How to halve Instant Pot recipes: Do you have a mini 3 quart Instant Pot? Or do you simply want to cook for 2 or 3 people in your 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot? You’ll need to cut the Instant Pot recipes in half first. Here are the things you need to know to get started.
For best results and to understand more about the Instant Pot read this entire article.
How to halve Instant Pot recipes in a 6 quart Instant Pot (plus video)
If you’re only cooking for two people making a meal that serves 8 people can seem overwhelming. This is especially true when you don’t like leftovers or if the meal doesn’t freeze well. Even if you do like leftovers you might not want to eat the same thing for lunch 5 times in a row.
Practically all the recipes I post on my website have been made in a 6 Quart Instant Pot* and serve 4-8 people. I get a variation of this question a lot, “can I halve this recipe? Do I need to change the cooking time?” Most of the time I say, “YES! You can halve this recipe. Keep the cooking time the same and just halve all the ingredients.” Don’t stop reading here…there’s more to this question.
Can I halve this recipe? Do I need to change the cooking time?
frequent question from Instant Pot Users
How much liquid is required to bring a 6 quart Instant Pot to pressure?
Sometimes it’s more complicated than just halving all the ingredients. Let me explain. The most important thing about a pressure cooker is that it requires pressure to cook (an a-ha moment right there!). But how does the pot build pressure? It uses any liquid in the pot to build the pressure. If the Instant Pot does not have enough liquid it cannot build enough pressure to cook the food the way it’s supposed to. In my experience, the 6 quart Instant Pot needs approximately 1 cup to reach pressure. The official answer from Instant Pot is that the pot needs 1.5 cups to reach pressure (see the chart below).
The general point is to have enough liquid to reach and maintain pressure. When cooking absorbent foods, like rice or steel cut oats, you will need enough liquid for the food to absorb, plus some to bring the pot to pressure. When cooking moisture containing foods, say chicken–which releases moisture when cooked–this can be achieved with less added liquid. So the answer to how much liquid you need is “it depends“. Which is annoying, I know.
An example
So let’s say you want to halve a recipe. The original recipe calls for ¾ cup of broth–plus some mushrooms and a little chicken. The chicken and mushrooms will be releasing moisture. For each one pound of chicken you’ll get approximately ½ cup to 1 cup of liquid released (especially with frozen chicken). That’s why the recipe only called for ¾ cup of broth because the chicken and mushrooms are both moisture containing foods and the moisture released from them is enough to bring the pot to pressure and maintain the pressure. Make sense?
So how would you halve the following recipe?
Fake Chicken Recipe I Just Made Up
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 1 pound mushrooms
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- Cornstarch
- 1 bag of frozen peas
Instructions: Add chicken broth, chicken breasts, mushrooms, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to the Instant Pot. Cover and make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 12 minutes for thawed chicken or 15 minutes for frozen chicken. When the time is up let the pot sit there for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid. Shred the chicken. Thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry. Add in the frozen peas. Let the peas warm through. Serve the chicken and sauce over toast, mashed potatoes or noodles.
How to halve the chicken recipe above: First I look at the list of ingredients and realize there is only ¾ cup broth. I keep looking and see that there is a pound of chicken and a pound of mushrooms. I realize that both of those ingredients release a lot of moisture. If I halve the amount of chicken it will still give off about ¼ to ½ cup of liquid. And the mushrooms will give off at least a couple tablespoons, if not more, of liquid. So that means that I have 6 Tbsp broth + ½ cup chicken juices + 2-4 Tbsp of mushroom moisture = A cup of liquid. Bingo! Enough to bring the pot to pressure. So with the above recipe I would halve all the ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
Another example
But wait a minute! You want to make another recipe that doesn’t have moisture releasing ingredients. What do you do then? Remember the rule: approximately 1 cup of liquid for the 6 quart to come to pressure. So if the recipe calls for 1 cup of broth and no other moisture containing ingredients then you’ll want to keep the 1 cup of broth and halve all the other ingredients.
This isn’t a perfect solution, I know. You’ll end up with food that is more runny than it is supposed to be but that is how it goes. I’m sorry. One thing I like to do after the food has cooked is use a cornstarch slurry (equal parts water and cornstarch mixed until smooth) to thicken my foods that are too runny. You can also drain or spoon some of the liquid off after the food has cooked.
