Talk to me about your Instant Pot (and recipes!)

saladflambe

So, rumor has it some folks here have Instant Pots!
I just bought one, and I'm curious to talk to others about their experiences and, of course, your favorite recipes
Mine won't get here until March, but still...

Who has one?
Who loves it?
Share recipes!

AlohaKumu

I LOVE MINE! I make everything in it, from hardboiled eggs (even brand-new eggs will have shells that come off) to vegetarian chili to sweet potatoes to rabbit. (Yes, a friend brought over some pieces of rabbit and asked me to make it in the Instant Pot!)

I'll post the chili recipe a bit later, since I need to "translate" it for what I actually do, but here's the hardboiled eggs "recipe" that I use:

"I have had good success with hard boiled eggs in my Instant Pot IP-Duo 7 in 1, only after quite a bit of trial and error. Needless to say, I wasted a lot of eggs, but I have finally gotten it just right! I use 1 cup of water, place 4 – 6 eggs in a steamer basket, cover, and set the Instant Pot to Steam on low pressure for 12 minutes. Once the cycle is over I let the pressure come down naturally on Keep Warm for 10 minutes. If the pressure valve hasn’t gone down by then, I release the steam, move the eggs to a bowl and run them under cold water for a few minutes. I turn off the water and let them hang out in the bowl of cold water for a few minutes more, then peel them. The shells come off so easily it’s amazing. So even though you don’t really gain anything in the way of time with this method, not having to keep track of boiling water and the easiest to peel eggs I have ever made are totally worth it to me! I make a batch at the beginning of the week and then I have a convenient breakfast or snack all ready to go whenever I need it."

Read more: instant pot hard boiled eggs https://www.hippressurecooking.com/forums/topic/instant-pot-hard-boiled-eggs/

canonmom413

I use mine daily! My 9 year old can make hard boiled eggs by her self without the fear of boiling water.

It helps me stay on track with eating. I can easily throw in frozen chicken breasts that become shreddable in less than 20 minutes. Rice takes no more than 12 minutes and no mess. I made fall of the bone ribs in 35 minutes. under the broiler for sticky sauce for another 7 minutes. Tonight im throwing in a whole chicken and some potatoes for mashed potatoes. I made an amazing sausage and tortellini soup in 15 minutes the other day. My husband who doesnt and really cant (bless his heart) cook, made my polynesian chicken sandwhiches for my birthday using the instant pot. If he can use it successfully, anyone can! love that man.

haylsbayls-2

Ohhh my gosh! I just got one for Christmas and I love it! I'm still learning so I've only made a couple of soups in it. Can't wait to hear everyone's recipes!

AlohaKumu

Vegetarian chili

Chop one medium onion and a few cloves of garlic. Put some olive oil in the Instant Pot and turn on the saute feature. When the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic. Stir regularly, since it will get hot! When the onions and garlic have started to turn translucent or have browned, turn off the heat.

Add the following to the Instant Pot:
1 medium zucchini, stem ends trimmed and cut into small dice
1 small package of sweet corn
1 large chopped portabello mushroom
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black chili beans
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup of chicken stock or water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespooon ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Close the top of the pot and seal it for pressure. Put it on the chili setting for 15 minutes. When it's done cooking, allow it to vent naturally, or for a minimum of 10 minutes. Stir after opening and add your favorite cheese/chips/bread as a garnish

kiki75

YAS!!! Teach me how to Instant Pot! I bought one months ago on sale and I have no idea how to use it so it's still in the box. Healthy recipes are much appreciated. I'm planning to switch gears from "hey, little zygote, this is a land of plenty. Stick around and grow!" to trying to lose about 20 lbs while I wait for an RE appointment.

Tennis11785

Oh man!  I love, love, love my instantpot!  I'm terrible about following recipes.  I usually decide what I want to make, google recipes and pull a little from this and a little from that.  

• For breakfast, I use The Kitchn's recipe for steel cut oats, and add in whatever topping I'm craving. 
• I've also thrown frozen chicken breasts in with either chicken stock or salsa for a quick dinner. 
• For the Superbowl, I got a giant pork (boston butt) and covered it in brown sugar, some cinnamon, and my fajita seasoning, used a cup of bbq sauce and a cup of water, and put it on for 90 minutes.  It came out fall apart tender and was really yummy.  
• I've made short ribs and beef stew it in, both of which were a throw the meat, potatoes, and veggies in all at once and let it cook with beef broth and red wine.  But what was really spectacular about both was the carrots.  They were probably the best carrots I've ever had.  

