How To Use Instant Pot To Reheat Food

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Reheat Food Using The Slow Cook Function Of An Instant Pot

How to REHEAT Food in Instant Pot | And store in same pot as well

This is also another feature that is found on most instant pots and you can use it to reheat your food. It is ideal for reheating stews, casseroles and bread. To reheat your food simply place it inside the instant pot and cover it with a lid. The next step is to press the slow cook button and start reheating your food. However, this method takes a longer period of time to warm up the food.

When To Use A Steamer Basket In An Instant Pot

Any good recipe will tell you exactly when to use a steamer basket . But just in case youre making a meal on the fly and wanted to double check, here are a few foods and dishes that always benefit from a lift.

  • Eggs: Because theyre so delicate, eggs benefit from being placed in a steamer basket in the Instant Pot. Since the eggs arent resting directly against the insert, theyre less likely to be jostled or damaged during cooking.
  • Tough or firm vegetables: The pressure cooker function on your Instant Pot is also a smart solution for cooking tough or firm vegetables in a flash. Use a steamer basket to prevent the vegetables from soaking up too much of the water in the bottom of the pot. This is especially important when making potatoes.
  • Meatloaf, whole chicken, and other meats: Using a steamer basket or rack to elevate meatloaf and whole chicken is a smart solution to prevent the food from getting soggy.
  • Bread and cakes: Yes, you can even make things like bread and cheesecake in your Instant Pot, but do cook them on a steamer basket or rack so theyre not resting in the water at the bottom of the insert.

Instant Pot Recipes That Use a Steamer Basket

How To Reheat Frozen Homemade Food In A Pressure Cooker Or Instant Pot

Want to learn how to reheat frozen homemade food in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot? Boy do I have just the trick for you!

You know those homemade meals that you portion up for the freezer? Whichever gadget you cook them in , you can reheat them from frozen in a pressure cooker and, of course, in an Instant Pot!

This works particularly well for bolognese, chilli, stews. Not great for fishy dishes, the fish can go a bit rubbery .

This method of reheating frozen homemade food in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker works great for when you forget to remove things from the freezer, when a week is not going according to plan at all, when the children are hungry or if you work from home and need a quick but healthy lunch.

This is a brilliant tip that I learned from Catherine Phipps herself, the author of The Pressure Cooker Cookbook. She does this in her stove-top pressure cookers so I adapted it to the Instant Pot.

Below you’ll find how to:

  • reheat pretty much anything from frozen
  • reheat rice and pasta dishes
  • combine both methods to do layered reheating
  • Read Also: How To Make Corned Beef In An Instant Pot

    Can You Use Frozen Vegetables In An Instant Pot

    This recipe for making Instant Pot steamed vegetables is based on using fresh veggies. You can use frozen vegetables, but they will need a little extra cook time.

    Rather than setting the cook time to zero minutes, you will just set it to one minute. An alternate method is to allow the pressure to release naturally rather than doing an instant pressure release.

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    How To Reheat Soup In An Instant Pot

    How To Reheat Frozen Food In The Instant Pot {Instant Pot ...

    First of all, you need to leave the leftover soup in the insert pot. Store it in the fridge after covering it with some silicone lid or plastic wrap. Before reheating, remove this lid and put the insert into the instant pot.

    To slowly reheat the soup, turn on the Keep warm function. For a quicker reheating, press the Manual/Pressure Cook button followed by setting the cooking time to 0 minutes. This will bring the soup quickly to a boil and then It will keep the soup in the Keep warm mode.

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    For Reheating Pretty Much Everything From Frozen

    1. Coat the base of the inner pot with cold water .

    2. Remove the frozen lump from the freezer bag or container, place it directly in your pressure cooker .

    3. Lock in the lid. Steam release handle pointing to Sealing. Press Manual. Programme 15 minutes. In a conventional pressure cooker: lock in the lid, bring to high pressure, time 15 minutes. Note that in newer, more powerful, Instant Pots, as little as 5 minutes with 5 minutes NPR does the trick . Play with the timings.

    4. You can do a quick release at the end of this time or, if you are busy , let it do a natural release and even let it go to Keep Warm until you’re ready. It might still be in a lump when you open the lid, give it a good stir. Smaller frozen blocks of homemade food can get away with a bit less time usually but I tend to just go with my tried-and-tested 15 minutes. For bigger blocks I let it do a natural release.

    Tip from me: In the case of chillies and bolognese I tend to then add a glug of red wine and let it sauté or slow cook for a while to enhance the flavours.

    Method B.

