I’ve used it for foods I didn’t plan to, like when we had a potential gas leak in our stove and I had about five minutes to decide how to cook dinner so I attempted cooking pasta in the IP and it worked! Or the time we were having friends over for dinner and I burned rice so badly on the stovetop that I couldn’t clean out the pot well enough to start over so the IP became a rice cooker that night. I haven’t perfected pasta or rice so they are not on my list below, but it was nice to be able to cook them in a pinch.
And I meal plan around as many simple IP meals as possible, especially during the summer when I don’t want the stove on in our un-air-conditioned apartment.
I so often sing the praises of my IP to anyone who will listen so I decided to do a roundup of many of my favorite methods and recipes to have them all in the same place. Let’s be real, this may be just as much for me as it is for anyone else.
Here are some of my go-to's:
Quinoa, perfect every time
I use this method (from Detoxinista)
Put a 1:1 ratio of dry quinoa and water or broth in the IP. Cook on high pressure for one minute and let it naturally release for 15 minutes. The pin should drop by then. Open the IP and fluff your perfectly cooked quinoa!
Some of my favorite quinoa recipes are variations of these:
Beans
I buy beans in bulk for a few reasons. It’s a huge money saver, for one. Cans leech a lot of unsavory things into food so I mostly avoid canned foods. I am able to know my beans are properly prepared with an overnight soak when I cook them myself, the soaking makes the final product more easily digestible. And they really just taste better when you cook them yourself.
Method:
Method:
Soak up to two pounds of beans overnight. Rinse in the morning, put in the instant pot and fill with water until just above the beans. Cook on high pressure- black beans for 8-10 minutes, garbanzo beans for 12-14 minutes. The longer cook times are for softer beans. Let the pressure release naturally until the pin drops, typically up to 45 minutes. The beans make the water very frothy so if you manually release the pressure you will clog the release valve with aquafaba or the like.
I make big batches and once they are cooled off in the fridge I store them in 1.5-3 cup portions in the freezer to use as needed. (One 15oz can of beans = 1.5 cups.)
Some favorite recipes:
Some favorite recipes:
-Homemade hummus
-Cook & mash black beans down into a paste with salt, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, and the like and use that as a base for tacos or dip
-Black bean cake (made with butter and honey) This cake used to be a standard in my baking repertoire; I even made it for Harrison's first birthday, topped with homemade whipped cream. It is delicious and I've never noticed a bean taste while eating it.
-Cook & mash black beans down into a paste with salt, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, and the like and use that as a base for tacos or dip
-Black bean cake (made with butter and honey) This cake used to be a standard in my baking repertoire; I even made it for Harrison's first birthday, topped with homemade whipped cream. It is delicious and I've never noticed a bean taste while eating it.
Beets
Jeremy, Harrison, and Dylan all have an affinity for beets. I do not, but they are a weekly staple on our grocery list. After buying pre-cooked beets for a time, I realized that buy fresh beets and pressure cooking them could save some money and it didn't require boiling or roasting forever to make them tender.
Method: Rinse the beets to ride them of dirt. No need to peel. Cut the tops and bottoms off if you'd like. Put some water in the bottom of the instant pot, along with the trivet. I cut the beets into similarly sized chunks as needed for even cooking. Cook medium sized beets for 18 minutes or so. Larger ones for 22 minutes or more. Longer if you want them soft enough for a baby who is learning to eat (hi Dylan!) Release the pressure manually when the cook time is done. When you are ready to eat them, rub your fingers over the skin and it'll come right off. Or leave the skin on and enjoy the assumed extra nutrition. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica. You're welcome.
So many squashes
It's almost winter and the squashes are everywhere. You can turn on your oven and roast them to perfection if you want, and sometimes you really do want that, or you can pressure cook them in minimal time, and then reheat and season at will with other recipes.
