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.
How To Convert A Slow Cooker Recipe To An Instant Pot Recipe
Since the Instant Pot exploded onto the home cooking scene a few years ago, many people have chosen to get rid of their slow cooker in favor of the multi-functional appliance. You can cook your favorite recipes no matter which setting you’re using, but you’ll need to adjust the cook time.
- To convert a slow cooker recipe for the Instant Pot: Multiply the High setting cook time by 60, then divide by 10.
- To convert an Instant Pot recipe for the slow cooker: Multiply the Instant Pot cook time by 10, then divide by 60.
Tips For Making An Instant Pot Chuck Roast Recipe
- Make sure your instant pot is set to sealing and is fully secured before walking away and leaving it to cook. If the valve isnt sealed steam will start to release and the pot will never get to the right pressure level to begin cooking.
- Dont skip the step that involves patting the meat dry. Drying the meat helps make for a better sear, and an overall better end product.
- Speaking of searing, dont skip that part either. Searing the meat first will give it that nice caramelization in the meat. Giving you that full intense flavor we want to make a mouthwatering chuck roast.
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What Kind Of Recipes Should You Not Cook On The Slow Cooker Setting
DO NOT use slow cooker baking recipes when you Slow Cook in Your Instant Pot. They will fail.
A 6-quart slow cooker that I recommend has a large bottom baking area that none of the Instant Pots have. At this writing IP does have a Ninja slow cooker competitor and it is a slow cooker first and can be baked in, but it does not have a pressure cooker setting.
DO NOT use dried beans when you Slow Cook in Your Instant Pot. The timings are too off.
The other issue Ive run across is the timing of cooking dried beans. On normal, it can even take unsoaked black-eyed peas over 8 hours to cook. But on high you can cook unsoaked pinto beans in the 4 hours youd expect.
Of course, beans are a variable in themselves since many beans will be a little old when you buy them in the store. The older the beans the longer it needs to cook.
To avoid this timing issue I recommend that you dont cook the recipes that use dried beans or substitute cooked beans and reduce the water amount in those recipes.
What Is Pot Roast
Pot roast is more of a method than a specific cut of meat. To make it, sear a large cut of beef until browned on all sides, and then cook it with aromatics like herbs, onions, carrots, and broth until its melt-in-your-mouth tender.
You can make this in a Dutch oven on the stove-top, in the oven, in a slow cooker, and in a pressure cooker. In this recipe, we are using a pressure cooker to make the pot roast. A pressure cooker takes the cook time down dramatically.
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Instant Pot Beef Stew
A classic beef stew with pressure cooker and slow cooker instructions. It offers hearty and chunky bites of vegetables, and tender beef.
Serve with Irish Soda Bread or Garlic Bread Twists for a complete meal.
When you just need a cozy bowl of hearty and delicious beef stew, this is the recipe to try. It is simple to make, full of flavor, and chock full of vegetables and tender beef.
Instant Pot or Crock Pot Beef StewLike this recipe? Pin it to your Instant Pot pinboard!Follow Eazy Peazy Mealz on Pinterest
When it comes to beef stew, the three things you really want most are:
This instant pot or slow cooker beef stew hits that trifecta, and does it in a no fuss way that makes it a great family dinner because you can set it and forget it and let the instant pot or slow cooker do the rest.
Prepare The Dry Rub And Pot Roast
In a small bowl combine ½ teaspoon each of garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, white pepper, sweet Hungarian paprika , and ground thyme. Add a tablespoon of dried parsley and ¼ teaspoon of hot red pepper flakes.
Pat the meat dry with paper towels. This will result in a better sear for the roast. Coat the beef in the rub, and set aside.
This makes enough rub to cover a 2 1-2- to 4-pound pot roast. For each additional pound of meat increase each ingredient for the rub .
Slice one onion, two stalks of celery, and two carrots. Next, open a bottle of red wine, and set aside to breathe.
If you are not a wine drinker this step can be skipped, and it can be substituted with ¼ cup of additional beef broth to deglaze the bottom of the liner after the saute step.
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A New Lid Is The Secret To Slow Cooking In The Instant Pot
Unless youve read the Instant Pot manual cover to cover, you might not know that one of the most important considerations when using the Instant Pot as a slow cooker is the Instant Pots lid. In fact, Instant Pot sells an additional glass lid to aid with slow cooking. The Instant Pots standard lid is designed to tightly seal and keep moisture in, which is great if youre pressure cooking pork shoulder but less so if youre trying to slow cook fruit butter.
