Here’s how to make a healthy grape juice recipe the easy way in the instant pot. You can drink the grape juice fresh, make grape gelatin, or prepare it for canning. In just minutes you can be drinking your own fresh, grape juice!
Fall is a good time to think about making this fresh grape juice recipe. Local growers and farmers bring in their grape harvests, if you live in an area where grapes are grown. You can buy grapes in bulk to save money and use the juice in all kinds of recipes.
I cook with grapes every year and I prefer using an Instant Pot to make my favorite grape juice recipe in small batches. If I’m processing a large amount of grapes (several bushels) for preserving, I prefer my steam juicer.
The reason for this is simply because it can hold more grapes.
–>>Click on the link to learn to make fruit juice with a steam juicer.<<–
You can also make juice with other fruits like peaches and plums with this process.
What’s the Best Way to Juice Grapes?
The traditional way to make grape juice is by cooking down the grapes in a large stock pot with a small amount of water. You then strain out the juice from the spent grapes and seeds.
After straining, you place the leftover grapes in a jelly bag or cheesecloth and manually squeeze out as much juice as you can. You may also gently press out remaining juice with a cheese press or with a stack of heavy items.
- The process is detailed very well by Grow a Good Life and she teach you how to can grape juice at home.
What’s Wrong With That?
So, why don’t I do it that way? It was actually a member of our Do It Yourself Homestead Facebook community that suggested I try the Instant Pot when I was bemoaning the fact that I couldn’t find my steam juicer.
Krista had the brilliant idea to try it out in the Instant Pot. I jumped on the idea because I only had a small batch of juice to make and just didn’t want the hassle of the old fashioned way.
I don’t prefer the older method of cooking grapes in a pot with water because of mess and time. Making grape juice is a naturally messy process but adding the step of straining out remaining juice from the heated grapes just makes a bigger mess.
Well, that’s the result when I do it, anyway. I’m sort of a spazz.
Benefits of Using the Instant Pot for Making Grape Juice
By using the steamer basket in the Instant Pot, I keep the grapes and seeds up and out of the juice. You’ll see in the instructions below that removing the juice from the Instant Pot is a very simple process because of this.
Here are some other reasons I prefer my Instant Pot (aka IP) or steam juicer to make juice:
- Using both the IP and the steam juicer is an overall faster process.
- I don’t have to stir or otherwise mess with the grapes when using an IP or steam juicer.
- There’s no chance of cheese cloth lint ending up in my grape juice.
- There’s no need to do any extra straining because both units are so efficient at steaming juice from the produce.
Just a note:
You can run your spent grapes through the IP or steam juicer twice, if you feel there is more juice to be steamed out. However, the resulting juice won’t be very concentrated and may lack flavor.
If you can get juice to result the second time through, it might probably be good enough to make jello with, if you add a bit of sweetener.
Equipment to Make Grape Juice in an Instant Pot
The first thing you’ll need to make this fresh grape juice recipe is an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker. The instructions in this recipe are for an Instant Pot only.
Please note that Instant Pot is NOT a canner. You will not be able to can (or preserve) your grape juice in the Instant Pot. These directions are for making our grape juice recipe only.
If you want to preserve your grape juice, please follow the canning instructions from Grow a Good Life who can teach you to can Homemade Grape Juice.
Other Equipment You’ll Need:
- Kitchen tongs, 2
- Hot mitts or pads
- Steamer basket, Instant Pot variety or regular steamer basket
- Instant Pot trivets, or some other apparatus to elevate the steamer basket*
Alternative to a Trivet
I use three Oui Yoplait brand yogurt jars to elevate my steamer basket because I don’t own an Instant Pot trivet. The little jars elevate my steamer basket to a great height for juicing. You don’t want your grapes swimming in the juice at the bottom of the pot, if you can help it.
Oui Jars
However, I can’t officially recommend you use the Oui jars because of concern over their ability to withstand the heat. I sent an email to their customer service to ask if their jars were safe for canning and this was their response:
No, we would not recommend using the glass pot for preserving. Only glass containers that have been designed and tested for thermal shock applications should be used for heating applications. The Oui pot was not designed for heating applications. This glass is not a thermally resistant grade of glass, like Pyrex for example.
You won’t be canning in these jars but the heat and pressure of an Instant Pot might cause the glass to break.
Squat Half Pint Jars
Regular half pint canning jars are too tall, but if you have the squat ones, those might work.
Whatever you use needs to be:
- strong
- heat resistant
- no taller than 3″-ish
OR, you and I can just break down and buy an Instant Pot trivet! There’s being frugal, and then there’s being silly.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Fresh Grapes – for this recipe, about six cups
- Maple Syrup – for this recipe, about 1/4 cup
- Fresh Vanilla – for this recipe, 1 tsp.
