The Instant Pot Starter Guide for Me and You

This is for everyone who ordered an Instant Pot on Cyber Monday, and also, somewhat selfishly, for myself. It's all the links, references, and resources I've collected in eager anticipation of the delivery of my new 9-in-1 rice cooker killer.

Let me start by saying, my road to the Instant Pot hasn't exactly been straight. I like to think I shy away from of-the-moment appliances, and instead, have collected a good number of donabe, flameware, and other clay cooking vessels that I cherish and cook with regularly. But I've been increasingly intrigued by sweeping Instant Pot mania (couldn't be later to the party, I know). Some of my favorite cooks are making magic, or at least dinner, with them. One of them even released Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot. I buy every Melissa Clark book. Every one. So, it seemed like the time to pull the trigger here and have a little fun. Also, the newest Instant Pot has a yogurt function. And eight other functions - pressure, slow cooker, rice cooker, egg cooker, sauté mode, steamer, and on and on. Oh, and people are baking cakes in them? Woah.

My first impression stepping into this world? It's a lot. My guess is that many of you are either looking for instruction and inspiration (like me), or you are way ahead, and have your own favorite resources. So that's what this post is about. I'm going to include my list here, as I start feverishly googling, including anything that catches my attention, anything I don't want to lose track of - and I'll try to keep this list updated over time. But, please, if you're seasoned in the Instant Pot arts, with ideas, favorite tricks, inspiration, and whatnot - please (please!) leave a comment.

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THE BASICS
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- This is the Instant Pot I purchased: Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 Qt 9-in-1 Also! Note, there are over 1000 questions answered on this page. A lot of good questions, a lot of good answers.

- Alternative: I initially bought the Breville Fast Slow Pro. And I bought it for a few reasons. It slow cooks, it pressure cooks, and it aesthetically sparks much more joy than the Instant Pot. Also, I found a refurbished one deeply discounted on Amazon, which put it striking distance (price wise) of the Instant Pot I was considering. But it arrived and looked like someone took a sledgehammer to it. This gave me some extra time to rethink the Instant Pot (and its yogurt feature!), and read more reviews and comments. So I switched my order and ordered the Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 Quart 9-in-1 instead.

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OFFICIAL INSTANT POT
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This is the official Instant Pot site, it has videos, updated information related to the different models available, FAQs, and a recipe database. There is also a lively Facebook community, and Pinterest page.

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THE GUIDES & REFERENCES
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- How To Use an Instant Pot: A Guide by Melissa Clark (NY Times)

- The Instant Pot manual has tables with timing recommendations, this site has more.

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LOVE STORIES
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- Why Do Cooks Love the Instant Pot? I Bought One to Find Out (NY Times)

- The Instant Pot Cult is Real (TASTE)

- Send Help: I'm (Kind Of) Falling in Love With the Instant Pot (Food52)

- I Tried The $99 Kitchen Gadget That Everyone's Obsessed With (Buzzfeed)

- After Cooking All My Meals in an Instant Pot for a Week, I Get What All the Hype Is About (Self)

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RECIPE INSPIRATION
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I want to make amazing thali plates with this thing. That's my personal holy grail of Instant Potting.

- Ministry of Curry Instant Pot Recipes

- Ten Instant Pot Recipes Ready in 30 Minutes or Less (The Kitchn)

- Detoxinista / Instant Pot Recipes

- Cook With Manali / Instant Pot Recipes

- Five One Pot Indian Stews (Tasting Table)

- I'm excited about the concept of layering (or, pot-in-pot cooking)! For example, you use racks and containers to cook multiple recipes, like this one. - An explanation of PIP (pot-in-pot) cooking. And here's another one. And a great comprehensive video.

- Instant Pot Hot Sauce (Simply Happy Foodie)

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Immunity Soup

This soup is built on a monster white pepper broth. White pepper with jolts of ginger, and stabs of garlic. I like it just shy of scalding, racing down my throat, sweeping through my sinuses in one boisterous, fragrant swoop. This is a soup I make often, particularly when I need a boost. And, while I float other ingredients in the broth, mostly to make a meal of things, that part of the equation is usually an after thought. For me, this soup is all about the clear strong broth, the invigorating way it makes me feel, and the way it lights up my insides. This is a soup for the coldest days, the runniest noses, and the shortest days of winter.

