Did you just get a new Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and you’re not sure where to begin? I’ve gathered 6 must have Instant Pot recipes for beginners like me! These are basic recipes that will simplify your meal prep and save you tons of time!
I have several friends who own and love their Instant Pots, so after much research and finding a great deal we went ahead and purchased one. If you’re hearing about the Instant Pot for the first time, I’ll give you a little overview:
The Instant Pot is a multi-functional electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté and more! I purchased the 6-quart Instant Pot IP-LUX60 6-in-1. The model I owndoes not have all of the functions of the 7 in 1 Instant Pot. If I were to buy this again,I would have purchased the 7 in 1 for the extra features (like yogurt making).
[As a member of Amazon and other affiliate programs, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases at no cost to you. All images were used with permission.]
Why I Bought an Instant Pot:
TIME SAVER!
This instant pot can cook an entire chicken in just 30 minutes. White rice takes just 8 minutes and beans cook in just10-15 minutes for soaked beans or 35-40 for dry beans!
RICECOOKER
I’m terrible at making rice, I’m too impatient and my rice often turns out watery, or too starchy. I’ve been able to make perfect rice in my new Instant Pot!
I love having a slow cooker but ours is HUGE. I hate dragging it out and I’m prone to burning food in it, likely because there is too much empty space in the large pot. The Instant Pot is a more compact size and fits in the corner of our counter easily. I can also tuck it away in the cupboard!
PRICE
I found my Instant Pot on Amazon for a great price. These go on sale often, so keep watching for a great deal! I think the Instant Pot is worth every dime, I’ve already used it 5 times since it arrived last week.
LESS MESS
With the Instant Pot I can sear my meat, sauté onions and garlic or cook ground beef right in the pot. Then I simply dump in the rest of the ingredients and cook it all in the samepot!
SAFE
When I hear “pressure cooking” I get a little freaked out, I picture an exploded pot with rice all over the walls. This electric pressure cooker has 10 safety measures that ensure that using the pot is safe!
If you’re new to using your Instant Pot, like me then you’re probably looking for a place to start. Below are some easy recipes to help you get started using your Instant Pot. I’ve gathered 6 recipes to get you started today!
For a quick breakfast, Laura from Hip PressureCooking.com has excellent clear instructions on how you can make oatmeal in your Instant Pot. She also has a handy chart to help you figure outhow to cookdifferent types of oatmeal. Once you know how to make the basic oatmeal you can try her Strawberries and Cream Rolled Oatmeal Recipesit looks delicious.
Baked Potatoes in the Instant Pot
My husband and son love potatoes. Ever since living in Ireland for 2 years my husband is a happy man if hecan eat potatoes every single day! I love that I can bakepotatoes in the Instant Pot! Chelseafrom MakeRealFood.com shares how she cooks up Baked Potatoes in the Instant Potin no time!
Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot
Boiled eggs are a big part of mylow-carb life and once I saw how perfect hard boiled eggs in the Instant pot turned out I was sold! Weekly meal prephas always been a bigkey to my healthy eating and this recipe is going to save me so much time and frustration! Jennifer at PreDominantlyPaleo shows you how she cooksperfect, easy to peel hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot.
Perfect Rice in the Instant Pot
Oh Rice! We love to eat itbut I hate cooking it. When I make rice itnever quite turns out perfect. I’m not the most patientcook and my rice either turns out too chewy, watery or is too sticky! Laura has2 great ways to cook rice in the Instant Pot, she also shares a super handy chart to help you cook the perfect pot of rice! There might be hope for me yet!
Frozen Meat in the Instant Pot
I’m excited to try cooking frozen meat in our Instant Pot. This will be aHUGE time saver and Laura has great instructions on how cook frozen meat in the Instant Potthe right way!
Chicken Stock in the Instant Pot
When our children were much youngerI was always boiling chicken bones on the stove. I used homemade chicken broth all of the time! I’ve since found life to be too busy and I’ve started buying canned broth or using… gasp…bullion cubes! It’s just not the same. The flavor and nutrients in homemade bone broth are hard to beat! Barbara at PressureCookingToday.com has clear and detailed instructions on how to make your own homemade chicken stock in the Instant Pot.
Want 5 more great recipes for your Instant Pot? Check out 5 Instant Pot Recipes for Back-to-School (or just very busy nights!)
Now that you have your Instant Pot,you’ll want to add in a few accessoriesto help you make the most of your new pressure cooker. Click the image below to see my favorite accessories to use with my Instant Pot.
10 Useful Instant Pot Accessories:
It can be overwhelming when you buy a new kitchen gadget and there are hundreds of recipes online, I hope these recipes help you get started using your Instant Pot with confidence!
Instant Pot has always had a great basic model perfect for beginners, and the RIO continues this tradition. Allstar Nicole Russell tested the 6-quart version, using it for her tried-and-true Instant Pot recipes, and gave it high marks.
Some of the most common culprits include using a damaged or dirty sealing ring, not closing the lid all the way, and a dirty Instant Pot. If there is food debris in your Instant Pot, it can compromise the pressure by blocking a part, such as the float valve, or simply burn up along the inner pot's underside.
The Instant Pot, for its part, is not dead. Cornell Capital has brought in a restructuring crew, and the brand's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing allows it to continue doing business while it seeks relief from its debts.
The average lifespan of an Instant Pot ranges from 2-5 years, but it can last longer depending on how often it's used and how well-maintained it is. So it's safe to say Instant Pots aren't commonly being replaced, and may even be a one-time purchase.
If you are interested primarily in slow cooking, you should buy a dedicated slow cooker. They're more reliable with a range of slow-cooker recipes than an Instant Pot. We found Instant Pot multicookers specifically could not successfully slow-cook dense, high-volume recipes such as beef stew or pot roast.
Foods containing dairy, like milk, cream, or yogurt, should not be pressure-cooked. The high heat and pressure can cause dairy products to curdle or separate, ruining the texture, taste and flavour of the dish. Cooking fried foods is a strict no no, when it comes to pressure cookers.
But just because this versatile gadget can technically do it all, that doesn't mean it should. In fact, there are a handful of foods that just shouldn't be pressure-cooked. Among them are dairy and fried foods, as well as burgers and steaks. These foods are not Instant-Pot-friendly for a multitude of reasons.
Pressure-cooked meat-based dishes show a significant reduction in unsaturated fat contents, but it appears that iron is not lost. In addition to making foods like grains and legumes more digestible, pressure cooking does not create any of the unhealthy chemicals associated with baking and grilling methods.
The 6-quart Instant Pot (in any series) is the most popular size by far, and it's the one we recommend for most folks. It offers plenty of capacity for weeknight dinners, soups and stews, a pot of beans, or even a whole chicken, yet it doesn't take up a crazy amount of counter or shelf space.
Also, an overly-full Instant Pot can lead to a clogged pressure release knob, because food and liquid can get sucked up inside. To stay on the safe side, don't fill your pot over that two-thirds line, and stay below half full for foods that expand while cooking, such as beans and lentils.
Just as I recommend swapping out the water in a cornstarch slurry for something with a bit more oomph, you can replace the water in Instant Pot recipes with broth (or Better Than Bouillon, which has more flavor than true broth), soy sauce, fish sauce, wine, beer, or juice. (Do not add spirits; the fumes may ignite.)
Different ingredients take different amounts of time to cook so it's important to add them in stages throughout the cooking time. Ingredients that take longer to cook will need to be put into the Instant Pot® first, and then any quicker ingredients can be added at the end and cooked on the sauté setting.
Introduction: My name is Kerri Lueilwitz, I am a courageous, gentle, quaint, thankful, outstanding, brave, vast person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