Before you use your Instant Pot as a slow cooker, find a replacement lid. You might be able to use the lid of another pot that you have at home or you may need to order one of Instant Pots glass lids, depending on your Instant Pot model. Another tip, taken from an Instant Pot Facebook group, is to open the valve all the way on your Instant Pot lid when slow cooking. This allows some moisture and steam to release and keeps the Instant Pot from overcooking your slow cooker recipes.
What About My Slow Cooker Is It Time To Retire It
Listen, if you love your slow cooker , theres no reason to abandon it for an Instant Pot. Slow cookers are entirely different appliances than pressure cookers, even those that promise slow cooking settings.
Slow cookers cook foods low and slow in a moist environment. They almost never get up to the boiling temperature of water and they usually have two settings: low and high. The only real difference between these settings is the time in which it takes for the slow cooker to heat to its full capacity low will take several hours to get there, while high may reach its peak in an hour or two. Like with Instant Pots, there are plenty of people who will claim that you can make anything in a slow cooker. And, like with Instant Pots, you can, technically, make all kinds of things in them. Do you want to? Probably not.
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Why You Should Not Use Your Instant Pot As A Slow Cooker
Yes, there’s a setting, but your slow-cooker recipes aren’t going to work as well in it.
Editor’s Note: The Instant Pot is great for making a lot of amazing things, from perfect stuffed peppers, to delicious deviled eggs and more. But most of the time, we love it for its speedy pressure-cooking capabilities. So what about that other button, the one that says “slow cook” on it?
Scale Back Your Recipes
If you wanted to, you could fill a slow cooker to the brim with ingredients. Not so much with the Instant Pot, which wont pressurize if its too full. If it doesnt pressurize, the food wont cook properly, so make sure youre scaling back your recipes. In general, youll need to keep the ingredients level below the 2/3 full MAX FILL line. If youre cooking ingredients that expand , only fill the Instant Pot to the halfway mark. The best instant pot recipes ensure that you follow this step.
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The Quantity Of Liquid
We all know that IP needs some type of liquid to get to pressure. This is how it works and there is no way around this. The liquid is used to power up the pot and delivers amazingly with regular and steamed recipes.
However, when you want something with a thick texture cooked slowly you need a traditional slow cooker. With a Crock Pot, even if the dish starts with more liquid, it will evaporate during cooking.
With an electric pressure cooker like the Instant Pot , this isnt possible because the lid is tightly sealed. Sure, the steam release valve is open, so some steam is released, but the result just isnt the same.
I made a few recipes using the slow cooker function in my Instant Pot. Some were great and some were tasty but a little watery.
Your first try
If you are cooking a recipe for the first time, use the same amount of water \ liquid as in the original slow cooker recipe. It may work and it would be tasty anyway.
Your second try
If the final dish on the first try was too watery, you have 2 options:
1. Use less liquid than in the original recipe.2. Use another lid that isnt as tight.
Want To Convert Your Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes Into Instant Pot Ones All You Need To Do Is Follow These Simple Rules Straight From A Chef
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The day I received my Instant Pot felt like Christmas morning. I unpacked the box and started dreaming about what I would cook first. Then, I took a good hard look at all those buttons and realized something: this thing definitely wasnt in the same league as my slow cooker. It was a sophisticated appliance and I had a lot of learning to do.
Luckily, it didnt take long for me to learn how to get the most out of the Instant Pot. Once I got the hang of how to use my new favorite kitchen tool, I started converting my favorite slow cooker favorites into Instant Pot hits. I found that by following a few simple rules, I was able to make all these fabulous foods in a fraction of the time. So lets dive in and take a look at what it takes.
