19 Easy (Real Food) Instant Pot Recipes for Hesitant Beginners (2024)

FAQs

What should I do first time with Instant Pot? ›

When it comes to breaking your Instant Pot in, it's a good idea to start with some basic foods and simple meals you're already familiar with, then slowly expand your Instant Pot repertoire from there. Try making staples like eggs, sweet potatoes, rice, or lentils using just the pressure cooker function.

Among them are dairy and fried foods, as well as burgers and steaks. These foods are not Instant-Pot-friendly for a multitude of reasons. And while Instant Pots are a useful tool when baking cheesecake, custard, or mousse, it's definitely not the best method for other types of desserts.

Third, while conventional cooking forms intensify flavors by boiling off water, the pressure cooker keeps moisture in, which means your flavors can get diluted. This is why many recipes call for cooking in broth instead of water and why heavy rubs and spice mixtures are common in many Instant Pot recipes.

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.

Instant Pot RIO 6-quart Multicooker

Instant Pot has always had a great basic model perfect for beginners, and the RIO continues this tradition. Allstar Nicole Russell tested the 6-quart version, using it for her tried-and-true Instant Pot recipes, and gave it high marks.

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.

Just like in a slow cooker, most dairy products such as cheese, milk and sour cream will curdle in an Instant Pot, no matter if you use the pressure cooking setting or the slow cooking setting. Add these ingredients after the dish cooks or avoid making the recipe in the Instant Pot altogether.

Things that respond well to hot-fast cooking include chicken breasts, pork loin, pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin, tri-tip, ribeye, and any steak-like cut. Most fish and many kinds of seafood also respond well to searing at high heat for short periods of time—tuna steak comes to mind. (There are low-slow fish!

What is a beginner chef called? ›

A commis or junior chef is an entry-level chef who works under chefs de partie. Since they are often kitchen professionals who have only recently completed or are still undertaking culinary training, they shadow station chefs to learn more about kitchen responsibilities.

Even though some studies suggest that pressure cooking isn't the best way to preserve nutrients in food, no research exists to suggest that pressure cookers of any model or brand pose health risks. If you're a fan of your Instant Pot, don't worry: You can continue to safely use your appliance without worry.

As recipe developer Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge notes in the Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe on Tasting Table, "Be careful not to stir the raw spaghetti. It'll result in a mushy pasta." Instant Pot pasta recipes will say in which order to add the ingredients.

Before first time use

Clean the pressure cooker with a sponge using a mild detergent or soapy water and 2 or 3 drops of vinegar, before using for the first time. Any oil adhering to the cooker will yellow and harden if it is exposed to heat before the oil is cleaned off and will be difficult to remove.

The pot requires a preheating cycle.

While an Instant Pot cooks food faster than the conventional stovetop or oven, its inner pot undergoes a preheating cycle of 10 to 15 minutes, allowing the unit to pressurize properly before food is added.