Instant Pot recipes, please!

January 8, 2016 5:45 AM

Intrigued by this comment, I recently purchased an Instant Pot. Please give me your easiest, most delicious recipes!

So far I love the Instant Pot. I've made a few simple things so far: steel cut oats, quinoa, hardboiled eggs, plain chicken. However I'm not much of a cook, and I feel more comfortable with a set recipe before I begin experimenting. Do you have any specific recipes for the Instant Pot that are easy and delicious? I am mainly looking for complete 1-pot dinner meals.

posted by barnoley to Food & Drink (20 answers total)

Best answer: We make a variation of this mac and cheese at least once a week. My changes: skip the mustard, hot sauce, & breadcrumbs. Use whatever cheese I have lurking in the fridge (usually cheddar and colby jack). Add a little sour cream after the cheese has melted.
posted by belladonna at 5:52 AM on January 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Kenji posted a lot of very easy and fast dump-and-go recipes at Serious Eats. I can definitely vouch for the chickpea and chorizo, chicken and chickpea, chicken lentil and bacon, and chicken and black bean.
posted by ftm at 5:55 AM on January 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

I love my Instant Pot. One thing to keep in mind is that it operates at a lower pressure than many pressure cookers (particularly stovetop models). So if you see a recipe designed for a 15 PSI setting, you'll probably need to add about 10% cooking time on top of that. (It's discussed here.)

I usually wing it when I use the Instant Pot, so I don't have a ton of specific recipes that I've tried. But I have tried and enjoyed these chicken enchiladas and this corn soup (in the summer).

I've also tinkered with some of the recipes on Hip Pressure Cooking, which you might find a useful resource.
posted by veggieboy at 5:57 AM on January 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: There are some great Instant Pot recipes on Nom Nom Paleo's Recipe Index; scroll down to "Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot." She is a big proponent of the device and her recipes are well-tested.
posted by bcwinters at 6:03 AM on January 8, 2016 [8 favorites]

Best answer: I've made the Kalua Pig recipe from Nom Nom Paleo in my Instant Pot, and it is fantastic.
posted by katie at 6:28 AM on January 8, 2016 [2 favorites]

The other night I made a vegan stew with leftovers that was a big hit... first I made a roux in the pot on the saute setting, which isn't really necessary (maybe some cornstarch instead?), but I wanted thick and creamy. 3oz olive oil, 3oz flour on low heat, stir for a few minutes. Then I threw in a bunch of veggies: onions, peppers, butternut squash, tomatoes, this was all cut up already from previous dinners. One can of garbanzo beans, one can of pinto beans, salt, pepper, and finally like 3 cups of Better Than Bullion-based vegetable broth. Hit the soup button, 30 minutes later it was ready.
posted by Huck500 at 7:27 AM on January 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I have a very similar pressure cooker (as in, they look exactly the same and are probably manufactured at the same plant before being branded by different subsidiaries).

I think of it less as a tool for making "a meal" and more of a tool for making "meal supplies for a week at a time." On weekends, I usually make a trip to the grocery and farmers' market for bulk goodies. When I come home, I fire up the pressure cooker and stuff tupperware containers full of meal fixings to last the week. This saves a crazy amount of time during the week.

Things I routinely cook en masse to have ready in the fridge:
Whole potatoes
Any dried bean (currently loving christmas lima beans)
Broccoli (seems more digestible when pressure cooked, not just steamed on the stove)
Tempeh (so good this way; buy it, pressure cook it, toss the cooked chunks in the freezer, toss frozen chunks in soup or sautées all week)
Butternut squash (hella timesaver right there)
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:20 AM on January 8, 2016 [6 favorites]

Best answer: I get packets of curry paste from the Asian grocery, my favorite for this is the Mae Ploy Penang Curry. Saute a chunked onion until softened, add the curry paste and fry, turning the Pot off after about 30 seconds so it doesn't burn, but keep stirring another minute or so until it stops sizzling. Stir in a can of coconut milk, scraping the bottom to bring up any stuck curry.

Throw in some boneless/skinless chicken thighs (my grocery store does b/s leg quarters, and I put 3-4 of them in, roughly hacked into thirds or fourths) and set manual pressure for 7 minutes. When it beeps, turn off and release the pressure.

