Instant Pot Beets (Mess-Free!)
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!
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.
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.
Why You Need This Recipe
- Cooked beets can be used in a variety of ways, including in a salad, as a side dish, or even in a beet smoothie.
- Beets are an incredibly healthy food, aiding in detoxification, lowering blood pressure, and increasing energy.
- This is the easiest and least messy way to make beets!
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.
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.
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!
Learn how to use your cooked beets to make homemade beet powder or as preparation to make dehydrated beets.
Recipe Tips
- 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
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.
Cooked beets will generally last about 5 days (or sometimes longer) in the refrigerator. Store them in a tightly sealed container.
The results are similar.
More Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Recipes You Might Like
- Instant Pot Artichokes
- Instant Pot Whole Butternut Squash
- Instant Pot Carrots
- Instant Pot Whole Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Whole Red Potatoes
Or, check out my round-up of the best healthy Instant Pot side dishes.
Don’t Miss These Easy Beet Recipes
Instant Pot Beets (Mess-Free)
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
- 1–2 pounds fresh beets, greens and stems removed
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Place the trivet on the bottom of your Instant Pot and add one cup of water.
- Place the beets on top of the trivet.
- Set the time to 16 minutes on high pressure (see the notes below for information on timing).
- Once the cooking time is up, let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, and then use the quick release.
- Remove the lid and use tongs to carefully transfer the beets to a plate.
- 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.
- Serve immediately, or store the cooked beets in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
- 1 pound of beets is equal to about 5 small beets or 3-4 medium beets.
- 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.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe (about 1 large cooked beet)
- 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
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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 over 5 million annual visitors to her site. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
Perfect every time! Easy way to cook beets.
I made your IP Beets cooked whole yesterday. All I can say is WOWSER! Soooo easy! Absolutely delicious. I could not stop eating them cold today. So very good. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I will be interested in trying some of your other recipes, now that I have tried this one.
Yet another reason to love the instant pot. I always thought I needed to roast beets for that sweet flavor, but these turned out delicious. So much quicker too! Can’t wait to try your berry beet smoothie this week.
Woo hoo! Glad you liked the method, Natalie! It’s so easy, right?!
Love your recipes!
So easy and healthy.
Awww, thanks Sharon! XO.