How To Get Started With Your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. After falling in love at first sight with our Instant Pot Pressure Cooker in 2016 we are sharing with you our words of wisdom. Lots of Instant Pot Hacks, top tips, tricks and the best ever Instant Pot recipes for beginners. Plus, much, much, more.
Table of Contents
How To Get StartedWith Your Instant Pot
Let me guess, you’ve arrived on this AMAZING Instant Pot food blog, because you want to know how to get started with your Instant Pot.
You want to know all about the jargon, what to cook first in the Instant Pot and why so many people fail to ever get it out of the box.
Well I am here to share with you everything I have learnt about the Instant Pot.
From when it first arrived in our kitchen on that cold November afternoon, to how we discovered which Instant Pot Accessories worked for us and what Instant Pot recipes are the easiest for beginners just starting out.
Get Your InstantPot Out Of The Box
Can I say that it starts with getting it out of the box? Asso many people don’t. They are the generation that remembers manual stove toppressure cookers exploding and are genuinely frightened of anything pressurecooker.
They are also the people that got their Instant Pot giftedto them and never had any plans to learn about Instant Pots and now wonder whaton earth to do with it.
Well, in my opinion, it is no worse than when you got your first slow cooker or your first microwave.
There are new things to learn and cooking is slightly different to the oven, but you soon get your head around it and realise just how delicious Instant Pot cooking can be.
When I think of whenI saw my Instant Pot, out of the box for the first time, my first impressions were:
- There is a lot of buttons
- Wow that’s BIG I can cook a lot of food in this (it was the 6)
- I have never made yoghurt in my life
But after using itfor a few years:
- I rarely use any buttons apart from saute and manual
- I can fill it and make Instant Pot freezer meals (I now have the 8)
- I still haven’t made yoghurt in it
It also reminds me that I MUST make yoghurt soon as I have had it so long and it seems awaste not to have made a single portion of yoghurt in it!
Do The InstantPot Water Test!
The next thing on the list after getting it swiftly out ofthe box is to do the famous water test. Basically, the water test is cookingsome water at pressure to make sure your Instant Pot is working properly.
It takes a minute if that, yet it freaks a lot of newbies out, when they first get the Instant Pot.
Think of it like when you have your hair coloured. You go and do a patch test to make sure you’re not allergic to the colour. You can skip this, but there will always be a risk that it will go wrong.
Here is a step by step graphic showing you how to do the water test:
Instant PotAccessories
Then comes the famous Instant Pot Accessories.Lots and lots of people will be telling you that you need several differentitems and you won’t know who to listen to.
Let me start by sayingthat we use the most:
As well as this I would recommend a spare sealing ring as you don’t want to be left without yours working and having to wait for a new one to be delivered.
As well as this we have an extensive Instant Pot Accessories guide here for you to read.
My advice to you, is to think about the kind of food you plan to cook in the Instant Pot and plan your accessories around this.
Instant Pot eBooks
Next on the list is your reading material. Aka our InstantPot Pressure Cooker Ebooks. We have a couple to choose from and they are bothfantastic reads.
One of them covers our top 101 Instant Pot Recipes for beginners that covers a lot of the basics including a more in depth look at the water test.
The recipes also includes everything from vegetables to pasta to rice to meat to fish. We cook a LOT of recipes from our Instant Pot Beginners recipes every day.
As well as this we also have our Instant Pot archives. Where you can download into ebook format all our recipes that we have for the Instant Pot. You can also upgrade and get updates for life.
Instant Pot Freezer Meals is our latest addition to our ebooks collection. It teaches you how to make 15 frugal Instant Pot meals in 2.5 hours and is our favourite product so far.
We recommend:
- 101 Instant Pot Recipes For Beginners
- The Instant Pot Recipe Archives
- Instant Pot Frugal Freezer Meals
- Instant Pot Curry Freezer Meals
Instant PotPressure Cooker Recipes To Cook First
It is hard to drill down, when you have 100+ Instant Pot recipesand choose just 20 BUT we did it andthese below are our all-time favourite Instant Pot recipes, especially for the beginner.
But you don’t have to have the Instant Pot brand for them to work for you. They can also be used with the ninja foodi pro, King Pro Pressure Cooker or a different sized Instant Pot.
For reference, we have both the 6 litre and the 8 litre Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. If we could choose just one to use it would be the 8 litre.
Instant Pot Broccoli
The first ever vegetable I cooked in the Instant Pot and inmy opinion, the nicest. It is quick to cook at just 2 minutes and perfect onthe side of your meat or fish. You can also cook fish at the same time.
Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
An early recipe for us to make in the Instant Pot and so much quicker than how long it takes with more traditional methods.
If you love bangers and mash, then cook the potatoes in the Instant Pot and the sausages in the air fryer.
Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
If you love baked potatoes but hate the fact that you haveto wait hours and hours for them in the oven, then you will love Instant PotBaked Potatoes. A true genius of the Instant Pot for speed.
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup
Do you want to cook something easy, beyond potatoes and veg?then you need to make soup. Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup is delicious and oneof my favourites. I just wish I made it for frequently.
Instant Pot Potato Corn Chowder
I am hooked on potato corn chowder in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. This is because it makes a lazy dinner for when I can’t be bothered to cook.
You throw all the ingredients into the pressure cooker and then you have a warming comforting winter soup in 5 MINUTES.
Instant Pot Paleo Sauce
For the health-conscious person, I love paleo sauce in theInstant Pot. It takes just a few minutes and then you have a healthy sauce youcan use for everything. It can replace your cheese sauce, white wine sauce,peppercorn sauce and so on.
We freeze it into small little portions and then grab onewhen we need it. It also cooks very easily from frozen in the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Cream Of Mushroom Soup
Want to be healthy and avoid processed foods? Get sick of every recipe calling for cream of mushroom soup?
Well this is how to make your own homemade version in the Instant Pot. Freeze it for later for whenever a recipe calls for a can of mushroom soup.
Instant Pot Boiled Eggs
Another classic beginner recipe in the Instant Pot is boiled eggs. They taste so good, are perfectly cooked and so easy to peel.
But there are not the only egg recipes that are a genius inthe Instant Pot I would also recommend:
- The Egg Loaf
- Potato Salad
Instant Pot Pork Roast
A pork roast in the Instant Pot is delicious. The pork is tender, and you can’t stop on just one slice of it. I am guilty of going back for seconds and thirds.
Your pork roast can be cooked from frozen, bulked up and you could also cook a pork roast dinner together in the Instant Pot if you wanted to.
Instant Pot Meatloaf
You can also make the American classic of meatloaf in theInstant Pot too. I have done so several times and each time it has turned outperfectly. It is also much quicker than cooking it in the oven.
Instant Pot Beef Shin
I love that the Instant Pot can make all your cheap cuts of meat taste tender. Beef shin is a wonderful example of this.
We have beef shin in the Instant Pot whenever we get some clearance beef shin. Sadly, that is not as often as we would like.
Instant Pot Beef Stew Scraps
I also love our beef stew scraps in the Instant Pot. It works by putting together all those super cheap cuts of beef and cooking them in the Instant Pot, until you have a tender stew.
It’s the best part of the Instant Pot and why its such a big money saver.
A classic old school recipe, you will love our Instant Pot makeover of beef tips and mash.
It also comes with its own gravy made from the beef stock. We love to have beef tips for a mid-week dinner with the kids.
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken is a recipe worth trying. It can be done from fresh or frozen whole chickens and is so good.
You can also mass cook them and then shred the chicken for meal prep or freezer meals.
We have rotisserie chicken mainly when we have forgotten toget some meat out for dinner!
Instant Pot Chocolate Lava Cake
I have a HUGE sweettooth and I can’t turn down chocolate lava cake. If you are unsure of times orwant to do a fool proof version, then you will love our Instant Pot ChocolateLava Cake.
Instant Pot Strawberry Cheesecake
Out of all the cheesecakes my favourite is strawberry. Hereis how I make perfect cheesecake in the Instant Pot. It is all beginnerfriendly as I started making it when I had only owned my Instant Pot 1-2months.
Instant Pot Popcorn
I love making popcorn in the Instant Pot and it is so easy.It pops away for you quickly and efficiently and then just load it up with yourfavourite seasonings.
I love adding to mine cheese, salt or just caramel.
Instant Pot Caramel Rice Pudding
If you love rice pudding and caramel, then let me introduce you to my Instant Pot Caramel Rice Pudding. Super delicious and you will want to eat this every night after dinner once you try it.
As well as these we also have some more Instant Pot recipes featured below in our useful reads section.
Instant PotUseful Reads
Beyond our all-time favourite beginner Instant Pot recipes,we also have a few other excellent reads to help you get started with yourInstant Pot.
