• Home
  • Email List
  • Cookbooks
  • FAQs
  • Instant Pot Secrets

365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking

Easy slow cooker and Instant Pot recipes for each day of the year

  • Filter Recipes
  • Instant Pot
  • Slow Cooker
  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Pork
  • Meatless
  • healthy
  • Soups

August 28, 2017

I bought an Instant Pot…what do I do now? (video tutorial)

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

So many people are taking the plunge and purchasing an Instant Pot. In fact on Amazon Prime Day over 200,000 units were sold! WOW! They are an amazing tool to have in your kitchen and I have used mine close to every single day since I got it in April.

Pin this tutorial for later!

instant pot 7 in 1

 

 

When you get that beautiful box in the mail you might feel a little intimidated about what to do next. Watch this video as I take you through what you’ll find in the box and what to do with it.

Some of my favorite basic recipesย to make in the Instant Pot are:

  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Brown Rice
  • Hard Boiled Eggs
  • Basic Seasoned Chicken

Once you feel comfortable with some of these basic recipes you can move on to some more advanced recipes like:

  • Baby Back Ribs
  • Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread
  • Bacon BBQ Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes

If you’d like to see ALL of my Instant Pot recipes just click here.ย 

Coming to Pressure

One thing you should know is that your Instant Pot will need time to come to pressure. Most recipes don’t include this time in the recipe. Foods that take up more space will take more time to come to pressure. Foods that are frozen will take more time to come to pressure. Usually I give myself 10-15 minutes for the pot to come to pressure before it starts counting down on the timer. You will need some liquid in the bottom of your Instant Pot or it won’t come to pressure. You’ll need at least 1/2 cup to 1 cup of liquid. The slow cooker does not require liquid so this was a bit of a learning curve for me, but now I have it down.

Quick Release and Natural Pressure Release

One thing that you might see when you read a recipe made for a pressure cooker is “Quick Release” and “Natural Pressure Release.” Quick Release (QR) means that when your timer is up and you hear that beeping sound you’ll move the valve from sealing to venting and open up the pot immediately. Natural Pressure Release (NPR) means that you’ll let the pressure release naturally and when the pin drops (as demonstrated in the video above) you open the pot and enjoy your food. I like to use NPR for most meats. It just keeps them more tender and doesn’t dry them out like the QR sometimes can. If your pot is full you’ll want to use a NRP too or else the valve will get all foamy and clogged up.

Just give it a try! It takes a bit of time but believe me once you have mastered the method you will LOVE your Instant Pot so so so much. Have a question about your Instant Pot? Let me know! I’d be glad to help if I can.

Pin this tutorial for later!

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

15 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Instant Pot Tagged With: instant pot

Recommendations

Comments

  1. Diane B McGovern says

    January 3, 2018 at 8:14 pm

    Will it brown the meat first, before cooking?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 3, 2018 at 10:40 pm

      Yep!

      Reply
  2. Kim says

    August 30, 2017 at 8:36 am

    What if you opened your IP and lost the recipe book and manual…?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 30, 2017 at 2:24 pm

      no worries! It’s all online! http://instantpot.com/benefits/specifications-and-manuals/

      Reply
  3. Pat says

    August 29, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    The Instant Pot is a great product. Sort of a slow cooker/pressure cooker/mini oven/steamer. Got mine about a month ago when hubby and I started full-timing in our RV. It works great. I was sceptic also but after a little helpful pushing from my hubby (haha) I took the plunge. We eat a lot of white rice and that was my first experiment. Had a rice cooker he had gotten when he was single and we were still using it 43 years later but needed something that wouldn’t take up as much space as only a one purpose item. Have since graduated to making one pot meals and they are soon much more flavorful. Go for it and have fun. Hope this helps. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 30, 2017 at 2:25 pm

      Such good info! Thanks!

      Reply
  4. Patty Leydier says

    August 29, 2017 at 4:23 pm

    Please give a ‘Pin’ option with your email recipes. If there is one, I’m clearly not getting it. I look for them on your Pinterest board, but can’t find this one. Help!!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 29, 2017 at 4:30 pm

      oops thanks for the reminder! I just added it in there ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  5. Suzie says

    August 29, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    Sorry Injust saw that I missed the word NEW in pot business โ˜บ๏ธ

    Reply
  6. Suzie says

    August 29, 2017 at 3:29 pm

    Hello, I am absolutely in this POT “business”:) ehats the difference between instant pot and just a crock pot? I am planning to buy one, but now after I heard of instant as well, I am not sure which one would be good for me. I would like to make dinners for the family while I am working ( family of 5) Also if you can advise ehich product, brands are tou reccomend or what to check before I am buying would be awasome!!:) thank you!! Suzie

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 29, 2017 at 4:30 pm

      Suzie, this is a great question. I am actually planning a post on this exact topic. I will let you know when it goes live within in the next few days!

      Reply
    • Cammy says

      August 29, 2017 at 9:06 pm

      I have 2 crockpots and 3 electric pressure cookers.
      My favorite electric pressure cooker is the Instant Pot. I also have a Farberware electric pressure cooker but, it takes a lot longer to come to pressure. I use it as a backup.
      The Instant Pot has all sorts of functions and it is also a slowcooker/crockpot. (I have yet to determine the difference in slowcooker and crockpot). Buying an electric pressure cooker with the slowcooker function gives you both cooking methods in one. It also steams foods and since I make homemade tamales, it is very handy to have if I only make a couple of dozen instead of the huge steamer in the pantry.
      It is a family thing now to have one. I gave my grandson and his wife one for Christmas and my daughter heard us discussing all the great things we fix in them so, she went out and bought one a month ago and now, it is one of her favorite meal prep appliances.
      Hope you try one soon. I do still use the slowcooker to prepare the fillings for my tamales. They need that slow, low heat to meld the flavors.

      Reply
      • Karen says

        August 30, 2017 at 2:25 pm

        Thanks for your thorough answer! I appreciate your help ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
  7. Meriska says

    August 28, 2017 at 7:58 pm

    Thank you for walking us ” newbies” through a tutorial! I was so excited to get my insta pit but was overwhelmed with all the buttons!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      August 29, 2017 at 1:31 pm

      Yay Meriska!! You can do this!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi! I'm Karen

I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.
Karen
 

Stay In Touch

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

365 Days of Slow Cooking © 2022 ยท Privacy Policy

MENU
  • Home
  • Email List
  • Cookbooks
  • FAQs
  • Instant Pot Secrets
  • Filter
  • Instant Pot
  • Slow Cooker
  • Chicken
  • Beef
  • Pork
  • Meatless
  • Healthy
  • Soups