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

FAQs

Can you make everything in an Instant Pot? ›

Instant Pots are terrific for some dishes. Others are a big no-no. If you own an Instant Pot, you know how convenient it is when it comes to cutting down the time it takes to cook food, all through the magic of heat and steam. But while your Instant Pot has kitchen prowess, it can't cook everything safely.

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.

Yes, it is safe to cook frozen food in a pressure cooker or an electric pressure cooker like an Instant Pot.

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.

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.

Place the frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot inner pot. If you are cooking more than one, make sure they are separated to achieve even cooking throughout. To separate frozen chicken breasts, place them in cool water until they have thawed enough to pull apart. Add one cup of chicken broth to the 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.

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.

What is the disadvantage of Instant Pot? ›

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.

But just because this versatile gadget can technically do it all, that doesn't mean it should. In fact, there are a handful of foods that just shouldn't be pressure-cooked. 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.

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.