Instant Pot Grape Juice Recipe
This is our very favorite grape juice recipe and it’s made with Concord grapes, or any Concord type like Saturn or Sunbelt. You can also make this recipe with green or red grapes. The more ripe and fresh the grapes are, the more juice you’ll get through processing and the better the flavor will be.
To learn the basic process, please watch the video and then read the recipe. Let me know if you have questions.
Instant Pot Grape Juice Recipe
This is our very favorite grape juice recipe and it's made with Concord grapes, or any Concord type like Saturn or Sunbelt. You can also make this recipe with green or red grapes. The more ripe and fresh the grapes are, the more juice you'll get through processing and the better the flavor will be.
Ingredients
- 6-8 Cups Prepared Grape Juice Concentrate - see instructions
- 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup, or to taste
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- Water to Dilute, if needed
Instructions
To Prepare Grape Juice Concentrate
- Place the tall trivet in the insert pot of an Instant Pot. Pour in 2-4 cups of water. The more water you add, the less concentrated your grape juice will be. Experiment a few times to see how you like it. You can always add more water later, but you must at least add 2 cups so your Instant Pot will pressurize correctly and steam juice the grapes.
- Put steamer basket on top of trivet. Fill with approximately 6 cups of grapes. You can fill the steamer basket to 1 1/2" - 2" from the top of the insert pot. If you can fit more than 6 cups of grapes in your insert, go right ahead.
- Place the insert into your Instant Pot and place the lid on, securing it. Remember to turn the pressure valve so the Pot will build pressure.
- Set the Pressure Cook button for 5 minutes. It takes 20 minutes to build pressure, more or less, FYI.
- Press cancel when the cook time has finished and allow the Pot to release pressure on its own. You may manually release pressure, but it might result in a messy lid.
- When you can, remove the lid and, using mitts, take out the insert pot and place it on a heat resistant surface. The pot will be hot, so be careful.
- Remove the strainer using the tongs and place it somewhere to cool. It will drip grape juice, so I suggest placing it in a stainless steel bowl or sink. Compost the leftover grapes or, if they're seedless, add them to your grape jam. For a recipe, see the article.
- You may apply pressure to the remaining grapes by placing weights of some kind on top of the strainer while it is placed over a bowl. Use no more than 3-5 pounds of pressure so you don't break your strainer. Allow to drain for 30 minutes to several hours.
- Pour the grape juice into a half gallon glass jar until it measures 6-8 cups. Taste it. If you feel the juice is too concentrated, add water to dilute.
- To make the grape juice recipe, add the maple syrup to taste and vanilla. Drink within a week.
- You may also reserve the grape juice to make any of the grape recipes included in the article. You may also preserve the grape juice by canning it in a water bath canner.
Notes
For a photo tutorial, please see the video attached to this recipe.
How Long Does Homemade Grape Juice Last?
Homemade grape juice will last in the fridge for about a week. It will start to ferment after about seven days.
Incidentally, homemade grape juice makes a great addition to water kefir and will ferment well to make a natural soda.
You may also can homemade grape juice to make it shelf stable, where it will last indefinitely. However, it will start to loose favor after a year or two.
Clean Up From Making Grape Juice
Please be aware that grape juice will stain surfaces and clothing. Be sure to wear an apron and place towels under the Instant Pot pot and any other container with grape juice in or on it.
If grape juice gets on your counters, wipe it away immediately with a warm, soapy dishcloth.
Be sure to give your Instant Pot a good cleaning after you’ve made the grape juice. Grapes are sticky and can leave a residue of purple sugar on every surface.
Cleaning an Instant Pot is pretty basic and you can follow the instructions in your user’s manual. Below is a video tutorial that demonstrates the process from Six Sister’s Stuff on How to Clean Your Instant Pot.
I’m really amazed that the Instant Pot serves such a helpful role on the homestead! I grew up loving grape jelly, now it’s just too processed for me. This inspires me to make my own and see how it goes! Especially since I can just use my Instant Pot!!
I know, right?! My husband bought some Welch’s grape jelly the other day for some strange reason – he was just trying to be helpful! 🙂 However, holy cow the sugar! I couldn’t even taste the grape. I rarely even add the maple syrup to this juice recipe since my kids will drink it straight out of the pot in it’s concentrated form – not even diluted! When company comes, though, we make this up. It’s subtle and tasty – I love the vanilla in it.
I hope you have fun trying it yourself!
Thank you for this recipe! I have an Instant pot and love it, but I had never thought about making juice in it! Will for sure give it a try 🙂
So glad – I hope you have the best homemade juice ever!
I love my Instant Pot! I have never made grape juice, but we have a grape wine out back that is too sweet to make good wine. Since I am not a fan of grape jelly, I think you have provided me with the perfect solution for my grapes! Thank you!
So glad, Chelsea!! It’s super easy without having to strain it. If your grapes aren’t seeded, you can even re-use the pulp for sweet breads. Let me know how it goes with your grapes.
