These Instant Pot Carrots are made with a delicious and easy brown sugar glaze – they’re an easy side dish and cook in just 2 minutes!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Carrots – you could try making this recipe with parsnips or daikon, but it will alter the flavour.
- Brown sugar – honey would also work or you can make your own brown sugar using a combination of white sugar and molasses.
- Butter – any neutral oil can be used to replace the butter like vegetable oil, sunflower oil or olive oil.
- Parsley – thyme would also be a good garnish or you can leave this off altogether.
How to cook carrots in the Instant Pot
Step 1: Add a trivet to the pot.
Add the 3/4 cup of water to the bottom of Instant Pot and then place trivet inside the inner pot.
Step 2: Cook on high pressure.
Add carrots. Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to low, then cook for 2 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure, then notify you it’s done by beeping.
Step 3: Make the glaze.
While carrots, are cooking, mix butter and brown sugar together in a small bowl.
Step 4: Microwave until melted.
Microwave for 20-30 seconds until melted and combined.
Step 5: Remove carrots from the pot.
When carrots are done, press the Cancel button then do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
Step 6: Toss in the glaze and serve!
Carefully remove carrots from Instant Pot and serve on a large platter, gently tossing with brown sugar butter glaze and garnishing with fresh herbs if desired.
Making mashed carrots
This recipe is for Instant Pot glazed carrots, but you can use your Instant Pot to make mashed carrots as well! Pressure cook the carrots on high pressure for 5 minutes, then mash them up. After they’ve been mashed, mix in some butter, a pinch of lemon juice, 1 tsp. garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve them on the side of any dish for a healthy and delicious accompaniment.
Frequently Asked Questions
These Instant Pot carrots only need to cook for 2 minutes at high pressure. It will take the Instant Pot about 5 to 10 minutes to get up to high pressure, so the total cooking time is about 10 minutes.
Carrots are a super healthy vegetable! They’re high in nutrients like potassium, vitamin A, beta-carotene and antioxidants, so they’re a nutritious addition to any meal. That being said, you are covering these Instant Pot glazed carrots in a brown sugar butter glaze, but they’re still fairly healthy at the end of the day.
Making the glaze for your carrots will be an easy step to do while your carrots are cooking. All you have to do is combine your brown sugar and butter together in to one bowl and combine the ingredients. Microwave the mixture for 20-30 seconds until melted and then mix it until fully combined. Toss your Instant Pot carrots in the glaze when they’ve finished cooking and dig in!
Storing and reheating
After the Instant Pot glazed carrots have cooled down fully, store them in the fridge for 3 to 5 days in airtight glass containers or Ziploc bags. When you’re ready to enjoy, just pop them in the microwave for a couple minutes or reheat them in a pan on the stovetop.
Freezing this recipe
You can prep this glazed carrots Instant Pot recipe ahead of time and freeze the carrots for up to 10 months! Make sure your carrots are fully cooled down and that the container or freezer bag doesn’t have any condensation to avid freezer burn. When you’re ready to eat your carrots, heat them up on the stovetop for 5 to 7 minutes or microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until warmed.
More Instant Pot vegetable recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on keeping your carrots as a side dish for the week.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 10 months.
Instant Pot Carrots
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 lb carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Parsley or thyme, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add the 3/4 cup of water to the bottom of Instant Pot and then place trivet inside the inner pot.
- Add carrots. Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal.
- Press the pressure cook button and set to low, then cook for 2 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure, then notify you it's done by beeping.
- While carrots, are cooking, mix butter and brown sugar together in a small bowl, then microwave for 20-30 seconds until melted and combined.
- When carrots are done, press the Cancel button then do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Carefully remove carrots from Instant Pot and serve on a large platter, gently tossing with brown sugar butter glaze and garnishing with fresh herbs if desired. Serve and enjoy!
