Instant Pot Carrots (No Added Sugar)
This recipe for Instant Pot Carrots is so easy and delicious. It makes the perfect healthy side dish for a holiday meal or for an ordinary weeknight. This 20-minute vegetarian recipe is made without sugar.
Isn’t it great that it only takes 2 minutes to cook carrots in a pressure cooker?
If you’re like me, you’re always looking for an easy vegetable side dish to go with dinner. I tend to make a simple green salad or steamed or roasted vegetables.
These steamed carrots are sweet, perfectly cooked and delicious. They’re amazing for a quick and easy side dish.
Key Ingredients
- Carrots cook perfectly in the instant pot and have a natural sweetness that many people enjoy. You can even use frozen carrots in this recipe (see my guide on how to freeze carrots). If you want to use whole carrots, just slice them into bite-sized pieces before cooking them.
- Ghee, butter, vegan butter, or coconut oil adds a rich and decadent buttery flavor that pairs so nicely with carrots. If you aren’t on a dairy-free or vegan diet, you can use regular butter.
Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.
Recipe Steps
Step One: Chop your carrots into uniform sizes, about 1-inch chunks. You do not need to cut baby carrots.
Step Two: Add the prepped carrots to your Instant Pot with the water.
Step Three: Drain the cooked carrots.
Step Four: Toss with the carrots with your choice of butter, ghee, or coconut oil and herbs or other seasoning. Serve warm.
I hope you agree that this Instant Pot Carrot recipe is a great side dish with simple ingredients. Pressure cooker carrots are a favorite way to cook veggies on a busy weeknight.
Want a variation of this recipe? Try my Pressure Cooker Carrots and Potatoes!
Recipe Benefits
- This super easy recipe is a perfect side dish that goes with almost any main dish. It’s simple enough to serve everyday, but you can also add it to your Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter menu.
- It’s vegetarian, vegan-friendly, gluten-free, and made without added sugar!
- Carrots have health benefits including that they are a rich source of carotenoids and beta-carotene. They also have natural sugars which make tender carrots taste sweet even without sugar.
- It’s done in 20 minutes which includes the time to come to pressure and the cook time. The only thing you have to prep are the carrots but you can buy baby carrots and sidestep prep work altogether if you like (see my related recipe for Air Fryer Baby Carrots).
Recipe FAQs
For delicate vegetables like Instant Pot Broccoli that you don’t want to overcook, you would set the time for 0 minutes. Then, you would use the quick-release after the pot beeps and you’re done. Because carrots are a lot harder in texture than broccoli, I recommend cooking them for two minutes.
No, you do not. Just place the carrots and water directly into the pot. On the other hand, you can feel free to use a steamer basket if you have one. The directions stay the same.
Yes, just toss a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to the serving dish with the cooked carrots if you want the recipe to be sweeter.
Yes, you can. I prefer to use whole carrots, but you can use baby carrots if you want an easier prep. The cooking time stays the same.
Yes, just add one extra minute for a total of 3 minutes cooking time (the other directions stay the same).
Making Instant Pot Carrots Ahead of Time
These Instant Pot carrots are easy to make ahead if you want to plan your meals or prep for a holiday dinner. After cooking, let them cool completely and place them in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
When you are ready to serve, warm them on the stovetop or in the microwave with a little butter, ghee, or coconut oil. Add a splash of water if needed to keep them soft and moist.
They taste just as delicious the next day and make a quick, healthy side dish when life gets busy or if you want to prep them before a holiday like Thanksgiving.
I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.
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Instant Pot Carrots (No Added Sugar)
This recipe for Instant Pot Carrots is so easy and delicious. It makes the perfect healthy side dish for a holiday meal or for an ordinary weeknight. This 20-minute vegetarian recipe is made without sugar.
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh carrots, washed
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme, chopped
- 1 tablespoon melted ghee, butter, or coconut oil*
Instructions
- Chop the carrots into approximately 1-inch chunks.
- Place the water in the base of a 6-quart pressure cooker. Add the carrots.
- Lock on the lid and make sure the valve is set to seal. Set the cook time to 2 minutes on high pressure.
- When the cooking time is complete, carefully quick-release the pressure.
- Remove the lid and pour the carrots and water into a colander.
- Add the drained carrots to a serving dish and pour over the melted ghee or coconut oil. Toss with the thyme and serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
- *Use coconut oil or vegan butter to make this recipe vegan.
- Use baby carrots in this recipe, if you prefer. Baby carrots do not need to be chopped so this will save you time.
- The total cooking time includes 10 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Electric Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 62
- Sugar: 5.4 g
- Sodium: 78.3 mg
- Fat: 2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.9 g
- Fiber: 3.2 g
- Protein: 1.1 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.
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These were delicious! Followed the recipe exactly and they turned out great. Thanks!
So glad to hear that! 🙂
If you use 3X does the time change ?
No the time is the same. Enjoy!
I followed recipe and it’s great. Why put the carrots in the water vs above? The vitamins end up in water. The water was too good to throw out- very sweet- so I used in my green smoothie.
I can’t imagine Easter without carrots, and instant pot version is so good. Lovely bright photography.
Beautiful carrots! This is a great recipe to have on hand when things get chaotic for a big family dinner. Just throw it in the magical IP and forget about it! The thyme makes such a wonderful additional of flavor.
I’m not usually a big fan of plain cooked carrots, but I have to admit I love the simplicity of this dish! And I really like that you could mix it up with different herbs and spices, to change it up each time.