Method: spaghetti squash- cut in half crosswise rather than lengthwise, this will get you longer strings of squash in the end. Scoop out seeds. Put a cup of water and the trivet in the IP, put the cut squash on top. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes, release the pressure manually, and carefully remove the hot squash. When it's cooled enough to touch, use a fork to scrape the squash out of the peel; it will come out in strands. Adjust the cooking time up or down if you want firmer or softer squash.
Method: butternut squash- I prefer to peel the squash before cooking it. Cut it in half, remove the seeds, peel if you choose to do so ahead of time. Add water and the trivet to the IP, put the two halves of the squash on top. Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes, wait 5 more minutes before releasing the pressure manually. Remove the squash and slice or dice as preferred. I make a vegetable lasagna with thinly sliced butternut squash, and this IP method is the best way to get the squash cooked but still firm enough to slice and layer in the lasagna.
Method: acorn squash- this I have not perfected aside from making mashed acorn squash. So if you want something that holds its shape, cook for less time or search around for a real recipe. But if you don't want to deal with too much cutting and any peeling, mashed acorn squash is the ideal. Cut off the top and bottom, cut in half and remove the seeds. Add water and the trivet to the instant pot. Put the squash halves on top, season with salt and etc, add butter or oil where the seeds were, and cook on high pressure for five minutes. Release the pressure manually soon after. Once the squash has cooled enough to touch, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash it, adding more seasonings as desired.
I also cooked a sugar pumpkin in the instant pot this season using a similar method and it yielded some great pumpkin puree!
Sweet Potatoes
I used to not like sweet potatoes. Why? I really don't know, and I can say now that at least I know I was missing out. They are a staple at this point. And truthfully I prefer them diced and roasted, doused in coconut oil and/or butter, sprinkled liberally with salt and cinnamon, and maybe mixed in with some cooked apples and whole cranberries; or seasoned with chili powder and cumin and mixed in a bowl with similarly seasoned chickpeas and diced chicken. But, if I want simple steamed slices that Dylan can easily grab on to, or if I want to mash them for this that or the other recipe, the Instant Pot for sure comes in handy.
Method: Detoxinista has an in-depth post about cook times for a variety of sizes of sweet potatoes, so I'm going to let her do the talking here.
One of my favorite recipes with mashed sweet potatoes is this brownie recipe. What? Sweet potatoes + chocolate? Yeah, it's a thing. But let me be real, this particular recipe isn't like a typical brownie, but I still find it tasty. There are other recipes out there with more ingredients that may hold up to regular brownies a bit better. Yes, there's a whole internet world out there with sweet potato brownie variations. Give them a try!
Method: Rinse the beets to ride them of dirt. No need to peel. Cut the tops and bottoms off if you'd like. Put some water in the bottom of the instant pot, along with the trivet. I cut the beets into similarly sized chunks as needed for even cooking. Cook medium sized beets for 18 minutes or so. Larger ones for 22 minutes or more. Longer if you want them soft enough for a baby who is learning to eat (hi Dylan!) Release the pressure manually when the cook time is done. When you are ready to eat them, rub your fingers over the skin and it'll come right off. Or leave the skin on and enjoy the assumed extra nutrition. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica. You're welcome.
So many squashes
It's almost winter and the squashes are everywhere. You can turn on your oven and roast them to perfection if you want, and sometimes you really do want that, or you can pressure cook them in minimal time, and then reheat and season at will with other recipes.
Method: spaghetti squash- cut in half crosswise rather than lengthwise, this will get you longer strings of squash in the end. Scoop out seeds. Put a cup of water and the trivet in the IP, put the cut squash on top. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes, release the pressure manually, and carefully remove the hot squash. When it's cooled enough to touch, use a fork to scrape the squash out of the peel; it will come out in strands. Adjust the cooking time up or down if you want firmer or softer squash.
Method: butternut squash- I prefer to peel the squash before cooking it. Cut it in half, remove the seeds, peel if you choose to do so ahead of time. Add water and the trivet to the IP, put the two halves of the squash on top. Cook at high pressure for 12 minutes, wait 5 more minutes before releasing the pressure manually. Remove the squash and slice or dice as preferred. I make a vegetable lasagna with thinly sliced butternut squash, and this IP method is the best way to get the squash cooked but still firm enough to slice and layer in the lasagna.