Using the pot-in-pot method for halved recipes
Another choice, depending on the recipe, would be to use the pot-in-pot method. You do this by pouring 1.5 cups of water in the bottom of your pot and placing a trivet (I use this trivet/sling*, it’s my favorite) in the bottom. Then piling the recipe ingredients (with all ingredients halved) in an oven safe pan that fits inside your pot (I use this one a lot*). Then lowering the pan carefully down onto the trivet. The food will be cooking inside the pan instead of directly in the pot. The water in the pot will bring the pot to pressure. If you use this method you may need to increase the pressure cooking time by a few minutes. This is because the food is not directly in the pot. Plus the pot will come to pressure a lot quicker which means there is less build up/cooking time.
Does the cooking time change when you halve a recipe?
Most of the time the cooking time will be the same when you halve a recipe. Pressure cooking cooks each piece of food equally. That means that each piece of chicken (2, 4 or 8) will require the same cooking time, and so will each grain of rice. That’s because the pressure cooking time is determined by the size and not the quantity of food. In other words, the pressure cooking time is the amount of time the food requires to be cooked all the way to the center.
However, more items in a pressure cooker will make it fuller which means it will take longer for the cooker to reach pressure. For recipes that are more finicky and get overcooked quickly, like pasta, you’ll actually need to decrease pressure cooking time the fuller the pot is. Make sense?
How to halve recipes in an 8 quart Instant Pot?
For the 8 quart pot, you must keep the same rules that I stated earlier. You must have enough liquid to come to pressure. However the 8 quart pot takes more liquid to reach pressure–2 cups. So halving some recipes may become a little tricky with the 8 quart pot. Soups will always be a good choice to halve since they are liquid-based, generally.
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. For example with pasta and other food that is delicate subtract a minute or two. For soups and roasts, you should be fine to keep the same cooking time.
See my notes above about pot-in-pot cooking. You may want to use that method when halving a recipe in the 8 quart Instant Pot.
How to halve recipes in the 3 quart Mini Instant Pot?
If you have a 3 quart mini you may have no choice but to halve certain recipes. Make sure you have enough liquid. You’ll need about 1 cup of liquid for the 3 quart Instant Pot to come to pressure. As always, a portion of this liquid can come from the ingredients themselves. If the recipe is meant to be steamed with a steamer basket – just use the minimum liquid requirement under the steamer basket for the cooker to build pressure. If the recipe contains rice or grains – the liquid ratio needs to remain the same. What that means is if you halve a recipe, you should halve the liquid. However, keep in mind that the liquid cannot go below the minimum required liquid for the pot to come to pressure.
Make sure you do not overfill your pot. Do not fill the inner pot higher than 2/3 full. When cooking foods that expand or foam such as rice or beans or pasta, do not fill the appliance over half full.
For the 3 quart mini Instant Pot:
- Half full = 6 cups
- 2/3 full = 8 cups
- Max 2 cups of dried beans + 4 cups liquid
- Max 2 cups of dry rice + 3 cups liquid
- Max 3.5 pounds of meat + 1 cup liquid
- Max 7 cups vegetables + 1 cup liquid
The Instant Pot Mini 3 Quart has a working pressure of 10.1psi (pressure per square inch). The other models and sizes of Instant Pot operate at 11.6psi. The pressure difference is not that big of a deal for most recipes. However the 3 quart pot also takes a shorter amount of time to reach pressure and to release pressure. These differences are most apparent in longer-cooking foods such as whole grains or tough meats (i.e. barley and pork butt roast). You might need to add anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes to the pressure cooking time for specific recipes.
What does it mean when I get the BURN error message on my Instant Pot?
Personally I have never gotten the BURN message error. I have, however, had my pot start counting down without it having come to pressure. So basically you think your food is cooking normally and you go to release the pressure and there was never any pressure in it in the first place. BLAH!!! These things can be so annoying and if they happen to you I’m very sorry.
Here is the best explanation I’ve read about the BURN message error. It was from someone who works at Instant Pot. I think it will really help you too.
