Forget waiting hours for homemade flavored water, Instant Pot Infused Water is more flavorful and can be ready in just a few minutes. Infused Water is healthy, refreshing, and perfect for any time of year!
I'm guilty of wasting way too much money on flavored water. My favorites are completely sugar-free and provide just a “Hint” of flavor. You can always follow the traditional method of infusing water (let fruit sit in your water for several hours) but I've got an even better idea for you!
Pressure Cooker Infused Water pulls every last bit of flavor out of anything you're infusing in a fraction of the time. And by the way, it's pretty and colorful too, that's important, am I right?
I first introduced this idea in my cookbook, Master the Electric Pressure Cooker, where I presented some of my favorite flavors, Cucumber Mint, Strawberry Lemon Basil, and Triple Citrus. There are soooo many other possibilities though! Today I'm gonna give you four more of my favorites.
Meet Blueberry Lime, Mango Ginger, Apple Cinnamon, and Peach Raspberry Lemonade.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE INSTANT POT INFUSED WATER
- To reiterate, it's fast, easy, and instantly satisfying.
- The Colors!!! Healthy drinking has never looked so good!
- Healthy, satisfying refreshment. Drinking plain water can get boring, this is the best way to jazz it up!
- Cheap! For the cost of one store-bought flavored water, you can have nearly 10x that amount of homemade infused water.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE INFUSED WATER
- Add water and flavoring ingredients; pressure cook; quick release
- Drain and discard fruit
- Pour infused water into a mason jar and chill
I prefer to use this strainer basket because it makes the fruit very simple to discard, but pouring it through a sieve or strainer will work just as well.
Feel free to mix up your flavorings however you like. It's an incredibly efficient way to use up past prime produce and herbs and it works just as well with fresh or frozen.
Since the infused water can be a bit stronger than what I like, I will often times freeze it into cubes (I like this ice-cube tray) then drop the cubes into my favorite wide mouth, Pogo water bottle. My kids like a squeeze of honey in theirs which is yummy and worlds better for them than “fruit punch”.
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST PRESSURE COOKER INFUSED WATER
AVOID THE BITTER PITH
- The white pith of limes, lemons, oranges, and grapefruit will make the water very bitter. Use a zester to get the flavorful colored skin, cut away the white pith and only add the fruit.
USE FRESH, FROZEN, DRIED, OR FREEZE DRIED
- With traditional infused water, dried and frozen ingredients don't work very well. They are no match for the pressure cooker though! It'll hydrate and pull every bit of flavor from any fruit.
ADJUST THE FLAVOR
- The final product is quite strong. You can drink it full strength or add 2-4 tablespoons of the flavored water to your ice water for just a hint of flavor; this is my preference.
FREEZE IT
- Pour the infused water into an ice cube tray and freeze it. Pop the cubes into a freezer safe bag, then pop a cube or two into your water bottle. This is perfect for on the go and keeps your water cold too.
SMALLER CUTS OF FRUIT INFUSE BETTER
- Take the time to roughly chop the fruit and it will infuse more flavor to the water.
SWEETENED INFUSED WATER
- The infused water can sometimes be a bit tart, if you'd like it sweeter, feel free to add sugar, honey, or syrup to taste.
INFUSED WATER WITH HERBS AND SPICES
- Fruit isn't the only thing to make a refreshing infused beverage. Herbs, spices, and extracts can really add some personality to your water. Think cinnamon sticks, vanilla extract, almond extract, rosemary, lavender, lemongrass, star anise, etc.
HOT INFUSED WATER
- Think tea, a nice warm cup of infused water tea. Mmmmm.
INFUSED WATER FAQ'S
Since this recipe has been around for a while, I've been able to track the most common questions which I'll address here:
CAN I MAKE CUCUMBER INFUSED WATER?
Cucumber is a popular “detox” “weight loss” infused water. It is quite potent when infused using this pressure cooker method. I personally only like it in combination with either lemon or mint.
CAN I INFUSE THE SAME FRUIT AGAIN?
