75+ Best Instant Pot Recipes for Dinner, Dessert & More (2024)

FAQs

Is Instant Pot good for baking? ›

The Instant Pot can gently steam and bake with ease — and keep you from heating up the oven when you want a sweet treat. Instant Pot desserts are their own particular brand of delicious — so you don't want to try taking your favorite cheesecake recipe and throwing it on high pressure for 20 minutes.

“Instant pot recipes are absolutely healthy as long as what you put in the recipe is healthy,” she says.

“That is outstanding.” She said that although the Instant Pot retained more of the distinct flavourings, this wasn't necessarily to its advantage: The traditional version had melded the flavours into one aromatic, juicy bite, and it worked better.

The 5-5-5 method involves the following: 5-minute cook time. 5-minute natural pressure release. 5-minute ice bath.

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.

If you are interested primarily in slow cooking, you should buy a dedicated slow cooker. They're more reliable with a range of slow-cooker recipes than an Instant Pot. We found Instant Pot multicookers specifically could not successfully slow-cook dense, high-volume recipes such as beef stew or pot roast.

Despite its popularity in professional kitchens, a pressure cooker is rarely featured on cooking shows. But that doesn't mean celebrity chefs don't appreciate their value. In fact, many renowned chefs have sung the praises of pressure cookers.

Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat.

If you're looking to save counter space or don't want to spend a lot of money on separate appliances, then an Instant Pot could be worth the expense. However, if you're only going to use one or two functions of the Instant Pot, it's worth considering if separate devices would be more cost-effective.

Can you put too much in an Instant Pot? ›

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.

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).

Do Expect Cook Times to Vary: A frozen piece of meat will not only take longer to cook, but it will also take longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. Because of this, be prepared to add a few extra minutes to your overall cook time.

Cooking times: Instant Pots can often prepare food more quickly than air fryers. Food choices: Although both small kitchen appliances can prepare a wide range of foods, Instant Pots offer more recipe options. Ease of use: Air fryers are good for beginners, while Instant Pots have a learning curve.

Is it worth buying an Instant Pot? Yes, we do think an Instant Pot is worth it, particularly for pressure cooking. There's a reason it's one of the most popular kitchen appliances out there.