Instant Pot Potatoes & Carrots are a great side dish recipe for anything you’re serving, and they can be made in just 3 minutes in the Instant Pot, cooked to perfection with just the right amount of bite left.
Cooking vegetables in the Instant Pot is so easy. I don’t know why I ever shied away from it before. It seems like pressure cooking vegetables would be overkill and they’d turn out all soggy, but that’s definitely not the case. In fact, you can cut the cooking time down to zero if you like a slightly bite.
I prefer to cook these potatoes and carrots for 3 minutes, which gives them just the right amount of tenderness, without them being soggy.
Click to see a step-by-step instruction video.
Why You’ll Love These Potatoes and Carrots
- This side dish recipe goes with everything, so you can always pop it in the Instant Pot, even at the last minute and have a fantastic dish to serve for dinner.
- Using the Instant Pot leaves your stove top free to cook the rest of the meal.
- You will love how tender and delicious this simple side dish can be.
» You might like this Instant Pot Corn on the Cob.
Ingredients You Need
Since this is an easy side dish recipe, you don’t need a lot of ingredients. The more important thing is that you use high-quality veggies that are fresh and ready.
- Potatoes – They can be peeled or unpeeled, small potatoes or large. Use any variety you like. Russet potatoes are great. I also use russets for “baked potatoes” in the Instant Pot. But baby red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes are also good. We don’t recommend using sweet potatoes because they have a different texture and cooking time, other then that really any potato goes.
- Carrots – I prefer to peel them. You can use regular carrots or the baby carrots. I like to use the multi-colored carrots to change it up.
- Hot water – Starting with hot water means it takes less time to come up to pressure.
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil – This is optional, for garnish if you want. I like the taste it adds.
Equipment Needed
- Instant Pot – I use a 6-quart Instant Pot Duo Plus to make all of my recipes, but you can use any size or brand of electric pressure cooker. If you’re using an 8-quart pot, you will need to adjust the amount of liquid accordingly, as it requires more water to build steam.
- Steamer basket – This is to keep the veggies out of the water. If they’re sitting directly in the water, they’ll get really soggy and fall apart.
Expert Tips to Follow
- If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can use the trivet that came with your Instant Pot to get the veggies out of the water. You want them to steam not boil. Just add a piece of tin foil on top and make it into a sort of boat to hold the veggies. I also like to put a few small holes in the tin foil so the steam can get through.
- Using hot water in the Instant Pot helps bring the pressure up quicker. This is an easy tip that can be used in many Instant Pot recipes to cut down the time it takes to come up to pressure.
- The potatoes and carrots will cook more evenly if you try to cut them all roughly the same size.
- Remove the Instant Pot potatoes and carrots right away to avoid a change in texture. Even a couple of minutes on Keep Warm will change the texture and could make them soggy.
How to Make Instant Pot Potatoes and Carrots
I realize not everyone is going to make potatoes and carrots side by side, though I recommend trying it for the variety of flavor that it gives. The good part about this recipe is that you can make either of these veggies the exact same way, so even if you don’t cook them together, you can still follow this easy recipe for cooking either.
Step One: Prepare the Veggies
Prep the potatoes and carrots by scrubbing them well, then peel and cube them. They will cook more evenly if you try to cut them all roughly the same size. You can leave either the potato or carrot unpeeled as long as you clean it really good. I’ve done it both ways and they’re really good no matter what.
Step Two: Prepare the Instant Pot
Pour the hot water into the inner pot. You don’t have to use hot water, but it helps bring the pressure up quicker and that helps keep the veggies a little more tender.
Place a steamer basket in the inner pot with the potatoes and carrots. If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can place a piece of tin foil on the trivet and put the veggies in there.
Season the veggies with salt and pepper. You could also add any other seasonings you like. Seasoned salt is really good. Some ranch dressing powder is good. Or just some Italian seasoning. Close and lock the lid. Set the vent to sealing.
Step Three: Cook
Press the Pressure Cook button and set to 3 minutes. It will take about 5 minutes to come up to pressure. After cooking, do a quick release of the pressure. If you leave it on Keep Warm for even 2-3 minutes, it will change the texture of the veggies.
That might be okay for you, if you like them with a bit less texture, but I suggest not letting them sit the first time you make them. The second time, you’ll know exactly how you like them and can adjust minutes accordingly.
Step Four: Season & Enjoy
Season as you like, if you didn’t before, or if you didn’t add enough salt for your liking. Drizzle with olive oil before serving, if you like. I love the flavor that olive oil adds to these Instant Pot potatoes and carrots, so I never skip this step. You can also finish them off with some fresh herbs like parsley or sautéed onion, the perfect dinner side dish. It’s up to you!
