This is by far the easiest way to peel beets in the world. After you prep them in the pressure cooker / Instant Pot, the skin literally just pops right off! And the flavor is amazing, too!
Why Pressure Cook Beets?
In short, they’re tastier, faster, and it’s the easiest way to peel beets!
For the longest time, I hated beets. I loved basically every vegetable I had ever tried, except beets. To me, beets tasted like dirt (literally, they tasted like garden soil smells). Turns out, most beets – especially canned or otherwise pre-prepared (overly redundant? haha) – don’t actually taste like beets. They taste like dirt. Beets are delicious when they’re done right.
I was also wary of beets because I had been told by countless friends and family members that beets were a pain in the rear to peel and prep. Recipes called for hours of baking wrapped in foil or hacking away with a carrot peeler. The I stumbled across a memoir-esque account written by a woman homesteading through a winter similar to those we see in Michigan. The whole article was cozy and inspiring, but the part that really stuck with me was when she pointed out that she could make beans from dried to ready-to-eat in under two hours (!!!) and that pressure cooked beets would pop right out of their skins. She, like me, had been a beet hater before she tried pressure cooking.
I wish I could cite this article. I’d love to read it again, but alas it’s been years and I don’t even remember for certain what periodical it was in. I suspect it was Mother Earth News. The idea of being able to switch from canned beans to dried was enough to get me to try out a pressure cooker, and it was everything I’d hoped. It’s been ten years, and I still use the pressure cooker at least once a week. And not only do I love beets now, so do the kids!
Instructions:
The Easiest Way to Peel Beets
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Materials
- Whole beets with roots intact and stems still on but trimmed
- Enough water to just cover all the beets
Instructions
- If your beets still have greens attached, trim them down leaving short stems attached. (Beet greens are delicious in salads and sandwiches!)
- Leave the roots intact.
- Put the beets into the pressure cooker and add enough water to just cover all the beets (a little root or stem peeking out of the water is ok, but make sure the bodies of the beets are covered).
- Pressure cook on high according to your pressure cooker's instructions.
Pressure Cooker Times (use only if not covered in your pressure cooker's instructions)
- ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER/INSTANT POT:Small beets – 10 minutesMedium beets – 15 minutesLarge beets – 20 minutes
- STOVETOP PRESSURE COOKERSmall beets – 8 minutesMedium beets – 10 minutesLarge beets – 15 minutes
- Carefully release the pressure through the pressure release valve.
- Drain off the water.
- Cool beets – by dousing in cold water, ice, or popping in the freezer for a few minutes – until they can be handled safely. REMEMBER: They cool from the outside in, so the layer under the skin will be hotter than the skin, and the middle will be much hotter than that.
- Once the beets are cool enough to safely handle, trim off the top with stems and the root (there's your Creepy Edible Rat Tail for Halloween!).
- Then just wrap your hand around the skin and squeeze from the bottom, and your beet will pop right out! Peel off any little bits still sticking. Then cut up and use however you prefer!
Video
Notes
Creepy Edible Rat Tails for Halloween
One of my favorite Urban Earthworm classics! Creepy Edible Halloween Rat Tails
Pressure Cooker Times for Everything:
Let me know if you try this out, and comment below with your favorite use for the pressure cooker!
Whenever I try something new in my pressure cooker, I always use the times listed on Hip Pressure Cooking. It’s a very complete chart! Hasn’t steered me wrong a single time.