17 Low-Carb Instant Pot Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What foods should not be cooked in an instant pot? ›

In fact, there are a handful of foods that just shouldn't be pressure-cooked. Among them are dairy and fried foods, as well as burgers and steaks.

In general, Instant Pots do so much more than just pressure cooking and can be used as a rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer yogurt maker, sauté pan, and a meal warmer.

Also remember with a larger pot it takes longer to reach pressure. This means the food will be cooking for a longer amount of time. Depending on the type of food you may want to subtract time from the cooking time.

Most things cook (at least) 60–70% faster in a pressure cooker than when using any other type of cooking. That doesn't count the prep time of course, or any time the oven, pot, or pressure cooker takes to come to temperature for the food to start real “cooking” though, or “resting” time in the pot for some foods.

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

Even though some studies suggest that pressure cooking isn't the best way to preserve nutrients in food, no research exists to suggest that pressure cookers of any model or brand pose health risks. If you're a fan of your Instant Pot, don't worry: You can continue to safely use your appliance without worry.

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

Best Cuts for Your Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot

You can cook any cut in a multi-cooker, but we recommend those from the chuck and round. These beef cuts typically take hours to prepare using braising and roasting methods.

Benefits of a 6-quart Instant Pot: The 6-quart (and new 6.5-quart variation) Instant Pot is the most popular size for home cooks, as most recipes are written for that size. Generally, a meal cooked in a 6-quart model feeds three to six people.

The recall was announced on March 1, 2018 for the “Instant Pot Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicookers” after at least 107 reports involving overheating, including 5 incidents that caused property damage. The problem is caused by a manufacturing defect that allows that cooker to overheat and melt on the underside of the unit.

Can Instant Pot overcook meat? ›

Be sure to follow instructions carefully; at this speed, it's easy to overcook things in mere minutes. You may find that flavors aren't as fully developed as when tough meat simmers in a slow braise But you do save a lot of time.

Yes, the Instant Pot was designed to work unattended. In fact, several models have a “delayed start timer” that will let you load up the Instant Pot before work and have it start by itself an hour before you'll get back home, for example.

The Instant Pot lid, on the other hand, is designed to create a tight seal for pressure cooking. While you can slow cook meals in your Instant Pot with the lid vented, the brand recommends using its tempered glass lid for best results.

I like to assume 20 minutes for every pound of meat. So, for my 3-pound beef chuck, I will need to cook at high pressure for 1 hour. After the hour, I release the pressure and shred the tender beef. When the beef is done, you can make our optional gravy.

With stovetop cookers there's still a small risk of pushing the pressure too high and blowing the thing up, but the Instant Pot doesn't have that danger. And it also has different pressure modes, so you can set it at low pressure for things like soup and high pressure when you're in a hurry.

Lai says the most common cause for a burn notification is not adding enough liquid to the pot or using thick ingredients like a thick tomato sauce. "If you sauté prior to pressure cooking and you do not properly deglaze the bottom of the pot, food stuck to the bottom can cause the burn notification," says Lai.

Pressure-cooked meat-based dishes show a significant reduction in unsaturated fat contents, but it appears that iron is not lost. In addition to making foods like grains and legumes more digestible, pressure cooking does not create any of the unhealthy chemicals associated with baking and grilling methods.