Method: acorn squash- this I have not perfected aside from making mashed acorn squash. So if you want something that holds its shape, cook for less time or search around for a real recipe. But if you don't want to deal with too much cutting and any peeling, mashed acorn squash is the ideal. Cut off the top and bottom, cut in half and remove the seeds. Add water and the trivet to the instant pot. Put the squash halves on top, season with salt and etc, add butter or oil where the seeds were, and cook on high pressure for five minutes. Release the pressure manually soon after. Once the squash has cooled enough to touch, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and mash it, adding more seasonings as desired.
I also cooked a sugar pumpkin in the instant pot this season using a similar method and it yielded some great pumpkin puree!
Sweet Potatoes
I used to not like sweet potatoes. Why? I really don't know, and I can say now that at least I know I was missing out. They are a staple at this point. And truthfully I prefer them diced and roasted, doused in coconut oil and/or butter, sprinkled liberally with salt and cinnamon, and maybe mixed in with some cooked apples and whole cranberries; or seasoned with chili powder and cumin and mixed in a bowl with similarly seasoned chickpeas and diced chicken. But, if I want simple steamed slices that Dylan can easily grab on to, or if I want to mash them for this that or the other recipe, the Instant Pot for sure comes in handy.
Method: Detoxinista has an in-depth post about cook times for a variety of sizes of sweet potatoes, so I'm going to let her do the talking here.
One of my favorite recipes with mashed sweet potatoes is this brownie recipe. What? Sweet potatoes + chocolate? Yeah, it's a thing. But let me be real, this particular recipe isn't like a typical brownie, but I still find it tasty. There are other recipes out there with more ingredients that may hold up to regular brownies a bit better. Yes, there's a whole internet world out there with sweet potato brownie variations. Give them a try!
Hard-boiled eggs, so easy to peel I've done it with one hand
I like my hard-boiled eggs with soft yolk, still gooey in the very center. Also I don't ever have much ice in my freezer. With the combination of those two factoids, I've learned the best method for my hard boiled eggs is as follows-
Put a cup of water and the trivet in the instant pot. Place eggs on the trivet, as little as you'd like or as many as will fit. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes and release the pressure manually as soon as the timer is up. Have prepared a bowl with cold water and a few cubes of ice (as is all I ever have on hand). As soon as the pressure is done releasing and the pin drops, open the lid and take the eggs out with a spoon and put them in the "cold" water. The ice will melt quickly and the water will get warm quickly. So the eggs will slow cooking but still be hot enough to cook themselves for a bit longer. Drain the water and add more cold tap water once or twice. Then eat the eggs or store in the fridge. If I had enough ice to do a real ice bath, 4 minutes in the instant pot would be my magic number. If you like your yolks firmer then a longer cook time is for you. Experiment to find your favorite version!
Put a cup of water and the trivet in the instant pot. Place eggs on the trivet, as little as you'd like or as many as will fit. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes and release the pressure manually as soon as the timer is up. Have prepared a bowl with cold water and a few cubes of ice (as is all I ever have on hand). As soon as the pressure is done releasing and the pin drops, open the lid and take the eggs out with a spoon and put them in the "cold" water. The ice will melt quickly and the water will get warm quickly. So the eggs will slow cooking but still be hot enough to cook themselves for a bit longer. Drain the water and add more cold tap water once or twice. Then eat the eggs or store in the fridge. If I had enough ice to do a real ice bath, 4 minutes in the instant pot would be my magic number. If you like your yolks firmer then a longer cook time is for you. Experiment to find your favorite version!