- 101 Instant Pot Paleo Recipes
- 101 Instant Pot Beef Recipes
- My First Year Of Instant Pot Cooking
- How To Convert Any Recipe To The Instant Pot
- How To Clean Your Instant Pot
- Instant Pot 6 Litre Vs 8 Litre
- Instant Pot Terminology
- The Ultimate Guide To The Instant Pot
- The Instant Pot PIP Method
- How To Reheat Food In The Instant Pot
- How To Convert Slow Cooker Freezer Meals To The Instant Pot
- The Best Instant Pot Freezer Meals Accessories
- Instant Pot Accessories
Instant Pot Hacks
I also wanted to share with you some awesome Instant Pot Hacks. Just to give you ahead start with your Instant Pot. Information I wish I had known before I gotmy Instant Pot and to have given me peace of mind.
#1 Manual vs PressureCook
It always feels like these Instant Pots and other pressure cookers are constantly changing their designs. A bit like when you go to the supermarket and it annoys you when they change their layout.
My Instant Pot says manual, but many of the younger versionsnow call it pressure cook. Other brands also call it pressure cook or somethingsimilar, so remember this when a recipe calls for a button you don’t have.
You also don’t need to use all these different buttons, justwhat makes you feel comfortable.
#2 Instant Pot AccessoriesSizes
You read an Instant Pot Accessories post on Google and it calls for a 7 inch spring form pan. This is standard for the 6 litre or 6 quart. Yet if you have the 8 litre you’d want an 8 inch or go even smaller for the Instant Pot mini.
It is best to measure your Instant Pot with your own bakingdishes before you go out and buy accessories as you don’t want to get the wrongsize.
#3 The Sauté Warms UpFAST
The sauté setting on the Instant Pot reminds me of how hotan electric hob gets, and it stays that hot. Unlike when you use gas hobs athome, it normally cools quicker. If you’re not used to cooking with electricbare this in mind.
Sometimes I take the inner pot out, as the food is justcooking too fast on sauté.
#4 You’ll Want To SellStuff
There is a lot of different kitchen gadgets that we foundthat the Instant Pot replaces. If you’re on the fence and think the Instant Pottakes up a lot of room. Then imagine it after a clear out once you have got ridof a lot of your stuff.
We found we sold mostof the following:
- Soup Maker
- Popcorn Maker
- Yoghurt Maker
- Slow Cooker
- Steamer
- Poacher
- Rice Cooker
- Food Warmer
Though out of those replacements above, well love it themost as a plan B for the steamer. Those 3 in one steamers, take up so muchroom, but that is no longer a problem.
#5 The Instant PotCan Make Freezer Meals
Forget making freezer meals in the slow cooker, the Instant Pot is the new gadget on the block!
I made more than 15 freezer meals in 2.5 hours for the Instant Pot and it amazed me with its capabilities.
You can try out our freezer meals below that we did on a budget with the Instant Pot:
#6 You Can Be AsHealthy Or Unhealthy As You Like
The Instant Pot is fantastic for healthy cooking. You can steam broccoli, quickly cook shredded chicken from frozen and make the most delicious warming beef stew.
BUT it can also make cheesecake, turn condensed milk into naughty caramel.
I would never call the Instant Pot a healthy eating gadget,more a gadget for saving time and money.
It is just up to you whether that means eating healthy or unhealthily.
#7 Don’t Cook FoodDirectly In The Bottom
You have an inner pot for your Instant Pot that goes directly inside the main shell of the Instant Pot. You must cook your food in this.
If you don’t its like cooking in the oven without an oven shelf or a dish and is heading for disaster and you’re likely to break it.
I get that accidents happen, and we sometimes forget.
If this happens, I recommend you remove it from electricitystraight away, remove everything you put in it and wait for it to dry out andhope for the best.
When we took it camping last summer our 1 year old keptpouring his milk into it, but it wasn’t turned on, so the damage wasreversable.
If you damage the inner pot, you can buy a new one on Amazon.
#8 Lots Of ReplacementParts
It’s a bit like when you damage your television. You canreplace little bits of it, and it will be as good as new, without having tostart again with your Instant Pot.
Many Instant Pot readers of ours have replaced their Instant Pot inner pot and their sealing ring.
#9 Little LiquidRequired
When you pressure cook in the Instant Pot you hardly need any liquid at all. The average recipe, even when steaming food in the Instant Pot, requires just 250ml of water (1 cup).
Some recipes require slightly less but this is the comment amount.
You can also replace water with tinned tomatoes in a lot of recipes too, which is how I prefer to cook Instant Pot Frozen Shredded Chicken.
But note the more liquid used the longer it takes for theInstant Pot to go to pressure.
