Instant Pot Broccoli with an Easy Lemon Butter Sauce

Making broccoli in the Instant Pot is the absolute easiest way to cook this veggie to perfection. It’s quick to make and totally hands off, and this recipe includes a super speedy lemon butter sauce that makes this healthy side dish a new family favorite. You’ll never steam or blanch broccoli again!

What Makes This Instant Pot Broccoli So Good

• This Instant Pot Broccoli is a totally foolproof method to get perfectly tender broccoli every single time you cook it. All you have to do is chop up fresh broccoli, toss it in the pressure cooker, and press a couple of buttons. The Instant Pot does all the work!
• It’s so fast that it takes ZERO minutes to cook! Yes, you read that right. You’ll set your pressure cooker timer to ZERO. MINUTES. Since all of the cooking actually happens in the amount of time it takes your Instant Pot to come to full pressure, as soon as it’s there, you’re done!
• I’ve paired our Instant Pot broccoli with a super simple but completely effective lemon butter sauce. It’s optional – you can serve your broccoli however you like it – but I’m obsessed and you will be, too!
• You can easily double this recipe without changing the cook time. Perfect if you want to make up a big batch so you can snack on the leftover broccoli throughout the week. Leftovers will keep up to 5 days. Just refrigerate them in an airtight container.

Key Ingredients for Instant Pot Broccoli

Broccoli – Not only is Instant Pot broccoli super easy and super tasty, it’s also super healthy. Broccoli is a beast when it comes to vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants. It’s got vitamins A, C, E, K, and various Bs, not to mention all the potassium, calcium, iron, and magnesium… and then there’s the protein and fiber. Uhhh, talk about a superfood.

Butter – The base of the lemon butter sauce! Butter and broccoli go beautifully together. You could also use ghee or vegan butter if you need to fit certain dietary restrictions. If you want a different flavor for your Instant Pot broccoli, just before serving, toss the cooked broccoli in a little EVOO and garlic with rosemary or thyme. Red pepper flakes would be great, too!

Chef’s Tips

• For the best Instant Pot broccoli, chop the broccoli into even-sized florets. If they’re uneven, you run the risk of the smallest pieces turning to mush while the largest pieces aren’t quite ready.
• If you have really large florets, or if they’re very, very firm, you can set the pressure on the Instant Pot to Manual High. In my experience, Manual Low Pressure does the job beautifully, but High Pressure for zero minutes may be needed in some cases.
• Be sure to Quick Release the steam after “cooking”. If you Natural Release, the broccoli will overcook by the time all the pressure is out.
• I love using my silicone steamer basket, but if you don’t have one, you can still cook Instant Pot broccoli! Just use the Instant Pot trivet instead. The key is elevating the broccoli up out of the water. If your broccoli florets are too small, though, they may fall through the trivet, so keep that in mind.

Other Instant Pot Recipes You Have to Try

• Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
• Instant Pot Baked Beans
• The Best Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
• Instant Pot Chicken Legs
• Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
• Instant Pot Boiled Peanuts
• 50 Low Carb Instant Pot Recipes
• Instant Pot Applesauce
• Instant Pot Chicken Wings

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Instant Pot Broccoli with an Easy Lemon Butter Sauce

Making broccoli in the Instant Pot is the absolute easiest way to cook this veggie to perfection. It's quick to make and totally hands off, and this recipe includes a super speedy lemon butter sauce that makes this healthy side dish a new family favorite. You'll never steam or blanch broccoli again!

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 5 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Course Basics, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Calories 141 kcal

Equipment

• Instant Pot
• Silicone steamer basket or other Instant Pot steamer insert (optional)

Ingredients

  

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For the Broccoli

• 1 pound raw broccoli cut into florets
• 1 cup water

For the Lemon Butter Sauce (Optional)

• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 large pinch salt

Instructions

 

• Place steamer basket in bottom of Instant Pot. Add broccoli florets and water.
  
• Cover Instant Pot with lid and place vent in Sealing position. Set to Manual Low Pressure for 0 (zero) minutes. Note: if your broccoli is larger or very, very firm, you can cook on Manual High Pressure for 0 (zero) minutes. For us, though, Low Pressure works perfectly, and anything longer than 0 (zero) minutes overcooks the broccoli.
• While Instant Pot comes to pressure, make lemon butter sauce. Melt butter, then stir in lemon juice and salt. Stir to combine thoroughly. Set aside until serving.
  
• When cook time is up, immediately Quick Release steam. Very carefully open steam valve and remove lid.
• If you cooked at High Pressure instead of Low, you may want to remove steam basket from Instant Pot and run cold water over broccoli to stop cooking. Either way, shake broccoli dry and serve warm with lemon butter sauce.

Notes

• The 0 (zero) minute setting is not a typo! All of the cooking actually happens while the Instant Pot comes to pressure. We’ve found that setting the cook time to anything longer than 0 (zero) minutes overcooks the broccoli.
• Make it Dairy Free/Vegan: Use dairy free butter, or skip the lemon butter sauce.
• Make it Whole30/Paleo: Use ghee instead of butter, or skip the lemon butter sauce.
• This recipe was tested and perfect using a 6-quart Instant Pot. For an 8-quart Instant Pot, you may need to add ¼-½ cup water more.

 

Recipe yields approximately 4 servings. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving out of 4 using the ingredients listed, including 1 serving of lemon butter sauce out of 4. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by 4. Result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 141kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 3gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 151mgPotassium: 366mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1061IUVitamin C: 103mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1mgNet Carbs: 5g

Keyword easy recipe, pressure cooker, vegetarian

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Cheryl Malik

Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.