Shredded chicken
At 10.5 months old, Dylan is showing quite the affinity for food. So much so that there are times I'm not sure what to feed him when we sit down to eat but he's so excited that we are sitting at the table that I need to give him something. He often eats what we are eating but there are still many foods I'm waiting to introduce so sometimes our dinners aren't quite Dylan friendly. Enter: shredded chicken. I try to keep some on hand and he loves it! Also, shredding chicken was one of my gateways into eating meat again after 10 years as a vegetarian. I eat shredded chicken in a variety of recipes many times a week, and the Instant Pot has made it remarkably simple. I typically buy chicken thighs (have I yet made it clear that I am all about saving money while still eating well? Thighs are a cheaper cut of meat so that's what I get).
Method: Add a cup of water to the bottom of the instant pot, and the trivet. Place the thighs on the trivet and season with salt, pepper, and whatever else. (Lime juice and cumin? Thyme and lemon slices? Smoked paprika and sage?) Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes, and manually release the pressure. Move the thighs to a bowl and immediately shred with two forks. The longer they rest the harder they are to shred. Or use this hack that has theoretically changed my chicken shredding life, except that I don't have a hand-held mixer and I'm too lazy to lug my Kitchenaid out of the closet so I just use two forks more often than not. Save the chicken in the fridge or freezer and re-heat and re-season to add it to anything your heart desires. Save the liquid in the bottom of the pot for cooking grains or making soup.
Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry syrup is a staple for us. It's a great preventative for getting sick, and it is proven to shorten the duration of a virus if you have one. It works with your immune system without introducing anything to your body that will keep it from working optimally. It is not something you should take every day for a long duration of time, as it stimulates your immune system so you don't want that day after day. So during the late fall and winter when our vitamin D levels are a bit depleted and our time spent outdoors is often less than optimal, and we are often stuffing ourselves with junk food in the name of holiday after holiday- factors that cause the "flu season" to be a thing- we take small doses of elderberry syrup a few days on, a few days off. If we are sick we take higher doses for the duration of our sickness.
Method: I use Wellness Mama's method. It doesn't take much less time than making it on the stovetop, but it's less hands-on time since it doesn't require watching and stirring, which is why I prefer to use the IP.
I also like to make elderberry gummies out of my syrup. They are so simple to make, and if you don't have any type of silicone molds you can let the liquid cool in a glass container in the fridge and then cut into pieces. Harrison likes to take it either way but the gummies are especially fun.
Method: Add a cup of water to the bottom of the instant pot, and the trivet. Place the thighs on the trivet and season with salt, pepper, and whatever else. (Lime juice and cumin? Thyme and lemon slices? Smoked paprika and sage?) Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes, and manually release the pressure. Move the thighs to a bowl and immediately shred with two forks. The longer they rest the harder they are to shred. Or use this hack that has theoretically changed my chicken shredding life, except that I don't have a hand-held mixer and I'm too lazy to lug my Kitchenaid out of the closet so I just use two forks more often than not. Save the chicken in the fridge or freezer and re-heat and re-season to add it to anything your heart desires. Save the liquid in the bottom of the pot for cooking grains or making soup.
Elderberry Syrup
Elderberry syrup is a staple for us. It's a great preventative for getting sick, and it is proven to shorten the duration of a virus if you have one. It works with your immune system without introducing anything to your body that will keep it from working optimally. It is not something you should take every day for a long duration of time, as it stimulates your immune system so you don't want that day after day. So during the late fall and winter when our vitamin D levels are a bit depleted and our time spent outdoors is often less than optimal, and we are often stuffing ourselves with junk food in the name of holiday after holiday- factors that cause the "flu season" to be a thing- we take small doses of elderberry syrup a few days on, a few days off. If we are sick we take higher doses for the duration of our sickness.
Method: I use Wellness Mama's method. It doesn't take much less time than making it on the stovetop, but it's less hands-on time since it doesn't require watching and stirring, which is why I prefer to use the IP.
I also like to make elderberry gummies out of my syrup. They are so simple to make, and if you don't have any type of silicone molds you can let the liquid cool in a glass container in the fridge and then cut into pieces. Harrison likes to take it either way but the gummies are especially fun.
