Name: How To Cook Beets In The Instant Pot
Prep time: 5 min
Ingredients: Beets; 1 cup water

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Learn this simple method of cooking beets in the instant to meal prep this delicious and healthy vegetable! Plus, find our favorite recipes to use your freshly cooked beets.

Making beets for meal prep is a great way to always have a nutritious vegetable ready to go. We often fill our entire 6 qt instant pot with beets so we can have them for multiple meals (cold or hot!) It also makes it a breeze to prep them for canning pickled beets.

We find the easiest way to cook beets is in the instant pot rather than roasting beets. This method of cooking process gets the least amount of dishes dirty and doesn’t require an oven or boiling pot of water!

Nutrients in beets

Beets are a healthy root vegetable that has a slightly sweet, earthy flavor. They are a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals such as potassium, iron, and vitamin C. All vegetables will start to lose their nutritional quality over time. Fresh beets grown have higher nutrients than beets that have been sitting on the grocery store shelf, so we always recommend trying to get them from a local farmer or at a farmers market! You can buy beets directly from us here at Pleasant Grove Homestead if you are local to Iowa with the link below!

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Instant pot beets recipe

You can use this instant method for any type of beets including red beets or golden beets. First, prepare the beets by cutting the ends off and then scrub beets under running water to remove any dirt or debris. You can save the beet greens and sauté or use them in salads.

Add one cup of water to the bottom of the instant pot and then add the steamer rack trivet. Next, place beets on top of the rack. You can fill it completely full with raw beets if you’d like, or just add as many beets as you have.

How long to cook beets

The timing will vary depending on the size of the beets, so be sure to pay attention to the time and the size of your beets for the perfect texture! The timing listed below is for beets that will be fork tender. If you prefer a more crisp beet, reduce instant pot time by 5 minutes.

Pressure cook beets on high pressure for the following times:

Small beets 2 inch diameter- 15 minutes
Medium beets 2.5 in diameter- 25 minutes
Large beets 2.5+ inch diameter- 30 minutes
If you have a mix of different sizes or want to reduce cooking time, cut the beets in half before cooking to reduce time

After the timer is up, use the quick release to release the steam.

Once beets are cool enough to handle, you can peel them. Learn how to peel the beets with this step-by-step guide. I run the instant pot full of cold water to be able to handle the cooked beets quickly without making more dishes. The peel is technically edible, but we prefer to peel them off for a smooth texture. Red beets can easily stain your hands or your cutting board, so just keep that in mind, and if you don’t want your fingertips to be red, you can wear gloves when handling.

How to store cooked beets

To store beets, add them to an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to five days. For more details on different ways to store beets for long term storage, such as freezing and canning. See our post here on Storing Beets and How Long They Last.

Favorite beet recipes

Now that you have cooked beets, you can use them in your favorite recipes! You can eat cooked beets either cold or hot, so it makes them a very versatile vegetable. You can chop them up and add them in salads, or there are many delicious beet recipes out there! Here are some of our family’s favorite ways to use them:

Harvard beets

Harvard beets are made with vinegar and sugar for a sweet and tangy sauce. You add the sliced beets to the sauce mixture and then it is thickened with cornstarch. It is really simple to make and makes a very easy side dish that is packed with flavor. Here is our favorite recipe.

Simple beets with butter

This is a super simple way our family loves to eat beets. All you need to do is heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and melt some butter. Then add in cooked beets cut into slices or diced, and saute until they are warmed through. This is a wonderful side dish to serve with a recipe such as our Simple Roasted Chicken!

Simple beet salad

Beets are really great cold, too! You can add them to salads or create a simple beet salad with feta. Slice or dice the cooked cold beets and sprinkle feta. You can add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and/or olive oil if you like. Or, you can use any other type of cheese that you’d prefer, such as goat cheese.

Pickled beets

We love making pickled beets! The vinegar pickling mixture pairs so well with the sweet beets! The first step in canning beets is to cook them first, and making them in the instant pot makes it super easy. Then, we love using this pickled beets recipe from the National Center for Home Preservation website, or canned beet recipes from any of these canning resources. Because the pickle mixture is acidic, pickled beets can be water bath canned, and it is easy to do! If you are new to canning and want to learn more about preserving your own food, check out our canning course, Yes, You Can!