“To avoid getting a burn warning on your pot or a countdown without pressure, or if you get one and need to fix it, you just need to understand the basics of how pressure cooking works. The liquid inside the pot boils, which creates the steam and ultimately the pressure because it’s in a sealed pot where the steam can’t escape. So to successfully cook in it, you need liquid that can boil without scorching….it needs to be on the bottom and water consistency. Burn problems come in when you start adding things that thicken and stir them into your liquid (examples would be tomato sauce or other tomato products, cream soups, thick sauces, etc). When you do that, now that liquid is too thick to boil without burning on the bottom of the pot. Once that happens, the pot will never come to pressure until you scrape off anything burned on the bottom and add more liquid to thin it out.
One helpful way to think of it is this: could I put this on the stove in a pot and bring it to a boil and never stir, and not have it burn? If the answer is no (lasagna, chili, spaghetti sauce, gravy, etc) then it won’t work in the Instant Pot either without some work-arounds.
One of the best work-arounds (besides pot-in-pot or PIP) is layering. So for something like spaghetti, you put your meat in the bottom, then your pasta, then your water, then pour the sauce on top and don’t stir. This lets you cook with a thick sauce without it thickening your thin liquid and keeps it off the bottom of the pot.
Keep in mind that casserole-type dishes (thick, layered dishes like lasagna, taco pies, egg bakes, etc.) do not work directly in the pot because they just absorb your liquid, leaving nothing to pressurize the pot. You need to do them pot-in-pot, which means in another dish inside the pot on the trivet, with water in the bottom.”
Hopefully this information helps you if you get the BURN error message on your Instant Pot! I know it helped me to understand better.
Help with Dividing Recipes
To help divide recipes, remember:
1 cup = 16 tablespoons
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces
1 fluid ounce = 2 tablespoons
1 pound = 16 ounces (weight)
1 pint = 2 cups
2 pints = 1 quart
1 quart = 2 pints
To make ½ of a recipe:
| Original Amount | Half the Amount |
| ¼ cup | 2 Tablespoons |
| 1/3 cup | 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons |
| ½ cup | 1/4 cup |
| 2/3 cup | 1/3 cup |
| ¾ cup | 6 Tablespoons |
| 1 cup | ½ cup |
| 1 Tablespoon | 1 ½ teaspoons |
| 1 teaspoon | ½ teaspoon |
| ½ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon |
| ¼ teaspoon | ⅛ teaspoon |
| â…› teaspoon | dash |
In Conclusion…
What Pressure Cooker Do You Use?
Generally I use my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
Also helpful for Instant Pot beginners…
Printable Instant Pot Guide for Beginners
How to Deep Clean Your Instant Pot
5 Things Not to Do with Your Instant Pot
*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.
I have a 6quart instant pot and I like chia but I need to use a gallon of water and spices but I always get the burn food so I don’t know what I’m doing wrong
What are you trying to make with the chia?
I cannot believe after 5 years of following you on Pinterest, Karen, that I finally read this article. Wow, if only I had read this I would have been able to save some meal misses. I learned quite a bit here, more than I thought I already knew, so thank you for this article and every one of your recipes.
I’m curious about the count-down without reaching pressure issue. I didn’t read a specific reason why this happens although it’s mentioned. Recently, the past 2-3 weeks, I’ve had this happen to me. Pot starts counting down without the pressure tab being sealed and then enters Keep Warm. Although the food is cooked perfectly, it’s scary to think you’re going to end up with uncooked food. I’m wondering if this is just something that unexpectedly happens or could it have something to do with the sealing ring? Perhaps I need a new sealing ring (2 yrs.old)? Were you able to figure why it happens, Karen?
I haven’t had this happen to me in a long time! I think it happens on older models more. I had it happen on my lux but never on my nova or my newer duo. So I’m not sure! I would make sure your sealing ring is in there properly.
I would love your yogurt recipe for a 3 quart instant pot. Is that possible? Sincerely Stacy.
Just make it exactly the same only use a half gallon of milk instead of a whole gallon
Easiest way to figure out serving size amounts is to download the Instant Pot App. It works for the recipes with in the app. However, it’s a great way to get a sense of the conversion factors
Good tip!
want to know how to can in a 3qt mini duo instapot, what size canning jars will fit in the 3qt instapot please?
