Pressure Cooking Times for 50 Vegetables (Chart)

Steaming vegetables in a stove-top or electric pressure cooker is one of the fastest ways to prepare healthy meals. Load the cooker with a handful of new potatoes and a cup of water, set the time, and hit start. Within five minutes you'll be rewarded with thoroughly-cooked new potatoes that are just as delicious as spuds cooked in a regular stove-top steamer. Don't like potatoes? Try some diced rutabagas, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, baby carrots, frozen spinach, or Brassica vegetables – all of which take less than 10 minutes to cook in a high-powered pressure cooker (at 15 PSI).

The chart below shows the approximate pressure cooking times for 50 vegetables, ranging from common foods such as potatoes, beets and carrots to some less common healthy foods such as fennel, artichoke hearts and black salsify. The times shown are ideal for pressure cookers that can be set to operate at 1 bar or 15 PSI (Pounds per Square Inch). In many common models, 15 PSI is the standard pressure you get if you press the "high" button. However, there are also many pressure cookers that have been programmed not to exceed 10 or 13 PSI, in which case your veg will take a little longer to cook. So, be sure to read the User Guide before attempting to determine the ideal pressure cooking times for your favorite vegetables!

Most pressure cookers come with a trivet and rack or steaming basket, which allows you to steam your vegetables as opposed to boiling them. This, in turn, helps protect both the flavor and nutritional value of your pressure-cooked vegetables, so it is recommended that you always use the trivet/rack when cooking vegetables (unless, of course, you're making soup or stew).

If you have a modern electric pressure cooker that features a Quick Release button or valve, you can use it at the end of the cooking time to speed up the release of the pressure. Not only will this help get the food to the table fast, it also helps prevent delicate foods with short cooking times (such as asparagus, beet greens, sliced carrots, eggplant, kale, green beans, zucchini, peas, Swiss chard and spinach) from overcooking and getting mushy. If you have a stove-top cooler that is not equipped with a build-in Quick Release mechanism, you can always use the Cold Water Release method to quickly reduce the pressure and stop the cooking process. This method involves running cold water over the lid of the cooker (see the User Manual that came with your cooker for detailed instructions).

You can also use the so called 'Natural Release Method' by letting the pressure (and temperature) drop naturally. This can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. This method is great if you are not in hurry and when the foods you are cooking are not particularly delicate. When using the Natural Release method, keep in mind that the foods continue to cook for some time after you remove the cooker from the stove, so you may have to count that in when determining how long you steam your veg.

Note: The pressure cooking time chart below is meant to be used as a rough guide, and only if the User Guide for your pressure cooker model does not indicate the cooking time for the vegetable you are planning steam. The last column in the table shows the amount of water you should add to the bottom of the cooker to make sure the machine can produce enough steam. Also keep in mind that the countdown starts when the machine reaches the level of pressure you have chosen, not when you close the lid and turn the electricity on.

Food Size / Preparation Minutes* Liquid in Cups* Artichoke hearts, large Whole 8 to 11 1 Artichoke hearts, small Whole 6 to 8 1 Asparagus whole spears 1 to 2 ½ Asparagus Spears cut into 1-inch pieces 1 min ½ Beets 1/4-inch slices 3 to 4 ½ Beets Whole, large 20 to 25 2 Beets Whole, small 12 to 15 1 ½ Beet greens Whole or coarsely chopped 1 to 3 ½ Bell peppers Quartered 2 to 3 ½ Black salsify Diced 6 to 7 1 Broccoli Florets or spears 2 to 3 ½ Broccoli Stalks 5 to 6 ½ Brussels sprouts Whole 3 to 4 ½ Cabbage, red or white 2-inch thick slices or wedges 3 to 4 ½ Cabbage, red or white Halved 6 to 7 1 Carrots 2-inch pieces or baby carrots 4 to 7 1 Carrots ½-inch slices 1 to 3 ½ Carrots 1-inch slices 2 to 4 ½ Cauliflower Florets 2 to 3 ½ Celery 1-inch slices 2 to 3 ½ Chestnuts Whole, unpeeled 7 to 9 1 Collard greens Coarsely chopped 2 to 5 ½ Corn kernels Whole kernels 1 min ½ Corn on the cob Whole ears 3 to 6 ½ Endives / escarole Cut into thick pieces 1 to 2 ½ Eggplant (aubergine) ½-inch slices 1 to 2 ½ Eggplant (aubergine) 1 ½-inch slices 2 to 3 ½ Fennel bulb Sliced 2 to 3 ½ Green beans Fresh or frozen 1 to 2 ½ Kale Coarsely chopped 1 to 3 ½ Kohlrabi (German turnip) Halved 5 to 7 1 Kohlrabi Sliced 2 to 3 ½ Leeks Sliced 2 to 4 ½ Okra Whole, small pods 2 to 3 ½ Onions Whole, medium size 2 to 4 ½ Parsnips ½-inch thick slices 2 to 4 ½ Parsnips 2-inch pieces 3 to 4 ½ Peas Frozen 1 to 2 ½ Peas Fresh 1 to 2 ½ Potatoes, regular Medium size, quartered 5 to 7 1 Potatoes, regular Small, whole 5 to 8 1 Potatoes, new Small, whole 4 to 5 1 Pumpkin 1 to 2 inch slices 3 to 4 ½ Rutabagas (swedes) 1-inch chunks 3 to 5 1 Rutabagas (swedes) Quartered 8 to 12 1 ½ Savoy cabbage Halved 6 to 8 1 Spinach, fresh Whole leaves 1 to 3 ½ Spinach, frozen n/a 2 to 4 ½ Squash, acorn Halved 6 to 8 1 Squash, spaghetti Halved 10 to 12 1 ½ Squash, butternut 1-inch slices 3 to 4 ½ Sweet potato 2-inch cubes 5 to 6 1 Swiss chard Whole leaves 1 to 2 ½ Tomatoes Quartered 2 min ½ Tomatoes Whole 3 min ½ Turnips Slices or cubes, 1-inch thick 3 to 5 ½ Yellow beans (wax beans) Whole, fresh or frozen 2 to 3 ½ Zucchini 1-inch thick slices 1 to 2 ½

*The actual times can differ significantly from the estimates shown above as numerous factors – including the vegetable cultivar, food preparation method and type of the pressure cooker – can influence the ideal cooking time. Also your location may have an impact on how long it takes to pressure cook vegetables (if you live at a high altitude, add 5% of the standard cooking time for every 1,000 feet above 2,000 feet. For example, if you live at 3,000 feet above sea level and your recipe calls for a 20-minute cooking time, increase the recommended cooking time by 1 minute (5% of 20 minutes is 1 minute).