The Things We Actually Use Our Instant Pot For
Okay, Fine. The Instant Pot Is Useful.
I didn’t immediately fall in love with the Instant Pot.
For a while, it was another appliance taking up space. But there are a few things I make in it now that have completely justified keeping it around.
Mostly because I have a remarkable ability to make pots boil over.
Yeah.
That.
The Instant Pot and I get along much better.
The Things I Actually Use It For…as promised
Mashed Potatoes
This is ridiculously simple:
Peel. Cut. Drop in Pot. Cover with Water. Go.
Cut the potatoes into roughly equal-sized pieces and put them in the pot.
Cover them with water, add salt and pepper, close the vent and cook on manual pressure for 8 minutes.
Quick release when they’re done, drain them and add whatever you normally put in your mashed potatoes. Butter, milk, sour cream… you know how mashed potatoes work.
Then just mash away!
Quick “Baked” Potatoes
I love baked potatoes, but I don’t always want to run the oven for an hour just to make them.
The Instant Pot handles those too.
Put the steamer basket in the pot, add 4–5 washed and poked potatoes, and try to keep them roughly the same size.
Pressure cook on high based on the size of the potatoes:
Small (5 oz) – 12 minutes
Medium (6–7 oz) – 14 minutes
Large (8 oz) – 16 minutes
Extra Large (10–14 oz) – 18–20 minutes
Let the pressure release naturally, pull them out with tongs and load them up with whatever you want.
No hour-long oven required.
Hard-Boiled Eggs
This may be one of my favorite things to make in it simply because the eggs are so damn easy to peel afterward.
Put the steamer basket in the pot, set 6 eggs on top and add 1½ cups of water. That’s the minimum for my 6-quart pot.
Close the vent and cook on low pressure:
3 minutes for soft boiled
4 minutes for medium boiled
5 minutes for hard boiled
Let the pressure release naturally.
And the best part?
They peel ridiculously easily.
Perfect egg. 😍
And that yolk? Just the way I like it.
Rice That I Don’t Screw Up
Rice should be simple.
Somehow, I still managed to make it too mushy, too dry or let it boil over on the stove.
The Instant Pot fixed that problem.
I use 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice. We like ours slightly sticky, so adjust yours however you prefer while making sure you still meet the minimum liquid requirement for your Instant Pot.
Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.
That’s it.
Rice I didn’t screw up.
I’ll take it.
I’m Still Not an Instant Pot Expert
These are the basics I’ve figured out and actually use.
I’ve tried other things too. There was a frozen chicken experiment after we forgot to take something out for dinner.
We don’t need to talk about that one yet. 😐
Maybe eventually I’ll branch out into more complicated things. For now, I’m perfectly happy having an appliance that makes potatoes, eggs and rice without requiring me to clean another boil-over off the stove.
That’s enough to earn its space.