If I think of others, I'll come back and add.  

AlohaKumu

I also make several kinds of vegetable "mashes" using the Instant Pot. Last night, I peeled three sweet potatoes, cut them in half/thirds, depending on the size, and added a cup of water. I allowed them to cook at high pressure for about 7 minutes and then had them depressurize naturally. After that, I drained the water and added a little bit of butter and salt. I used my immersion blender to make sure everything was nice and smooth.

I do this with regular potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, and even cauliflower (only for 2 minutes). It's a great way to add more veggies to your diet!

saladflambe

Are there any tips, tricks, or other things I need to know about?

Cleaning it, for instance?

katiegeminimoon

This is how I do my hard boiled eggs, perfect every time! Put half cup water into IP and put in the rack it comes with. Add one layer of eggs. Turn on manual for 6 minutes. As soon as it's done quick release the steam (use a spoon or something so you don't burn yourself!) Take them out with tongs and put into an ice bath until cool. 

I also love to throw in uncooked rotini noodles, frozen turkey meatballs, most of a jar of sauce and a little water. Manual for 4-5 minutes then QR the steam. So quick and easy. 

AlohaKumu

@saladflambe--cleaning is easy. If you have a dishwasher, you can throw the pot in there and then spot-clean any spills on the unit with a sponge or towel. If you don't have a dishwasher, just soak the pot with some soap and it will rinse out cleanly.

The pot is basically indestructible. I've definitely bashed the corners of the pot with spoons to get the food off and it doesn't make any sort of dents or scratches.

stillclever17

Is it a pressure cooker?

AlohaKumu

Yes, @soemthingclever. It's an electric pressure cooker with lots of safety components built in. (You can even set a timer to have it cook your food before you get home!)

stillclever17

Cool. I'll have to look into it. I would be nervous about leaving a pressure cooker unattended while I'm at work. 

Tennis11785

Look what just arrived in my inbox from Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/melissaharrison/instant-pot-recipes

Redpuma119

You ladies have made me instapot crazy.  I'm currently trying to decide which one to order but keep getting distracted by the recipes. I keep saying to myself that I will make one of them for dinner before I realize I don't actually have one yet.

jess0211

And now I need an instapot!

50Wife

I'm officially buying one from Amazon tomorrow. I need to be part of this club. 

cdnrunning

So is the main benefit the speed in which you can cook your meals, say vs a crockpot?

Tennis11785

@cdnrunning - yes. the food in it is similar to a crock pot, but it cooks much faster than a crock pot.  Additionally, you're not really supposed to cook with frozen meat in a crock pot.  Technically the food doesn't heat fast enough to ensure bacteria doesn't grow (although while that's true, I don't know that I've ever heard of anyone getting sick of frozen crock pot meats).  In the InstantPot, it reaches pressure and cooks fast enough that it's safe to use from frozen.  

It also has a salute feature.  So when you're cooking something in a crock pot and it says to sear/brown the meat first? This you can do it all in the same pan and that's one less pan to clean.  

But thinking of it as "instant" is a bit of a misunderstanding.  For example, when I made short ribs, it still took an hour.  But in a crock pot it would have taken more like 8-10.  

cdnrunning

@Tennis11785 Thank you so much for the info. We make a couple of dishes in the crockpot that take 6-10 hours so I'd love to cut down on the cook time. Not sure where the heck we'd store it though, we seem to be at capacity in our kitchen

slaven

@cdnrunning I totally want one but I'm waiting till we move in May. We don't have storage space in our current apartment and I'd hate for it to be broken during the move. Also, even if I ordered it now I wouldn't get it for about 2 weeks and then I'd get to use it for like 2 months, pack it up, and then wait a few months for our household goods to ship from Korea to NY (not looking forward to that). 

cdnrunning

@slaven moving stinks to begin with. packing the kitchen is the absolute worst but you take the take with the cross continent move!

Tennis11785

Mine has a "home" in a cabinet, but it's never it it.  It basically has earned a spot on my counter, because I use it that often.  

Everycol0r

What if I already have a pressure cooker from when I do canning... not the same thing?

slaven

@cdnrunning Yeah I'm not looking forward to it. When I came to Korea we were newlyweds and didn't have kitchen stuff or anything really. We've accumulated it all over the past 2 years. What sucks is that it takes so long so when we move we'll inevitably buy stuff while we wait for our household goods to get to NY. A lot of our stuff isn't really nice so I'm holding off on buying the nice stuff for when we need to buy things to hold us over anyway. 

