Instant pot steamed broccoli makes a delicious, crunchy, and nutritious side dish for the meal. In this recipe check how to cook broccoli in an instant pot, with or without a steamer basket.
This zero minute instant pot broccoli recipe is fail-proof and you get perfectly cooked broccoli every time.
It was my first time of cooking broccoli in instant pot, I usually cook broccoli in the form of potato-broccoli curry, broccoli soup, broccoli paratha, and broccoli rice.
As compared to the stovetop, making it in instant pot is hasslefree and the result is always the same, with the texture without guessing the steaming time
Broccoli is very healthy and you can serve this steamed version along with quinoa, teriyaki tofu, or just season it with garlic butter and enjoy as a salad.
I seasoned steamed broccoli with oil, garlic, salt & lemon. It made a perfect healthy, nutritious salad for me.
Steamed broccoli is a beginner-friendly instant pot recipe, it not only helps in weekly meal planning but also makes a great ready to eat salad anytime.
Why instant pot broccoli
It takes 10 minutes for the whole process from start to finish, this instant pot pressure cooker broccoli recipe is a must-try. Just dump, pressure cook, and quick release are all you need to get perfectly crunchy broccoli with bright green color, every single time.
Cooking in instant pot is really easy without babysitting or worrying about burning food. You know the time to cook, set the time, and that’s all. You can cook carrots, artichokes, cauliflower, beetroot, green beans, and asparagus in instant pot with easy steps as well.
This “zero minute instant pot broccoli” is
- Low carb
- Gluten-free
- Vegan
- Dairy-free
The best way to steam broccoli is to use a steamer basket. If you already have it just check if it fits in the inner pot. Else you can buy a new steamer basket that can fit in your instant pot.
Be it whole head of broccoli, florets, or frozen broccoli, steaming in instant pot is easy. Just pressure cook them for the minutes as mentioned in the below table and enjoy this yummy snack.
Ingredients
Please check RECIPE CARD for detailed ingredients list with accurate measurement.
You need a medium size head of broccoli or 4-6 cups of broccoli florets to steam along with 1 cup of water.
A steamer basket and flavors like garlic, fresh herbs, lemon juice, salt, and butter/oil.
How to steam broccoli in instant pot
Broccoli texture totally depends on how long you steam broccoli. If you like to have bright green, crunchy broccoli florets then 0-minute pressure cooking with quick release is enough.
Cooking for 0-minute and natural pressure release will result in a tender and still green color broccoli.
1-minute pressure cooking with quick-release gives not so green with tender broccoli. They may not be crunchy.
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.
| Broccoli | Cooking Time | Texture | IP Release |
| Fresh florets | 0 min | crunchy & green color | quick release |
| 0 min | soft & still green color | natural release | |
| 1 min | soft & light green color | quick release | |
| Frozen | 0 min | crunchy | quick release |
| 1 min | soft | quick release |
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 PRESSURE COOKER 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.
Serving suggestions
You can serve steamed broccoli florets as is or just add butter, minced garlic, & lemon juice. Sprinkle salt as per taste.
Steamed Broccoli tastes great as a side dish, salad, or as a healthy snack. I made this crunchy broccoli salad. Let me show you how to make this yummy garlic broccoli salad in just a few minutes.
Garlic Broccoli Salad
This easy peasy garlicky broccoli salad makes a great side dish at a BBQ party or in summer when you plan a grilling session. Adding just garlic, lemon juice, and salt, this salad tastes so much better and fills you up for hours.
Ingredients for salad
- Lemon Juice
- Coconut oil
- Garlic
- Sesame seeds
- Broccoli florets
- Chili flakes
How to make garlic broccoli salad
- Press SAUTE mode and add oil when instant pot shows HOT on the display.
- To this add finely chopped garlic and sesame seeds. Cook for a minute.
- Add broccoli florets. I am using steamed broccoli to make this salad. You can fresh or frozen broccoli florets as well.
- Cook for 2 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add chili flakes, lemon juice and adjust salt.
