Meal preparation is SO MUCH easier when you have a big bowl of root veggies already cooked and waiting for you in the refrigerator. Use a pre-cooked potato as the base of your meal, or heat up a cooked sweet potato whenever you need a quick snack. Add a salad or some broccoli and your plant-based meal is DONE!
I like to make a big batch of steamed root vegetables every weekend in the INSTANT POT. (Electric Pressure Cooker) I store them covered in the refrigerator, and then eat them all week as part of our meals or just as a snack.
Using my pre-cooked root veggies, I threw together this simple meal on a busy weeknight last week when time was short.
I simply reheated in the microwave some sliced purple potatoes, carrots, mashed gold potatoes drizzled with Cashew Sour Cream and sprinkled with sliced green onion, and salt and pepper; then a sliced Japanese sweet potato sprinkled with sea salt. I added some spinach that I steamed in the microwave; and a sliced tomato; and dinner was READY TO EAT!!!
HERE’S HOW YOU MAKE STEAMED ROOT VEGGIES IN THE INSTANT POT:
STEP ONE:
Wash and scrub the skins of approximately 4-5 lbs of various root veggies: -Potatoes of any color, -sweet potatoes of any variety. -Carrots, parsnips, turnips or beets, or other root veggies.(Peel and cut into large segments) -1 or 2 onions (Papery skins removed.)
STEP TWO:
Plug in the Instant Pot. Place the rack (or a steamer basket) in the bottom of the stainless steel pot. Add approximately 1 cup of water to the bottom of the pot. Place the stainless steel pot inside it’s housing in the Instant Pot multi cooker.
STEP THREE:
Fill the stainless steel pot with the various cleaned root veggies on top of the rack or steamer basket.
STEP FOUR:
Put the lid on and twist it to the LOCK position. (Listen for the glissando to know it’s locked.) Be sure to move the lever to the SEALING position.
STEP FIVE:
Select the STEAM setting by pushing the STEAM button. 
Now press the + or – button until you get to 12 minutes. (8 minutes, if using medium size potatoes; or 5 minutes for baby potatoes.) That’s it! Now just stand back. The Instant Pot will AUTOMATICALLY START in 10 seconds. (It will beep 3 times to let you know it started, and the display will indicate ON.)
STEP SIX:
At this point, you can walk away and just let the Instant Pot do all the work! (But just so you know what it’s automatically doing without you… It will take about 20 minutes for it to come up to pressure, then it will cook for 12 minutes, then it will slowly release the pressure naturally over the next 25-30 minutes.)
When you come back an hour or more later, the little silver (or red) pressure”nailhead” on top of the lid should be down, and you may then unlock the lid and open the cooker. (Actually it won’t let you open the lid if the nailhead is still up, so if for some reason, the “nailhead” is still up, then shift the valve to “VENTING” to manually release any remaining pressure. (it will hiss for a bit.) Once the hissing stops, the”nailhead” will drop down, and you may then unlock the lid and open the pot.) And if by chance you didn’t make it back until hours later, it’s still ok, because the pot will automatically keep everything warm for hours, until you get back!
Now just open the lid and see your PERFECTLY COOKED ROOT VEGGIES! 
(I threw in some rosemary sprigs for color)
Turn off the Instant Pot and allow the veggies to cool slightly. Use tongs to transfer the root veggies to a shallow dish to allow them to finish cooling quicker. Once cool, cover veggies with a lid, foil, or wrap, and place in the refrigerator, ready for your quick and easy meals and snacks all week long!
Instant Pot Root Veggies
Ingredients
- 4 -5 lbs assorted root vegetables, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, whole onions, turnips, parsnips, etc.
- 1 cup water
- Fresh thyme, parsley, or rosemary sprigs for garnish (optional)
Directions
1. Wash and scrub the skins of approximately 4-5 lbs of various root veggies: Potatoes of any color; sweet potatoes of any variety; Carrots; parsnips; turnip; beets; onions (remove papery skins); or other root veggies.)
2. Plug in the instant pot. Place the rack (or a steamer basket) in the bottom of the stainless steel pot. Add approximately 1 cup of water to the bottom of the stainless steel pot. Place the stainless steel pot inside it’s housing in the Instant Pot multi cooker.
3. Fill the stainless steel pot with the various cleaned root veggies, placing them on top of the rack or in the steamer basket.
4. Put the lid on the instant pot, and twist it to the LOCK position. (Listen for the glissando to know it’s locked.) Be sure to move the lever to the SEALING position.
5. Select the STEAM setting by pushing the STEAM button.
Next press the + or – button until you get to 12 minutes.(8 minutes, if using medium size potatoes; or 5 minutes for baby potatoes.) That’s it! Now just stand back. The Instant Pot will AUTOMATICALLY START in 10 seconds. (It will beep 3 times to let you know it started, and the display will indicate ON.)
6. At this point, you can walk away and just let the Instant Pot do all the work! (But just so you know what it’s automatically doing without you… It will take about 20 minutes for it to come up to pressure, then it will cook for 12 minutes, then it will slowly release the pressure naturally over the next 25-30 minutes.)
When you come back an hour or more later, the little silver (or red) pressure”nailhead” on top of the lid should be down, and you may then unlock the lid and open the cooker. (Actually it won’t let you open the lid if the nailhead is still up, so if for some reason, the “nailhead” is still up, then shift the valve to “VENTING” to manually release any remaining pressure. (it will hiss for a bit.) Once the hissing stops, the”nailhead” will drop down, and you may then unlock the lid and open the pot.) And if by chance you don’t make it back until hours later, it’s still ok, because the pot will automatically keep everything warm for hours, until you get back!
Now just open the lid and see your PERFECTLY COOKED ROOT VEGGIES!
7. Turn off the Instant Pot and allow the veggies to cool slightly. Serve immediately, or use tongs to transfer the root veggies to a shallow dish to allow them to finish cooling quicker. Once cool, garnish with herb sprigs (optional) and cover the dish with a lid or foil, and store in the refrigerator, ready for your quick and easy meals and snacks all week long!
*NOTE: When ready to serve, place desired number of cooked root veggies on a microwave safe plate, and heat for 1- 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave oven on high. Slice or mash them, then season with salt, pepper, sliced green onions, and drizzle with Cashew Sour Cream (if desired.)
Find this recipe and more great plant-based recipes at http://www.LittleBluePlates.com
ENJOY!
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