Instant Pot Vegetarian Potstickers: Creating a perfectly steamed vegetable potsticker has never been easier with the help of an electric pressure cooker. Quickly saute the filling of the potstickers and then steam to perfection–all in the Instant Pot.
We have lots of traditions at our house.
Well, I call them traditions, but they are more like routines. And I like routine.
We have a weekly family night and a weekly date night.
Our family nights consist of games, movies, hikes and of course yummy desserts like Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies or Gluten Free Cookie Cake.
And date nights probably don’t quite look like what you think they look like.
We rarely get to get out on the town, instead my husband and I send the kids upstairs with dinner and we either order take-out or have a nice dinner at home.
Sometimes I make Chicken Marsala, sometimes we have New York strips and baked potatoes and other times we enjoy one of our all time favorites–Vegetable Potstickers.
Instant Pot Vegetarian Potstickers
For years I have been making vegetable potsickers with a steamer basket and leftover veggies.
After being left with shredded carrots from Carrot Cake Muffins and shredded cabbage from Homemade Coleslaw, I decided we had the perfect base for the filling of potstickers.
And while I have a tried and true technique making Vegetable Potstickers, I decided to try my hand at making potstickers in the Instant Pot.
In my mind I thought that using the saute function to quick cook the potsticker filling and then using the rack to steam the potsticker made perfect sense. And since I am trying to add to my Healthy Instant Pot recipes, I really wanted to nail this recipe.
Nailed it I did.
But NOT after a few failed attempts.
Don’t worry, stick with me–and you won’t have to worry about those failures!
How to make Vegetable Potstickers in your Instant Pot
Step One: Saute your veggies in your pressure cooker.
- Turn your pressure cooker and press the saute function–be sure it is set to high.
- Once the screen reads “hot” or the pressure cooker beeps it is ready, add in an oil that can take high heats (like avocado, coconut, or peanut oil).
- Add in your veggies and saute until just wilted before adding in seasonings.
Step Two: Fill your wonton wrappers with your vegetable mixture.
- Place 1 teaspoon of vegetable mixture in the center of each wonton.
- Using a pastry brush or your fingers, wet down the outer edges of the wonton wrapper and fold in half, making a triangle shape.
- Slightly fold down the pointed edges to seal the wonton fully making the potsticker look almost like a moon.
Step Three: Place the steamer rack inside your instant pot and pour in 1 cup cold water.
Step Four: Place potstickers into pressure cooker in layers.
- Place a piece of parchment paper cut to fit on steamer rack and then a single layer of potstickers.
- Top with another piece of parchment paper and another layer of potstickers and repeat until potstickers are gone (or instant pot is full).
Step Five: Cook the potstickers on high pressure for 4 minutes.
- Once cooked, let pressure naturally release for 4-5 minutes before doing a quick release and removing from instant pot.
Step Six: Enjoy these steamed potstickers with your favorite dipping sauce.
Potsticker Sauce Recipe
Isn’t one of the best things about finger foods, the dipping?!
You have several different options for a dipping sauce that is perfect for any potstickers. A few of our favorites are:
- Equal parts apricot preserves mixed with sriracha sauce–reminds me of a homemade sweet chili sauce
- Soy Sauce
- Chinese Mustard
- Hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar mixed with 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons ketchup
- Sweet and sour sauce
- Sweet Chili Sauce
How to Freeze Potstickers
We NEVER have leftover potstickers at my house. We seriously can make these appetizers into a full meal any night of the week!
BUT if you do happen to have leftover potstickers, you can freeze solid on a cookie sheet that has been lined with wax paper or parchment paper and then transfer to freezer safe bag.
To reheat frozen potstickers, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat in large nonstick skillet. Arrange potstickers in single layer in skillet and brown for 1-2 minutes. Carefully add in 1 cup water and immediately cover skillet with lid. Turn heat to medium-low and cook for 10-12 minutes. Remove lid and let water evaporate and serve.
If you happen to have leftover potsticker filling, which I often do, add to steamed rice or make a quick stir fry with it for a quick dinner.
A few tips to remember when making these Easy Steamed Vegetarian Potstickers
- Do not limit yourselves to cabbage, carrots and edamame. This is a great time to use up leftover sturdy vegetables like sprouts, napa cabbage, bok choy, red cabbage, mushrooms, etc.
- If you would like to use meat to these potsticker, brown ground meat (like chicken, turkey, or pork) before adding in vegetables and then proceed with recipe.
- I love to keep the vegetable filling simple because my kids are much more willing to eat these potstickers then. However, feel free to add in some red pepper flakes for spice or chinese five spice flavor for a unique taste.