    Reheat Food Using The Keep Warm Function Of An Instant Pot

    This is also another method that you can use to reheat food using an instant pot. The keep warm function helps to ensure that your food stays warm. This function is ideal for reheating casseroles or baked dishes. To use this method simply place the food inside the instant pot then cover it with a lid. The next thing is to press the keep warm button and your food will start to slowly reheat.

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    Temperatures And Cooking Times

    If you never seem to have time to cook meals at home, try using a versatile slow cooker. Besides the time and convenience factor, a slow cooker also consumes less power than a conventional oven, notes the USDA.

    A low-temperature slow cooker enables leaner, less expensive meat cuts to become more tender. The cooker’s direct heat and long cooking cycle also help to destroy potentially harmful food-borne bacteria.

    To heat your slow cooker to the proper temperature, focus on the device’s simmer point. This is when your slow cooker contents have reached 209 degrees Fahrenheit, just under the boiling point. On the slow cooker’s low setting, reaching the simmer point should take between seven and eight hours. It should take about three to four hours on a high setting.

    If you’d rather not leave the slow cooker running while you’re away from home, set the timer to cook your food while you’re there, suggests PennState Extension. Or, set the timer to cook the food overnight, but stick to the recommended cooking time.

    Read more:8 Deliciously Simple Slow Cooker Recipes

    How To Use The Instant Pot For Beginners

    Reheat Food in the Instant Pot (quick & easy)

    Learn how to use the Instant Pot with step-by-step instructions and photos for manual or smart program pressure cooker settings, how to sauté foods, and how and when to select a natural release or quick release options. Plus, we cover some Instant Pot FAQs and general tips to make your learning curve as the Instant Pot beginner less steep. Lets get started!

    Looking at your shiny new Instant Pot box and wondering where to start? Dont panic! This wonderful kitchen gadget might seem intimidating but its actually very friendly once you get to know it. Lets unpack the box, its time to learn how to use the Instant Pot.

    As part of our Instant Pot For Beginner series, we have also covered what the Instant Pot is and how it works with its key features and cooking stages. Make sure to check them out!

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    How To Saute In The Instant Pot

    Sauté is a non-pressure cooking program that can be used in place of a frying pan or flat-top grill. For recipes that call for browned onions or garlic, its important to sauté them before adding liquid to the pot as you will release a lot of flavor this way. Another reason to sauté first is for browning meat. Lastly, sautéeing before cooking is a great way to increase heat and reduce the amount of time your pot will take to come to pressure. Learn more about other smart program settings on Instant Pot here.

    Step 1. Star the Instant Pot. Insert the inner pot into the cooker base. Do not use the lid for the next step.

    Step 2. Press the Sauté button. After 10 seconds, the cooker displays ON to indicate that it has begun heating. When display switches from On to Hot, add ingredients you want to brown. Note: You can add ingredients before the Hot message appears if you do, it may not appear at all. This is normal.

    The control panel will display a 30-minute countdown timer as a maximum Sauté time, you can use it for reference if you like or disregard.

    The default temperature setting for Sauté function is Normal. Press Sauté again to cycle through for Less and More temperature options. Use Normal for general pan searing or sautéing, Less for simmering, thickening and reducing liquids and More for Stir-frying or browning meat.

    Step 4. Add any other ingredients and liquids. Stir if needed or leave layered and continue with the manual or program settings to pressure cook the food.

    Simmer With A Bit Of Liquid To Prevent Burning

    Reheating soups, stews and saucy dishes in a pot is super easy, but not so much for things like fried rice or stir-frys that are prone to sticking. Don’t be afraid to add some liquid. I find olive oil, coconut oil, almond milk, chicken or vegetable broth, or even water work extremely well. Add a few tablespoons at a time, cook over low-medium heat and stir frequently.

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    Do I Need To Adjust My Recipes At Higher Altitude

    The short answer is yes. Some Instant Pot models e.g. Ultra and MAX will allow you to set your altitude and the cooking times will be automatically adjusted for you. Otherwise, cooking should be adjusted 5% for every 1,000 feet above 2,000 ft. above sea level. So, for example, at 3,000 ft., you will increase cooking time by 5% and at 4,000 ft., you will increase cooking time by 10% and so forth. One of our team members has lived at many varying high elevations and personally, I have never run into altitude-related issues with my Duo model.

    Rules To Reheat Leftover Chili In Instant Pot

    How To Reheat Frozen Food In Instant Pot {Instant Pot ...

    If you have leftover chili or youve cooked in bulk to freeze and eat later, dont leave the chili or any leftovers for that matter outside for more than two hours. Two hours is the max you can go, and exceeding it threatens both the flavor and freshness of the dish. You need to place the leftover chili in an airtight container.