No. The fruit is pretty tasteless and sad once the cooking process is done. However if you're a “waste not, want not” kind of awesome person, I've heard several people mention that they throw the leftover fruit into a smoothie.
HOW LONG WILL INFUSED WATER LAST?
Store infused water in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it into cubes and store in the freezer for 3 months or more.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO INFUSE WATER?
The traditional method takes up to 24 hours of letting the fruit infuse. With the pressure cooker it takes 5 minutes of pressure cooker time. If you want to use it immediately, throw in lots of ice to cool it down quickly and enjoy.
WHY DRINK INFUSED WATER? WHAT'S WRONG WITH REGULAR WATER?
I drink plain water for the most part, but sometimes I just crave something a bit more exciting. Adding just a hint of flavor to my water means I drink more and drink often. Even better is watching how much water my kids will drink when it's flavored up a bit.
DOESN'T COOKING THE FRUIT DESTROY ALL THE NUTRIENTS
Studies actually show that a pressure cooker preserves more nutrients than other cooking methods which means you'll get the most nutrients just eating a raw apple, but will lose more nutrients with boiling, roasting, and steaming, as opposed to the pressure cooker.
If you have more questions, feel free to ask in the comments below!
I know so many of you have already fallen in love with this idea and I'm excited to refresh this post to make sure that everyone gets to experience this incredibly simple, healthy, refreshing homemade beverage.
If you discover some new favorite flavor combination, please let me know! I'm always up for trying new creations.
MORE INFUSED WATER RECIPES
- Fall Time Infused Water: Grapefruit Pineapple, Pear and Cardamom, Grape, Pomegranate Vanilla, and Wassail
- Holiday Infused Water: Peppermint Licorice, Cranberry Orange, Snickerdoodle, Chai
- Chia Water
- Infused Fizzy Water
EXTRA TIDBITS
INFUSED WATER BENEFITS
A little online research shows claims that infused water has many benefits such as
- Reduces muscle fatigue during a workout
- Flushes toxins from your body
- Improves mood
- Better hydration
- Curbs cravings
- Weight loss and more
Whether these claims are proven or not, I do believe that every time you replace a soda with infused water, you are 100% better off. Also, when you're drinking more water, the systems in your body work better, so ultimately you feel better.
Conclusion: Drink more water, infused or not!
RECOMMENDED TOOLS TO BUY AND USE TO MAKE INSTANT POT INFUSED WATER
- Instant Pot
- Strainer Basket
- Fine Mesh Strainer
- Zester
- Handheld Juicer
- Ice Cube Tray
- Mason Jar Pourable Lid
Instant Pot Infused Water
Pressure Cooker Infused Water is refreshing, healthy, and sooo versatile. Just imagine the thousands of flavor possibilities!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Mango Ginger
- 1 cup chopped mango
- 2 1 inch knobs of ginger, peeled
Peach Raspberry Lemonade
- 1 cup chopped peaches
- 1/2 cup raspberries
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
Blueberry Lime
- 1 cup blueberries
- zest and juice of 1 lime
Apple Cinnamon
- 1 apple, chopped
- 5 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
- Place fruit (or vegetables, spices, and herbs of your choice) in a mesh steamer basket. Set inside the pressure cooker pot.
- Add water to barely cover the produce, about 4-5 cups. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, use a quick release.
- Remove the steamer basket and discard cooked produce. Let the flavored water cool slightly, pour into a mason jar, top with a pourable lid and place in the refrigerator to chill.
Notes
- Straight from the jar, the water is quite potent. I like to add 2-3 tablespoons per 8 ounces of water for just a hint of flavor; sweeten if desired
- Freeze the infused water in an ice cube tray and pop cubes into your bottled water.
- The colored frozen cubes look amazing in a big punch bowl for a party!
- If you don't have a mesh steamer basket, this could be made directly in the pot and then poured through a strainer to filter out the produce after it's cooked.
Nutritional values based on Mango and Ginger Infused Water
Keywords: pressure cooker, instant pot, infused water, flavored water, healthy water
Looking forward to trying this recipe. I’m wondering if you have a link for your cute drinking jars? Thank you.
★★★★★
Hi Marci.