» If you have leftover carrots you might want to try this caramelized carrot soup.
What to Pair This Side Dish With
We all know that potatoes go with everything, so you won’t have a hard time finding something to serve these with. I love them on the side of a pork roast, pork chops, or served with any chicken dish. How about on the side of a Pork & Sauerkraut made in the Instant Pot!
With so many great main dish dinner recipes to choose from you really can’t go wrong with these potatoes and carrots. Try them with these mini meatloaves or for a really easy meal serve them with brats.
How to Store & Reheat
Storing
Refrigeration: If you have leftovers from dinner, let them cool and store them in an airtight container or wrap them tightly in plastic wrap. Place them in the refrigerator. They can be stored for up to 2-3 days.
Reheating
Microwave: To reheat your potatoes and carrots, you can use a microwave. Place them in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 1 minute. Check for the desired temperature. If it’s not warm yet heat in short intervals to avoid overcooking and getting soggy.
Instant Pot: You can add the leftovers back into the Instant Pot with a little olive oil and sauté until heated through.
More Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Side Dishes to Try
Questions About Potatoes and Carrots
Do potatoes and carrots cook at the same rate?
Normally, potatoes require more time to cook compared to carrots. To ensure that both vegetables are ready at the same time, consider cutting the potatoes into slightly smaller pieces.
How long does it take potatoes and carrots to soften?
We have found that cooking these potatoes and carrots for 3 minutes gives them just the right amount of tenderness, without them being soggy.
Are baby carrots different than regular carrots?
No, baby carrots are regular sized carrots that have been cut down and shaped to look like baby carrots.
Before You Go
Since you made it to the end of this article, you might be interested in more easy Instant Pot recipes. Here are a few more articles we think you might enjoy.
- Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats Recipe
- Easy Instant Pot Shrimp Pasta
- Best Instant Pot Pork Shoulder Recipe
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Instant Pot Potatoes & Carrots
Note: Made in a 6-qt Instant Pot
Equipment
- Steamer basket or trivet with foil
Ingredients
- 4 medium potatoes peeled or unpeeled and cubed
- 4 medium carrots peeled and cubed
- 1 cup (237 ml) hot water
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon (7 ml) olive oil for garnish if you want
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes and carrots well, then peel and cube them keeping them as close to the same size as possible.
- Pour the hot water into the inner pot. Place a steamer basket in the inner pot with the potatoes and carrots. If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can place a piece of tin foil on the trivet and put the veggies in there.
- Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Close and lock the lid. Set the vent to sealing.
- Press the Pressure Cook button and set to 3 minutes. It will take about 5 minutes to come up to pressure.
- After cooking, do a quick release of the pressure.
- Season as you like and drizzle with olive oil before serving, if you like.
Notes
- If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can use the trivet that came with your Instant Pot to get the veggies out of the water. Just add a piece of tin foil on top and make it into a sort of boat to hold the veggies. I also like to put a few small holes in the tin foil so the steam can get through.
- Using hot water in the Instant Pot helps bring the pressure up quicker.
- The potatoes and carrots will cook more evenly if you try to cut them all roughly the same size.
- Remove the potatoes and carrots right away to avoid a change in texture. Even a couple of minutes on Keep Warm will change the texture and could make them soggy.
Nutrition
Laura is a passionate home cook and the owner of A Pressure Cooker Kitchen. She is dedicated to helping people create delicious Instant Pot meals with ease. Laura is an expert at developing recipes that can be prepared quickly and easily using a pressure cooker.
Can you use beef broth or vegetable broth instead of water?
Absolutely, however since the potatoes and carrots are wrapped in foil, broth won’t infuse much flavor.
Perfect veggies. I used the broth from a roast I cooked.
I had to cook the veggies for about 10 minutes (not including the time to build up pressure and releases it 3 times). I tried 4 minutes– very hard, 2 more minutes– still not done, 4 more minutes– done enough although some of the carrots were still hard. Maybe it’s because I used tinfoil and I should have poked holes in it? I didn’t read that tip in the blog post before trying the recipe. I tried to leave space around the edges. Also, it would be helpful to know how small you cut the potatoes for this recipe. It tasted good once the veggies were cooked though, so thanks for sharing! Hopefully I’ll figure out the details eventually.
It’s definitely possible that the foil caused them to cook slower. However, 10 minutes is quite a bit longer than I cook them – for 3 minutes. I cut the pieces into 1″ cubes.