How To Use Your Instant Pot As A Slow Cooker
Should You Use Npr Or Qr For Your Recipe
Once you have established a pressure setting and cook time for your recipe in the pressure cooker, now you must address if you need to use natural pressure release or quick release. To find out more about what NPR and QR are, refer to How to Use an Instant Pot.
- Use NPR for soups, starchy dishes, tough cuts of meat.
- Use QR for delicate cuts of meat, pastas, and quick-cooking vegetables.
Here Are Our Tips Conversions And Cautions For Making Any Crockpot Recipe Instant Pot Friendly
Basics for converting a crockpot recipe into instant pot
Here are some basic rules to help you know what should be changed for your recipe to work as a pressure cooker recipe. Plus some tips to help you make the most of your Instant Pot!
One-cup liquid rule
Take advantage of the saute function
Use the bowl-in-bowl method:
How long to pressure cook a slow cooker recipe
For many recipes, you actually do not need to change anything but figure out pressure cook time! This is the case for many soups, meat-only recipes such as roasts or chicken. In the beginning it takes some experimenting and practice because no two meals are exactly alike. Here are some basic guidelines that will get you going in the right direction!
If a Crockpot recipe calls for 8 hours on low , it will probably be done perfectly in about 25 minutes in the Instant Pot. If it isnt done, just cook it for another 5 minutes on manual . And dont worry, the Instant Pot will come up to pressure much faster the second time because everything inside is still so hot.
The thicker the piece of meat, the longer it will need. Volume does not matter, but density does. So if you have a large, thick piece of meat it will need more time than the same amount of meat cut into smaller portions.
If you throw your meat in frozen, just add 5-10 minutes to the total pressure cooker time. If its a really huge block of lots of ground meat or something, maybe 10.
Liquid conversions for cooking beans and grains
Recommended Reading: How To Cook Frozen Meat In Instant Pot
Hold Off On Dairy Ingredients
Cooking dairy ingredients in the Instant Pot is a lot different than cooking them on the stove, in the oven, or in a slow cooker.
If a recipe calls for dairy ingredients make sure to add them once you have cooked and depressurized your Instant Pot. This is key when trying to convert recipes to Instant Pot cooking.
The high heat and pressure and cause dairy and milk ingredients to scorch and thats an easy way to ruin dinner.
Instant Pot As A Slow Cooker
Now dont get me wrong, there is nothing odd about a slow-cooked meal. I enjoy a slow-cooked lamb, but I much prefer the pressure cooker when cooking my daily food as a busy mom and entrepreneur.
So what are you waiting for? Get this fantastic slow cooker to instant pot conversion chart to make cooking with your Instant Pot easier.
Enjoy!
Read Also: Can You Use Aluminum Foil In Instant Pot
Instant Pot For Beginners Pdf Cookbook
Did you know that we also have an instant pot ecookbook that you can download instantly? It features 101 easy to understand instant pot beginner recipes.
Millions of people have downloaded and viewed these 101 instant pot recipes since it was originally created back in 2017. Though of course, it has been updated many times since then to bring you the best.
Match Up Your Ingredients
If you dont want to cook in stages, make sure the ingredients you are using have similar cook times. Determine your cook times using the charts linked above and then make sure you alter the ingredients so that they have similar cook times.
If that means pre-cooking a few of the items or cutting up meat so it is in smaller chunks you may have to do some trial and error in this process the first few times around!
Recommended Reading: Right Rice Instant Pot
Things To Keep In Mind:
There is no magic formula for converting recipes for the pressure cooker. I recommend having at least some experience with your pressure cooker first before trying your hand at converting recipes.
It can be hugely helpful to find a similar pressure cooker recipe online prior to making your conversion. This will give you a ballpark of cook times and any other adjustments that will need to be made.
Instant Pot Pressure Cooking Up To The Line
Another rule of the thumb is to make sure that you check and make sure that you dont go over the max mark on the Instant Pot.
The lid needs to fit on, the Instant Pot needs to seal, and it needs to come to pressure. All of which require space so dont take it over these lines.
But even the 6 litre one is huge and unless you are cooking something super sized there is no reason why you should go over this limit. In which case maybe an upgrade to the 8 quart is in order?
In our house for example, we have both the 6 quart and the 8 quart.
Recommended Reading: How Long To Cook Frozen Sausage In Pressure Cooker
Instant Pot Conversion Chart
One of my passions, in addition to cooking delicious meals, is graphic design. So, today I popped online to design a free Instant Pot converting recipes chart. I am hopeful youll find incredibly useful and super easy for determining perfect Instant Pot cooking times.