I don’t think you can use your IP for canning. Here is info: https://www.corriecooks.com/can-electric-pressure-cookers-be-used-for-canning/
Great article! With only two of us I half a lot of recipes. I bought a 3 quart insert and it fits into my 6 qt duo on the trivet perfectly. Makes doing pot in pot easy.
I do that too with the 3 quart pot! It works so great!
Does anything ever get put in the outer pot except the stainless inner pot?
If I understand the question right then the answer is no. Just the stainless steel liner that came inside your Instant Pot.
Great article! I am looking forward to using your pot in pot instructions to make smaller batches of soup this winter. Thank you for taking the time to educate new IP users.
So glad it was helpful to you Patty!
Thank you for this article. I’m a widowed person and I don’t want to eat the same things for 5 days or fill the freezer with left overs. This really helped.
Good I’m so glad!
Do you need to put a lid on pip cooking all the time?
I cooked a chicken recipe and put rice in pot on top with no lid. The recipe did not say to cover rice. So I had a full pot of juice in rice?? Rice had good flavor and did absorb liquid later for another meal. Rice was perfect , not mushy just very wet. I am guessing the chicken added more liquid, and raised the level when it came to pressure. Thanks. Learning a lot from you.
I don’t always put a lid on. But you’re right some moisture does get into the pip.
Hi Karen,
I love these articles!! I am a (6 Qt) Instant Pot newbie – and loving my IP.
I’ve made a few Really great recipes so far. One of our favorite recipes is Mexican Rice. The recipe requires sautéing the 1-1/2 cups rice with 1/4 cup oil. I’d like to double the ingredients. Do I also need to double the oil to 1/2 cup?
PS… your YouTube videos are also awesome!
That’s what I would do although that sounds like a lot of oil! Probably what makes it taste so good!
I made your yogurt recipe and my husband is actually eating and liking it. However there is just the two of us. Can I make a half recipe? I am guessing yes after reading your article on halving recipes since I still would have 4 cups of liquid.
Sue
Yes you can. Same process. Same amount of starter but just a half gallon of milk.
Thank you for the informative article. I have a real mini, a 2.1 qt. mini pressure cooker. Do you think just halving a recipe will fit in the pot, or do I need to reduce the recipe even more? We travel a lot and I thought the 2.1 qt. size would be easy to take with us. Now I am wondering if it might be too small.
It really depends on the recipe. Some of my soups and items that feed more people like 10-12 might not fit. But most everything else will probably work.
This was an excellent article and the topic is one that I have struggled with since receiving my IP for Christmas last year. It is just my husband and I and if I make a whole recipe we have to eat it for a week or if I freeze it it gets lost in the freezer with all the other containers of left overs!!
Glad it was helpful to you Fay!
Thanks for your help!!! 😉
You’re welcome!
Thanks for the article! It was helpful! I’m still confused on pasta though. I used to make a recipe in my crock pot- it’s chunks of chicken and a thick, creamy soup (I tend to do cream of onion). How long do I cook it for?? I’d love to be able to cook 2 breasts, but soup, and egg noodles all at the same time- but how long do I cook It so that the pasta doesn’t get over cooked?
Hi Lauren, I would cook the egg noodles and broth in the bottom of the pot, top with uncooked chunks of chicken. Then dump the creamy soup on top without stirring in (or else you will get the burn signal). Then only cook for about 2 minutes and quick release. Good luck! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Thanks Karen it was very informative, love all your recipes, keep them coming
Thank you Gerda!
This article helped me so much. I am finally using the insta pot and I have definitely made some of these mistakes already. Thanks a lot!!!
Anne
Yay! I’m so glad you read it. It is great info that I wish I would have known a long long time ago!
Excellent Karen! I love my instant pot. I have a friend who has a mini – she is also not an intuitive cook – she kept getting BURN too! She immediately threw her hands up and the IP is probably at the back of some dark cabinet in her kitchen. Now I know what to tell her. I will also point her to your very helpful website.
Thanks Elaine! What a great friend you are.
Excellent article Karen. Everyone who uses an Instant Pot nerds to be subscribed to your emails. It would drastically cut down the number of mistakes we read about on Facebook.
Thanks Bob! I’m glad it was helpful!!!
