Pot is for you, you can still make steamed vegetables in the Instant Pot without it.

As far as I know, all Instant Pot models are sold with a metal trivet. So, you can use the trivet to elevate the vegetables above the water. I recommend placing large slices of firm vegetables such as carrots or cauliflower over the trivet and then place the rest of the vegetables on top of it.

The large pieces should prevent the smaller pieces from dropping to the bottom of the cooking pot.

HOW TO SERVE INSTANT POT STEAMED VEGETABLES

For a healthy and light lunch or dinner, serve these Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables with this Pan Fried Rainbow Trout, these Yogurt Marinated Chicken Kebabs, or this Chicken and Green Lentils Casserole.

Steamed vegetables also taste great as a part of veggie and grain bowls together with barley or black rice.

HOW TO STORE STEAMED VEGETABLES

These Instant Pot steamed vegetables store quite well. Keep them in the refrigerator in an airtight glass container for up to 2 to 3 days.

CAN STEAMED VEGETABLES BE REHEATED?

Steamed vegetables can be reheated but keep in mind that reheating vegetables also cooks them further, so make sure not to overheat them.

I find the easiest way to warm up steam vegetables is in the microwave.

You can also reheat them on the stovetop or in the oven.

Health Benefits of Steaming vs Boiling

No matter how you cook your vegetables, you’re bound to lose some nutrients along the way, just because of the heat. The longer they cook, the more nutrients escape. Even still, veggies are always a source of nutrients.

Veggies that are cooked using steam, use the residual heat from boiling water but don’t actually make any contact with the water. They’re steamed and then removed from the heat, capturing their crisp texture and flavour. Boiling is when food is immersed in the water, making direct contact, sometimes at the expense of flavor and texture when boiled for longer periods of time.

More Tips

• Amount of veggies you can cook: The weight of the veggies makes no difference to the cooking time. This means that you can basically add in as many veggies as you want and they’ll still be evenly cooked. Perfect for serving a bigger crowd.
• For very soft veggies: Increase cook time to 1 minute for softer veggies. Great for batch preparing baby food.
• Steaming vs Pressure Cooking:
• Fresh or frozen: You can steam either fresh vegetables or frozen vegetables in Instant Pot! I recommend the same cooking time for frozen veggies because Instant Pot will take longer time to come to pressure. If you would like to cook veggies more, just close the lid and let them sit for 5 minutes with pressure cooker turned off. Vegetables will get cooked with residual heat.

Nutrition