I’m not sure where to even *start* with this thing. I guess I will start with “If you’re on the fence about it, stop reading and just go buy it right now”.
Otherwise…read on.
I purchased my instant pot in March of 2017. Since that time I’ve used it on average about 3 times per week. Now, I have a long history with pressure cookers, in general. I also had previously owned an electric pressure cooker that was not an Instant Pot, and I got a lot of good use out of it. That one did also have a “sear” function. I’d probably be still using it, but someone put the lid on a hot stove top, and melted the plastic that makes the whole thing work. (OK that someone was in fact me). Purchasing a new lid for the older pot ended up to be about half the cost of a new Instant Pot, so I went ahead and bit the bullet for the increased functionality. It’s got Bluetooth, kids.
So…what can you make with an instant pot? It would probably be easier to tell you what you *can’t* make with it. But what have I made so far?
- Beans, all kinds of ‘em. Black beans, navy beans, red beans, pinto beans. You name it, I’ve made them. Baked beans from scratch? YES you can.
- I keep the trimmings from all of the veggies I cut up and use them with chicken bones to make the most amazing stock. The high pressure is wonderful for rendering all of the connective tissues very quickly. Medical research is showing what our grandmas have always known, chicken soup has amazing healing properties.
- Meats of many types. Does a wonderful job of quickly breaking down tough meat.
- Apple butter
- And it’s amazing.
- Many assorted one-pot meals, noodles and all. If it can be made in a stock pot, it’s even easier and faster in the instant pot.
- Egg bites
- Hard-boiled eggs (this is honestly the best way I’ve ever found to do them)
- Yogurt (and by extension, Greek yogurt)
- Chili and many, many other types of soups
- Holding a specific temperature for things like pasteurizing eggs and bringing eggs up to temperature when making Swiss meringue buttercream.
What’s awesome is you can set up the app with your own recipes. There are many things that I like to do pressure then switch down to slow cook for. This works very well on things like stock and for beans (I really, really hate hard beans). Then once you set up and save your recipe, add your ingredients and simply push the button on the app. It’s very convenient.
This is one of my favorite websites for Instant Pot recipes. They are so scientific about it! Love that : https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/
My current Instant Pot is the Max. *I LOVE THIS THING*. The reason: I can set the temp to whatever I want, it has the higher pressure so it’s closer to a traditional pressure cooker, and IT HAS AN AUTO RELEASE VALVE. Sooooo handy. I loved my old Bluetooth version but I killed it. At first I was sad, but that instant pressure release is AMAZING. Had I known how much I love it I’d have gotten this long ago. Instant Pot Max I love this thing because it does have higher pressure than my older Instant Pot, and the automatic release is really helpful when you’re trying to multi-task (and who isn’t!!)
IF YOU LIKE THIS POST YOU WILL ALSO LIKE…
- Blackstone Grill Review
- Breville Sous Chef Food Processor Review
- Humboldt Fog Cheese Review
- Pizza-Que Review
- Pressure Cooking Primer
- Immersion Blender Review
- KitchenAid Multi-Cooker with Stir Tower Review
- Swissmar Mandoline Review
- Chicago Metallic Trio Lasagna Pan Review
- Philips Pasta Maker Review
- Anova Sous Vide Review
- Sushi Bazooka Review
[…] Brown the ground beef. I like to do this in the Instant Pot. […]