These Instant Pot carrots are cooked with brown sugar and honey, so they’re perfectly sweet! Serve up these baby carrots as an easy side dish for any meal, and check out my Instant Pot Easter roundup at the bottom of this post!

Steamed Instant Pot Carrots
This recipe cooks the carrots in the Instant Pot with a very light brown sugar syrup.
If you prefer carrots with no glaze and would just like to steam your carrots, you can do that as well.
Place carrots in a steamer basket, and place the basket into the Instant Pot along with 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 4 minutes on high pressure with a 1 minute natural pressure release.
Instant Pot Carrots
Carrots are a great way to add veggies and color to a holiday spread. The liquid is sweet, but it isn’t reduced into a syrup so they’re actually pretty healthy too (though it can be!)

The best part? All you do for this recipe is DUMP EVERYTHING IN!!
This recipe isn’t overwhelmingly sweet- it just accentuates the already sweet carrots. You’re gonna love these carrots for Easter.
By the way, have you made my Instant Pot Carrot Cake recipe yet? 🙂
How to make this recipe
Making pressure cooker carrots is an easy side dish because you can simply dump everything in! I like using a bag of baby carrots for this recipe, but you can peel and cut whole carrots in the size and shape you like best.

Ingredients for Glazed Instant Pot Carrots
- A large bag of mini carrots
- Brown Sugar
- Honey
- Water
- Butter
- Salt and Pepper
- Lemon Juice (optional)
How to make Instant Pot Glazed Carrots
Add the carrots into the Instant Pot, and dump everything else on top! It’s that easy. All the ingredients will melt and create the syrupy liquid while pressure cooking.
Next, give it a quick stir.

You’ll notice that this recipe only calls for a quarter cup of liquid (between the butter, honey, and water). But don’t be alarmed- it’s okay to use this amount for things that cook very quickly. Read more about that in my Bacon Green Beans post.
Lock the lid, set the knob to SEALING, and cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes. I tested these at 5 minutes, but they were a tad soft. I liked 4 minutes with a 1 minute natural pressure release best.
Lastly, release the rest of the pressure and remove them to a plate immediately. You’ll notice that the liquid is super thin and not thick like a syrup.
If you prefer sweeter, syrupy carrots, you can reduce the sauce down into a thicker glaze as well! I’ve included the instructions for that below.
Lemon juice in Carrots
Some people like the flavor of lemon in their glazed carrot recipes, but I prefer to leave it out.
Since this recipe includes honey, I find that the combination of honey and lemon reminds me a bit of cough drops 😅.
If you enjoy the acid that lemon juice adds, feel free to add it to the dish.
Instant Pot Easter Side Dishes
I made these carrots for an Easter Feast I made COMPLETELY in the Instant Pot. Try them with these other Instant Pot dishes for Easter!

- Instant Pot Bread Pudding
- Pressure Cooker Pineapple Ham and Cheesy Potatoes (Funeral Potatoes)
- Instant Pot Artichokes
- Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Bacon Chive Deviled Eggs
- Instant Pot Salt Potatoes
- The BEST Sweet Potato Casserole
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Bacon Green Beans
- Homemade Carrot Cake in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Instant Pot Carrots
These Instant Pot carrots are cooked with brown sugar and honey, so they're perfectly light and sweet without a heavy syrup. Serve up these baby carrots as an easy side dish for any meal.
Ingredients
- 32 oz. Baby Carrots
- 1/4 c. Brown Sugar
- 1 T. Honey
- 2 T. Butter
- 2 T. Water
- 1/2 t. Lemon Juice (optional)
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into the Instant Pot and stir to coat.
- Lock the lid, turn the knob to SEALING, and cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes. Allow a 1 minute natural pressure release (L0:01), then release the rest of the pressure.
- Transfer carrots to a serving bowl, and pour some of the liquid over the top (about 1/2 cup.) If desire, you can reduce the sauce to make it thick by removing the carrots and turning the Instant Pot on HIGH Saute. Let the sauce come to a boil and reduce for 5-10 minutes, depending on how much liquid there is. Stir constantly once it comes to a boil to avoid burning. Pour the caramel over the top of the carrots for a stickier glaze.
Notes
If you prefer carrots with no glaze and would just like to steam your carrots, add your carrots to a steamer basket. Place the steamer basket into the Instant Pot along with 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 4 minutes on high pressure with a 1 minute natural pressure release.
Recommended Products
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Instant Pot Air Fryer + EPC Combo 8QT Electronic Pressure Cooker, 8-QT, Black/Stainless Steel
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717 Industries Steamer Basket, Stainless Steel Mesh Strainer Compatible Instant Pot Other Pressure Cookers, Fits 6 & 8 Quart Pots (Grey Silicone Handle)
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Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Sterilizer, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, Yogurt Maker, and Warmer, 6 Quart, 14 One-Touch Programs
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 126Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 200mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 4gSugar: 17gProtein: 1g
Kathleen
Saturday 20th of April 2019
In the body you say 1/4 cup water, but in the ingredient list you say 2 T of water. I imagine we'd need to use 1/4 cup for it to come to pressure but I wanted to verify? Thanks!! I love your website!!
Lisa Childs
Saturday 20th of April 2019
So, no, you don’t need to add more water. The liquid in the recipe is adequate!
Lisa Childs
Saturday 20th of April 2019
Hi Kathleen! Thanks for the comment! So the honey and butter both melt into the water to make the remaining liquid! Hope that helps!