Wine grapes so soooo much sweeter than table grapes. I think they’d make wonderful wine. The yeast needs that extra sugar.
I didn’t realize the InstaPot could do all this! It sounds pretty awesome to be honest! Especially not having to strain it! Hmmmm you might be slowly talking me into getting one! 🙂
Food prep is sure faster with one! Actually, I have two and could use a third one easily. Of course, I have seven people to feed three times a day and four of them are athletes, so…
How much water do you put in the bottom of the pot?
There are lots of instructions, so this can be hard to see – I’m glad you asked! Here’s the copy from recipe:
“Instructions
“To Prepare Grape Juice Concentrate:
Place the tall trivet in the insert pot of an Instant Pot. Pour in 2-4 cups of water. The more water you add, the less concentrated your grape juice will be. Experiment a few times to see how you like it. You can always add more water later, but you must at least add 2 cups so your Instant Pot will pressurize correctly and steam juice the grapes.”
Then follow the instructions from there. Let me know if you have questions. It’s kind of relative to the percentage of water in the grapes and how each batch distills. The good news is that, if you do several batches, you can experiment and mix them together, if you’d like.
I don’t understand this step. Am I adding something to the jar?
“Pour the grape juice into a half gallon glass jar until it measures 6-8 cups. Taste it. If you feel the juice is too concentrated, add water to dilute.”
Sorry about the confusion! What I mean is that you as you use your instant pot to process your grapes into juice, keep pouring the juice into a large container. Each batch will taste just a bit different and it’s nice to combine all the batches to get an even flavor. If the juice ends up too concentrated for your tastes, you can add water to dilute it. If not, you can serve it as is.
Did that clear it up, or just confuse you more? 🙂
Does the maple syrup give it a mapley flavor? Should I sub regular sugar to avoid that? If so, how much? Thanks!
I don’t think so, but I’m a big maple syrup fan and am hardly impartial. 🙂 If you’d like to sub granular sugar (or even honey), do it when the juice is still hot so it will dissolve well. I’d start by using 1/4 cup measurements and keep adding them until you like the flavor. Some people’s perfect sweet is too sweet for others.
I am excited to try this tysm.
Hope it works well for you! When you don’t have a steam juicer, this might be the next best thing. So easy!
It worked great ty. So easy and no mess.
Yay – so glad it worked well for you! Homemade juice is my one weakness.
I’m so excited to try this. I picked a whole bunch of muscadine grapes from my neighbor’s grapevines this morning, enough to fill 2 one gallon ziplock bags. I was hoping someone had tried making grape juice in the instant pot before I tried it, this looks great. I’ll definitely be doing this one day this week. Thank you so much!
So glad you found it and I hope it’s helpful! Let me know how it works out and if you discover something even better.
Trying this right now, grapes are in the IP. I was wondering if this would work to make apple concentrate in the IP? I have so many apples and would love to can ready to serve juice jars. ( in water bath canner)
So, so sorry that I’m just now seeing this, Holly! We moved recently and I’m finally getting back to answering questions.
Ok, apples in the IP – the best advice I can give is to try it. We’ve done apples in the steam juicer before with mixed results – some varieties we got a decent yield, and others not so much. The steam juicer literature says that it’s really just for soft-bodied fruits. I’m curious how the IP would work, though, so if you do try it, please let me know! I’ll happily share your results in the article, if you’d like other readers to know about your experiment. I think the best thing for apple juice will always be a press, but we use the equipment we have, right?!
I really loved home-canned juices and find them so handy throughout the year. It’s really fun to make home-made soda with home-canned juice and home-brewed water kefir. I’m a bit of a food nerd – maybe you are, too? 🙂
Hi, nice article. I have a grape juice steamer and use some parts of it all the time, even for straining clabber. I want to add that when I make grape juice I do not stir it, but take out the pulp to make sauce in the food strainer using the grape spiral for seeds. We like grape jam. Thanks for the versatile ideas!
What a great idea, Bette, thank you for sharing! My goal is to get to zero waste with all my canning/preserving recipes, so I love tips like these.
Happy canning season!
I do not have a tall trivet. I would like to know if someone has actually tried using the smaller canning jars to raise the steamer. I’m a little afraid the jars will explode.
Ha, I know how you feel! I’ve used the small canning jars repeatedly because they’re designed to maintain integrity under heat and pressure. For liability sake, I can’t recommend you use them since there’s no information available on whether they’re safe for using in an IP this way. Liability is a bear sometimes!
You could probably also use a baking dish, like you would for any IP recipe that needed to be baked in a container. Put a strainer over the dish to keep the grapes up.
Let me know if that wasn’t helpful and we can brainstorm some more.
So sorry for my tardy reply, by the way. My internet was out for a week – it was a little crazy around here!