Whether youre an instant pot beginner, or youve been around for some time, its always good to have an Instant Pot Conversion Chart handy for quick conversions.
The Pros And Cons Of An Instant Pot Vs Slow Cooker
Does the idea of not having to wait hours for your favorite slow cooker recipes sound too good to be true? While overall the Instant Pot provides more benefits than drawbacks, there are a few things to keep in mind when making slow cooker to Instant Pot conversions.
- Not everything can go in an Instant Pot. Generally, you wont be able to cook recipes with dairy, thickening agents or alcohol in the Instant Pot, while you would be able to cook them in the slow cooker. On the flip side, an Instant Pot has many more cooking functions than a slow cooker, like steaming and sauteing. When choosing the best Instant Pot for you, keep in mind what functions you want it to offer.
- An Instant Pot requires more attention. With a slow cooker, you can often add all the ingredients at once, stir occasionally, and call it done. But with an Instant Pot, there may be extra steps. To start, you may have to wait for the pot to come to pressure. For some recipes, youll wont want to add all the ingredients at the same time, which means youll have to come back to tend to your recipe.
Theres no one-size-fits-all rule for making slow cooker to Instant Pot conversions. It depends on your appliance and the ingredients youre using, down to the particular cut and weightso youll likely have to do some experimenting. A good place to start is by checking Crock Pots slow cooking vs. pressure cooking guide and Instant Pots cooking time table.
taste of home
You May Like: Food Burn Instapot
How Can I Adapt My Favorite Crockpot Recipes For The Instant Pot
Most crockpot recipes do not need to be changed at all. The only difference I found is that pressure cooker recipes require at least a cup of liquid. If you dont have a cup, your cooker will not produce enough pressure and your food will be undercooked. SO, if one of our recipes has less than a cup of liquid, make up the difference using water or broth.
What Exactly Is An Instant Pot
An Instant Pot is a brand of pressure cooker. The temperature inside a pressure cooker is raised beyond what can be done with a regular pot so food can be cooked much more quickly. Not all pressure cookers are created equal, so Im keeping this post focused on the one that I own, the 6-Quart Instant Pot.
The Instant Pot, 6-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker is a pressure cooker, slow cooker , and rice cooker all in one. It steams, it sautés, it warms, it does your laundry. Im kidding about that last one, but it really seems to do it all.
You May Like: Frozen Pork Ribs Instant Pot
Add At Least 1 Cup Of Liquid:
In a slow cooker, the process takes long enough that in many cases, meat can release its natural juices, and thats enough to keep it from drying out. Not so with the Instant Pot! If your slow cooker recipe doesn’t have at least 1 cup of liquid, make sure to add some. Usually, broth is a good solution for that, but water can work, too. Or if your recipe already has liquid in it, like the can of chicken broth in our Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken Stew recipe, then youre good to go.
The Quick Way: Pro Tip For Converting From Instant Pot Recipes To Slow Cooker
I try to keep in mind that not everything is meant to be cooked in the crockpot. The same goes for the Instant Pot. Make sure that the recipe you are trying to convert is suitable for the crockpot.
Now for the good stuff: the cheaters path to quickly converting slow cooker recipes.
Find a similar crockpot recipe and use that as a base for your temperature and cooking time base.
A great example is cooking something like my Instant Pot Lasagna. Although my recipe is a healthier alternative you can use a regular crockpot lasagna recipe as a guide for how to layer the lasagna and how long to cook it for.
Also Check: How Long To Cook Ground Turkey In Instant Pot
What If Its Not Fully Cooked Yet
Well, that sucks. When your family is hungry and the lentils are hard as pebbles, you know you have a problem. At least, youve learned something! But what to do?
Chin up! Fixing the problem will take less time than ordering a vegan pad thai from the delivery place across the street.
Putting the lid back on and adding 1-5 minutes of cooking time under pressure is the reasonable next step in many cases. However, you may discover that the lid does not seamlessly twist and lock as youd expect it to. That is because the silicone gasket has puffed up under pressure, and hasnt yet had a chance to return to normal.
The right thing to do is NOT to force it on. Your pot may not seal properly, or cause you to get the dreaded burn message.
