Adventures with an Instant Pot

I got an Instant Pot for Christmas! If you haven’t heard, Instant Pots are all the rage right now. It is a 7-in-1 multi-cooker that acts as a slow cooker, saute pan, pressure cooker, steamer, rice cooker, yogurt maker, and warmer.

It also has 14 smart built-in programs. With a touch of a button, you can set it to make Soup/Broth, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Sauté/Searing, Steam, Rice, Porridge, Multigrain, Slow Cook, Keep-Warm, Yogurt, Pasteurize & Pressure Cook. I have a slow cooker that I love using. But I think the IP will soon take it’s place because the IP is like a speedy version of a slow cooker! It can even cook frozen meats!

So far I’ve used my IP to make quinoa, a pot roast, and BBQ chicken chili, all of which came out delicious. Everything so far has been really easy, although I must admit at first I was a bit nervous about my IP exploding under pressure. However, there are many built-in safety features that prevent any mishaps.

To my surprise, these pots have a cult-like following. There are social media groups dedicated to them, one with 1 million+ members. To have this amount of support for a cooking method/product is comforting because whenever I am stumped on an IP issue, I just head to the internet. There are thousands of blogs and how-tos written about this thing, so it’s very easy to find what you’re looking for. The IP may be intimidating at first, but read the manual once and you will be a lot more comfortable the next time you use it.

Here are some posts I found helpful when learning about my IP.

Instant Pot 101 for Beginners: facebook group
10 Things to Know About Your Instant Pot
When to Use Quick Release or Natural Release
Skinny Taste Instant Pot Recipes

I have a feeling this contraption is going to change my cooking. As someone who hates meal prepping, I’m already finding the IP as an easy solution! Do you have an IP? Feel free to share some of your favorite tips and recipes down below!