Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, & carrots)

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Instant Pot steamed vegetables are the EASIEST side dish for dinner! Just add your veggies and hit go! See how easy it is to make Instant Pot broccoli, or other vegetables like carrots and/or cauliflower. I’ve included tips if you don’t have a steamer basket!

Looking down into an instant pot with a steamer basket holding broccoli, cauliflower, and baby carrots. Text overlay reads "Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables"

I think the perfect dinner might be one where I hit “go” on the Instant Pot, walk away for the day, and come back to dinner being done. Doesn’t that sound nice?

I have that figured out with the slow cooker…Salsa Chicken and Pumpkin Chili are “dump and done” recipes we make often. But I haven’t figured that out for the Instant Pot…

Instead, I rely on my pressure cooker to make meal COMPONENTS that I can easily mix and match to make dinner quickly during the week. And since every healthy dinner needs vegetables, easy Instant Pot steamed vegetables are the answer!

I truly think steamed vegetables are the perfect healthy side dish for many meals. Quick, simple, and nutritious!

INSTANT POT STEAMER BASKET

I’m a huge fan of NOT buying kitchen appliances you don’t need, but I finally caved and bought an Instant Pot steamer basket, and I am SO glad I did!

I used to make steamed veggies WITHOUT a basket, using a small Pyrex bowl instead, but that didn’t give me consistent results. I dug around into the best basket for the Instant Pot and decided on this one. I love that it…

Is affordable
Fits perfectly into my 8-quart Instant Pot (here’s one for the 6-quart Instant Pot and one for the 3-quart Instant Pot too)
Has a silicone handle so I can easily remove the basket without burning myself
Has silicone “feet” so it doesn’t slip around on my countertop
DOESN’T require any cutting or bending or any alterations whatsoever in order to fit in my Instant Pot
Is dishwasher safe!

So while you CAN steam vegetables in an Instant Pot without a steamer basket, I don’t recommend it. Splurge and treat yourself – your future self will thank you!

Note: You need a glass lid in order to use the steamer function on the Instant Pot, not the Instant Pot lid, and odds are you already have one that works! If you have a cookware set with different sizes of pans (similar to this set) try using a larger lid that fits your instant pot.

A collage of ingredients: several carrots, a dish of cauliflower florets, a bowl of broccoli florets, a glass measuring cup of water

STEAMED VEGETABLES RECIPE INGREDIENTS

My go-to vegetables for my pressure cooker are broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. I usually have these on hand and they work with just about any meal. But you can use this method for perfectly cooked vegetables in the Instant Pot.

Baby carrots. These tend to cook best but large carrots cut into rounds work too.
Cauliflower florets. You’ll want to cut these into a consistent size so they cook evenly.
Broccoli florets. Again, consistent size is best, just remember the smaller they are the faster they cook.
Water. You need water to create the steam!

Other vegetables to cook in your pressure cooker include green beans, brussels sprouts, bell peppers, onions, asparagus, zucchini, and anything else you can add to a vegetable medley!

TIPS FOR THE BEST INSTANT POT STEAMED VEGETABLES

It’s important to consider what you’re actually cooking when you’re steaming vegetables in an Instant Pot.

Broccoli cooks fast on the stove, so it will cook fast in the Instant Pot too.
Carrots take longer on the stove, so they’ll take longer in the Instant Pot as well.
Cauliflower falls somewhere in the middle, depending on how tough the stem of the florets is.
As a general rule of thumb, the harder it is to poke a fork through a vegetable RAW, the longer it will need to cook in the Instant Pot.

For example, it takes some effort to stick a fork through a raw carrot. But it’s much easier to poke the stem of a piece of cauliflower. And you can stick a fork through a broccoli floret without any issue at all.

I haven’t tested every vegetable known to man, but here’s what I’ve tested so far for STEAMING vegetables:

Baby Carrots: 16 minutes
Cauliflower Florets: 16 minutes
Broccoli: 1 minute

An instant pot with cauliflower and carrots in a steamer basket, covered by a glass lid

HOW TO STEAM VEGETABLES IN INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS

The key to using your Instant Pot to steam veggies AND TO BE EFFICIENT AT THE SAME TIME is to put the vegetables that take the longest to cook in the steamer basket FIRST.

Then, cook them for their total time MINUS however long it takes to cook the next vegetable.

For example, when I made Instant Pot vegetables, I put the carrots and cauliflower in first and let them steam for 15 minutes.

Then I carefully added the broccoli, put the lid on top and set the timer for 1 minute. When the timer went off, all of the vegetables were done at the same time!

water poured from a measuring cup into an Instant Pot

Step 1: Add water to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Place the steamer basket inside the Instant Pot and add the carrots and cauliflower.

cauliflower and carrots sitting in a steamer basket inside an Instant Pot

Step 2: Place a glass lid on top and cook on the “steam” function, setting the timer for 15 minutes.

Step 3: When the timer goes off, CAREFULLY lift the lid and use caution as the hot steam will escape quickly! Check for doneness by piercing the vegetables with a fork. They should be *almost* easy to pierce. Add additional cooking time, one minute at a time ONLY if necessary.

broccoli sitting on top of carrots and cauliflower inside a steaming basket in an Instant Pot

Step 4: Add the broccoli and replace the lid. Set the timer for one minute.

Step 5: When the timer goes off, remove the lid again and pierce the broccoli to check for doneness. Again, ONLY if necessary, add additional cooking time one minute at a time.

cooked steamed vegetables in an instant pot

Store any leftover steamed vegetables in an airtight container in the fridge. Eat within a few days. They won’t freeze well so I don’t advise making a large batch during meal prep.

HOW TO SEASON STEAMED VEGETABLES

I love to keep my steamed vegetables simple with a little butter, salt, and pepper. But I’m also a fan of Ranch Seasoning Mix, Poultry Seasoning, and Homemade Seasoning Salt.

Use a drizzle of olive oil instead of butter if you need dairy-free seasoning but still want a delicious taste.

A piece of broccoli on a fork, with an instant pot in the background holding a steamer basket of cauliflower, baby carrots, and broccoli

WHAT TO SERVE WITH INSTANT POT VEGETABLES

Here are a few other healthy Instant Pot recipes that I make often and keep in the freezer to help make weeknight dinners easier:

And here are a few “main meals” I make in the Instant Pot, that steamed vegetables would go perfectly with!

A baby carrot on a fork, with an instant pot in the background with a steamer basket containing cauliflower, broccoli, and baby carrots

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT INSTANT POT STEAMED VEGETABLES

How long to cook Instant Pot steamed broccoli?

Broccoli cooks very fast in the Instant Pot. Once the steam is built up, it takes 1 minute to cook.

Do I need an Instant Pot Steamer Basket?

Yes and no. You can make steamed vegetables in the Instant Pot using a Pyrex or heat-proof bowl. However, I found that the doneness of the vegetables was uneven. I much prefer a steamer basket like this one.

Can I use frozen veggies?

This recipe uses fresh vegetables. If you choose to steam frozen vegetables, you may need a longer cook time. I suggest checking after the time listed in the recipe and adding more as needed.

MORE HEALTHY SIDE DISHES

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