Instant Pot Carrots Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to can carrots in an Instant Pot? ›

Place jars in pressure cooker according to your model's instructions; mine says to place them in and cover ¼ of the way with water. Process your carrots for 25 minutes. My cooker has a button for canning and automatically sets the pounds of pressure; check your manual for instructions.

Cook carrots in a large pot of boiling water until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

For cooking starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, parsnips, or winter squash, cut them into 1-inch pieces and steam for 4 minutes to become tender.

Cooking instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat in the oil. Add the thyme, cinnamon, star anise and some seasoning. Cook over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning the vegetables frequently, until golden brown and almost cooked through.

Roasting draws out the natural sweetness and you get a nice caramelized flavor. They're so much better than boiled carrots! Roasting is also easy; it's hard to overcook a roasted vegetable: if it gets too done, it's clearly burned. However, it's so easy to overcook boiled vegetables, especially carrots.

If you don't have enough liquid in the pot, the carrots won't cook evenly and may stay tough. Aim for at least a cup or two of liquid, enough to reach about a third of the way up on the ingredients. Not cooked long enough: While slow cookers cook low and slow, carrots still need sufficient time to soften.

The cooking time for carrots in soup depends on the size and how tender you want them to be. Generally, carrots need around 10-15 minutes of simmering to become tender but still retain some bite. Test their doneness by piercing them with a fork.

Pour a 1/2 cup (125 ml) of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker if the vegetable's cooking time is less than 5 minutes. If the cooking time of the vegetable is between 5 and 10 minutes, use 1 cup (250 ml) of water. If the cooking time is between 10 and 20 minutes, use 2 cups (500 ml) of water.

Its because the pressure increases inside the cooker, which also increases the boiling point of water. ​So, more heat is required to reach the boiling point and is sufficient to cook food in a reduced time.

Why does it take less time to cook vegetables in a pressure cooker? ›

Because under pressure, the heat builds faster and maintains temperature better, so cooking time is reduced. ... The increased pressure inside the cooker increases the boiling point of water above 1000C so more cooking is done before the water actually starts to boil.

Or, to bring out their fresh, woody flavor, add some anise. If you're roasting your carrots, toss them in olive oil first. This will help keep the moisture in them. To bring out the sweetness in your carrots, season them with orange or lemon juice or a little brown sugar and butter.

No matter which way you cook them, carrots are a healthy choice. Steaming is a slightly better pick since the carrots don't lose as many of their nutrients to the water. (Steaming is also more environmentally friendly since it uses less water.)

Typically potatoes take longer to cook than carrots. To make sure the vegetables are finished at the same time, cut the potatoes smaller to speed their roasting along.

I know that the Instant Pot Max has a button for canning, however, the research done by the National Center for Home Food Preservation found that it is not safe for canning because the temperature fluctuates during processing. This fluctuation can cause under-processing and you can risk foodborne illness.

I don't use a pressure canner, so all of the recipes on this site focus soley on boiling water bath canning. Safe water bath canning of carrots requires acid; either by pickling the carrots (vinegar), or by adding small amounts of carrots to acidic fruits (tomato sauce, salsa, carrot cake jam w/ pears and pineapple).

Carrots can typically last for several months in a refrigerator or root cellar. Canning your carrots will last for a few years and are shelf stable. These carrots are ready to eat and you can easily just heat and serve. They are also great to add to a roast, stew, or soup for a last-minute meal.