Add chunks (keep them around the two-bite size) of any or all: cauliflower, carrots, sweet potato. Close and manual pressure 2 minutes, release when it beeps, take the lid off. If you want to reduce, you can run it on Saute for 5-10 minutes, but your veg may already be falling apart so I skip it and go with a soupier curry. (I also still cook my rice in my little cheap $20 rice cooker, so both can be ready at once.)

If you want to add canned beans, wait until the end and let them warm in the hot curry for a few minutes.

This is pretty much my method for everything I've made. I do a lot of "cook meat-only in sauce for slightly over half the listed time, add veg and go 2 more minutes" meals.

This weekend I'm going to try this chicken chili recipe that uses dry beans, converting all the times to pressure.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:27 AM on January 8, 2016 [3 favorites]

I got an Instant Pot over the holidays and the first real meal I cooked in it (after I tried rice, hardboiled eggs, and yogurt) was risotto bolognese. It was a bit time consuming with all the chopping and sautéing, but it wasn't difficult, and just as delicious as you'd expect a risotto made on bacon grease to be.
posted by capsizing at 8:40 AM on January 8, 2016

One of my favorite things to make is duck drumsticks. Our local farmers market sells them frozen in packs of about 6. I usually take about 2 packs of duck drumsticks and toss them in frozen in the morning. I add 1/2 cup orange juice, 2 tbsp grated ginger, about 1/4 cup soy sauce, and as much sliced garlic as you like (I like about half a head). Set it on slow cooking for about 8 hrs, and Instant Pot will keep it warm until you're home. The duck legs will be fall apart tender, with an amazing flavor. Serve on plain rice. I'm sure you could do this with chicken legs too.

(For pressure cooking I'm just starting to explore, so I'm avidly bookmarking links too.)
posted by tatiana131 at 9:00 AM on January 8, 2016 [2 favorites]

The instant pot is also fantastic for making stock. We use ours for this quite a lot.
posted by bonehead at 10:52 AM on January 8, 2016

My current obsession is making bone broth in my Instant Pot. The Nom Nom Paleo recipe is a good starting point for understanding the basic principles of making it, and then you can modify the bone type, aromatics, spices, etc to expand your options. For example, I made a beef pho broth last weekend using that recipe as my baseline for quantities, cooking time, etc.
posted by joan_holloway at 11:10 AM on January 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I love my Instant Pot so, so much. I make rice in it often, both white and brown. It's also my go-to for making stock, beans, hard boiled eggs, and yogurt (I use the recipe that came with the manual.) Also, if you don't have a second rubber gasket and you plan on making yogurt or any sweet recipes, get a second one just for that purpose. The rubber ring can pick up odors like crazy.

Some recipes I have tried and enjoyed:

Country-style BBQ Pork Ribs

Red bean and turkey chili

Nom Nom Paleo's Pressure Cooker Kalua Pig


Pulled pork

30 minute pressure cooker Pho Ga

Pasta with cheese and meat sauce

I have a Pinterest board going for pressure cooker recipes, the ones above are on there plus some more I have also tried, or am hoping to.

Hip Pressure Cooking is a great site, and they also have a cookbook that I like to keep handy in the kitchen. Serious Eats has a growing pressure cooker selection, as well.

Enjoy your pressure cooker!
posted by DrGirlfriend at 11:17 AM on January 8, 2016 [3 favorites]

> if you don't have a second rubber gasket and you plan on making yogurt or any sweet recipes, get a second one just for that purpose

Mine smells like curry, but so far that hasn't effected the taste of bland foods I've made in there (e.g. white rice). Have I just been lucky? Might the flavor transfer over?
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:03 PM on January 8, 2016

Might the flavor transfer over?

I don't bother changing the ring for rice, but I had a batch of yogurt that had a faint whiff of pork smell (very faint, to be fair, but hey, I smelled it and that was enough for me.) It was also suggested to me by my MIL after the porky yogurt incident - she's been using pressure cookers for ages, so it's become my practice as well. So for sweet stuff, I pull out my second one.

