🍚 Instant Pot basics you’ll actually use

Hi Reader!

If your Instant Pot spends more time sitting in the cabinet than actually cooking dinner, today’s email is for you. 😉

Once you know a few basics, that little pressure cooker becomes SO much more useful. Rice, pasta, homemade stock - even the cleanup is pretty simple once you know what you’re doing.

Here are a few of my go-to Instant Pot tutorials to help you get comfortable with it!

🍚 Start with the everyday basics

These are the things I make over and over because they’re easy, inexpensive, and useful with a million different meals.

How to Cook Rice in the Instant Pot (Perfect Every Time!) - Once you get the rice-to-water ratio and cook time down, this is one of those methods you’ll use constantly. It’s such an easy way to get fluffy rice without babysitting a pot on the stove.

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bowl of pasta in front of an instant pot.

How to Cook Pasta in the Instant Pot - Yes, you can cook pasta right in the Instant Pot! This tutorial takes the guesswork out of figuring out how much liquid to use and how long different batches need to cook.

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🍲 Make your own broth and stock

This is one of my favorite ways to get a little more use out of ingredients that might otherwise end up in the trash.

veggies and chicken stock in an instant pot.

Instant Pot Chicken Stock (Bone Broth) - Save that leftover chicken carcass! The Instant Pot turns it into a rich homemade stock that you can use for soups, rice, casseroles, and tons of other recipes.

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bag of frozen veggie scraps in front of an instant pot.

Instant Pot Vegetable Broth (for under 10 cents!) - Vegetable scraps can become homemade broth with very little work. It’s such a smart way to stretch what you already have in the kitchen.

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🧼 And yes, you need to clean the thing

The Instant Pot has a few little nooks and pieces that are really easy to forget about.

using a fork and paper towel to clean the instant pot inner rim.

How to Clean an Instant Pot walks you through cleaning the lid, sealing ring, base, exterior, and all of those little spots where food somehow finds a way to hide.

You definitely don’t need to deep clean it every single time you cook - but giving it a good cleaning every so often keeps it ready for all of those Instant Pot dinners.

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💡 A Few Instant Pot Tips

A few things that make Instant Pot cooking much easier...

Pay attention to whether a recipe calls for a quick release or natural release - it can make a huge difference in the final texture.
Keep an extra sealing ring around if you use your Instant Pot for both sweet and savory recipes. Those rings LOVE to hang on to smells.
Don't be afraid of the Manual or Pressure Cook button. Once you get comfortable setting your own cook times, you’ll hardly need the preset buttons.
Homemade broth is great to freeze in smaller portions so you can grab exactly what you need for future recipes.

🍽️ Now Put Those Instant Pot Skills to Work

Need something to make next? Try one of these:

Instant Pot Mexican Rice (Restaurant Copycat) - Fluffy, flavorful restaurant-style rice that makes an easy side for taco night. {PIN}
Instant Pot Mississippi Chicken - An easy shredded chicken dinner with lots of flavor and very little prep. {PIN}
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken - One of those super-versatile recipes that can turn into tacos, burrito bowls, salads, quesadillas, and more. {PIN}
Instant Pot Red Beans & Rice - A cozy Southern favorite made much easier with the pressure cooker. {PIN}