Instant Pot Rutabaga. Whether you know it as Instant Pot Rutabaga, Instant Pot Swede or Instant Pot Neeps, it is a delicious winter root vegetable that cooks so fast in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and tastes delicious.
I love Instant Pot Swede. I grew up on them. They were that winter root vegetable that you always had a lot of over the cold winter months.
It was in season in the UK between October and Easter and always made meals taste so much better.
Plus, it was cheap too.
I would normally buy it for £1 and it would come in a vegetable pack with some parsnips and some carrots ready for making a quick British stew with.
The thing about the swede was how long it took to cut up and how easy it was to get mad with a knife and slice your finger off! And that puts a lot of people off buying them.
I was buying myself my usual swede from the supermarket last November so that we could have some in a veggie bake, as my winter Sundays always involve a veggie bake ? and took a closer look at the label and saw that it was called a “rutabaga”.
It was Portuguese grown, but I had never seen the name rutabaga before and decided to Google it when I got home later.
I discovered that in the US they call them rutabaga and I thought this was really interesting as I didn’t know you could get them in America.
I always thought they were local to the United Kingdom, as whenever I blog and mention the word “swede” I get a lot of angry people asking me what they are as they can’t find them.
I also found out that in Scotland they call them “neeps” and that they are served on Burns Night with Haggis. Well as someone that got married on Burns Night, this is new and exciting information.
I have a feeling that future wedding anniversaries is going to involve neeps!
Instant Pot Rutabaga
But whether you want to call this recipe your Instant Pot Rutabaga, Instant Pot Swede or Instant Pot Neeps, I will say it is delicious and so easy to cook in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
You get asked when you start thinking about buying an Instant Pot about time saved with an Instant Pot, compared to not having one.
Well my Instant Pot Rutabaga is a prime example.
For 1 full swede it takes just 4 minutes to cook in the Instant Pot. In the oven roasted it takes 50 minutes, in a classic steamer it takes 15 minutes and to boil 15 minutes.
This is WHY that if you don’t own an Instant Pot already then, they are an absolute MUST! We own both the 6 litre and the 8 litre and depending on family size, they are great for daily cooking.
More Vegetables In The Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Asparagus
- Instant Pot Broccoli
- Instant Pot Brussel Sprouts
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash
- Instant Pot Cabbage
- Instant Pot Carrots
- Instant Pot Cauliflower
- Instant Pot Leeks
- Instant Pot Mushrooms
- Instant Pot Parsnips
- Instant Pot Turnips
Instant Pot Rutabaga
Instructions
- Peel and dice the rutabaga.
- Place a cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Add the steamer shelf (trivet), then the steamer basket and then place your diced rutabaga into the basket.
- Season the rutabaga with salt and pepper.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and then cook for 4 minutes on manual.
- When the Instant Pot beeps manually release pressure.
Notes
Nutrition
I love it anyway especially mashed with carrots.
Absolutely! I’ve had loads of needs and tatties – and I’m Welsh!
Rutabaga is one of my Mom’s favorites! She always requests it for dinner on the holidays! I love how quick and easy it is in the Instant pot!
Did yours turn a rust orange/ brown colour when.cooked? Wondering if I cooked too long.recipe I had said 8 minutes.
Rutabagas have been grown here in the US for a long time. I like roasting them with other root veg. I still haven’t broken down and bought an instant pot… I just might have to do that now!
I feel like rutabagas are so underrated! They do deserve a better spot at my dinner table!! No doubt about it!
Perfect , easy, recipe for the humble rutabaga! I love how fast it cooks everything.
We agree with you Allison.
I’ve never tried rutabaga, but this looks pretty easy to make and pretty delicious!
I love rutabaga but this recipe says it is high in carbs but I did not see a serving size. Oh but it is so delicious
How would you change the cooking time for more rutabagas?
Hi Rob,
If you are adding alot more rutabagas up the time by 25% but if it is just a small amount leave it the same ?