@Everycol0r I think the instant pot is different because it can be more fine tuned for cooking because it's electric and has a control panel but I'm sure you can find recipes for using a regular pressure cooker

I told DH about the instant pot and he pulled out his phone. Apparently he keeps a list of things that I mention I want for when gift giving holidays come around lol. 

Everycol0r

slaven said:

@cdnrunning Yeah I'm not looking forward to it. When I came to Korea we were newlyweds and didn't have kitchen stuff or anything really. We've accumulated it all over the past 2 years. What sucks is that it takes so long so when we move we'll inevitably buy stuff while we wait for our household goods to get to NY. A lot of our stuff isn't really nice so I'm holding off on buying the nice stuff for when we need to buy things to hold us over anyway. 

@Everycol0r I think the instant pot is different because it can be more fine tuned for cooking because it's electric and has a control panel but I'm sure you can find recipes for using a regular pressure cooker

I told DH about the instant pot and he pulled out his phone. Apparently he keeps a list of things that I mention I want for when gift giving holidays come around lol. 

My pressure cooker is electric! I don't use a stove top one. 

I told my DH to look it up today and see what he thought. We have such long, busy days now that cooking isn't fun but a huge hassle. Anything that makes it easier is work the $$. 

slaven

@Everycol0r I found an article that compares an electric cuisinart pressure cooker to the IP and they actually like the cuisinart better 

https://happyherbivore.com/2015/01/pressure-cooker-cuisinart-instapot-review/

AlohaKumu

Bumping this with a new recipe. It turned out great!

Instant Pot Cheddar Broccoli & Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 medium sized broccoli head, broken into large florets
• 2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth, plus more if needed
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 slices of bacon (optional)
• Chopped green onion or chives for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Select the sauté function on the Instant Pot.
2. Once hot, add butter and crushed garlic. Saute about one minute, or until garlic begins to brown.
3. Add broccoli, potatoes, and broth. Season with extra salt and pepper. Secure the lid and select manual. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.
4. Once cooking is complete, select cancel and use the natural release for 10 minutes. Remove any remaining steam.
5. If using bacon, microwave or cook the bacon until desired crispiness. Set aside to cool.
6. Add the half and half and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth, or blend in batches in a large blender. If you want a thinner soup, add more broth. Add salt and pepper to taste.
7. Serve hot with remaining cheddar and bacon (if using).

KristoKekerooni

Can I zombie this?

I am looking to get an IP. I am hoping Prime day has some good deals, but I need to decide which I want. Suggestions? 

50Wife

Damn @KristoKekerooni!!

But here's what I have and I love it! 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FLYWNYQ/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

KristoKekerooni

I know... I almost started a new thread, but. *shrug*

I was trying to decide between Ultra and Duo. Do you find yourself missing any of the features the Ultra has?

50Wife

@KristoKekerooni I guess it depends on what types of recipes you plan on using it for. So far, I've only used the manual pressure cooker feature, slow cooker, and saute and I've been happy with it. If you're going basic and planning on making dinners in it a couple of times a week, I'd probably go with the DUO.

purplg8r

Yes!  I just got an air fryer and obsessed with it (but got a smaller one).  I’m hoping that Prime day has a bigger one and an instapot because I’m so getting both!

KristoKekerooni

@50Wife , I use a crockpot heavily, so I am hoping his can somewhat replace it. William leaves about 45 minutes after I get home from work, so I don't have time to cook when I get home. I like the idea of having it ready when I get home with the programmable timers, etc. If all that works out, I could see using it at least three times a week. 

@purplg8r , what airfryer do you have?

purplg8r

@KristoKekerooni black & decker 2 L. I love it but it’s too smal

KristoKekerooni

@purplg8r , do thing *actually* get crispy? I just can't imagine it working as well as a regular oil fryer. 

purplg8r

@KristoKekerooni yup!!  So far I’ve made Parmesan zucchini chips, kale chips, frozen chicken nuggets and I feel like something else. They all came out perfectly crispy!  

purplg8r

@KristoKekerooni an instapot is on deal right now for $60!

KristoKekerooni

@purplg8r I CAN'T. I saw it and I clicked on it and it keeps crashing

purplg8r

@KristoKekerooni ugh!  That’s so annoying!  Try target tomorrow