21 Easy And Comforting Instant Pot Recipes To Try This Winter (2024)

FAQs

What foods should not be cooked in an Instant Pot? ›

She's still on the fence about the Instant Pot, though. “I bought one but haven't used it,” she says. Garten says she isn't anti-gadgets or newfangled cooking appliances but that having high-quality sheet pans, knives, pots and pans is more essential in developing cooking skills.

Add at least half a cup of liquid, and don't go over the maximum. One of the things you'll learn about pressure cooking is that you don't need to add as much liquid as you would in regular recipes. But you'll still need to add some because the pressure cooker requires moisture to build that pressure.

Foods containing dairy, like milk, cream, or yogurt, should not be pressure-cooked. The high heat and pressure can cause dairy products to curdle or separate, ruining the texture, taste and flavour of the dish. Cooking fried foods is a strict no no, when it comes to pressure cookers.

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.

It takes about 5 minutes for the cooker to come up to high pressure, 5 minutes to cook the eggs, and then 5 minutes of natural pressure release before removing the eggs from the cooker—hence the "5-5-5" method.

In general, the Instant Pot Duo seems to be the most popular, because it offers excellent value — it's the most affordable model but still cooks seven ways and has basic, intuitive controls. The Duo also offers the Duo Crisp model that can also air fry.

Ease of use: Air fryers are good for beginners, while Instant Pots have a learning curve. Price: Although both are quite affordable, Instant Pots offer better value for the money because of their versatility.

No Instant Pot qualifies as basic, but the Duo is technically the most basic model you can buy. That makes it the perfect starter Instant Pot, especially if you're on a budget or you just don't want to invest in something more complicated right now.

Why don t chefs use Instant Pot? ›

They are most commonly used in industrial settings to quickly prepare meat or stocks. However, in most scenarios, Elite Chefs avoid using pressure cookers because they provide less control over the final dish. Chefs often prefer slow cooking techniques that accentuate and pull out the flavors of the food.

Yes, while Instant Pots are technically multi-cookers - with functions including slow cooking, rice cooking, steaming, warming and sautéing - they're all pressure cookers.

Also, an overly-full Instant Pot can lead to a clogged pressure release knob, because food and liquid can get sucked up inside. To stay on the safe side, don't fill your pot over that two-thirds line, and stay below half full for foods that expand while cooking, such as beans and lentils.

Using too much liquid.

Adding too much liquid can leave you with a finished dish that lacks flavor, or a sauce that's too thin. 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.

In general, Instant Pots do so much more than just pressure cooking and can be used as a rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer yogurt maker, sauté pan, and a meal warmer.

In general, seafood such as fish, oysters, shrimp, muscles and clams are just too delicate for pressure cooking and slow cooking modes.

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.