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The Slow Cooker Setting On The Ip
Most electric pressure cookers have not only the slow cook function but and a whole suite of buttons on the interface. Were only going to dig into the slow cook button in this blog post. While this function is great, there are a few differences that will trip you up if youre not careful. With the Instant Pot, the slow cooker function has a set of temperatures ranging from low to high. These temperatures are NOT same as the ones which are on a typical slow cooker. Here are a couple of conversions to make a note of to ensure optimum cooking in an instant pot:
Slow Cooker WARM setting = Instant Pot Slow Cook LOW settingSlow Cooker LOW setting = Instant Pot Slow Cook NORMAL settingSlow Cooker HIGH setting = Instant Pot Slow Cook HIGH+
conversion chart
*The Instant Pot HIGH setting never gets as hot as the slow cooker HIGH heating setting. If you are using a slow cooker recipe which calls for HIGH heat in a slow cooker, put your Instant Pot slow cooker function onto high and then add an extra 15 minutesof cooking time for every hour of that the recipe calls for. The longer cooking time is needed to compensate for the difference in temperature between the two appliances and make sure your food is fully cooked all the way through.
Converting Cook Times For Pressure Cookers
Probably your biggest remaining question is how long to cook your slow cooker recipe in the Instant Pot. Below are some guidelines, but we recommend you take notes of what works for you and what doesnt. For many people, theres a learning curve to using a pressure cookertrial and error is part of the fun! Also, its important to read the manual that came with your electric pressure cooker for cooking specific meats thoroughly.
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Instant Pot Slow Cooked Turkey Breast
Welcome to my latest recipe in the Instant Pot and today we are enjoying succulent turkey breast slow cooked to perfection with a delicious marinade.
This is particularly good if you have some leftover turkey to use up or you want to slow cook a turkey so that you can then use that turkey for several meals.
Well that is what we plan on achieving right here and now.
If you have been following our combat turkey waste features this month, you will know that we are using up the turkey we bought over Christmas and that we have already used up our turkey legs, our turkey wings and one of the turkey breasts.
This is the last of the turkey breasts and we plan on slow cooking the turkey and then using that turkey breast to make lots of delicious rice dishes.
It is also a lesson learnt in using up leftovers and being frugal and how you can pay out for a turkey breast and then got a lot of meals out of it.
We used to waste a lot of food and now we love to use every last bit of food and make good use out of everything.
What I love about a turkey breast is that it is a LOT bigger than chicken breasts and it is the perfect size for my Instant Pot. I can also make the best use out of the Instant Pot.
I can start it off on the sauté setting to make that delicious crispy turkey skin then I can have the slow cooker setting to cook it in a delicious stock.
More Turkey Recipes In The Instant Pot
Convert Your Favorite Recipes
Conventional recipes can also be adapted for the multicooker. Its not exact, but you can get good results by following these guidelines.
For Pressure Cooking: Cut the liquid by at least half or even three-quarters. You wont have any of the evaporation happening in the pot. A very rough estimate is to plan on about a third of the standard cooking time for meats, vegetables and grains, with beans taking a quarter of the standard cook time.
For Slow Cooking: You dont get as much evaporation in a slow cooker as you do in the oven. Double or quadruple the cooking time, depending on if youre using the high or low setting.
For Both Methods: If you end up with a thin sauce, open the cooker and use the sauté function to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
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How To Use The Instant Pot Slow Cooker Setting
Do you want to use the Instant Pot slow cooker setting? Heres exactly what you need to do to use your Instant Pot as a slow cooker
First, let me say that I got this info from reading a couple of Instant Pot user manuals online and from my own personal trial-and-error. I own the 7-in-1 Instant Pot and several different slow cookers.
Dump And Go Instant Pot And Slow Cooker Recipes
Honey Lime Salsa Verde Chickenchicken tenders infused with lots of bright flavors. Green salsa, honey, lime, and plenty of seasonings will have you licking your plate! This chicken is perfect with rice, on tortillas, wrapped up in lettuce or plain.
Cashew Chickenthis cashew chicken is just as good as your favorite Chinese restaurant. Its super easy and flavorful and its all made in the comfort of your own kitchen. The instant pot speeds up the process and helps get dinner on the table in minutes.
Sausage, Sweet Potatoes and Broccolia flavorful, healthy-ish and easy dump-and-go meal with just a handful of ingredients. This will quickly become a family favorite!
Recommendations
3-Ingredient MeatballsThese meatballs are a perfect appetizer. With only 3 ingredients and the use of your Instant Pot they literally take 3 minutes of hands-on time. They are super flavorful with a little bit of savory and a little bit of sweetness.
Smoked Sausage, Green Beans and Potatoesthe easiest meal with the most amazing results. Smoked sausage, fresh green beans, cubed potatoes and a couple of seasonings are cooked together quickly in your electric pressure cooker for an easy one pot, dump and press start meal.
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