How to use an Instant Pot for fast and safe pressure cooking, plus easy recipes to get started

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• With an Instant Pot, you can significantly reduce the cooking times of meals, make flavorful one-pot dishes with minimal effort, and use your unit for a variety of other functions, including slow cooking, sautéing, canning, and more.
• If you don't have an electric pressure cooker yet, we recommend choosing from the variety of models offered by Instant Pot, the company that popularized this appliance and continues to produce exceptional units.
• Follow this step-by-step guide on how Instant Pots work so you can easily use one at home.
• Read more: The best Instant Pots and electric pressure cookers

 

Pulled pork, ribs, shredded chicken, and beef roasts are always great meals that require minimal effort and can feed plenty of people at an affordable price. However, it can take eight hours or more of babysitting a pork shoulder before it's properly cooked and easy to pull apart. Most of us don't have that time or patience. This is where a good Instant Pot comes in handy.

Also referred to as electric multicookers and electric pressure cookers, Instant Pots are replacing single-function appliances, like rice cookers, in kitchens everywhere. Their ability to easily steam, warm, sauté, and slow cook your food set them apart. Some models can even make yogurt and air fry.

What is an Instant Pot?

Much like you would refer to tissues as Kleenex or a slow cooker as a Crock-Pot, Instant Pot is the name of a specific brand that makes the most popular multi-use electric pressure cooker. We will use Instant Pot and electric pressure cooker interchangeably in this article since that is what is done in common usage.

Instant Pots use heated liquid in a sealed chamber to create high levels of pressure to cook food faster. Since the pot is sealed, minimal moisture is lost, and food retains nutrients and flavor. Many manufacturers claim their pressure cookers can cook food 70% faster, but it all depends on what you're making. For instance, you can cut the time needed to make pulled pork from over eight hours to just one hour.

What can you cook in an Instant Pot?

Since Instant Pots require liquid to get up to pressure, pressure cooking is mainly used to cook moist foods. These include beans, soups, meats, squash, mashed potatoes, stocks, and more. In general, you'll want to avoid pressure cooking fried, delicate, or crispy items. Noodles can also give Instant Pots a hard time.

However, there are other functions that Instant Pots can perform that may be better suited for these foods. For instance, the wildly popular Instant Pot DUO60 has presets that go far beyond just pressure cooking and include everything from slow cooking and porridge to steaming and poultry settings.

For the uninitiated, pressure cooking may sound scary. And, the stovetop pressure cookers of yesteryear could be dangerous as the quick, unexpected release of pressure might destroy everything in its path resulting in an emergency room visit and kitchen remodel. Fortunately, with today's electric pressure cookers, there's virtually no chance your unit will malfunction and cause damage. Most units have several fail-safes that regulate the amount of pressure and how it's released.

That said, there are a few precautions you should take. Make sure you set up your Instant Pot in a safe place. Many people are tempted to put their electric pressure cooker on the stove, but we've seen enough pictures of Instant Pots melted and mangled from someone turning on the burner to caution you against this location.

You should also avoid keeping your Instant Pot where it might fall into water or people might trip over the electrical cord. Also, try to avoid using an extension cord with the Instant Pot, but if necessary, make sure the cord is rated for at least 12 amps and 120 volts.

What do you need to use an Instant Pot?

The accessories you use with your electric pressure cooker are up to you. I do most of my pressure cooking with the Ninja Foodi. The appliance came with a dual-layer reversible rack and small silicone oven mitts for taking the pot out of the appliance while it's still hot. I've found these accessories are quite useful, and I rarely need others.

However, depending on what you plan on using your unit for, you may want to pick up additional accessories. Amazon has hundreds of pressure cooker accessories. This kit includes steamer baskets, a springform pan, a dish clip that works well for canning, silicone oven mitts, and magnetic cooking time cheat sheets.

One of the biggest complaints about Instant Pots is that the sealing ring in the lid retains flavors, which can affect how your meals taste. If you plan on making a variety of meals with dramatically different flavors, you might consider buying extra sealing rings.

Also, a glass lid can come in handy when you use your Instant Pot's non-pressure cooking functions. This will allow you to keep tabs on your meal without letting heat out.

If you're looking for meal inspiration, there are several Instant Pot cookbooks. "The Ultimate Instant Pot Cookbook" is a particularly popular option.

How to cook using an Instant Pot

For a quick and dirty guide, it's as easy as this: 

1. Sauté your meat (if necessary).
2. Press the Cancel button and add your other ingredients.
3. Place the lid on and lock it in place.
4. Select the pressure (high and low are usually the only options) and time you would like.
5. Make sure the valve is in the sealed position.
6. Press the Start button to begin cooking.
7. Once the time runs out, release the pressure.
8. Once the pressure is released, open the lid and enjoy.

If using your Instant Pot still seems daunting and you need more detailed instructions on how to use it, we've got you covered.

Once you've found a safe place to put your Instant Pot – I keep mine on a kitchen counter away from other appliances – take a moment to gently handwash the removable pot and the interior of the lid before you first use it. Next, plug in the unit.

