How To Cook Broccoli In Instant Pot

How To Make Instant Pot Broccoli

If youre new to Instant Pot cooking, my guide on How to Use an Instant Pot can help you to get started.

Find the full printable recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card below.

How Do You Steam Broccoli In An Instant Pot Without A Basket

Notes

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Instant Pot Broccoli Recipe

Since I joined the electric pressure cooker wagon, I havent made steamed broccoli any other way. Making this vegetable in the pressure cooker only takes zero minutes and it very convenient. In fact, if I want to take things up a notch, after steaming the broccoli, I season it then toss in some melted butter or olive oil and grill/broil for another 5 minutes . It comes out perfect at all times and super delicious too.

Broccoli is fully packed with vitamins and minerals. It is good for the bones and also aid digestion. More importantly, it is inexpensive and here in the UK, a fresh broccoli head cost less than £1. No excuse not to incorporate this vegetable into your diet. It is low in calorie, a cup of chopped florets is estimated to be about 33 calories.

This recipe is perfect for other types of vegetable like chopped bell peppers, cauliflower, runner beans, broccoli tips and many more.

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Instant Pot Burn Notice

What is an Instant Pot Burn Notice? The burn notice means that the Instant Pot has detected that the inner pot has gotten too hot or there isn’t enough liquid.

Press Cancel to turn off the instant pot. Once the steam is released and it’s safe to remove the lid, check the contents.

You can add more liquid and resume cooking.

Ingredients For The Instant Pot Broccoli

This is one of those recipes that require minimum time, effort, and ingredients. Make sure your instant pot is somewhere close and gather this list of ingredients:

• 2 medium heads of broccoli
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic

To garnish the plate, you may sprinkle some sesame seeds. Besides giving an appealing aspect to the dish, the sesame seeds will also add tastiness and crunchiness.

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How To Sautee Broccoli In The Instant Pot

Once you have washed, cleaned, and cut the broccoli, get your attention to the instant pot. Set the sautee program and add 2 tablespoons of butter. In the meantime peel and crush the garlic cloves, then chop them finely. When you see the butter has melted, add the garlic and let it saute for about 1 minute or a little less. Finally, add the broccoli, season with salt and granulated garlic for an intenser flavor, close the lid and let it saute for about 7-10 minutes. If you like it crunchier, press the cancel button on your instant pot in 7 minutes.

When sauteed, to stop the cooking process, it is best to take out the broccoli from the instant pot and transfer it to a bowl or a plate.

That is all it takes to prepare a super delicious yet incredibly healthy dinner or contour to any of your favorite meat or fish dishes.

Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables Recipe Or Formula

The key to using your Instant Pot to steam vegetables 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 steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, 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!

Psst! Want to give those veggies some extra flavor? Try topping with a pinch of finishing salt! I love Ava Janes Kitchen because it doesnt have microplastics and its SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a bag for just 1¢!!

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Can I Freeze Steamed Broccoli

Yes you definitely can! If you are someone who likes to batch cook foods and store them for later, this can be a great option. Ideally, it is best to flash cook or steam broccoli first before you freeze them.

Pat dry the steamed broccoli, lay them on a baking dish lined with parchment paper, pop them in the freezer for around 30 minutes, get them out and then store them in a freezer safe container.

What Kind Of Instant Pot To Use

All pressure cooker brands vary! Heres the brand we use: an Instant Pot 6 Qt Programmable Pressure Cooker. This recipe is customized for a 6 quart pressure cooker. We also cant speak to other brands and types of pressure cookers. For example, Instant Pot Mini works differently, so use it at your own risk! Let us know if you make this pressure cooker broccoli in the comments below!

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What Beef Should You Use For Instant Pot Beef And Broccoli

Youll want to use tender cuts of beef for beef and broccoli. The best types of meat are: eye round, flank steak, beef chuck, stew beef or sirloin. If you cut the meat into small pieces it will cook super-fast

in the Instant Pot. If you want to make this step even quicker, you can buy and use pre-cut beef strips or stew beef.