I’m in England and I would love to make ice-lollies using these juices. I believe you call them frozen popsicles. What water to juice ratio would you recommend please.
Loving all the recipe ideas for my iP ❤
Cheryl, what a great idea! I freeze these into ice cubes so I think it would work great as ice-lollies 🙂
Once I have made the recipe, can I reduce the resulting flavored water to, say, a cup to concentrate the flavor? I could then freeze the concentrated water and just plop a cube or two into a glass of plain water.
Elsie, Yes, you can definitely reduce it. Instead of that, I’d probably just add more fruit to the recipe and then freeze it into cubes. This is what I do!
Thank you!
Looks like fun! Is it always 5 minutes no matter what fruit is used? Also, if I wanted to use fresh mint, how much mint should I use and for how long? Thank you.
Debbie, yep, 5 minutes for any fruit. I go easy on the mint. Just a few leaves even flavor the water quite well!
Thank you!!!
I love these recipes! I’m a terrible water drinker, but this will really help. I made lemon blueberry and I was amazed at how strongly infused the water was. I was expecting a very weak brew. And I’m tossing the cooked blueberries into my smoothie shortly. No waste! Thank you!
★★★★★
I don’t have a pressure cooker and don’t have space for yet another kitchen tool. Can I use a slow cooker? I noticed you liked the pressure cooker for the speed and I could just let the fruits sit in the water for longer, but I got excited about using the dried fruits I have.
Kate, Yes, I think the same idea might work for a slow cooker. I would try cooking it on high for an hour, maybe up to 3. Let me know if you experiment!
Can I use tinned fruit like pineapple to make this. Thanks.
Dave, are you talking about canned fruit? Yes, I think that should work fine. I haven’t tried that one though.
This is my new favorite past time! 😄 I am so excited about trying new flavors. I did blueberry lime and then blueberry strawberry.
This is just so perfect because my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 chronic kidney disease and needs to up her water and take. This will help tremendously! Thank you so much for sharing!💜
★★★★★
Erin, Lots of prayers going out to your mom! I’m so happy to hear you’ve found a fun/yummy way to help her.
Thank you Sooooo much Marci! That means a lot that you would take the time to reply to my message! Blessings to you and thank you for sharing your knowledge of the Instant Pot. 🙂
I want to make Watermelon with lime. How much watermelon would you recommend?
Jane, mmm, that sounds delicious! I would start with a cup or 2 chopped up and go from there!
I commented this question on this yesterday and now my comment is gone, did you delete it? I need to know if I can use a cheesecloth or something similar to strain it when the process is complete as opposed to a steamer basket.
Jessica, sorry about that, I’m not sure why it didn’t show up the first time! Yes, you can definitely strain it after you cook it through cheesecloth or another strainer, that will work great!
These look good. I’m wondering, could you throw a couple of tea bags in with these to make fruit teas?
Kim, I haven’t tried it myself, but have read that other people have. Give it at try!
Made the blueberry lime. Yum. Then made frozen mixed berries and fresh pineapple. I added some artificial sweeteners. Over ice with more water was very tasty!
★★★★★
Diane, lots more fun than water, right?! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it!
What would you suggest for lavendar infused water? What other ingredients would you add and how much of each. I’m trying to find a way to use my flowers. Thanks.
Jenna, I’ve used dried lavender before and combined it with mint one time (that was lovely!). I’m assuming you could probably infuse the flower just like I do with fresh herbs though.
Would you mind sharing how you came up with 6 calories per service for the Mango Ginger flavored water? I would like to know so I know how to calculate any other flavors I make.
Made the Blueberry-Lime this afternoon, and my (supertaster/smeller) wife likes it! Thanks for the recipe
John, Now that’s sayin’ somethin’! Thanks for letting me know!
Sorry I wasted perfectly good fruit on this. No flavor at all. Probably could be tweaked but why waste more?
★
Marylin, what fruit did you use?
well, i’ve done everything the recipe says, after i turn the valve on quick release, a fountain of colored water spring through it and now i have my wall pink coloured!
what’s happen?
the water inside was barely on the fruits….
