From tips on speeding up cooking times to tips about how to protect your Instant Pot, this is a MUST READ for any Instant Pot owner.
Don’t have an Instant Pot! Why not?! The Instant Pot has been a game changer for my family.
I’ve never been so happy with a kitchen appliance before even my air fryer! Some meals take less than 5-minutes to make like my family’s favorite chicken tacos.
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Top Tips & Tricks from Instant Pot Users
#1 – Sauté Saves Time
Use the Sauté function to heat the pot and ingredients up as you are filling the pot. The pot will come to pressure and start cooking in about half the time or about 10 minutes.
Please note: We don’t recommend doing this if you are following a recipe since it could throw off your timing especially with baked goods.
#2 – Always Add Liquid
You must have at least one cup of liquid in the bottom of the Instant Pot liner pot (stainless steel pot) to create steam. If you are using thick sauce or tomatoes, you will need more than one cup.
#3 – Get Your Steam Just Right
When you are steaming vegetables and using a smaller bowl inside of the big pot, you will still need water underneath the small bowl. For steaming vegetables using the steam function, the ideal amount of water is 1/2 cup.
#4 – Let It Simmer
Roasts are better in the juice and using a natural pressure release.
#5 – Natural Pressure Release Your Meat
Meat is better when you use a natural pressure release for at least 10 minutes.
#6 – Make Some Gravy
After cooking a roast or meat, add thickener (like flour) to make a gravy.
#7 – Rice Button Confusion
The rice button is ONLY for white rice. Instructions for cooking other types of rice can be found in the manual.
#8 – Only You Can Prevent Instant Pot Fires
Do not keep your Instant Pot on the stove unless you are using a burner cover or stove top. We have a light tan marble one at our house and it is super helpful!!
#9 – Avoid Accidental Destruction
When you remove the stainless steel liner pot to wash, put a dry spoon or towel in the base. There are a ton of experienced Instant Pot users who destroy their Instant Pot accidentally by pouring food or water into the Instant Pot base without the inner pot.
#10 – Layer the Dish
Pasta dishes (like Spaghetti) need to be layered in and not stirred. Layer them in the following order: Liquid, meat, pasta, sauce on top.
Bonus Instant Pot Tip
Don’t overfill the pot! Overfilling the pot even just slightly can lead to a mess when you hit the release valve and excess food releases with the steam.
These Instant Pot tips and tricks were originally published on Our Family Code in May 2018.