Instead, here is what you can try:
The Instant Pot Recipe Converter
The infamous reign of the instant pot is not yet over. Even with the overflow of Instant Pot recipes, there are still some recipes special and close to our hearts. Do you want an easier way to cook them than how the recipe specifies? Then here is a post of how to convert any recipe to an Instant Pot recipe the ultimate Instant Pot recipe converter!
General Rule for the Instant Pot recipe converter
If you bake it, you can cut the time in half.
If you crockpot it, you can cut the time dramatically. 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low generally means 30-40 minutes .
The instant pot is truly a homemakers best friend in the kitchen! It can be used in so many ways. Pretty much any recipe can be converted into an instant pot recipe because of how versatile it is and all of the functions it has. Check out the different recipes below!
Important Notes for Newbies using the Pressure Cooker Function on the Instant Pot:
Follow those three rules and you will be golden!
Converting Casserole Recipes
| Type of Rice |
Read Also: Steel Cut Oats Ratio To Water
The Instant Pot Is A Slow Cooker Too
Oh and dont forget that the Instant Pot ALSO has a slow cooker functionality. If you need to set it and forget it earlier in the day, the IP is still your friend.
This function is also particularly nice if you worry about the safety of the material in your cookware. Cant beat that stainless steel interior!
It will automatically switch to keep warm too so you can be an hour or two later than the timer and it all works out. Love.
What Recipes Can Be Converted From Stove
Now that you know how your Instant Pot works, you realize that not every recipe that can be made on the stove-top can easily be converted to an Instant Pot recipe successfully. Because all electric pressure cooking is water-based , they arent a good way to get crunchy or crusted bits. However, soups and stews using vegetables, beans, and/or grains are perfectly suited to the high-pressure environment. I will now explain to you in detail how to convert a recipe from stove-top to Instant Pot. I also included a selection of inspiring recipes from all-vegan bloggers that include directions for the electric pressure cooker and for stove-top cooking so you can see some examples.
Portobello pot roast by A Virtual Vegan
Recommended Reading: C8 Instant Pot
Instant Pot Pressure Cookers Needs Accessories
You need a few things to make Instant Pot Pressure Cooking work for you. I cant live without my Instant Pot Steamer Basket, Spring Form Pans and of course my Ramekins.
When you invest in them once they will last you years and save you a huge amount of time and make pressure cooking so easy.
The instant pot accessories I bought in late 2016 still do the trick now and if you are just getting started, I recommend you take a look at our instant pot accessories list.
Converting A Recipe From 6qt Instant Pot To 8qt
I have an 8qt Instant Pot. Most of the recipes online are for 6qt Instant Pots. I find that since my 8qt takes a lot longer to come to pressure than the 6qt ones do, my food often ends up getting overcooked if I follow the instructions exactly.
Is this normal? How should I convert recipes from 6qt to 8qt?
- 1I don’t know if that’s normal, but I would think that the main factor for pressure would be airspace, amount of water , and heat. If no one else has a better suggestion, you might want to try the ‘pot-in-pot’ method, so that the thing to be cooked isn’t sitting at the bottom of the pan, then add water below it. Jan 3 ’19 at 18:59
- So, is this question about adjusting a recipe for ingredients or cook time?Jan 11 ’19 at 20:31
Recommended Reading: Frozen Pork Chops In Instant Pot
Pay Attention To The Liquid
Different liquid ingredients are common in vegan soup and stew recipes: water, broth, crushed tomatoes, and coconut milk. Not all do as good a job inside a pressure cooker.
Vegetable broth is the perfect companion to cook in the Instant Pot. Water molecules easily separate from the seasonings within to create steam. Water would work just as well, of course, but would be far more bland. If using water, youll probably need to increase the amount of spices and herbs.
For broth and water, when converting a recipe from the stove-top to the Instant Pot, you can likely reduce the volume of liquid by 20 to 25%. The pressure cooker environment is closed, and very little water vapor floats away. This said, soup and stew recipes are very forgiving: in the end, your flavors will be a little more, or a little less, concentrated thats all.
When converting your recipe from stove-top to Instant Pot, I recommend making sure there is at least 1 cup of broth, and adding it to the pot last. That way, more of it sits on top of the food and it doesnt have to travel quite as far to steam off and build pressure inside the pot.
If your recipe has only coconut milk, I recommend cooking with broth instead and adding coconut milk before serving for extra creaminess. Or adding a handful of unsweetened shredded coconut at the same time as the spices.
If your recipe has mostly crushed or diced tomatoes, read on.
Frogs breath soup by Vegan Dollhouse