It also doesn't hurt to have a backup, even if you don't switch it. Over time the rubber can weaken enough that the machine won't reach pressure, and there's really no warning until it happens in the middle of a recipe. I also have experience with this :)
posted by DrGirlfriend at 2:32 PM on January 8, 2016 [2 favorites]

Mine smells like curry, but so far that hasn't effected the taste of bland foods I've made in there (e.g. white rice). Have I just been lucky? Might the flavor transfer over?

I didn't notice it when I was doing different savory dishes, but on my first attempt at yogurt, they came out smelling like beef bourguignon. In case anyone's curious, that is not a flavor profile for yogurt worth repeating.

I now just have two separate gaskets - one for savory and one for sweet.
posted by chillin411 at 2:32 PM on January 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

I recommend this chicken chile verde from Serious Eats ALL THE TIME. It's so easy and so delicious. I've used a similar dump-and-go method for mole, red chile, and assorted curries and stews.

What I love is that, if I just want to make an easy dinner, I can put together a salad, buy some tortillas, and go, but if I want to make a special dinner, I can use this and then I also have the wherewithal to chop up a curtido and do handmade tortillas.
posted by linettasky at 9:33 PM on January 8, 2016 [2 favorites]

I was stumped as to how to make greek yogurt in it -- the directions are none too clear, but I jotted down the method I've been using for the last year or so every week:

half gallon whole milk
1 container plain yogurt for the first batch

pour milk in
put on lid, lock.
Hit Yogurt, then Adjust (should say BOIL)
In about 45 min (?) it will beep and beep.
Take out the inner metal bowl, put in sink of cold water for about ten minutes (you want the milk the temp you would give to a baby, just warm)
Add 2 tbs of plain yogurt, mix it up
Put milk back in pressure cooker, put on lid, turn the whole thing OFF and then hit Yogurt again once (Have to hit off, I screwed up once and didn't, and it heated up the milk too much). It should say 8:00 before it starts showing the time it's been sitting. I usually go 4 (minimum) to 10 (maximum) hours. More time is more sour.
If it's quite runny that's still okay.

Line colander with cheesecloth/tea towel, set whole thing in large bowl, pour in yogurt, refrigerate overnight, in the morning, discard the whey (people use it for smoothies and other things but I never do), and bob's your greek yogurt uncle.
posted by yarnagogo at 10:33 AM on January 10, 2016 [7 favorites]

A thing I made last night that I am having again for lunch today, after I noticed my grocery store had 10-bean mix in their bulk bins:

--Bean Stew--
1 1/3 C 10-bean mix (or similar)
4 1/2 C + 1/2 C water (or beer/wine)
Tbl soup base paste/Better Than Bouillon, whatever flavor
1 can or box tomatoes, crushed/diced/whole/whatever
1/2-1 onion, large dice or chunks
Tbl oil for sauteing
salt, pepper

(Optional) .5-1.5lb Meat: bite-sized chunks of roast or braising steak, pork roast, dark meat chicken, smoked sausage, etc

Heat pot on Saute setting. Add oil to hot pot and saute meat (if using smoked sausage, add at the end to heat through or it'll disintegrate under pressure) until browned on the outside. Add onion and stir several times.

Mix soup base in 4 1/2 C water and add to pot. Put tomatoes in pot and use additional 1/2 C water to rinse out can/box. Add beans and stir well. Put on lid, set valve to Sealing, and press the Bean/Chili button.

At the finish beep, turn the pot off and let pressure come down naturally (takes 10-15m).

The lentils in the mix will disintegrate, making for a nicely thickened soup/stew - if you want a thinner broth, you might stop at 1C bean mix. We served with biscuits from a can last night and rice today, though it didn't strictly need it. Cornbread would have been nice.
-----

I actually bought the chuck roast a couple of days ago and seared it in oil in the pot whole that night, put it aside, and made that night's dinner. After dinner the roast had cooled and I cubed it and put it in the fridge for another night.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:37 PM on January 13, 2016 [1 favorite]

I joined the Instant Pot group on Facebook - where people toss out recipe ideas, cooking times, and offer plenty of links to sites with good recipes. I quite like that people are posting things like, "Tell me what to do with frozen chicken thighs!" and a bunch of suggestions show up.
posted by VioletU at 1:42 PM on April 28, 2016