Alberto, shoot, I’ve never had that happen before and I’ve made more batches of Infused Water than I can count. What fruit did you use?
Could someone please clarify what this means? “Straight from the jar, the water is quite potent. I like to add 2-3 tablespoons per 8 ounces of water for just a hint of flavor; sweeten if desired.” 2-3 tablespoons of what? Thanks for your help!
I apologize. I re-read the article and found the answer to my question. 🙂
I just made a batch up mistaking lemon for the lime! But it’s FANTASTIC!!
I had a little bit left over from my ice cube trays and just added plenty of ice and a little bit of sweetener! It’s AMAZING….so many times you just need a lil something to add to plain water.
Thank you so much for this recipe/idea😊
★★★★★
Louise, I agree, this recipe is a treasure. I also love that it keeps my kids drinking lots of water in the summer without a load of sugar. I’m so glad you loved it, thank you for rating it!
I just made this! So easy and delicious for when you want something different and cost effective. I was worried about flavor transfer and that my water would have a vague onion flavor. Especially since I use my PC just about everyday and I use an onion almost every time. So,I decided that I would make my water directly in the mason jars. This was also fun because I made a few different varieties at one time. I put about 2-4 Tablespoons of fruit and/or herbs per pint jar, then filled with water leaving some head space (about 1/2 -3/4 in/). Put the lids on, place in PC with rack and 1 cup of water in the bottom. Then I cooked as directed, 5 mins, quick release then let the jars cool for a few minutes before straining and returning to the jars. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool! I did try one and loved it can’t wait to try the other flavors I made or to try new ones!
Ohhh Also, I used some fresh fruit, some frozen fruit, some frozen zest i had in the freezer (I always zest my citrus when i use it and keep a running storage in a jar in the freezer); All seemed to work great.
★★★★
Rena, I’ve thought about trying this before, but never have, thanks so much for letting me know your experience! It’s such a great way to make water more interesting on the cheap. I’ll spread the word on your trick!
Since I didn’t make it the original way I don’t know if the potency was any different. I may try the original way just for comparison. Or if you want to try my way and let me know 🙂
My niece and nephew are coming for a visit and my husband wants me to buy some koolaid. :/ I was thinking of making the raspberry lemonade one, sweetening it a bit, and then adding water to make it like Koolaid. About how much water should I add to make a similar beverage?
Candice, check out the Instant Pot Lemonade post for the Raspberry Lemonade. You can adjust the sweetness by adding more or less water. TONS better than Koolaid!
I love this! The blueberry lemon was so good. I’m trying different combinations. My 2 year old niece even likes it! She’ll choose adding this to water over juice!
I am wondering about adding a drop or two of essential oils. Like lavender in lemonade. There are many culinary oils that could be used along with the fruit.
I do wonder about the flavor or odor being inparted in the silicone seal of the Instant Pot.
Rebecca, I love that idea! I’ve used lemon oil to try and fix a stinky seal and I could barely smell it. Definitely not enough to ruin anything I cooked afterward.
Here’s my recommendation if you have an Instant Pot or similar appliance but don’t own a steamer basket: Go get a steamer basket, tomorrow. I use my Instant Pot almost daily and without my steamer basket half the taste and three-fourths of the nutrition of my vegetables would be lost.
Mandy, haha! Great recommendation. I agree completely. The two go hand in hand.
I found a small steamer basket at my grocery store (Price Chopper) for around $2.50. I have a 6
quart Instant Pot.
I’m sorry but I don’t see how much water to add to the pot in your recipes. Thanks
Jill, It’s in the instructions. You’re adding just enough to cover the fruit, about 4 cups.
This sounds like a wonderful way to capture the full flavor of CILANTRO! Fresh cilantro always spoils before you can use all of it. I’ve trying chopping it roughly in the food processor, then rinsing and spinning out all the excess water in a salad spinner – and freezing in vacuum packed 8-oz glass jars. It’s easy to scoop out as much as you need this way – but I think a heavily infused cilantro flavored infusion would be much easier to keep and use! Any suggestion on how much cilantro and water? Might add a squeeze of lime, also…;D
How about strawberries and bananas in a cheesecloth? Has anyone ever done this?
