The First 12 Recipes to Make in Your Instant Pot (2024)

FAQs

What is the best first thing to cook in an Instant Pot? ›

When it comes to breaking your Instant Pot in, it's a good idea to start with some basic foods and simple meals you're already familiar with, then slowly expand your Instant Pot repertoire from there. Try making staples like eggs, sweet potatoes, rice, or lentils using just the pressure cooker function.

Instant Pot comes with an owner manual and recipe book.

Follow this tip: While at least 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid is essential to well-cooked food in the pressure cooker, too much liquid will pull the flavor out of foods. Unless otherwise specified in the recipe, use just enough liquid to bring the cooker to pressure.

It cannot cook your food properly without water, and the pressure will build to such an extent that the lid, pressure valve, plugs, and hot food could be thrown all over the kitchen. This can seriously harm you, your kids, and your pets, not to mention property damage that comes from flying projectiles.

Con– The Instant Pot uses steam under pressure to cook food and not everything is meant to be cooked in the Instant Pot. I attempted a crustless quiche which turned out well but it was too wet and moist to my liking and I prefer to cook it in the oven with dry heat.

Your Instant Pot. A trivet. A sling (you'll need aluminum foil) An oven safe dish (like Pyrex or a Springform pan)

It is safe to cook frozen food in a pressure cooker because it uses pressure to move food through the "Danger Zone" quickly. As a result, you don't run into the issues that you would find by cooking frozen food in a slow cooker, where it can stay too long in the Danger Zone and could become unsafe.

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

Steam penetrates food easily under pressure. So connective tissues in cubes of beef for soups or stews soften in 15 minutes or less, and a pot roast will be medium-rare in 30 minutes. Be sure to follow instructions carefully; at this speed, it's easy to overcook things in mere minutes.

How do you keep meat moist in a pressure cooker? ›

That' where the meat is covered in cooking liquid and the goal is to reduce it to concentrate the flavor. For these recipes, it's OK to use a faster pressure release. The liquid insulates the meat and keeps it from losing moisture.

Leaving water in an Instant Pot overnight should not cause any damage to the pot or its electronics. Instant Pots are designed to be safe and durable appliances that can handle various cooking scenarios.

Can you submerge the Instant Pot lid? You can submerge it in a sink of soapy water or in the dishwasher. The only part you can not submerge on the Instant Pot is the base which contains the electrical parts.

So, if the pot is not properly sealed, the content may overflow, which can do some damages to the device. Otherwise, if you're sure the seal is intact, you can leave the pot on and go to bed. In the event of a malfunction or a power outage, the pot is equipped with the right safety mechanisms to prevent any accidents.

Beginner-Friendly: Instant Pot Duo Nova 7-in-1

The Duo Nova is best for: anyone who's extra cautious about cooking with pressure (or kitchen safety in general).

It is safe to cook frozen food in a pressure cooker because it uses pressure to move food through the "Danger Zone" quickly. As a result, you don't run into the issues that you would find by cooking frozen food in a slow cooker, where it can stay too long in the Danger Zone and could become unsafe.