- I like to use edamame in these potstickers to add a boost of protein. You could also saute firm tofu cubes and add those to the vegetable filling.
- If you don’t have fresh ginger for the filling, do not substitute it for ground ginger. Just omit.
- If you are using full sodium soy sauce, you may want to cut back on the amount in the filling to prevent these potstickers from being too salty.
- You can find wonton wrapper in the produce section of most grocery stores.
- I recommend coconut oil or avocado oil for saute the vegetables in as it can withstand high heat. Peanut oil also works.
If you liked this recipe for pressure cooker potstickers you may like:
Instant Pot Vegetarian Potstickers
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil or peanut/coconut oil
- 1/2 cup defrosted edamame
- 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli or leftover steamed broccoli
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions 2-3 stalks
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 10 ounce package of wonton wrappers
Instructions
Prepare the vegetable filling
- Start by turning your instant pot to saute. Once heated (the pressure cooker should say HOT). Pour in the oil and add the cabbage, edamame, broccoli, onions, Saute for 3-4 minutes until vegetables start to wilt. Add in the garlic, ginger and soy sauce and saute for about a minute more. Remove the vegetables to a large bowl.
Assemble the potstickers
- Place 1 teaspoon of vegetable mixture in the center of each wonton. Using a pastry brush or your fingers, wet down the outer edges of the wonton wrapper and fold in half, making a triangle shape. Slightly fold down the pointed edges to seal the wonton fully making the potsticker look almost like a moon.
Steam the potstickers
- Place the steamer insert rack into the instant pot and pour in 1 cup cold water. Cut 4-5 rounds of parchment paper to fit the size of the surface of the steamer rack (the size to cover the rack.)
- Layer the potstickers on top of the parchment paper in a single layer, seperating each layer by additional sheets of parchement paper.
Steam the potstickers
- Set the pressure cooker to high pressure and adjust cooking time to 4 minutes.
- Once finished cooking, let pressure release naturally for 4-5 minutes, then do a quick release and remove potstickers. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Notes
Not sure what i did wrong, but the pot stickers ended up stick to the parchment paper. it was a complete disaster and we ended up throwing over half of them 🙁 I can’t speak to the taste factor because we used our own recipe and were just looking on how to steam them in an instant pot since we got it recently. Did you use oil or cooking spray to avoid them sticking? Also after the 1st round, they weren’t cooked, so had to cook them for longer. Any tips?
Hi Jo! It is hard for me to troubleshoot your issue since you did not follow my recipe. The filling may have been too moist and caused the wrappers to get wet and stick together. It could have been the wrappers you used. Also, depending on how you fill your potstickers, it may take longer to cook. For reference, I do not spray my parchment paper, and have never had an issue.
I made these the other day (ostensibly for dinner the next night), but ended up eating so many that there wasn’t much left! 🤤 They took some time to make, but were SO good!! I did use ground turkey as a protein source because I have a bottomless pit of a 15 year old and I try to avoid soy products when I can. I had a little filling left so I made some more and they’re steaming as we speak!
I did find that the ones on the bottom layer didn’t get touched by the steam much at all as the wrappers were still opaque and floury, but that may have been because I had 4-5 layers of them. I also found out the hard way that the steamer basket I bought last year is a dud because the holes are SO small, the potstickers didn’t steam at all when i used it. 😕 Collapsible metal steamer to the rescue!
Thanks again for such delicious recipes!!
I am so glad you enjoyed Erika!! And great idea using ground Turkey. My 14 year old bottomless pit would probably appreciate that too😊
I made these for a party and froze them. Have you ever cooked these from frozen in the instant pot?
Hi Kerrie!
To reheat frozen potstickers, heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat in large nonstick skillet. Arrange potstickers in single layer in skillet and brown for 1-2 minutes. Carefully add in 1 cup water and immediately cover skillet with lid. Turn heat to medium-low and cook for 10-12 minutes. Remove lid and let water evaporate and serve.
You can also place potstickers back in pressure cooker. Pour 1 cup of water into inner pot and place trivet in inner pot. Add potsticers in layers separated by parchment paper and cook for 5 minutes on high pressure.
Enjoy!
Just made this tonight and it was delicious! I used apricot preserves, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and a little ketchup mixed together for a dipping sauce and it paired really well with this.
YAY!! SO glad you enjoyed Abigail. I love that dipping sauce as well. YUM!
Thanks for the recipe! These were so easy and delicious. My 5 year old and husband demolished all 😀. My son even ate veggies he is normally not so keen on like cabbage.
Thank you for sharing your success with me Malenka! I love hearing that these were a family winner and even your picky eater enjoyed 🙂