20 Family-Friendly Instant Pot Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What foods should not be cooked in an Instant Pot? ›

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.

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.

Generally, a meal cooked in a 6-quart model feeds three to six people. Benefits of an 8-quart Instant Pot: The 8-quart models, on the other hand, are ideal when you're feeding a large family, cooking for a party, or cooking in batches for your weekly meal prep.

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.

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

The 6 Quart size is ideal for 4-6 people, depending on what you're cooking. The 10 Quart is great for meal prep, large batch cooking, and feeding a small crowd - it can serve up to 10 people!

Anywhere between a 5- to 7-quart Dutch oven is the right all-purpose size for most cooking tasks. It has high walls that prevent spillage and enough surface area to brown meat for a braise, but it's not so big that you need help hauling it in and out of the oven. It's also the perfect size for bringing to the table.

The Instant Pot will begin to cool down and release pressure all on its own. Upon the completion of the cooking cycle you will hear the Instant Pot "beep" to signal it has completed the cooking cycle and it will automatically begin the Natural Pressure Release process.

If you are a single person just starting to meal prep, I would purchase a four or six set of meal prep containers. With four you could prep most of your lunches for the week, six would allow you to do that and a few dinners.

Is cooking in a pressure cooker unhealthy? ›

The bad news is, when starchy foods are pressure cooked, they form acrylamide, a harmful chemical that, when consumed on a regular basis may lead to health issues like cancer, infertility, and neurological disorders.

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

Both slow cookers and pressure cookers do a good job of tenderizing tough meat, but each makes meat more edible in a different way. A pressure cooker is an enclosed pot with a lid that locks to form an airtight seal.