The Great Instant Pot Instant Inspiration Thread

[David_Stilley]

The Great Instant Pot Instant Inspiration Thread

Hello fellow Instant Pot users. I just got an Instant Pot yesterday and have wanted one for quite a while. I am an avid sousvide user and love it. But an Instant Pot seems better suited for many things I like doing sousvide but dislike having to wait two days before it’s done cooking!

This thread is a place where we can post our favorite Instant Pot recipes, original or found elsewhere, or link to some you may have posted in the past. I’m hoping for a communal thread here. And a place to talk about uncommon, interesting and delicious ideas that we might come up with.

I christened my pot with the carcass of a store bought rotisserie chicken yesterday and it makes an awesome clear chicken stock. Something that normally takes time, skill, many steps, your attention and more cleanup.

Off and running…this morning I was looking at my herb garden which is going nuts and I thought about using it to make a spearmint and oregano infused olive oil.

I look forward to seeing what you guys are doing with your Instant Pots so I can get the Instant Inspiration sampling some of them. And I look forward to sharing what I find. I’m making a Portuguese Linguiça and Kale Soup with the stock I made yesterday after a trip to the store later for what I need. I’ll post a recipe after.

[debg]

I love my Instant Pot, although I tend to use it for very basic things. Hard boiled eggs (awesome!), beef short ribs, chuck roast, roast chicken, etc. It’s only me, and I pretty much only eat meat for dinner, so I don’t do any “fancy” cooking anymore. I did recently buy a 6" cheesecake pan, so am going to be looking for an IP keto cheesecake recipe. I’m hoping to find one I like enough to be able to take it when I need to take a dessert somewhere.

[Marlitharn]

I love my Instant Pot! I have an 8 quart and I use it frequently. I’m usually cooking for a crowd. Some favorites:

Season a bunch of chicken legs and/or thighs, stack them up on the steamer rack like Lincoln logs. I usually pop them under the broiler when they’re done to crisp them up a bit.

Pork carnitas! Make a huge batch and freeze the leftovers.

All manner of soups, stews, and chili.

French dip beef, and various other roasts.

Bone broth.

Check out hippressurecooking.com for tutorials and a cooking time chart that’s never steered me wrong.

[JaneyMae]

I’ve had an instant pot for about a year and a half now and I use it a lot. I always cook my chuck roasts in it and they come out awesome. My husband says he actually prefers chuck cooked in the IP to any other way! I also like cooking oxtail in it with some broth for oxtail soup. So many great meals you can make in the IP. Enjoy it and I’m going to be following this thread!

[Meerkatsandy]

I’ve had an IP since Christmas and I’ve used it for bone broth and meats. It’s not an oven, so it gives a very different flavor profile.

I purchased Maria Emmerich’s Keto for IP (was a little disappointed) and the IP Bible, there is also an overwhelmingly huuugggeeeee internet recipe collection…

Cheesecake came out great.
I have two pot-in-pot recipes I need to try-chili and lasagna, my silicone molds for egg bites are also ready for use…i will get to it, i promised myself😂

I love it for chicken thighs, even frozen-spices, pot, 1/2 cup broth/stock, 28min HP, natural release…meat falls off the bone.

Brisket: spices, trivet, 1 cup liquid (my husband gets creative sometimes and deglazes the pan with a little red wine), 1h HP, natural release…pulled meat here we come.

Chuck “steak”…spices, season, brown for a few min on each side, let rest for a few minutes, cut into strips, back to IP, 1/2 cup liquid, 17min HO, natural release, finish the sauce (cream, stroganoff, etc)

I’m scared of quick release, so I avoid veggies

[Jo_O]

I batch cook a series of stuff. It cuts down on the wait time to bring the pot up to temp. While one is in the pot, I will prep for the next item.

First hard boiled eggs (in steamer basket over water) 4 mins, quick release after 1 min. Ice bath to cool & peel.

Next cauliflower (same process & time as eggs) for mash. In casserole dish mix cream cheese, butter, salt/pepper, maybe cheese. Then add hot cook cauliflower and mash.

Might sauté ground meat for a later meal.

Then any braised meat or soup recipe you like.

[David_Stilley]

Very clever @Jo_O minimizing time and cleanup.

[David_Stilley]

there is also an overwhelmingly huuugggeeeee internet recipe collection…

Awesome tip Sandy, I knew there were tons but I think a refined search with the word keto attached will bring it home. You know I am the experimental type, going where millions of cooks have before without even knowing it, and thinking it was MY idea! It’s hard to think of anything original really. I will enjoy using this to adapt some of my own recipes as I get more familiar with the Pot’s capabilities and how to utilize them. But it’s great to acquire knowledge from people who’ve done some of the ground work for you. I often take ideas and techniques from 3-4 internet recipes and make my own, or use non keto recipes and make them keto.

[David_Stilley]

I always cook my chuck roasts in it and they come out awesome.

I definitely had this one in mind when I bought it, also pulled pork.