If you are using meat or vegetables like garlic and onions that benefit from browning, you'll want to use the sauté function first. With some recipes you can skip the searing – shredded chicken from frozen comes to mind – but for the most part, you want to brown or sear your meat first to add and lock-in flavors. Press the Stop or Cancel button to stop the sautéing, and add your other ingredients. If there is an excessive amount of grease left in the pot, drain it before continuing.

 You always need at least half a cup of liquid when building pressure so make sure your recipe includes it or add it irrespective of the recipe. Water works fine, or you can add more flavor by using a broth or stock (here's an easy how-to). Then, put the lid on. There are usually arrows and a little lock icon to show you how to do this properly. The lid must be locked for the cooker to build pressure.

Once the lid is in place, select the pressure level you want based on your recipe or the manufacturer's recommendation. Many units have low and high pressure. You'll use high pressure 90 percent of the time. The exception tends to be eggs, which cook better at lower pressure. At this time, you'll also set your cook time.

Before you press Start to begin the cooking process, make sure the steam valve is in the closed position. If it's left open, the pressure will never build up, and your meal will take much longer to cook.

Once the time runs down, most units will switch to a "Keep Warm" mode. This is when you need to decide whether to release the pressure manually or naturally. With the natural release, you keep the steam valve sealed and allow the pressure to dissipate naturally. This can take up to an hour or more and will continue to cook your food.

With the manual release, you use a long utensil to push the valve open. You'll want to use a long item to do this because the valve will immediately start releasing steam, and you don't want to scald your hand. Manual release finishes the cooking job faster. I usually go with a combination depending on when I want to eat and how delicate the meal is. For pulled pork, the extra cooking time can make the pork break down easier so I may let it sit for 20 minutes or so before releasing the pressure. With eggs, you'll want to release the pressure quickly to avoid overcooking.

You'll know the pressure is released when steam stops coming out of the valve. That means it's time for you to open up the Instant Pot and dig in.

How to wash your Instant Pot

When you're doing dishes after dinner, be sure to remove and thoroughly clean the sealing ring to ensure it doesn't hold onto flavors. You can do this quickly by hand-washing using a mild detergent.

For a deeper clean, add a cup of water, a cup of white vinegar, and a few lemon peels to the clean inner pot and run the unit on Steam for two minutes. Release the pressure naturally and let the lid and ring air dry.

Dishes to try

If you're ready to put your Instant Pot to the test and need some flavorful inspiration, here are a few of my favorite meals:

Boiled water: Okay, so boiled water isn't a meal. But, it is a good, low-stakes way to get familiar with your unit. Some models recommend that you try this before ever using your pressure cooker for food. Simply put one cup of water in the pot and select Steam or just pressure cook on high. Set the time for two minutes. Once the time runs down, you can release the steam naturally or manually. That wasn't so hard, was it?

Cauliflower soup: I follow this keto-friendly recipe and leave out the bacon to keep it healthier and speed up the process. First, sauté the onion, celery, and garlic in the pot with bacon grease or another fat. Then, deglaze the pan with chicken broth, add cauliflower florets, and pressure cook on high for five minutes. Release the pressure naturally. Once the pressure is reduced, I pour the contents in my blender along with sour cream and cheese and blend until I'm happy with the consistency.

Chili lime chicken: This is a great weeknight meal that you can make even if you forgot to defrost the chicken. I use the Our Best Bites recipe and sub in and out ingredients to fit my tastes. Just add the chicken breasts, garlic, and spices to the pot, cook on high pressure for 10 minutes or more (longer if you are cooking from frozen), release the pressure naturally, and shred the chicken with two forks. The results can be used in tacos, salads, sandwiches, or other dishes.

Chili: If you don't have the time to simmer chili all day, using an Instant Pot to do the job produces impressive results. I use this recipe, but I finish the meal by adding a can of beer and having it simmer on Sauté mode for about 15 minutes. Since a good chili is like jazz, be sure to improvise with ingredients that fit your tastes.

Pot roast: I like this recipe, but no matter how you plan on cooking a roast, I recommend you start by seasoning it well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and searing all sides in an oiled, burning hot cast iron skillet. You'll want to open the windows and turn on the fans for this. If you don't have a skillet, sautéing in the pressure cooker will do.

Extra Instant Pot tips

• No need to thaw meats: Since the Instant Pot cooks meat so quickly, the temperature of frozen meat is not in the "danger zone" of food safety long enough to be a concern. This means you can pressure cook meat from frozen. Just add five to 10 minutes to the cooking time.
• Make slow cooker recipes faster: I've found that using an electric pressure cooker to make slow cooker meals is a lot faster and tastes about the same – sometimes even better. If you have a meal that takes eight hours in the slow cooker, count on an hour in the pressure cooker.
• Count on recipes taking 30 minutes longer: Most recipes don't factor in the time it takes for the pressure to build up and release. This adds significantly to the total time needed to make a meal. Though times may vary, you can count on the pressure build-up and release adding about half an hour.
• Use a cool towel: That said, a cool towel applied to the lid of an Instant Pot can help it cool down faster and thus decrease the pressure faster so you can get to enjoy your meal.