How to Make Your Life Easier with an Instant Pot

Pot roast in about 45 minutes. Kale. Hard-boiled eggs. Ribs. Quiche. Chicken wings. Cheesecake with no cracks in it. Steel-cut oatmeal. With an Instant Pot, these dishes are possible with less time, mess, skill, and fuss. We hear no mention of this seemingly miracle device among many of the mainstream-media chefs, but there’s a growing (not-so) underground movement bolstering this special multi-cooker.

Able to slash cooking time by 70 percent, the Instant Pot is the unexpected champion of kitchen appliances that has birthed its own genre of cookbooks, fan groups, and blogs. It does the job of seven kitchen appliances in one countertop device: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, sauté pot, steamer, warmer, and yogurt maker. And it’s an Amazon best seller, with an average 4.7/5 rating out of almost 12,000 reviews. It’s like that old Crock-Pot craze, but multiplied by seven.

A hit for its efficiency and follow-through on all its promises, it’s especially won over busy full-time workers who have to come home and throw together meals without a plan. Besides decluttering your countertop and cooking super-fast (which is more than enough as it is!), the Instant Pot can relieve your pressure-cooker phobia with sensors to tell you when the lid is safely locked. The food world’s diverse special interest groups like the Paleo community, gluten-free eaters, and vegans are standing together behind the Instant Pot. (Why can’t it just be called the Instapot, and be done with it? Off topic…)

So check out the Instapot, ahem, Instant Pot options, and then a few of our hand-picked recipes that use them.

Top-Rated Instant Pot | Buy Now

Amazon

This is the one that earned almost 12,000 reviews averaging such a high rating. It’s officially called the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Cooker. Phew! That’s a mouthful.  The large control panel has14 programs, including dual pressure (high pressure cooks it fast, low pressure avoids overcooking delicate food), automatic keep-warm, and three temperatures for sautéing and slow cooking. There are 10 proven safety mechanisms. It has a three-ply bottom stainless steel cooking pot, stainless steel steam rack with handle, a manual, and recipes in English, Spanish, Chinese, and French. Buy it here.

Least Expensive | Buy Now

Amazon

There are 10 programs instead of 14 in this device that costs about $25 less than the most popular one. Called the Instant Pot IP-LUX60 6-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker, 6-Quart 1000-Watt 6-in-1 Multi-Functional Cooker, it includes a pressure cooker, sauté/browning, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, and warmer. It basically just doesn’t have the yogurt maker, which in many reviews, people didn’t use anyway. Buy it here.

High End | Buy Now

Amazon

For about $60 more than the popular one, this second-most popular version has bluetooth so you can program it with your phone. Called the Instant Pot IP-Smart Bluetooth-Enabled Multifunctional Pressure Cooker, Stainless Steel, you can program and monitor cooking with a free app from an Android, iPhone, or iPad. It has the same 14 built-in smart programs, dual pressure, automatic keep-warm and three temperatures for sauté, slow cook, and keep-warm. Besides the stainless steel steam rack with handle, manual, and recipes, it also comes with silicone mini mitts. Buy it here.

 

Cookbook| Buy Now

Amazon

You might want some recipes besides the few that come with the manual and whatever you find online. The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook: Easy Recipes for Fast & Healthy Meals is an Amazon shopper favorite. You’ll explore a variety of healthy, easy-to-make pressure cooker recipes ― from savory breakfasts to hearty stews to decadent desserts. And there are vegetarian, gluten-free, and Paleo-friendly options so it can be your go-to guide for fuss-free, all-in-one cooking. You’ll get 100 low-maintenance recipes that can take 20 to 45 minutes. Buy it here.

Also, check out these recipe ideas:

Lemongrass Coconut Chicken

Nomnompaleo

This weeknight recipe converts a NomnomPaleo blog fave from a slow cooker recipe into an easy 30-minute meal. It’s a Thai-inspired chicken stew packed with the cook’s favorite flavors, and it pairs perfectly with cauliflower rice and stir-fried bok choy. Get the recipe.