#10 Milk Is A Disaster
Whatever you do, don’t send the Instant Pot to pressure witha lot of milk. It will explode as soon as you open it, will often burn and willbecome your Instant Pot recipe from hell.
Instead if you need to use milk add it later.
I find that a small amount of coconut milk is fine during cooking though as a plan B.
#11 Instant PotJargon
There is a lot of Instant Pot jargon that you often seebeing used.
The most famous is:
- QPR = Quick Pressure Release
- NPR = Natural Pressure Release
- PIP = Pot In Pot Cooking
- Venting = Letting the steam escape from the Instant Pot
- Sealing = Letting the steam seal into the Instant Pot
We have a complete list of the InstantPot Terminology here for you to get your head around it all.
#12 Deglazing Your InstantPot
After you have finished sautéing your meat or fish, it is important to deglaze the pot. This allows the pot to clean the sticky stuff from the bottom and prevents the Instant Pot burn warning from coming up.
Back to point #3 it gets very hot after a sauté and adding liquid and scraping the bottom stops it from burning your food.
I often do this with some wine, coconut milk or a can oftinned tomatoes.
#13 It Takes A WhileTo Come To Pressure
When you start using the Instant Pot, what you don’t realiseis how long it takes to come to pressure. That recipe that takes 20 minutes tocook is really 30 minutes thanks to taking 10 minutes to pressure up.
The time for food to come to pressure can vary a lot betweenrecipes, BUT I have found that the averagefood takes 8 minutes and when the Instant Pot is very full it can go up to 20minutes.
#14 YES You Can Cook FromFrozen
I often cook from frozen in my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.But there is the 20% rule to take into account.
Always add on 20% of cooking time to adjust for cookingfrozen food. This is for when you want to cook your favourite fish, meat orfreezer food directly from the freezer.
If it would normally take 10 minutes, then add an extra 2minutes or an extra 4 minutes for a 20-minute recipe and so on.
BUT frozenvegetables work the opposite because they have already been blanched prior tobeing frozen. With frozen vegetables I always divide it by 2-3.
My favourite broccoli now takes 0 minutes instead of 2minutes and cauliflower can drop from 3 minutes to 0 minutes.
#15 Instant Pot RecipesDiffer A Lot
This must be the scariest thing for new Instant Pot users.How can you have chicken breasts with a 100 different cook times, among 100different food blogs?
Well it happens and each of them all claim theirs is theright way. MINE IS CORRECT OF COURSE!
The same can be said for eggs, meat, fish, cheesecake and soon.
I just recommend that you try out a few and see which works for you and practice on cheap food. You don’t want to ruin fillet steak or lobster.
#16 Expect Trial& Error
Some Instant Pot recipes will work perfectly for you andothers will be terrible. You can also follow a recipe to the letter, butbecause yours took longer to go to pressure, or you used different food quantities,it can alter the end result.
I just suggest that you practice some trial and error andthen go with your favourite Instant Pot recipes that you have developed overtime.
#17 It Is The BiggestMoney Saving Kitchen Gadget Ever
I am a huge money saving fan. I get my kids Christmas presents during Black Friday or through Facebook Groups.
The husband said I am tight, but I just say that I am good with money.
The Instant Pot is a perfect example of that. Not only canyou always grab one during the sales for less money, but it shouts out moneysaving dream.
You can bulk cook meals using clearance food, make your ownjam, make your own yoghurt, reheat your leftovers and so much more.
I would estimate that the average family, if you cook withit daily could reduce their grocery bill by 30%, if not more. Our own grocerybill compared to when we got our first Instant Pot in 2016 is down by 45%.
#18 It Is Perfect ForTravelling With
During the summer of 2018, I wanted to prove that you could have an amazing holiday on a budget. We stayed in 8 different European countries in one summer.
Our Instant Pot came with us and did the bulk of the cooking. It did us proud and allowed us to keep our budget down too.
It got used in hotel rooms, campsites and in my aunt’skitchen. Let’s just say she had never seen one before and fell in love.
#19 The Slow CookerIs Super Slow
Think of the slow cooker function on the Instant Pot as tripleas slow on your regular slow cooker. Its okay if it was something that doesn’ttake long, that you want to leave overnight, buts that’s it.
BUT I love the slowcooker setting on the Instant Pot for keeping my food warm.
#20 The Instant PotNeeds Extra Seasoning
When you cook food in the Instant Pot, because of the pressureit can reduce flavour. This means that’s its important to taste your foodbefore serving, then adjust with extra salt and pepper at the end if needed.
Also, if cooking with wine it dilutes it, so add a little extra.
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