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    Get A Toaster Oven Instead Of A New Microwave

    If you’re thinking of investing in a new appliance, it should be a toaster oven. Perfect for smaller dishes like leftovers and cooking in hot summer weather. You also save some time not having to preheat a larger oven. Most foods that retain their shape such as casseroles, lasagna and pizza, warm up beautifully in the toaster oven.

    Reheating Food: Should You Use The Microwave

    In the recent years, there have been many claims about the microwave for instance, many have claimed that the device zaps the nutrients out of foods and that it causes cancer. How accurate are these statements? How safe really, is it to use the microwave?

    How Does a Microwave Work?

    Designed to be quick and efficient, the microwave utilizes electromagnetic waves to heat up food. To be more specific, the water molecules inside the food heat up after absorbing the radiation.

    Does it Kill Nutrients?

    Contrary to popular beliefs, its unlikely that microwave cooking has a significant impact on a particular foods nutritional value. In fact, some studies have shown that microwaving can actually help to preserve nutrients, as the process does not require water .

    The Downfalls of the Microwave

    With that said, the microwave is not foolproof. In fact, it is prone to food contamination risks due to its uneven nature of heating . To ensure proper food safety, the item must be stirred repeatedly during the re-heating process so that the middle portion reaches the proper temperature.

    While that may solve the issue of having a cold center, however, it defeats the purpose of the microwaves convenience- after all, this means that youll have to continually stop the device to stir the food. Arent there any better options?

    Things You Shouldnt Reheat Using a Microwave

    As capable as it is, there are some things that shouldnt be re-heated using a microwave. Weve listed them below.

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    Cooking Multiple Recipes Together

    This method is only applicable to foods that have the same cooking time and temperature. First, fill the inner pot with 2 cups of water and adjust a trivet at the bottom.

    Place the dish containing your food on this rack. Lay another rack over the food dish. Place the second dish of food and let the instant pot do its job.

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    How To Reheat Soup In An Instant Pot Slowly

    How To Reheat Frozen Food In The Instant Pot {Freezer Meals} | #AskWardee 079

    You can use this method regardless of what type of soup you have. Thats because by slowly heating up your soup, not only does it retain flavor in the broth, but it prevents starches like noodles and potatoes from scorching.

    Heres how to reheat your soup the slow way:

  • Open the lid and pour in your soup.
  • Press the Keep Warm button.
  • Leave the soup in the Instant Pot until it warms up.
  • This will not bring your soup to a rumbling boil. Instead, it will slowly raise its temperature over time until its good to eat. Itll be ready when you are!

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    Foods To Reheat In The Microwave

    The microwave is undoubtedly one of the fastest ways to heat or reheat food, but the texture of some foods can suffer in the process. Foods that dont have a crisp crust generally reheat well in a microwave.

    • Soups
    • Rice, pasta, and noodles
    • Casseroles

    When reheating food in a microwave, technique is important. Spread food out in an even layer, cover with a damp paper towel to help create some steam while the food is heating so it doesnt dry out, and stir every so often to promote even heating, as there are usually hot spots even in microwaves with turntables.

    And if youre heating more than one kind of food on the same plate, it sometimes isnt a good idea to throw everything on the plate and into the microwave at the same time. If there is a denser food like a pork chop, microwave that by itself until its almost warmed through before adding in quick-heating things, like rice and vegetables. That way, everything finishes heating at the same time but nothing is overcooked.

    Reheat Most Food The Same Way It Was Cooked

    One rule of thumb is to warm up your food the same way it was initially made. For instance, soups and saucy dishes can stay in their initial pots. Baked goods, roasted chicken, veggies and casseroles also warm up well in the oven again. If you’re worried about food drying out in the oven, try covering with foil or portioning out leftovers into meal-size tinfoil packets.

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    When To Select Low Pressure

    Low pressure should be used for delicate foods like eggs, fish, and vegetables. However, all of these foods can also be cooked using high pressure for a reduced amount of time. If you are confused about whether or not to use low or high pressure, its best to stick to high pressure. This should be specified in recipes.

    Best Things To Reheat With An Instant Pot

    How To Reheat Food Using An Instant Pot
    • Soups! Soups are my favorite food to reheat in the instant pot. Its just like reheating it on the stove at a low simmer without having to constantly watch it. If you have a small amount of soup, there are things to watch for , but overall, this is by far the easiest thing to reheat with an instant pot.
    • Pasta with sauce meals are a close second in their ease to reheat with an instant pot. Because of the amount of liquid, this dish works very similarly to reheating soup.

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    Storing Leftover Steamed Buns :

    To prevent them from sticking to one another, place the steamed buns on an oven tray, and partially freeze them in the freezer.

    Then place the partially frozen bao in Ziploc bags. Remove the excess air in the ziploc bags and seal tight.

    For best quality, you can store the bao in the freezer for up to 3 months .

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