Instant pots have dominated the home cooking scene for years for good reason: there are so many tasty and healthy Instant Pot recipes you can make with the beloved device. This ingenious appliance is capable of doing a lot, from preparing dinner at any time to being a key player in meal preparation planning. The Instant Pot is perhaps best known for its pressure cooking feature, which uses large amounts of pressure to cook everything from meat to vegetables faster than normal. (Or should we say instantly?) But this device also has a bunch of other cool features that make it even more of a kitchen ninja.
However, we will expose the quick cooking capabilities of Instant Pot in one minute. First, let’s talk about the other benefits of adding delicious, filling, easy, and healthy Instant Pot recipes to your repertoire. Beyond the fact that it saves a lot of time as it reduces cooking time, Instant Pots can also make cleaning much faster and easier. You won’t end up with a sink full of dishes when everything is done in one pot. (This is the case with most, but not all, Instant Pot recipes.)
The tool is also extremely useful on hot days when you prefer not to turn on the oven or stove, because as a small, insulated device, it’s not going to release a ton of heat into your kitchen. (And there are so many great summer Instant Pot recipes that will help you use it for this express purpose.)
One more fantastic advantage of the Instant Pot? You may find yourself better able to cook more of your meals and snacks at home when it’s much quicker and easier. (You may also feel inspired to make dishes you wouldn’t normally make because of the reduced time commitment.) Now, let’s talk about all the healthy Instant Pot recipes at your fingertips, plus the cases where you might want to skip the Instant Pot and whether the Instant Pot is ideal for promoting healthy and enjoyable eating.
What can you cook in an Instant Pot?
Animal proteins (such as beef and chicken), grains, beans and legumes, various vegetables, yogurt, desserts, hard-boiled eggs, oatmeal, stews, curries, stews and more can be cooked beautifully in an instant pot.
Many busy home chefs especially love this little appliance because Instant Pot dinners drastically reduce the cooking time of dishes that normally have to simmer for a long time, such as beef stew, shredded pork, Bolognese sauce, chicken broth, and slow-cooked chicken recipes. But you can also make almost any meal or meal preparation component that you would normally cook on the stove.
Don’t forget, though, that pressure cooking is just one of Instant Pot’s many features (at least six, depending on the model). Slow cook, stir-fry and steam functions are equally versatile for preparing delicious Instant Pot meals, while more specialized environments (such as rice and yogurt preparation, and boiling eggs) will make specific cooking tasks a breeze. Because why do one thing when you can do them all?
What should you not cook in an Instant Pot?
Even though there are a
lot of things you can do with an Instant Pot, there are also a handful of ingredients that can’t handle pressure very well, such as pasta, dairy, and crunchy foods. Delicate pasta can be easily cooked and disintegrated; dairy products (such as creamy sauces) can curdle or separate; And crunchy things (like croutons and nuts) can get soaked. Often, you can avoid the problem by waiting to add certain ingredients until all the other parts have been cooked. For example, you can finish a soup with a generous dose of cream, or use the sauté feature for crispy bacon, then set it aside and finally add it back to your plate at the end.