How Long Does It Take To Steam Broccoli In An Instant Pot

Literally zero minutes- if you exclude the preheating time that is! To steam broccoli in your Instant Pot, youll first need to add ¾ cup of water into the pot, preheat it for 15 minutes, and then press the pressure cook button, set it to high and then cook the broccoli for zero minutes.

Best of all, this doesnt just work for broccoli but almost any other veggie!

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How To Make Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli Without Steamer Basket

If you dont have a steamer basket, you can still make instant pot steamed broccoli. The trick is to cut your broccoli into larger sized pieces. The idea is to keep the broccoli on top of the metal trivet, and above the water on the bottom of the pot. If the broccoli touches the water, it will cook as if it were boiled instead of steamed.

Time To Cook Broccoli In Instant Pot

You can steam frozen or fresh broccoli in instant pot and decide the texture as per cooking time.

Let see how to cook broccoli in instant pot, step by step.

Prepare broccoli

First of all, clean and wash the broccoli head in clean water. Cut into medium size florets. As you can see I have cut into enough big pieces. Small pieces may overcook or turn into the mushy texture.

Preserve the stalks, you can make instant pot vegetable stock with other vegetable scraps too.

Prepare instant pot

Now add a cup of water into the inner pot. Place the steamer basket in the inner pot.

Transfer the cut broccoli florets in the steamer basket. NOTE– At this step, if you use the trivet and florets are small then they may fall back in the water. So make sure you have enough big size pieces to stay on the trivet.

Pressure cook broccoli

Close the lid and set the valve in the SEALING position. Press PRESSURECOOKER and set the timer as ‘0’ minute. For the crunchy and bright green color, ‘0’ minute is enough.

NOTE– In case you like to make broccoli soft then cook for 1 minute. Color may not come as bright green.

Quick release the pressure

As the timer beeps, switch off the instant pot and do QUICK RELEASE. Do not skip quick release as broccoli may get soft and soggy, also the color will be dull.

Remove the steamed broccoli

Open the lid and check the doneness of broccoli with the fork.

Serve straight away or season it with some garlic salt. It taste great anyway.

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Facts About Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli

Every time the Instant Pot is cooking something, there is a pressure build up. This pressure is co-related to the amount of liquid and cooking time. Pressure level also contributes in this process. Thus, quantity of water, time and pressure level are important factors contributing to the texture, color and taste of the steamed broccoli.

For example, lets consider two scenarios:

Scenario A: Cooking with 1 cup of water for ZERO minutes.

Scenario B: Cooking with 1/2 cup of water at ZERO minutes.

Here, it will take longer for scenario A to come to pressure than scenario B. Which means, A is cooking for longer than B, because of more liquid, it will take more time to come to a pressure.

For crisp broccoli, I prefer 1/2 cup of water, ZERO minute at LOW pressure.

More Instant Pot Basics Recipes From My Kitchen

• Steamed Carrots in Instant Pot: Cooking carrots in the Instant Pot is so quick, easy, and delicious! Made in only a few minutes, they are great for an easy veggie side.
• 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.

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What You Shouldnt Do With Instant Pot Broccoli Or Any Other Pressure Cooker Steamed Veggies

For this instant pot steamed broccoli recipe or any other vegetables, you do not want to do natural pressure release . For crunchy broccoli, zero minute and QPR if you want it softer then cook for 1 minute then QPR.

Dont leave it in the instant pot after cooking or it would continue cooking and that result in a soggy mess. Remove the inner pot and set aside

How To Serve Pressure

You can serve your broccoli as is right out of the steamer. You can also add other ingredients to your broccoli like:

• Seasoning toss with your favorite seasoning and add to your broccoli like taco seasoning, ranch spice blend, guacamole spice mix
• Cheese you can add cheese to decorate your broccoli. You can add parmesan, mozzarella, or shredded cheddar
• Garlic mince a clove of garlic and stir it through your broccoli
• Onion finely dice the onion and put it on the veggie

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How To Cook Steamed Broccoli In Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker

The best way to steam broccoli in the Pressure Cooker is by using a Steamer Basket. I just found a steamer basket in my kitchen which fit perfectly in the instant pot, so I did not purchase one. However if you are looking to purchase a steamer rack, here is a recommended one on .