Firstly I am an Engineer, well retired Engineer and there are a couple of points that are non-intuative to me.
First if the Pot is fuller then it takes longer to come to Pressure. I suppose that the contents are absorbing heat but the volume to generate steam in is less. One takes some of the heat energy but my intuition says that will not be sufficient to overcome the smaller volume for the steam to develop pressure within. I will accept the impirical evidence but it is not (I am trying to avoid the use of “logical”) intuative as you have already indicated that the smaller IP comes to pressure quicker.
My first example of a Pressure Cooker was a High Dome Presige model 45-50 yrs ago and this had a 15 psi weight (as well as 10 and 5). From memory I seem to recall that the 15psi weight had Potatoes cokking in 18 minutes. Bear in mind that I am older now and have senior moments but I have NEVER had potaoes cooked successfully since.
Recently I had a conversation with someone who pressure cooked the potatoes for – some very short time, sya 2 minutes and commented to the author about it but said I would carry out the instructions as given. She (I think it was a she) replied very quickly the the heat up and pressure time was combined. The instructions from that first Pressure cooker was to allow the water in the pot to come to the boil and fill the pot with steam, then place the lid and when the steam was issuing fully from the vent then to place the weight.
It iseems as if I need to re-learn the process. Old dogs CAN learn new tricks.
Sorry to have taken up so much space.
James
Thanks for your ideas! I’m not sure on the science and engineering of it all and I am open to new ideas. These are the things I’ve noticed as I’ve used mine.
Re: not enough liquid when halving ingredients. Would it work to cut all ingredients in half including liquid, but make up for it by putting an open small jar with water in it on the bottom of the IP with the food?
Thank you so much for your delicious recipes with accessible ingredients. I share your recipes on FB regularly.
I have never heard of this idea but I don’t think it would work. I believe that the liquid has to actually be in contact with the pot.
Hello Karen
Thank you for all these explanations! I love cooking with the Instant Pot so much, I bought a 3 pints today!
This way, I can cook either a rice or a vegetable at the same time. There are 3 of us, so sometimes it will be useful to me when I want to make 1/2 recipe.
Thank you for all your great recipes!
How great!
This was great article. However, I have a question for the opposite.
I have an 8 quart IP and like to cook in bulk.
So doubling the recipe, what are the rules, Karen?
You are a mine of information, and I sure that there are many, just like me, who look forward to your blog every day. Thank you.
Yvonne, I will be writing an article on this within the next week! Watch for it 🙂
Thank you very much for posting this informative explanation of how the Instant Pot works and why you need more liquid when cooking some foods and less for others. I liked my 6-qt Instant Pot so much I bought a 3-qt one also and often use both at the same time! All your recipes for chicken are spot-on and I have not had to change anything except for us add more spicy (aksa piquante!) ingredients. Great job – keep up the good work! By the way – especially liked your video on deep cleaning the IP.
I’m so glad that it was helpful to you!
What a great article!!! Thank you so much! I just printed it so I have handy reference.
Every recipe of yours I have made has been wonderful!
How nice. Thank you so much Susanna!!
I understand the concept of the burn notice. But every time I cook your buttered chicken curry I get the burn notice. Any suggestions? Thanks for the informative article. Love your recipes.
From now on I would try deglazing the pot after you saute your onions/garlic with the chicken broth. Scrape the pan well. Then gently add the chicken and then on top of the chicken the other ingredients. Try not to let the tomato products touch the bottom of the pot.
Thank you! Great article for Empty Nesters! So clear and well-written!
Hi Carol, I’m glad it was helpful to you!
I was going to ask you about cutting recipes in half the other day when I wrote to you but I forgot to mention it at the time. I’m so glad you sent this out. It’s going to help me a lot.
Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear this Monte!!!
Thank you for this information, very helpful. We are a 2 person family and while I like using the Instant Pot I don’t use it very often as most recipes make too much food for us. Love your recipes and have bookmarked many of them.
I’m glad it was helpful to you Karen!
This is THE most helpful post about the instant pot! Thank you so much for your clear, concise instructions and hints. You’re my hero!!
I’m so glad to hear this Mary! Thank you. It took me like 9 hours to write lol!
Can you do this for doubling a recipe next? 🙂
Yes! It’s on my list!