You’re going to love how easy it is to make Instant Pot Beets. Cook them whole and then remove the skins. Slice the whole beets for an easy salad or side dish. This method is mess-free and so much easier than using the oven!

instant pot red beets served whole on a white plate.

If you’ve ever made beets in the oven, you know it takes a lot of time and can be very messy. The good news is that you can cook beets whole in the pressure cooker and get the same results from oven roasting. It’s the easiest way for cooking beets!

The Instant Pot cooks them 16 minutes cooking time on high pressure, and then you can just use a paper towel to wipe off the skins. It’s so easy and much less messy than roasting beets in the oven. You could say that this pressure cooker recipe is a game changer.

Beets are a summer vegetable, but you can find them throughout the whole year nowadays. I like to buy them fresh at the farmers’ market where they often have red beets, orange beets, yellow beets, and candy cane beets (Chiogga beets), which are striped red and white. Use whatever you can find from the farmers market or your local grocery store.

Contents hide
1 Why You Need This Recipe
2 Key Ingredients
3 Recipe Steps
4 Recipe Tips & Substitutions
5 Recipe FAQs
6 More Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Recipes You Might Like
7 More Beet Recipes You Might Like
8 Instant Pot Beets (Mess-Free)

Why You Need This Recipe

Key Ingredients

This is a one-ingredient recipe. All you need are fresh, raw beets. You don’t need to peel them, just scrub them well under running water.

Trim off the ends so they will fit inside your Instant Pot pressure cooker.

Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.

beets with greens on a tabletop.

Recipe Steps

Step One

Unlike oven cooking where you have to wrap each beet in foil, all you have to do to prep fresh beets for the Instant Pot is to remove any beet greens and large stems.

Step Two

Next, place a trivet or steamer basket in the base of a 3-quart, 6-quart, or 8-quart Instant Pot pressure cooker. Add a cup of water and set the beets on top.

You can cook as many beets as you like at one time, as long as they do not reach above the “max” fill line of the Instant Pot. They do not need to be in a single layer.

Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.

uncooked beets in Instant Pot.

Step Three

Set the cooking time based on the size of the beets.

For small beets, set the time to 12 minutes. For medium beets, set the time to 16 minutes. For large beets, set the time to 20 minutes. 

Step Four

Once the cooking time is complete, let the pressure come down naturally for about 10 minutes.

Then, use the natural pressure release (also called the quick release) and carefully remove the lid.

Step Five

The last step is to cut off the tops from each beet using a paring knife.

Then, to remove the skin, carefully hold each beet under cold running water. Use a clean paper towel to wipe the skin off of each beet. Then, you can serve the beets or store them in the refrigerator.

Serve your beets plain or however you like to prepare them.

I recommend this Watermelon Beet Salad that is sooo good! Or just serve them with some salt, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. These fork tender soft beets are naturally sweet and flavorful.

I hope you love this easy Instant Pot Beets recipe as much as I do!

beet salad in a white bowl with olive oil.

Recipe Tips & Substitutions

  • Use red beets or golden beets for this recipe.
  • Beets are budget-friendly and are generally available at any time of year. See my other tips for eating clean on a budget.
  • Store any leftover pressure cooker beets in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • If you love beets, don’t miss my top-ranked recipe for Beet Juice (or my article on Beet Juice Benefits).

Recipe FAQs

How do you eat cooked beets?

I love to eat cooked beets in a beet salad, or freeze them and put them into smoothies (check out this Strawberry Beet Smoothie recipe). Cooked beets can also be blended into desserts as a hidden vegetable.

How long will cooked beets last in the refrigerator?

Cooked beets will generally last about 5 days (or sometimes longer) in the refrigerator. Store them in a tightly sealed container.

Are Instant Pot Beets the same as roasted beets?

The results are similar.

cooked instant pot beets cut into hearts.

More Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Recipes You Might Like

Or, check out my round-up of the best healthy Instant Pot side dishes.

More Beet Recipes You Might Like

How to Freeze Raw Beets

Watermelon Beet Salad

Sweet Potato Beet Salad

Strawberry Banana Beet Smoothie

I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.

And, consider following me on social media so we can stay connected. I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube!

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cooked beets on a plate

Instant Pot Beets (Mess-Free)

★★★★★

5 from 10 reviews
Print Recipe

You’re going to love how easy it is to make Instant Pot Beets. Cook them whole and then remove the skins. Slice the beets for an easy salad or side dish. This method is mess-free!

  • Total Time: 37 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1–2 pounds fresh beets, greens and stems removed
  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  1. Place the trivet on the bottom of your Instant Pot and add one cup of water.
  2. Place the beets on top of the trivet. 
  3. Set the time to 16 minutes on high pressure (see the notes below for information on timing). 
  4. Once the cooking time is up, let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, and then use the quick release.
  5. Remove the lid and use tongs to carefully transfer the beets to a plate.
  6. Use a paring knife to cut the ends off of each beet. Then, use a paper towel to gently wipe off the skin of each beet.
  7. Serve immediately, or store the cooked beets in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Equipment

Notes

  1. 1 pound of beets is equal to about 5 small beets or 3-4 medium beets.
  2. You may need to adjust the cooking time depending on the size of your beets. For small beets, set the time to 12 minutes. For medium beets, set the time to 16 minutes. For large beets, set the time to 20 minutes. 

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 53
  • Sugar: 8.3 g
  • Sodium: 95.9 mg
  • Fat: 0.2 g
  • Saturated Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 11.8 g
  • Fiber: 3.4 g
  • Protein: 2 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Keywords: how to make beets in the instant pot, cook beets in pressure cooker

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About the Author: Carrie Forrest is the author of the best-selling Instant Pot-authorized cookbook, The Healthy Meal Prep Instant Pot Cookbook. She has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition and receives nearly 10 million annual visitors to her site. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.