Cooking carrots in the Instant Pot is so quick, easy, and delicious! Made in only a few minutes, they are wonderfully tender and great for an easy veggie side. Use these tips and tricks to make steamed whole or baby carrots in your pressure cooker.
Steamed carrots are a family-favorite veggie side dish for a reason! They are naturally lightly sweet, cooked to a tender, creamy texture and can be seasoned with your favorite spices to compliment any entree.
I prefer steaming carrots using an Instant Pot. No hovering over the stove while they cook, plus they get evenly steamed without any tossing or flipping! And I love that the flavor is so easy to customize to whatever we are eating with the carrots.
Here's a little information for all you food-history buffs (includes me!). The earliest wild carrots were first found before 200 BCE in Egypt and Greece. They were first domesticated in the 10th century in Asia, though they were probably white or purple. At some point, a mutation occurred that made the carrots yellow, from which the orange carrots we love today evolved.
Fun Fact: Carrots were brought to America in 1609 by English settlers. They were first cultivated in Jamestown, Virginia.
Health Benefits of Carrots
Carrots have a variety of health benefits, including:
- Carrots are low on the glycemic index (GI), which is a measure of how quickly foods raise blood sugar after a meal. Their GI ranges from 16 to 60, with the lowest for raw carrots, a little higher for cooked ones, and highest for puréed. Eating low-glycemic foods has many health benefits and is particularly important for people monitoring their blood sugar, especially in diabetes.
- Carrots are mostly water and carbs, which are starch and sugars. While they do have about 7 grams net carbs per carrot, they are still lower in carbs than many other root or underground vegetables (such as potatoes).
- They are a good source of fiber, with one carrot containing about 2 grams. The main form of soluble fiber in carrots is pectin, which can lower blood sugar levels and help digestion.
- Carrots are a good source of several vitamins and minerals, such biotin, potassium, and vitamin A.
You might also like this delicious recipe for Honey Glazed Instant Pot Carrots.
Why Steam Carrots or Veggies in the Instant Pot?
I love steaming carrots in the Instant Pot for so many reasons, such as:
- Using the pressure cooker is basically hands-off! Virtually all you do is add your carrots, seasonings, and water to the Instant Pot, then forget them until they've cooked.
- This method is so fast! After you've peeled your carrots, they take under 15 minutes to cook.
- Cooking carrots in the Instant Pot is completely customizable. Add your favorite spices for the perfect side or to use in another recipe. (see seasoning suggestions in recipe card below)
- Your carrots will end up evenly cooked and perfectly tender every single time!
Checkout other easy and delicious Instant Pot Basics Recipes!
How long to steam carrots in the Instant Pot?
The cook time for carrots in the pressure cooker is 2 minutes, however, your pressure cooker will take about 10 minutes to reach pressure, so the total time ends up around 12 minutes.
How long to cook baby carrots in the Instant Pot?
2 minutes at high pressure, followed by a quick release of pressure.
Step by Step Instructions for Steamed Carrots in Instant Pot
- Prep the carrots: Peel carrots and cut them in 2-inch long pieces, about ½-inch thick. Alternatively use baby carrots. (pic 1)
- Add water: Add 1 cup water to the steel insert of the Instant Pot. Increase water to 2 cups if using an 8qt cooker. (pic 2)
- Add the carrots: Add carrots in a steamer basket, or stack them on any trivet that has a 1-inch or more clearance from the bottom of the pot. This ensures even cooking. Lower the basket or trivet into the Instant Pot. (pic 3)
- Close the lid and cook: Close the lid. Select 'pressure cook' or manual and cook for 2 minutes at high pressure, on sealing mode. Once cooking time is up, hit cancel and release the pressure manually (QR) by following your model's quick release instructions. Carefully remove the steamer basket and let it cool. (pic 4)
What accessories do I need for Instant Pot Carrots?
You will need:
- A silicone steamer basket (or a metal steamer)
- or a metal trivet which comes with most electric pressure cookers
If you don't have either, see the next section.
How to Steam Carrots without a Steamer Basket
Add the carrots to the pressure cooker first, then add the water and any seasonings. Since the carrots will be partially submerged in water, they will retain more moisture after cooking and maybe slightly more cooked at the bottom (soaked part) versus top.
Steam Carrots in the Microwave
To steam carrots in the microwave, add carrot pieces to a large microwave safe bowl. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Cover the bowl with a microwave lid and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on the desired level of tenderness.
Keep in mind that microwaving steaming method may result in uneven doneness in carrots due to its style of heat distribution.
Steamed Carrots Recipe for Stovetop
To steam carrots on the stove, fill a skillet with ½-inch deep water. Bring the water to a boil, add carrot pieces, cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat, until all the water has evaporated. Adjust the cook time to reach your desired level of tenderness in carrots.
How to Serve Steamed Carrots
Depending on what I'm serving these carrots with, I sometimes skip the seasoning to enjoy their naturally sweet flavors, or toss them with one of the following seasonings.
Depending on the seasoning, you can quickly saute the cooked carrots with the seasoning, or just toss them.