Some favorite full meal recipes
Vegan quinoa burrito bowls
This recipe is a great base for a meal or a side dish. It is light and tasty, and easily customizable. Cook in bone broth and add cheese to your finished product if that's your fancy. Switch out the veggies for something you like better. Top with any variety of foods. Use it as a base for a taco filling. Etc etc etc. It is an easy to make one-pot meal, requiring a small bit of vegetable dicing and then sautéing in the IP before adding the rest of the ingredients and pressure cooking it all together. It doesn't require much time at all.
Turkey Vegetable Lasagna Soup
This recipe is a great base for a meal or a side dish. It is light and tasty, and easily customizable. Cook in bone broth and add cheese to your finished product if that's your fancy. Switch out the veggies for something you like better. Top with any variety of foods. Use it as a base for a taco filling. Etc etc etc. It is an easy to make one-pot meal, requiring a small bit of vegetable dicing and then sautéing in the IP before adding the rest of the ingredients and pressure cooking it all together. It doesn't require much time at all.
Turkey Vegetable Lasagna Soup
I just love this soup SO MUCH. It requires a bit of prep chopping veggies, and while the ingredients list isn't expansive, there are still a lot of parts involved to get to the finished product. But it is worth it every time. It's a one-pot meal, hooray for the minimal kitchen clean up that it requires! And it's definitely customizable. I typically use my homemade bone broth as the base, and I don't often add any noodles, I find it hearty enough without. Instead of melting a bunch of mozzarella cheese into the final product after cooking, I just use Trader Joe's delicious organic vodka sauce in place of the marinara the recipe calls for. Or you can omit the dairy altogether for a soup that is still tasty. It calls for 2 tablespoons of tomato paste but I don't think I've ever added that. And I've also never made the optional cheese mixture that is for serving the soup over. (For the sake of simplicity and less groceries to buy.) Do what you want with it!
Southwestern Chicken and Rice
This is a go-to almost every week. It's very much a dump meal. Put it all in the instant pot, turn it on, and forget about it (until it's time to shred the chicken). Then customize it to your meal preference. We usually just eat it in a bowl, topped with cheddar or goat cheese depending on our mood. Sometimes I fail to add the corn and/or the beans. Still tasty!
Butter Chicken
I LOVE Indian food. And this recipe... well, THIS RECIPE YOU GUYS. It has me licking the bowl. The recipe theoretically makes enough to save half the sauce for another meal, but that is never the case here. I roast or boil some vegetables on the side and add them in with the cubed chicken at the end to bulk everything up. Combined with rice and naan (Indian food is 1000x better with naan), and combined with my love of extra sauce on everything, there is just enough sauce even while the recipe claims you are making a double batch. You can make this dairy free by using coconut oil and coconut milk. But I've never tried it that way because I love butter and will never be afraid of it (helloooo Kerrygold all day every day). And getting an immersion blender made this remarkably easier, as I no longer need to transfer boiling liquid and chunks of tomatoes into my food processor for a 4 second blend. This recipe is everything.Southwestern Chicken and Rice
This is a go-to almost every week. It's very much a dump meal. Put it all in the instant pot, turn it on, and forget about it (until it's time to shred the chicken). Then customize it to your meal preference. We usually just eat it in a bowl, topped with cheddar or goat cheese depending on our mood. Sometimes I fail to add the corn and/or the beans. Still tasty!
Butter Chicken
Dal Makhani
I haven't made this recipe in a long time, but I'm adding it here because it is in my original instant pot post, and I remember how flavorful it is. It's great as a side, or eat it as a meal over rice and/or with naan or whatnot. I will definitely be giving this a try again very soon. If you are a fan of Indian food, the blog this recipe comes from, as well as the blog the above butter chicken is listed on, has some amazing recipes that have never failed me.
Other recipes
My previous Instant Pot post goes over my methods for whole chicken, bone broth, (no need to roast forever and ever!), a sweet potato and lentil stew recipe, and my own lentil soup.
So, there's a start. There's always more, but the above are most or all of my go-to's. I may add to this as I find more favorites, so check back if you're curious. Happy pressure cooking!