- Stir few more times and press CANCEL. Serve this crunchy garlic broccoli salad immediately.
Storing suggestions
This steamed broccoli stays good in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Tips & FAQ’s
- You can steam the whole head of broccoli as well. But it may not be cooked evenly. Florets cook better.
- You can use this steamed broccoli in many recipes like making soups, salads & sides.
To steam frozen broccoli in instant pot was as easy as to steam the fresh broccoli.
Add a cup of water in the inner pot and place a steamer basket. Place the required quantity of broccoli florets and PRESSURE COOK for ‘0’ minutes. As the timer beeps QUICK RELEASE and transfers the florets in a bowl. Steaming for 1-minute results in mushy broccoli in case of a frozen one.
If no steamer basket, no problem. Use the trivet which comes with an instant pot accessory. It is a bit inconvenient though, first placing small pieces on the trivet itself is not easy, second, you need to make sure that broccoli is not touching the water added in the bottom.
Broccoli pieces may jump into the water as well. Just be careful while handling it and you will get the perfectly steamed broccoli in instant pot without a steamer.
You need a minimum amount of water in the instant pot to bring the pressure required. Water quantity depends on the instant pot’s size as well. For 3 qt 3/4 cup, 6 qt 1 cup, and for 8qt 1.5 cups of water required. This water quantity is sufficient to steam any vegetable in the instant pot.
Broccolini is different than broccoli when it comes to volume. It may turn slightly overcooked or mushy, steaming at ‘0’ minute. I myself have not tried. But if you try do share the feedback.
This recipe instruction will give you perfectly crunchy broccoli. Still, if you get the mushy broccoli then do try the below steps.
1. Cut the florets in little bigger pieces.
2. Place all the florets nicely in the steamer basket.
3. Pressure cook for zero minutes and do a quick release.
If broccoli turns out hard or uncooked, then close the lid and let it sit for 4-5 minutes. DO NOT PRESSURE COOK IT. It will come out perfectly when you will open the lid after 5 minutes.
You can check some more instant pot beginner-friendly recipes from the blog.
- Instant pot beets
- Instant pot hard-boiled eggs
- Homemade cold start yogurt in instant pot
- Instant pot ghee
- Instant pot popcorn
There are some instant pot recipes which you can refer
- Instant pot Spanish rice
- Instant pot palak paneer
- Urad dal in instant pot
- Vegan tofu curry
- Sarson ka saag in instant pot
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Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 broccoli head
- 1 cup water
Garlic Broccoli Salad
- 2 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tbsp coconut oil you can use olive oil as well
- 1 tbsp garlic finely chopped
- 1 tsp sesame seeds white color
- 1 tsp chili flakes
Instructions
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 PRESSURE COOKER 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. Calor 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.
How to make garlic broccoli salad
- Press SAUTE mode and add oil when instant pot shows HOT on the display.
- To this add finely chopped garlic and sesame seeds. Cook for a minute.
- Add broccoli florets. I am using steamed broccoli to make this salad. You can fresh or frozen broccoli florets as well.
- Cook for 2 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add chili flakes, lemon juice and adjust salt.
- Stir few more times and press CANCEL. Serve this crunchy garlic broccoli salad immediately.
Notes
| Broccoli | Cooking Time | Texture | IP Release |
| Fresh florets | 0 min | crunchy & green color | quick release |
| 0 min | soft & still green color | natural release | |
| 1 min | soft & light green color | quick release | |
| Frozen | 0 min | crunchy | quick release |
| 1 min | soft | quick release |
Jessie
I have some broccoli that I am needing to use so I am going to be getting out the instant pot tomorrow to use it up.
Bhawana
haha that’s cool. do try n you will love it.
Anita
I love using an IP to steam broccoli and vegetables in general. It feels like I have a better control than using a stove-top steamer.
Bhawana
very right. I loved cooking in instant pot.
Jill
Seems like the ultimate guide for steaming broccoli in the Instant Pot. Thanks for all the helpful information!