Denise, I’ve never tried bananas with my Infused Water, but I bet it would add a nice sweetness to the water. Now you’ve got me curious . . .
Due to medication that caused a lot of bloating weight, I’m looking for a combination that would boost metabolism and flush water weight quicker. Thoughts?
Paula, Lemon, ginger, and cayenne perhaps?
I want to try an orange and blueberry combo. Would I just slice the oranges and put them in there or would the white part make it bitter?
Kelsey, I used to always throw the whole thing in there, but I do feel like it makes it a tad bitter, so I always peel it now. That will make a great combo!
First try was with frozen berries. Pretty tasty. Can’t wait to try it with fresh berries.
My question…does anyone have even a guess about calories in this?
★★★★★
Jane, Frozen berries actually seem to give off more flavor than even fresh. And sorry, I don’t know how I would even figure the calories with this!
Marci!!! I’ve never heard of this before and I’m mind blown!!! I LOVE the idea of freezing them! Would you say they’d be good frozen for a couple of months? Any suggestions to utilize the produce after the water is infused?
Jacque, I’m so happy you’re lovin’ it! I made several batches of these while testing out flavors and had to free quite a bit so I would say I easily had them in the freezer for 2 months. Just put them in a Freezer safe ziplock and get as much air out as you can. As far as the leftover fruit goes, it’s pretty tasteless by that point, but I’ve read of people throwing it in smoothies which I think is an awesome idea. Have fun with it!
I have freeze dried berries. How would these work making infused water? Quantities vs fresh or frozen? Flavor intensity? In winter it is easier to get freeze dried than fresh or even frozen some times. Thanks
Connie, I’ve never tried using my freeze dried fruit for this, but I do think it would work. However, frozen is typically much cheaper and works AMAZINGLY well for this. If you use freeze dried, I’d subtract the amount by a third. Let me know if you try it!
Any suggestions on trying this with pomegranate? Maybe paired with blueberry or strawberry? I’ve not experimented with pomegranate seed, but my husband loves the flavor.
Keri, Yes, it works great and I think it would be amazing paired with strawberry. I used pomegranate seeds in this post http://tidbits-marci.com/pressure-cooker-infused-water-fall-edition/#tasty-recipes-1297
SOOOoooo grateful for this link (and for you paving the way)! Checking it out now—thanks Marci!
Keri, You’re so welcome, Enjoy it!
I have to have sparkling water so freezing it in cubes is a great idea as I imagine I can carbonate my water with my sodastream and then add a flavor cube. Thanks for the recipes!
Diana, I just got a Sodastream a few months ago and it works perfectly for this!
Are you using organic produce? I worry about what is being sprayed on the fruit leaching out into the water.
Laura, I don’t, but not a bad idea!
I used blueberry and blackberry and it turned out amazing! I wish I had thought of lemon. Will try again! Thanks for sharing!
Destiny, Great combo! Lime is great with berries as well.
I’ve only tried the apple cinnamon combo so far. But I love this, the smell alone is fabulous. Drinking it warm in winter is nice and I think it will be just as good cool during Summer.
★★★★★
Jessica, I love all of the ones with cinnamon! Such a nice alternative to plain water sometimes, right?! I also love it warm, it’s like a nice hot cup of tea.
Am making it right now with strawberries and basil. Here’s hoping it is gteat!
Alana, the flavor combos are limitless!
Does the Instant pot destroy all the healthy enzymes with the heat?
Wendy, I honestly can’t say that I know for sure. But this article here makes me think that some of the health benefits are preserved https://www.hippressurecooking.com/infographic-pressure-cooker-nutritional-information/
When making the infused water, do you keep the rind on the fruit or peel it? I was not sure if the Rind would make it taste bitter.
Thanks
Anna
Anna, I like to zest citrus and then cut away the white bitter part. It tastes much better that way!
I’m thinking you can add the used ingredients in a smoothie instead of tossing??