Start with cutting the broccoli head into medium size florets. Add a cup of water to the instant pot insert and place the steamer basket in the insert.

Spread the broccoli florets on the basket and pressure cook for 0 minutes. Yes, 0 minutes is a thing with the instant pot The broccoli is cooking in the time the pressure cooker takes to come to pressure and then we will release the pressure manually , so it does not get overcooked. Basically the time to cook broccoli is the time it takes to come to pressure, which is less than 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper, and serve as a side with rice or protein. I send this as a side in my daughter’s lunch box and she loves it.

I would love to hear how you like this steamed broccoli. And if you love broccoli, don’t forget to try this Cream of Broccoli Soup made in the Instant Pot.

You can find the recipe for the brown rice shown in the above picture here.

If you are looking for other steamed vegetables recipes, check out this Guide to Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables.

What About Frozen Broccoli

If you are using frozen broccoli florets, you can still use this method. The only change is that instead of setting the time on the pressure cooker for zero minutes, you just have to set the time to one minute at high pressure. All of the other recipe steps are the same in this foolproof method that results in perfect broccoli.

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Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli Serving Suggestions

There are ZERO Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.

Thank you for reading my Broccoli In Instant Pot recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue to slice, dice and dream up affordable Air Fryer recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Southern Recipes and more. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

What Kind Of Meat To Use:

When choosing cuts of meat for this recipe, I suggest a boneless chunk roast cut into strips. They willl become so tender when pressure cooked. As a warning, other stir-fry cuts intended for quick searing might become tough when pressure cooked.

You can also use sirloin steak or your preferred lean cut of beef.

** One thing that is crucial to remember, is to use Low-Sodium Soy Sauce over regular soy sauce. Any others and your dish will be too salty, so choose your soy sauce with less sodium.

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Tips For How To Make Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli

• Cut the broccoli into even sized pieces, otherwise they will cook at different rates and wont be the same texture and some may overcook.
• Adding water to the bottom of the instant pot is critical! Otherwise your pot may say burn, and the broccoli might not steam properly.
• Set your instant pot for 0 minutes for just soft but still slightly crunchy broccoli. Do 1 minute for a softer version. And 2 minutes if you want it to be really, really soft.
• Make sure you quick release the pot right away, because your broccoli will keep cooking while the pressure is coming down. Without an instant release, it will get pretty soft.

How To Steam Frozen Broccoli Instant Pot

You can also cook frozen broccoli florets straight from the freezer in a similar way.All you need to do is account for the fact that frozen broccoli will take slightly more time to cook than room temperature fresh broccoli.

Select the PRESSURE COOK option on HIGH PRESSURE for 1 minute and Quick Release the pressure after 1 minute is over.

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How To Steam Broccoli Instant Pot

The best way to steam broccoli in instant pot is using a steamer basket like this or a foldable steamer basket like this one.You can use these steamzer baskets for a lot of other things also- like steaming potatoes or carrots or boiling eggs.

If you dont want to buy a basket, you can also use the trivet that comes with the instant pot.

Here is a Super Easy Chart to help you cook your broccoli

It takes about 10 minutes for the whole process- including the time it takes for instant pot to come to pressure.

What To Serve With Beef And Broccoli

We served your broccoli beef over cooked rice, basmati rice to be exact. Yet, you could switch things up based on preference or diet and go with a ramen noodle or Cauliflower Fried Rice.

Alternatively, you can also use cauliflower rice for a lob carb meal, jasmine rice, instant rice, or coconut rice. You also have the option to use white rice, or brown rice.

We had leftovers of this dish, and they tasted so good! Just store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

So feel free to double the recipe , and make individual servings for work and school lunches.

For other amazing Asian dishes to try at home, I suggest these Asian Marinated Beef Kabobs, and this Oriental Chicken Salad. They are also easy recipes that are absolutely delicious.

For another more instant pot recipes, we have a few others you might love too. Id start with this Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup!

Enjoy the recipe!

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