- Butter & Maple: 2 teaspoon unsalted butter + 1 teaspoon maple syrup (or honey). Toss cooked carrots until nicely coated.
- Zesty Indian: ½ teaspoon each of cumin and chaat masala + 1 teaspoon lime juice + ¼ teaspoon salt. Toss cooked carrots until nicely coated.
- Classic: ¼ teaspoon each of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss cooked carrots until nicely coated.
- Herbed Butter: 2 teaspoon salted butter + 2 teaspoon parsley, or cilantro. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a pan and add cooked carrots and seasoning. Saute 2 minutes.
- Spicy & Sweet: ½ teaspoon each of chili powder & brown sugar. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a pan and add cooked carrots and seasoning. Saute 2 minutes.
- Garlic & Herb: 2 teaspoon oil + 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend. Heat olive oil in a pan and add cooked carrots and seasoning. Saute 2 to 3 minutes.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Cutting carrots: Cut carrots about the same size in length and thickness to ensure even cooking.
- Seasoning: You can easily customize the seasoning of the carrots to match what you're eating. Check for seasoning suggestions above for options.
- Baby carrots: Use the same cooking time and instructions.
- Carrot tenderness cook time: This cook time results in fork-tender carrots. For softer carrots, increase the cooking time to 3 minutes.
- Meal prep: This recipe can easily be doubled for meal prep, with the same pressure cooking time. Please note that the cooker will take longer to reach pressure in that case, which will increase the overall cook time.
Common Questions for Instant Pot Carrots
Set the timer for 2 minutes for fork-tender carrots. Keep in mind that the Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, so actual cooking time is about 12 minutes.
Add the carrots to the pressure cooker first, then add the water and any seasonings.
Yes! The cook time depends on the food or vegetable.
Not at all. In fact, studies have shown that pressure cooking can help preserve heat-sensitive nutrients better than other cooking methods.
More Instant Pot 'Basics' Recipes from the Blog
- Steamed Broccoli in Instant Pot: Cooking broccoli in the Instant Pot is so quick, easy, and nutritious! Ready in only 15 minutes.
- Instant Pot Pasta: Informative how-to guide explaining the pasta cooking time formula, pasta-to-liquid ratio and pressure release technique.
- Cooking Beans in Instant Pot: Most tender beans using an Instant Pot, with or without soaking.
- How to Cook Lentils: Perfectly cooked lentils every time with these tips and tricks.
- Instant Pot Quinoa: A foolproof method for making Instant Pot Quinoa that is virtually hands-off.
- Basmati & Jasmine Rice: A fail-proof recipe to make fluffy Basmati rice and Jasmine rice two ways.
- Hard Boiled Eggs (5-5-5 method): Easy to peel hard boiled eggs in minutes.
- Steel Cut Oats • 8 Flavors: Dump & start recipe for soft and creamy steel-cut oats.
- Instant Pot Boiled Potatoes: Russet, red, gold, baby or diced, this simple technique will produce consistent, fork-tender potatoes every time!
- Pumpkin Puree Recipe: Moist and creamy homemade pumpkin puree using sugar pumpkins.
- More Instant Pot Basics Recipes from the blog
Instant Pot Carrots (Steamed)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound carrots peeled and cut in 2-inch long pieces (or use baby carrots)
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Peel carrots and cut them in 2-inch long pieces, about ½-inch thick. Alternatively use baby carrots.
- Add 1 cup water to the steel insert of the Instant Pot. Increase water to 2 cups if using an 8qt cooker.
- Add carrots in a steamer basket, or stack them on any trivet that has a 1-inch or more clearance from the bottom of the pot. This ensures even cooking. Lower the basket or trivet into the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid. Select 'pressure cook' or manual and cook for 2 minutes at high pressure, on sealing mode.
- Once cooking time is up, hit cancel and release the pressure manually (QR) by following your model's quick release instructions. Carefully remove the steamer basket and let it cool.
Notes
- Cut carrots about the same size in length and thickness to ensure even cooking.
- I prefer the natural flavor of steamed carrots, but if you like to season yours before steaming, toss the carrots in your preferred seasoning blend before adding them to the basket. Checkout 6 flavor options in the recipe above.
- To cook baby carrots, use the same cooking time and instructions.
- This cook time results in fork-tender carrots. For softer carrots, increase the cooking time to 3 minutes.
- This recipe can easily be doubles for meal prep, with the same pressure cooking time. Please note that the cooker will take longer to reach pressure in that case, which will increase the overall cook time.
- To steam carrots on the stove, fill a skillet with ½-inch deep water. Bring the water to a boil, add carrot pieces, cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium-high heat, until all the water has evaporated. Adjust the cook time to reach your desired level of tenderness in carrots.
- To steam carrots in the microwave, add carrot pieces to a large microwave safe bowl. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water. Cover the bowl with a microwave lid and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, depending on the desired level of tenderness. Keep in mind that microwaving steaming method may result in uneven doneness in carrots due to its style of heat distribution.
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