Anyone still using the Instant Pot?

[Anonymous]

Pulled chicken, rice, congee, egg bites, soup

[Anonymous]

We use ours at least once a week:

Rice
Indian dishes (tons of these - lentil dishes, potato/cauliflower, chicken korma, etc.)
Risotto (amazing and super simple - no stirring!)
Sweet potato chili (the sweet potato does not get mushy like in a crockpot)
Shredded chicken for tacos
White chicken chili
Easy lasagna (this is less good than an oven-baked lasagna, but still good and way less time)

We have found food in the instant pot tastes way better than crockpot recipes. It doesn't fill the same need, because you can't set it up in the morning and come home to dinner, but the food tastes better.

I don't really understand the comments about being flavorless. There's a sautee function - if you're cooking meat you should sautee first to brown it and get some flavor in whatever sauce you're making. If you're using garlic, onions, etc. you can easily sautee to create flavor like you would on the stove. I'm sure there are a lot of bad recipes out there on the internet, but if you get a good instant pot cookbook it's a great way to make quick and healthy dinners.

[Anonymous]

I use my instant pot to cook:

Rice
Beans
Occasionally baked potatoes
Beef stroganoff
Corned beef

And other large cuts of meat…carnitas, barbacoa, etc.

Not sure how folks are getting flavorless meat out of the Instant Pot…

[Anonymous]

Boiled eggs, pulled pork, chickpeas (for hummus or for roasting in the oven with spices, to use as a snack.)

[Anonymous]

I’ll go for weeks without using it, and then use it 3 times in a week. It is indispensable for what it does. For soups, I even make the broth in it first, before throwing everything together for the soup itself. In summer, my garden is overflowing with tomatoes so I’m constantly making tomato things with it. Here’s most of what I make:

Almost all our soups-chicken noodle, beef barley, turkey barley, tomato
Chili-both classic and white bean/chicken
Stewed tomatoes
Tomato sauce
Lots of East Asian braises-Chinese style beef, Japanese style pork belly, Hong Kong style braises
Brazilian feijoada
Brazilian style black beans
Ribs-when DH isn’t around to smoke them
Potato salad
Shredded meats-chicken, Mexican style beef barbacoa
Hard boiled eggs

[Anonymous]

Yogurt
Rice
Hard boiled eggs
Black beans
Lentils

Lots of Indian curries, pulao, biryani, daal
Soup. One of my favorites has sausage, lentils, chard or collard greens. Chili is also really good.
Pork chile verde.
Pot roast.

[Anonymous]

We use ours at least once a week:

Rice
Indian dishes (tons of these - lentil dishes, potato/cauliflower, chicken korma, etc.)
Risotto (amazing and super simple - no stirring!)
Sweet potato chili (the sweet potato does not get mushy like in a crockpot)
Shredded chicken for tacos
White chicken chili
Easy lasagna (this is less good than an oven-baked lasagna, but still good and way less time)

We have found food in the instant pot tastes way better than crockpot recipes. It doesn't fill the same need, because you can't set it up in the morning and come home to dinner, but the food tastes better.

I don't really understand the comments about being flavorless. There's a sautee function - if you're cooking meat you should sautee first to brown it and get some flavor in whatever sauce you're making. If you're using garlic, onions, etc. you can easily sautee to create flavor like you would on the stove. I'm sure there are a lot of bad recipes out there on the internet, but if you get a good instant pot cookbook it's a great way to make quick and healthy dinners.

This. I like to saute the meat, onions, garlic and then throw in some broth, vegetables, herbs, salt/pepper, rice or quinoa and then pressurize for 20-30 minutes. It's a lot faster than letting a soup simmer and you get the same depth of flavor you would if you simmered for much longer.

I also use it to cook a whole chicken for chicken salad. Also for apple sauce (which is so much better than anything you can buy). I use it more in the winter because I am making more soups and stews.

[Anonymous]

I cook beans and grains in mine. I also use it as a slow cooker. Since I batch cook on the weekends, I’ve been thinking of getting a second instapot. It is also helpful for holiday meals when I run out of burners or cook something that I need to keep warm.

[Anonymous]

We use the air fryer lid more than we use the pressure cooker lid these days.

[Anonymous]

Yes, mainly to make stock easily, cook rice or beans, or cook tougher meats. I sti like it because it's one appliance that can do many things in my small kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Every day for steel cut oatmeal, about once a week for yogurt, and about once a week for beans. It earns its spot on the counter.

[Anonymous]

We use it multiple times everyday. Steel cut oats gets started overnight with delayed timer and breakfast is ready when I wake up. Boiled eggs, again every morning.
We mostly cook indian food so beans and lentils everyday. If I'm making a indian vegetable dish, I like to cook on low pressure for 1 min or high pressure for 0 minutes and release the pressure immediately to cut the cooking time. Also makes a great cheesecake for an occasional treat.
What I have not had great success with: one pot pasta dishes. I feel like it loses flavor and the mess in having to clean the pasta water from quick release is never worth it.

[Anonymous]

I use it in bone broth process. It helps shorten the cook time.

[Anonymous]

All the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We use ours at least once a week:

Rice
Indian dishes (tons of these - lentil dishes, potato/cauliflower, chicken korma, etc.)
Risotto (amazing and super simple - no stirring!)
Sweet potato chili (the sweet potato does not get mushy like in a crockpot)
Shredded chicken for tacos
White chicken chili
Easy lasagna (this is less good than an oven-baked lasagna, but still good and way less time)

We have found food in the instant pot tastes way better than crockpot recipes. It doesn't fill the same need, because you can't set it up in the morning and come home to dinner, but the food tastes better.

I don't really understand the comments about being flavorless. There's a sautee function - if you're cooking meat you should sautee first to brown it and get some flavor in whatever sauce you're making. If you're using garlic, onions, etc. you can easily sautee to create flavor like you would on the stove. I'm sure there are a lot of bad recipes out there on the internet, but if you get a good instant pot cookbook it's a great way to make quick and healthy dinners.

+1 on all of this, including not understanding the comments about food being “flavorless.” Pressure cooking with plenty of spice makes food more flavorful, not less. You can get the same effect as slow cooking without rendering the food to mush.