A couple words of wisdom here. Serve hot. As hot as you can stand without betraying your tongue. It's an experience that's just not the same when the soup is served lukewarm. On occasion, I'll whisk in a bit of brown or red miso for a fuller-bodied, creamier broth experience - also the beneficial miso nutrients. But, try it straight and clear first. -h

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Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad

If you're invited to a potluck this winter, consider bringing this. I first published the recipe over a decade ago, and still cook it regularly for a whole host of reasons. We're talking about plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, lemony flecks of chard, and deeply caramelized onions. You've got crunch from toasted hazelnuts, and brightness from a bit of zest. It's delicious, flexible, and totally satisfying. Also, appropriately, it makes a great vegetarian main for gatherings like Thanksgiving. I've updated and streamlined the instructions and ingredient list here so it reflects how I make it today. For example, I used to cook the chard on the side, but now I don't bother, and just massage it with lemon juice. Little tricks and improvements, and in this case, one less pan to clean.

You can prepare most of the components ahead of time, and throw it together in less than five minutes when you're ready to serve it up family-style. Whenever I have a window in the days prior, I wash and chop the chard (or kale), caramelize the onions, and toast the hazelnuts.

Keep in mind, this whole idea is super adaptable. You can play around with the type of raviolis you use - vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.

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Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes

Hi everyone, I thought it might be helpful if I posted a round up a handful of a few of my favorite vegan Thanksgiving recipes. There are a bunch on the site that are inherently vegan and many more that can easily be made vegan with a minor tweak or two (which I'll note in this list). I've also done a separate post for vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes and suggestions as well. Also, here is where you can find a full directory of the vegan recipes on 101 Cookbooks throughout the year. Vegan Thanksgiving recipes:

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts - A quick and easy brussels sprouts recipe that will convert the biggest skeptics. Vibrant green, tender brussels sprouts that become deeply golden and crusty where they touch the pan. Skip the Parmesan cheese finish to make it vegan.

Saffron Garlic Mashed Potatoes - These are incredible. Cloud-like potatoes drizzled with a saffron garlic olive oil, and topped with a toasted almond, coriander, sesame sprinkle. Simple, but with a enough of a twist to make them special. Use your favorite non-dairy milk, and olive oil for the vegan version - equally delicious!

Maple Grilled Tempeh - A fantastic salty-sweet grilled tempeh recipe. The marinade is made from a simple (but effective) combination of maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic and ground chipotle pepper.

Shredded Brussels Sprouts & Apples - Another favorite way to cook brussels sprouts. Shredded brussels sprout ribbons, apples, garlic, pine nuts, and tofu in a skillet with a hint of maple syrup.

Vibrant Tasty Green Beans - A favorite green bean recipe - dill, green beans, leeks, salt and olive oil. That's it - five ingredients, one skillet - tasty green beans.

Roasted Delicata Squash Salad - So tasty! Pretty, scalloped-edged cross-cuts of the delicata squash, a few small potatoes, chopped kale, radishes, Marcona almonds - and a bold miso harissa dressing.

Caramelized Tofu - One of my favorite tofu recipes, caramelized strips of tofu served over sauteed shredded brussels sprouts. It come together quickly and uses just one pan.

Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad - I made this last year and it makes a great vegetarian main dish, you can make it vegan by using a vegan ravioli and omitting the Parmesan cheese. Plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, sautéed ribbons of chard, and caramelized onions. It's finished off with snipped chives, and lemon zest. You can prepare most of the components ahead of time.

Broccoli Crunch - A great broccoli recipe, one of my favorites! Tiny green florets, crisp apples, crunchy shallots, candied nuts and slivered red onions are tossed in a barely sweet, creamy almond vinaigrette. Add baked tofu or pan-fried tempeh and you can easily turn this side into a main course.

