100 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What foods should not be cooked in an Instant Pot? ›

Cooking in an “instant pot” or pressure cooker is a great method for preparing your food on many levels — including the nutritional level, according to registered dietitian Beth Czerwony, RD. “Instant pot recipes are absolutely healthy as long as what you put in the recipe is healthy,” she says.

When you close the lid and set the desired cook time the Instant pot will look like it's not doing anything. Don't worry. In a few seconds it will beep and the display will say ON. It will say ON until the pot comes to pressure and then the timer will start counting DOWN.

Yes, cooking in a pressure cooker is healthy as it uses steam to cook food, the insulated and sealed body does not allow the water to evaporate thus preserving the nutrients in the food. Pressure cookers do not require oil to cook making them even healthier.

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

Water normally boils at 100deg C or at normal air pressure (i.e. at sea level). At this level, no matter how much heat is supplied to the water, the temperature will not go above 100deg C. It is perfectly healthy to cook rice in pressure cooker.

Since pressure cooking doesn't require a much higher temperature and shortens the cooking time, there is less time for nutrient loss. For this reason, pressure cooking may actually preserve nutrients better than other methods of cooking.

Pressure cooking causes a reduction in neutral detergent fiber (22.6–38.8%), acid detergent fiber (18.1–33.6%), cellulose (24.4–43.8%), and hemicellulose (31.3–47.4%).

Is it worth buying an Instant Pot? Yes, we do think an Instant Pot is worth it, particularly for pressure cooking. There's a reason it's one of the most popular kitchen appliances out there.

How long do Instant Pots last? ›

If you're using your pressure cooker on a daily basis and investing in regular maintenance, it may last you up to five years. On average, though, most pressure cookers perform well for up to three years. After that, it's time to consider investing in a replacement.

Hissing, for example, can seem unexpected and even indicative of pressure cooker failure when you first hear it. In reality, your pressure cooker is supposed to hiss. The noise indicates the successful release of steam from the cooking unit either at the end of its cook time or when pressure gets too high.

Whatever your reasons, ready meals aren't always as nutritious as cooking a meal from scratch. This is because they don't always provide your body with the nutrients it needs to stay healthy. Ready meals can be high in salt and fat and low in other nutrients.

With stovetop cookers there's still a small risk of pushing the pressure too high and blowing the thing up, but the Instant Pot doesn't have that danger. And it also has different pressure modes, so you can set it at low pressure for things like soup and high pressure when you're in a hurry.

Preparing healthy meals at home can support your immune system and reduce the risk of illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes. It can give you more energy, improve how you sleep at night, and help you better manage health problems.

Instant Pot and other electric multi-cookers can make meal prepping and batch cooking faster and easier. If you're motivated to cook healthy whole foods for yourself and your family, this tool can really help support your efforts. Reason #1: Pressure cookers cook faster!