Butternut Squash Risotto

makerealfood

This is a vegan and gluten-free dinner idea that takes a wonderful dish (risotto) that usually takes a lot of time and stirring. This one can be done in 15 minutes and mostly hands-off. There’s also greens, red bell pepper, garlic, mushrooms, and spices inside this creamy dish. Get the recipe.

Garlic Herb Pot Roast

Wellness Mama

Pot Roast is a go-to recipe for slow cookers, and so it is with this new tool. But an eight-hour recipe takes about 45 minutes with an Instant Pot. Somehow with the Instant Pot, the flavors intensify and the meat gets more tender, so less seasoning is needed. Get the recipe.

Lentil Spinach Dal

flavorrd

Straightforward, inexpensive, this is a great recipe that you can remember without the recipe in no time and make whenever. Besides being packed with flavor, those spices — turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and garlic — all offer functional health benefits to reduce inflammation in the body. Get the recipe.

Pressure Cooker Meat Lovers Crustless Quiche

Pressure Cooking Today

OK, in a way, this is more like a frittata. It’s a crustless quiche loaded with ham, bacon, sausage, and cheese that “bakes” up light and fluffy in the Instant Pot. Of course, you can easily adjust the recipe to what you have on hand, one of the beauties of quiche (or frittatas). Get the recipe.

Instant Pot Oreo Cheesecake

My Baking Addiction

We promised cheesecake, and we deliver. This one is creamy, dense, and yep, no cracks at the cook’s first try. You’ll still need a springform pan. And yeah, Oreos. Get the recipe.

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Curried Chicken Salad with Mango

Adding curry powder to a dish is like sewing a few sequins on a dress. You haven’t done much, but the whole dish sparkles.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Bars

The appearance of rhubarb at the market is the first sign of spring for me! I look forward to seeing bright red stalks of this celery look-alike every year—it’s one of my favorite ingredients.

Perhaps I love the fleeting nature of the produce, available for a few short months (or less, depending on the season or where you live). Or maybe it’s the vibrant red color of the stalks, which I just adore.

Either way, I can’t wait to get my hands on it, and when it finally shows up, I buy it by the bagful.

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What Is the Difference Between English Peas, Snow Peas, and Snap Peas?

The time is finally upon us. All manner of recipes, restaurant dishes, and produce aisles have begun featuring that most blessed among modifiers: “spring.” And anywhere vernally-identified items are found, chief among them are peas.

Peas or pea pods come from vining or low-growing plants from the legume family that actually prefer cool weather and reach maturity relatively quickly, hence their popularity on spring menus after the produce drought that is winter. Hence also their ubiquity in cool, damp places such as England, after which a particular variety of peas takes its name. The peas themselves are actually the seed of the plant, for which the pod that contains them is technically the fruit. The relationship between the pods and the peas themselves, and their relative digestibility, is the crux of the difference between English peas, snow peas, and snap peas.

English peas, garden peas, or sweet peas generally refer to the same thing and are the spherical variety often found frozen that many of us grew up chasing around our dinner plates. They grow in pods that are too fibrous to ingest, thus they are shelled and the pods discarded. The peas are starchy and sweet and just about as versatile as produce can get. Enjoy them raw or cooked, in everything from salads, to quiches, to pastas. Utilize them whole, or puree them for baby food, soups, sauces, or dips.

Snow peas are an edible-podded variety that appear flat and almost translucent. Technically, the pods are unripe, and the visible peas within the pod are clearly immature and not yet spherical. The pods themselves don’t contain any non-digestible fiber, and therefore are consumed in their entirety. The flavor is mild and slightly sweet, though more vegetal and bright in character than English peas. Enjoy them just as they come for a healthy snack, chopped in a fresh salad, or in their most common and highly tasty application, a savory Chinese stir-fry.