In a town called Cumberland, Wisconsin in the US, there is a summer festival devoted to the rutabaga. It is called Rutabaga Fest. Also, here, we pronounce it Rootabeeggie or Rootabeguh
I make them like mashed potatoes. So delicious!
Hi Wendy,
Totally agree we love it with some carrots mashed together with some butter and salt and pepper 🙂
I do rutabaga carrot and potato mash yum going to use instant pot for this this year
The instant pot sounds like a great idea Nickie 🙂
I love rutabaga. Thanks for the info for the instapot!
How would one add meat seasoning when steaming. I am accustomed to boiling them in the meat grease
Hi Ann,
We would add the seasoning before steaming and mix it well in a bowl then put in the steamer basket, but if you want to cook them in the seasoning i would add the whole bowl that you mixed them into the IP and add an extra minute because it will take slightly longer to cook been in a bowl rather than in a steamer basket 🙂
Thanks.
Thank you for including the underrated rutabaga. I have also found it frustrating at times with different names for things. I thought in Scotland a neep was a turnip. Could you
please clarify this?
Hi Julie,
In Scotland they have neeps and tatties usually on burns night the 25th January. The neeps are defiantly a swede even though there is some confusion because they are from the same family. The neeps are served traditionally with the haggis and potatoes. The confusion comes from alot of people in England assume a turnip is a swede, like i did before i was a chef and had to cater for a burns night preparing the swedes/neeps/rutabaga for it and asking what they wanted me to do with the turnips, i was soon put right. Turnips are smaller and white in colour i was told!
Hope this helps to clarify abit for you Julie 🙂
Rutabagas are used in many regions. I cook them here in Canada using my mother’s Finnish recipe.
I was mostly looking for the cooking time, as I’m more accustomed to boiling these on the stovetop, then mashing them. You gave me exactly the information I needed. Thank you.
When I was growing up, my American mother always called them “turnips” (or sometimes “yellow turnips” to appease my Canadian father, who insisted that “white turnips” were the only true turnips). In the stores here in Quebec, they are referred to, under the French term, as “navettes.” Whatever name they are called by, Canada grows a lot of them, including many to the U.S.
We grew up in the US having Rutabagas — I think it was passed down from our English relations. It was a tradition growing up in California, and I still cook them every year. Now, I can do them so much more quickly — thanks for this recipe!
I love rutabaga, but as you said, cutting them is a work out!!! Do you think it would be easier if you put it in whole, steamed it for maybe a minute, cooled and peeled it and then cut it up…and put back in to finish cooking? Two things I hate having to cut – fall squash (acorn, spaghetti) and Ruttabag! I know letting the squash heat up for a few minutes softens it……
Hi Katie Beth,
Yes that might be a good idea to try, it would be trial and error as you would not want to overcook it, but it would definitely help they can be very hard to peel and chop, mostly it is the fact that they move about on the chopping board and this is why i get my hubby to do it 🙂
I have found that if you pop the rutabaga in the microwave for 15 seconds on a paper towel it makes it easier to cut peel.
Great Tip Reeann thank you 🙂
love rutabagas. have them every thanksgiving but they seem to take forever on the stovetop. the instant pot is a life saver. still they are really difficult to prep. i need my husband’s muscles!
Perfect IP rutabaga recipe. My go-to instructions. We love rutabaga and it is on every holiday table.
Any thoughts on cook time for two Swedes in one 8qt pot? Will 4 minutes still be enough?
Thank you ❣️
Hi Janet
Thank you for the nice comment. Yes 4 minutes should still be enough for 2 swedes, happy thanksgiving 🙂
In some parts of the country, rutabagas are known as turnips and turnips are called rutabagas. It’s very confusing at times. I actually had to look at the pictures to see what was in the pot. If they were orange, they’re turnips as I know them. And I’m using your recipe tonight to mash them with potatoes tomorrow, that’s a Thanksgiving tradition started by my great-grandmother.