Easy Instant Pot Butternut Squash

Whole - This is by far the slowest and messiest option. Cooking it whole takes too long, and if you factor in the time spent removing the shell, you don’t save much, if any time vs peeling the squash before you cooked it. It simply does not save you the time it takes to cut a squash in half and clean it out.

Cut into halves and cleaned out – This option is the quickest and easiest. About 25 minutes in the Instant Pot total [10 minutes to warm up to pressure, 12 minute cooking window, and a few minutes before quick releasing.] The skin still takes some effort to remove, again making the time spent removing the skin comparable to the time it would take to peel the squash in the first place. This recipe is for about 2 pounds of squash. If any section of your squash is more than a few inches thick, it is going to require a few extra cooking minutes. If you decided to take the time to peel your halves, you can drop a couple minutes off of the cooking time. Cut into halves and cleaned out - This option is the quickest and easiest. About 25 minutes in the Instant Pot total [10 minutes to warm up to pressure, 12 minute cooking window, and a few minutes before quick releasing.] The skin still takes some effort to remove, again making the time spent removing the skin comparable to the time it would take to peel the squash in the first place. This recipe is for about 2 pounds of squash. If any section of your squash is more than a few inches thick, it is going to require a few extra cooking minutes. If you decided to take the time to peel your halves, you can drop a couple minutes off of the cooking time.

Peeled and cut into 1″ cubes – The quickest way to cook your squash, yet you do have to do the peeling and cutting. That is, unless you just happen to purchase those bags of pre-cut butternut squash 1″ cubes, that just happen to come in 2 pound bags. The recipe for the cubes only requires 6 to 8 minutes with a quick release. Remember that cooking times will vary slightly due to personal preference. Peeled and cut into 1″ cubes - The quickest way to cook your squash, yet you do have to do the peeling and cutting. That is, unless you just happen to purchase those bags of pre-cut butternut squash 1″ cubes, that just happen to come in 2 pound bags. The recipe for the cubes only requires 6 to 8 minutes with a quick release. Remember that cooking times will vary slightly due to personal preference.

I use an ice scream scoop to clean out my squash.

What you need

subheading: Equipment:

Instant Pot pressure cooker - I use the 6-Quart IP-DUO60 model.

Instant Pot trivet insert or a steamer basket

Mixing bowl for cleaning the squash after cooking

subheading: Ingredients:

One 2-pound butternut squash, cut in half and cleaned out -or- 2 pounds of peeled 1″ cubes

One cup of water

How you make it

Place your trivet or steamer basket into your Instant Pot. Add water and squash. Close lid and set valve to sealing.

To cook butternut squash halves, set your Instant Pot to manual mode, high pressure for 12 minutes.

Directions at paleopot.com

Never lose a recipe again, not even if the original website goes away! Use the Copy Me That button to create your own complete copy of any recipe that you find online. Learn more! It's free!

Page footer