Glorey, It’s worth a try, however the fruit is pretty shriveled and flavorless by the end
My favorite completely sugar-free water with just a “Hint” of flavor is Watermelon. Living in the desert and the cost of over a dollar a bottle it gets expensive! And I don’t share with my kids because of the cost 🙂
Have you tried watermelon? I would think that it would become mush and be hard to strain.
Thank you for the great recipe I will be trying it soon, I have some plums that have been in the fridge for a bit… and I am checking out your book!
Thanks!
Jenifer, my favorite Hint drink is the watermelon one, but I haven’t yet tried it this way. And now I’m sad that the prime watermelon season is over around here! You’re wonderful, thanks!
Any ideas on what kind of veggies would work well for this?
Shannon, I’ve only done cucumber and mint and it had to grow on me and then I loved it 🙂
What a great idea! Can this be made on the stovetop? Unfortunately my instant pot stopped working.
Peg, Oh no! What a bummer! It probably would work fine on the stove top. Definitely worth a try.
Hi Marci, I just got your cookbook today & can’t wait to start trying the recipes! Everything looks so good. I wanted to know if you could share where the bottles are from pictured with the infused water. I love flavored water ????
Thank you!
Angela
Angela, I believe Cami got them from Hobby Lobby. They’re great for the pictures, but I personally like using plain ol mason jars for my water.
Hello,
Is there any sugar in the water from the fruit infusion? I’m on a NO sugar diet. Just wondering?
Still giving it a go. Any hows…a great idea!
Becky
Becky, I don’t add any sugar to it. So any sugar that’s in the water is from the fruit itself. I also don’t eat sugar (99% of the time anyways), but I still eat naturally occurring sugar like fruit.
I’m wondering if there would be a limit on how long this can be stored in the fridge? I know it’s just water, but I’m curious about it all the same.
Since it has fruit infused into it, I drink mine within a week or so. If I have leftovers I freeze it in ice cube trays.
Ok. I’d like to make some for my son. Getting him to drink plain water is like pulling teeth, lol. I’m trying to figure out how much to make each batch. If I give him the flavored water, he drinks a good 12-16 oz easy…he’s almost 3. But I really want to avoid the sugar/sweeteners (besides honey) in the flavored waters. Thanks!
Carmen, That’s awesome, I think he’ll love it!
Trying a couple of these today! So tired of spending $$ for flavored water. My first ones will be Mango and Ginger, and Blueberry and Lime! Ooooooo, can’t wait!
★★★★★
Diane, yes, I’m guilty of spending money on flavored water and always felt a bit guilty. I hope you love them!
Yum! I just poured myself a glass of the blueberry lime. It has a beautiful delicate flavor.
I wanted a little more umph, so I ended up with about 5 tablespoons in my 8oz of water. Like your kidos, I wanted mine a little sweeter – so I added a touch of organic cane sugar.
I can’t wait to try the other flavors! Thank you for sharing. I found you from Pinterest and am excited to browse through more of you posts 🙂
★★★★★
This is such a great idea. I don’t like those sweet water infuser drops; they taste fake and overly sweet to me. I can’t wait to try this! Thanks!
Deb, I totally agree, they taste very fake And with this method the skies the limit. You can do any flavor you want! I was thinking about trying a lavender/mint mix next
This sounds amazing! Lemon and mint is my favorite summer flavour, I can’t wait to give it a try in the pc.
★★★★★
Nichole, Lemon and mint would be amazing! And so refreshing!
Wondering about the cucumber mint…would it be similar quantities to the strawberry lemon?
This looks so good! What are the proportions for your strawberry, lemon, basil?
Thank you.
Debbie, I did about 1 cup whole strawberries, 1 sliced lemon, and a few leaves of basil. So yummy!
Marci!!! I’ve never heard of this before and I’m mind blown!!! I LOVE the idea of freezing them! Would you say they’d be good frozen for a couple of months? Any suggestions to utilize the produce after the water is infused?
These look delicious! I assume you can use frozen fruit? Thank you!
This is what I was going to ask as well :)…..I am sure it would be fine though….I hope :)….
Yes, absolutely, it works great with frozen fruit!