Did you get an Instant Pot for Christmas and now have no idea how to use it? Are you scared of touching the sealing valve? Or have you heard the hype and want to see what’s so special about the pressure cooker?
Well I am going to be sharing a bunch of Instant Pot recipes in the coming weeks, including how to use each setting (there are 8 on mine!). I am not just going to make soups, I will make beans, rice, pastas, casseroles, desserts… anything you can think of!
The basics of an Instant Pot
I should preface that this post isn’t sponsored by Instant Pot – I just wanted to test out the appliance and learn more about it. For history, the Instant Pot was created in Canada and the purpose was to combine the features of both a pressure cooker and a slow cooker. It also has features to make yogurt, sterilize, make rice… the list goes on!
What’s so special about an Instant Pot?
Apart from doing a number of different functions, the main selling feature for many is that it is almost ‘instantaneous’. By sealing the food under pressure, items like beans from dry can be cooked in as little as 30 minutes. You have to account for the time that it takes to seal to pressure and release the pressure, but the overall cooking time can be very short!
Is it worth having one as a vegan/plant eater?
As you know, I eat mostly plants so I knew going into it I wouldn’t be making braised meats or things that the pressure cooker is ideal for. I bought it primarily for cooking beans from scratch. But, I was really excited to see what else it could do!
What cookbooks and blogs are you cooking from?
I have found a few from the library that I am going to use for the challenge and I have also discovered some fun blogs that have great vegan recipes! Here are a list of a a few of them:
- The Essential Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook
- Instant Pot – Italian
- Fresh and Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook
- The Essential Vegan Instant Pot
- Vegan Under Pressure
- The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for your Instant Pot
- Pinch of Yum
- Oh She Glows
- Wholefully
- Pressure Cooking Today
Stay tuned in the next few weeks for recipe reviews, how-to’s and an honest take on what I think of the appliance!
