Why Use an Instant Pot to Cook Broccoli?
Instant Pot broccoli is one of my favorite kitchen hacks. We eat so much broccoli around here. We very often steam it and serve it with butter and salt for a very simple side dish—especially when we are pressed for time (or feeling lazy!) But, I find that it’s really hard steam broccoli for just the right amount of time. I almost always under cook it or over cook it.
Getting perfectly steamed broccoli consistently on the stovetop seems to allude me. We all have our kitchen weaknesses, I guess! Cooking broccoli in the Instant Pot always cooks up perfectly! And it’s ridiculously quick.
♥ Related: Broccoli with Garlic & Herb Breadcrumbs
How to Make Broccoli in the Instant Pot
When I first got my Instant Pot, I decided to try to use it for broccoli; so I looked up a recipe. The recipe told me to set the timer for 5-6 minutes. So. I did. Let me tell you, when I opened the Instant Pot, it was like the Swamp Thing died in there. The broccoli was total mush and inedible. I had to throw it away. I vowed never to use it again for delicate veggies.
But then I saw this tip online: set your pressure cooker time to 0 for perfectly cooked broccoli. I didn’t even know that you COULD set your timer to 0. So I decided to give it another go. And what do you know? It worked! It seems that broccoli cooks in just the time that it takes for the IP to come up to pressure. So here are the steps to take to make perfect broccoli, every time.
Video: Watch Me Make This Recipe
Instant Pot Broccoli
Equipment
- Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
- Steamer Basket
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups broccoli chopped
- 1 cup water
- butter to taste
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add water to the Instant Pot.
- Add broccoli to the steamer insert and place into the Instant Pot cooking insert.
- Close the lid. Using the manual mode, set the Instant Pot timer to 0. If your Instant Pot has high or low pressure cooking, choose high pressure.
- Once the timer goes off, immediately reduce the pressure of the Instant Pot by moving the steam valve to open. Once the Instant Pot is fully depressurized, remove the lid and take the steamer basket out of the pressure cooker.
- Move your broccoli to a serving dish and season. For a very simple side dish, I like butter and salt.
Notes
- This method works well with broccoli chopped to any size. I’ve steamed smaller florets for soup and larger spears and it always cooks perfectly.
Tools You Might Need For This Recipe
Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
Steamer Basket for the Instant Pot
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Graham Cracker Crust Cookies
This really is perfectly steamed broccoli that even my kids loved with the butter and lemon.