Snap peas, or sugar snap peas, are evidence that it is genetically possible to get the best traits out of both parents. They exist as the result of crossing a shelled pea variety with snow peas. The pods are rounder than snow peas and more closely resemble the pods of English peas, but are fully edible, with a medium-sweet flavor. Enjoy them as you would snow peas, though they are especially delightful in their purest state.

Dream of spring menus with any of the following recipes showcasing the more virtuosic presentations of peas:

Butterhead Lettuce with Spring Radishes and Peas

Chowhound

Beautifully featuring both English and snow pea varieties together. Friendship! Get our Butterhead Lettuce with Spring Radishes and Peas recipe.

Snap Pea Chopped Salad with Thai Vinaigrette

Chowhound

A friendly reminder that peas need not be limited to marrying only mint and dill. Get our Snap Pea Chopped Salad with Thai Vinaigrette recipe.

Pea Custard Salad

Chowhound

Serve this gorgeous savory custard at your next spring garden party and observe the hush that befalls the crowd. Get our Pea Custard Salad recipe.

Spicy Snow Pea and Sesame Stir Fry

Chowhound

You’re not afraid of tofu. Peas aren’t afraid of tofu. Let’s do this. Get our Spicy Snow Pea and Sesame Stir Fry recipe.

Pea Risotto

Chowhound

Actually, maybe it is easy being green… Get our Pea Risotto recipe.

Pesto and Pea Lasagna

Chowhound

Because when I said pasta I wasn’t only talking about throwing a handful in a carbonara. (Though that’s a fine idea also.) Get our Pesto and Pea Lasagna recipe.

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Sparkling Strawberry Sangria

Like moths to a flame, we are drawn outside the moment the early spring chill leaves our bones and the sun has officially, and finally, warmed us all the way through. Dinner parties, family get-togethers, and long evenings watching fireflies ensue.

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Meal Plan for May Week 3

This month, Megan Gordon is back with us sharing her weekly meal plans! Megan is a writer and recipe developer living in Seattle, WA, the author of Whole Grain Mornings, and mom to a 2-year-old. Please welcome Megan!

This week is all about simplicity!

I’ll be out of the house for a handful of evenings this week teaching cooking classes, so I want to plan to have a few meals all set and ready for my husband to assemble while I’m gone. (He cooks too, for the record, but is much more of an impromptu ‘what’s in the cupboard’ kind of cook!)

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Here’s Why Frozen Food Is Having an Unlikely Boom

Millennials have been accused of killing everything from napkins to Applebee’s. But there’s one surprising industry they’re helping to revive–frozen food. According to a report in Bloomberg, for the first time in five years this market is growing, with annual U.S. frozen food sales now estimated at $53 billion.

So what’s to account for this recent uptick in the freezer aisle? Isn’t the generation that thrives on avocado toast supposed to have fancy-schmancy taste? Well, there are actually a lot of good reasons frozen food is thriving, and most of them have to do with our general lack of time, money, and energy. After all, frozen food is relatively affordable, convenient, and easy to portion, which accounts for lower food waste. Plus, it’s easy to cook.

“There’s been a lot made of the death of frozen,” Dewey Warner, an analyst at market researcher Euromonitor told Bloomberg. “The average millennial doesn’t have time to make a full meal with fresh meat and produce. More and more they’re seeing these products as viable options.”

Frozen produce in particular has experienced a renaissance of sorts, with sales jumping 4.5 percent in the last year to $3.03 billion. It’s a smart choice for health-conscious folks too, as frozen fruits and vegetables usually retain high nutrient content, since they’re often flash-frozen at peak freshness.

The plethora of vegetarian and vegan options is another reason for this boom. With a rise in awareness of the health and environmental benefits of plant-based diets and technological advancements in meat-replacements, more and more millennials are taking advantage of the spectrum of products in this arena.

And one other unlikely theory behind the sales rise: “Stranger Things!” Yes, everyone loves the Netflix show and as a result we’re all indulging in Eleven’s favorite food–Eggo Waffles. This might seem like a stretch, but Kellogg’s sales are up by the double digits after a four year slump. Hey, who are we to argue with a telekinetic child?

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