I made it a few times so I must have the recipe…somewhere. It was really good and very easy…and great for a chilly night one dish meal.
If you find it, please re-post!
New instant pot owner here, and I have scanned through this thread but may have missed it - I’m noticing the lack of recipes included with the pot itself. Is there a good source for basic recipes and methods? It’s almost like the early days of the microwave.
First (only) thing I’ve tried so far is hard boiled eggs for deviled eggs. I took an average of some recipes I found on a Google search, and they turned out maybe a little too hard, and oddly off-white, but incredibly easy to peel.
I’ve found Google is a pretty good filter for good IP recipes. Just start your search string with “instant pot.”
I never found that one golden site with a great selection of recipes.
I use my two mostly for convenience rather than accessing recipes that are inherently great when made in the IP. “Set it and forget it.”
If you are on Facebook there are 2 groups. Instant Pot Community and Instant Pot Recipes Only that are pretty good.
I usually check out This Old Gal (thisoldgal.com) when first looking for a recipe. Her recipes have NEVER failed me. If I can’t find it on her pages, then I branch out and Google it. There are also Facebook pages for Instant Pot users. Join the largest one and then use the search function - you’ll find almost any recipe that way.
I have a book called The Instant Pot Bible. It’s excellent!
The FB pages can be a real rabbit hole! If you start reading you might get overwhelmed! I have used the search function on the IP Community page though. Like search for something specific - and then plenty of threads will come up. For instance search:
“chicken”
“stuffed peppers”
“meatballs”
I like the recipes of “Pressure Luck Cooking,” “twosleevers,” and “Pressure Cooking Today.” I am in the Facebook Instant Pot Community, but as soon as I joined I immediately unfollowed. With so many members, it will completely clog your feed, otherwise. I just go there when I want to look. I find that Pinterest recipes can be too non-specific, especially for a newbie.
My best advice is just to jump in and try. My only true fails has been chili (where I got the “burn” notice). I’ve encountered some not great recipes, but no other “fails.” Most recipes have been hits. The IP is great for all types of pork, beans, and risotto. Get a separate sealing ring for cheesecakes, which are also wonderful in the IP.
Facebook also has a “Dump and Push Start” group that’s good for the totally lazy – these are recipes that don’t require extra cooking steps along the way – that work if you just dump all the ingredients in together. Over time I’ve figured out a few tricks of my own in that regard.
^^ I’m curious about that! I’ll take a look.
I have a dump and start chicken stew that everyone in the family loves. I even start it with frozen chicken breasts and don’t particularly measure things. I add frozen pearl onions instead of chopping any and a bag of baby carrots instead of chopping those. https://www.currytrail.in/instant-pot-chicken-stew/
I realize that what I need now is not so much recipes, but an understanding of the basic techniques. I don’t want to have to be constantly going to Google or Facebook and comparing results to figure out how to do the basics. Goodness, between the pre-sets and the more/less and the high/medium/low, there must be a bajillion combinations…
I saw the “bible” on Amazon, but ended up going with one that looks even more basic and also has good reviews. Something like “How to Instantpot”? We’ll see…
Thanks for all the tips!
All three of these are reliable, and I also like “this old gal” and pressurecookrecipes.com run by a couple (Amy and Jacky) who have run multiple tests with their recipes. I love their New York Cheesecake #17 (they made modifications until the 17th try came out the way they wanted. They also have a beginner’s guide, with videos.
We were just given a 6 quart instant pot by our kids for Christmas, so now have a ton to learn. I think it will be amazing for soups.
@O2BonCC – I think if you just start experimenting around you’ll get the hang of it. I use my IP all the time and rarely am following recipes. I know how long it takes to make a bowl of oatmeal, a bowl of rice, or a frozen chicken breast. Once you know the time frames for specific ingredients, you can plan around it. Some things hold up pretty well even if overcooked, other ingredients not so much-- they can be cooked separately or reserved and stirred in at the end. I really don’t have to think about the times much anymore. The cook times for something like a chicken breast or a potato are going to change a little with the size of whatever you are cooking, once you get the hang of it, you can pretty much eyeball it.
The only thing that still eludes me is artichokes.
You really don’t have to worry too much about the presets - a lot of the buttons don’t do anything other than set the time.
I think if you just keep in mind that it’s simply speeded up steam cooking (as opposed to stove-top steaming, not as compared to the microwave) – then you won’t run into problems.
I don’t use the slow cook function on it – and I rarely use the saute. (If I need to brown onions or meat for something that is going in the pot, I just find it a lot easier to do on the stovetop with my favorite nonstick pan).
Did water test. Am now trying to cook boneless, skinless chicken thighs with chicken broth. Will make some veggies and rice as other dishes. Neither of the young adults feels like dining out, so we are dining at home.
The main buttons I use are manual (ALL the time), saute (I use it often - I prefer to just have one pan/pot to wash!), slow cook (bought a simple glass lid on Amazon to use instead of the provided Instapot one) and yogurt - when making yogurt! I haven’t bothered much with the others: soup, meat, beans, etc. - most recipes just list the manual time for these recipes.
@HImom there are a ton of instantpot and chicken recipes that have rice in them…and veggies too. One pot cooking…and they are delicious!
For new instant pot users. I personally think while our natural inclination is to get to know how a device works by learning all the options/buttons, I think with the instant pot the best way to get to know it is to just try a few not too many step recipes.
I’m posting a few of my tried and true - and simple - recipes that I have made multiple times:
Stuffed Peppers https://www.copymethat.com/r/QSvKc8v/instant-pot-stuffed-bell-peppers/
Easy mushroom risotto https://www.copymethat.com/r/QSvKc8v/instant-pot-stuffed-bell-peppers/
Butternut squash soup https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/instant-pot-butternut-squash-soup/
FAMILY FAV! Tuscan Chicken Pasta https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-tuscan-chicken-pasta/
This one is great to learn about the saute button - I have made this using pork chops and I have made it using chicken - very, very good.
https://www.thekitchn.com/instant-pot-pork-chops-257222