Diana Henry's Uzbeki Carrots - The most interesting carrot recipe I've attempted in a long time - infused with fragrant spices like saffron, cumin, and cinnamon. Punctuated by dried fruit, savory from caramelized onions and tomatoes, with spots of fresh, green herbaceousness from mint, and chiles, and cilantro. Things just get increasingly delicious from there. Use olive oil, and a sweetener other than honey, skip the optional yogurt, and it's vegan.

Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup - This Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup couldn't be easier to make - roasted winter squash, coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, and sea salt come together in a pot of vibrant, rich, flavorful soup. Total crowd pleaser. Use coconut oil or olive oil in place of the butter in the beginning and it's vegan.

Miso Sesame Winter Squash - Inspired by a Bryant Terry recipe - roasted winter squash (and tofu) with a miso, maple, sesame, citrus sauce.

Roasted Pumpkin Salad - A roasted pumpkin salad made with wild rice, tiny, caramelized red onions drizzled with a simple, creamy sunflower seed dressing. Use agave nectar in place of the honey in the dressing to make it vegan.

I'm going to leave the comments closed - with the idea that this is more of a reference post.

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Nikki's Sweet Potatoes

Ten years ago, my friend Nikki shared this recipe with me. She described these sweet potatoes as a sweet potato mash, but with a twist - they get creaminess from a generous splash of coconut milk, crunch from toasted coconut and macadamias, and a kick from freshly grated ginger. For those of you who have been long-time readers, this is the same Nikki who took my site by storm when I posted her Healthy Cookie recipe forever ago. The same Nikki I've been friends with since she showed up in my sixth grade class, fresh from Los Angeles, wearing a Swatch watch and white Reebok hi-tops. Both things I'd never seen before. I know a good number of you love this recipe, so I popped off a few fresh photos the other day. The only tweaks I made to the recipe - baking the sweet potatoes without foil, and suggesting an (optional) finishing drizzle of lemon olive oil. It's a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. Enjoy the sweet potatoes! Miss you Nik!

I think she hit the nail on the head when she told me she paired it with lots of garlicky, sautéed greens. It's the perfect Thanksgiving side dish, but also an A+ option outside of the holiday as well.

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Vibrant Tasty Green Beans

This is one of my favorite ways to cook green beans - five ingredients, one skillet. Now I know some of you are married to your traditional way of cooking green beans, but, if you are in the market for a new version, give this recipe a go. It is easy enough that you could conceivably do a test run before Thanksgiving if you like. I cook green beans a couple times a week during certain seasons, and this version with its slightly quirky combination of ingredients is one I come back to over and over. It is light and bright, healthy and delicious. I simply cook a bunch of chopped leeks (or scallions) until they are golden and a bit crunchy, toss in some chopped dill, and then add the green beans. Do your best to not overcook them and you're all set.

While I've written this recipe as more of a side dish - you can easily bump it up to main dish status. I sometimes use the dilled green beans to fill omelettes (along with a bit of goat cheese). Alternately, you might toss some tofu, tempeh or seitan into the skillet (sauteed until nicely browned or golden ahead of time) along with the green beans. Or you could make a main dish salad by serving the beans over lightly dressed butter lettuce. Plenty of directions to take this one.

As I note in the head notes down below, this is best made to order, just before serving. I don't like hot green beans after they've been sitting around for long periods of time - they lose vibrancy, and the texture and taste changes as they sit overcooking themselves. You can make this recipe a day ahead of time by cooking the leeks and dill first and setting them aside. And instead of cooking the green beans in the skillet, blanch them in a pot of boiling, well-salted water for about a minute. Drain and dunk the beans in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside until ready to use. Combine the components before serving - you can do it at room temperature, or heated quickly in a skillet or pan before serving.

And I think this goes without saying, but do your best to seek out good green beans. Good beans should be bright green and have a bit of snap when you bend them. Avoid leathery green beans - also avoid beans that are limp, mottled or outright mangy.

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