[andesite]

I just got an instapot a few weeks ago for my birthday and the first thing I made was the Spice Cake from Diet Doctor. It was terrific for a keto birthday cake! I’m still learning and still uncertain about having this giant appliance in my tiny kitchen, so I’m very grateful you started this thread.

using it to make a spearmint and oregano infused olive oil.

I had no idea you could use the IP for this! I’m on it!!

I’m scared of quick release, so I avoid veggies

I get that.

[David_Stilley]

had no idea you could use the IP for this! I’m on it!!

Use the yoghurt making function to minimize heat during the extraction process or a low setting with the slow cooker setting for a faster extraction. I think the Yougurt setting would take around 12-24 hours, at 140F on the slow cooker 6 hours would do. I have changed my plan to rosemary, oregano and spearmint and dried chilies for a Greek flavor profile.

[Meerkatsandy]

I forgot to add-you have to be very careful with IP recipes, they can be just as wonky as “it tastes just like real bread” on keto sites… lies, all lies

I googled the basics, cooking times and then let my own trial-and-error begin.

When my IP arrived, I joined all a few IP groups, looked at endless blogs, recipes, etc. It became very overwhelming, those FB groups were just too much…

Google the basic cook times, look into the “burn error,” how many cups of fluids you need and then just go nuts

I mixed and matched bone broth recipes and the IP is wonderful for this

[Meerkatsandy]

The only time I tried, I scared the dog and made a mess…

[debg]

I’m still learning and still uncertain about having this giant appliance in my tiny kitchen

I hear ya! My IP sits on my kitchen counter because I have no place to store it. I’ve gotten used to shoving it from side to side when I need space.

I’d like to have an air fryer, but don’t just because of the space issue.

[David_Stilley]

I have so much less food to store on shelving that it’s easy to find a spot and that’s saying something because I don’t have cabinets,

My first soup batch just finished a rapid pressure release, wasn’t bad. A few initial water sputters from lid condensation and then just slow steam, took a couple of minutes. Getting ready to post up the results and my recipe.

[JohnH]

Brisket: spices, trivet, 1 cup liquid (my husband gets creative sometimes and deglazes the pan with a little red wine), 1h HP, natural release…pulled meat here we come.

This is the kind of quality content I come here for.

I bought an Instant Pot around Christmas and we used it once, to cook a whole chicken.

I love brisket (at my local BBQ spot) but have never had any idea how to cook it. Now, I do.

[David_Stilley]

What Did You Keto Today? The Trilogy!

Portuguese Linguiça Chicken and Kale Soup [image] I got my Instant Pot Sunday and made a really nice chicken broth from the carcass of Rotisserie Chicken… I used it to make a soup today with some of the Chicken meat and Rainbow Kale from my garden. I’m really happy with how it came out, it’s an old recipe I used adapted by myself for KETO. I like that it won’t burn when the tomatoes sink to the bottom like when you make soup on the stove. And no boil overs is priceless! It came out great with…

I’m overall very happy with the results although I think I will shorten the cooking time by 2 minutes next time I make soup. Delicious and I will post details in a while.

[CandyLindTX]

pulled pork.

Try the Instant Pot Kalua Pig on Nom Nom Paleo - The seasoning is very mild despite the multiple garlic cloves you stuff in the roast, and you can take that glorious big pile of juicy meat and season it up 15 ways from Sunday. If you include the cabbage, definitely go on the low end time-wise; it takes no time at all.

As far as quick release goes, @Meerkatsandy, there are only two things to keep in mind to do it safely: mind your fingers & face (I position my pot so the vent is aimed at my light fixtures & use whatever utensil I’m holding to flip it), and don’t let it steam your cabinets. If you poke around on the web, you can find home-engineered steam “diverters” that people have made to help with both issues.

Oh, check another thing on NNP - her “magic mushroom powder.” You can make it or buy it. TO. DIE. FOR. Adds instant umami to just about anything.

[David_Stilley]

@CandyLindTX I love Kalua Pig, I have a Hawaiian BBQ joint a block from my house, that’s about the only thing I could eat there anymore. So I haven’t gone since keto. I set my soup to cook for 5 minutes at HP, the cauliflower came out about the same consistency as the broth so I will try
2-3 minutes next time. The kale was velvety tender, really nice. I’m stuffed after a 2 1/2 cup serving.

PRO KETO GARDENING TIP:
“Not using pesticides in your garden increases the protein and fat content of your vegetables!”

[Meerkatsandy]

This was a day of bone broth (2x 2h and NR) and brisket…i believe the IP was on all day and I was out all day that’s why I wanted the IP, so I dont have to stand by the stove.

We tried it two ways: browning the brisket on sautee mode+ deglazing the pan and without browning…we found that browning doesn’t really make a difference, since pressure cooking isnt really a flavor-concentrating process. The trivet does help, especially with getting the meat out of the IP.

Edit: i always leave my meat on NR, so add about an hour to the cooking process