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These parsnips and carrots are easily made in the Instant Pot! A quick and delicious side dish with a touch of buttery goodness.
This would be the perfect Thanksgiving side dish. I really like the colors of these two vegetables together. 🙂
Parsnips are still somewhat sweet, but they add a slightly different flavor (kinda earthy and nutty). These root vegetables go really well together.
This recipe can easily be made on the stove as well, but using the Instant Pot for a side dish frees up your stove for other things. Yeah, boiling veggies isn’t rocket science, but I do like the hands-off nature of the Instant Pot. 😛
On that note, you may also like my Instant Pot honey butter carrots.
How to make parsnips and carrots in the Instant Pot
Making parsnips and carrots in the electric pressure cooker is pretty simple. I cut up the veggies up into pieces that are roughly the same size, add them to the Instant Pot along with a cup of water, and cook on high pressure for 2 minutes.
I tried 3 minutes in my original test run, and they were really soft. Still good, but a little soft for my liking.
I then drain them, toss them with butter, and sprinkle on some salt & pepper and a bit of fresh parsley. Delicious.
If you love carrots, you may also like my honey roasted carrots or my maple carrots and beets.
I hope you’ll try this easy parsnips and carrots recipe!
Questions? Let me know.
Instant Pot Parsnips and Carrots
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots peeled & cut
- 2 pounds parsnips peeled & cut
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup butter or to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Fresh parsley chopped, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Cut your carrots and parsnips into pieces that are roughly the same size. Add them to your Instant Pot along with the water.
- Close the Instant Pot's lid and set the valve on "sealing". Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes (3 minutes if you want them really soft or you're using particularly large carrots & parsnips). It'll take about 10 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
- Once the countdown has finished, do a quick pressure release. Take the lid off as soon as it's done (or the veggies will continue cooking), and take the insert out and carefully discard the water (leave the veggies in the insert).
- Put the insert back into the Instant Pot and add in the butter. I set the lid back on top for about a minute to help the butter melt. Add the salt & pepper and parsley and gently toss to coat. Transfer veggies to a serving bowl.
Notes
- Inactive time represents the time it will take to get your Instant Pot up to pressure.
- I use this 6-quart Instant Pot.
- Stovetop: You can make this recipe on the stove if you wish. Simply boil the carrots and parsnips until they've reached desired tenderness, then drain and add the butter, salt & pepper, and parsley.
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None of it was cooked after doing a manual release of the steam after 2 minutes.
Hi! Are you sure you actually pressurized your Instant Pot? It should take about 10 minutes to come up to pressure, and in that time it starts to cook before the 2 minutes of high pressure cook time. For me, after 3 minutes the veggies are mashable… so 2 minutes should have softened them plenty.
Thanks! I was looking for directions on how to cook for veggies in my Instapot and yours can up first. My extended family is from the New England area and one tradition at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners is a mashed mix of carrots and turnips (butter and salt, to taste). We think it’s delicious! I used the 3 min cook length and the veggies were perfectly soft for mashing! A total home run! 20 min turn-around, instead of nearly an hour of boiling. Now I can make this dish more often, without needing to anticipate such a long cook time! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
I’m so glad that you found this recipe helpful! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving to you!
To make a very good recipe even better, do this: Add 2 tbs bourbon to the 1 cup water. After draining the water, add 3 tbs honey to the melted butter to coat the carrots and parsnips.
Good idea!