3 Delicious Instant Pot Recipes

If you’re like most people, your time is important to you. Balancing time between work, social obligations, me time, and chores becomes a difficult juggling act, and most often, it’s the time spent on yourself that gets pushed to the side. Wouldn’t it be great if we had a way to make more time to spend as we wished?

While time-travel hasn’t quite been invented yet, modern technology has given us multiple ways to be more efficient and productive with the time we are given. A great example of tech that makes life a little easier is the instant pot, sometimes known as the crock pot or the pressure cooker. Using steam built up in the cooking chamber, instant pots cook foods much faster than traditional cooking methods and can cut cooking times by half or more. While older models of instant pot were used on top of stoves and just had a pressure release valve, newer models are electric, heat up on their own, and come with temperature settings and electronic pressure control.

Here are three recipes that will show you how to cook amazing meals in an hour or less using an instant pot.

Sinigang na Baboy

Every household in the Philippines probably has its own version of a sinigang recipe. This dish straddles the line between a soup and a stew, and is great when served with piping hot rice. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

• 1 kg of pork ribs
• 200 g of white yam, skinned and quartered
• 200 g of white radish, sliced on the bias
• 200 g of okra, halved lengthwise
• 200 g of eggplant, sliced on the bias
• 200 g of swamp cabbage, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 packets of tamarind soup base
• 1 long green chili
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 2 small tomatoes, cut into eighths
• Salt and pepper to taste

To make this dish, set your instant pot to medium-high without the lid on. Add a tablespoon of oil to the cooking chamber, and once it begins to sizzle, add the meat, cooking until it browns evenly on all sides. Once the meat has browned, add in the tomatoes, yams, chili, and radish, and enough water to cover all ingredients. Then add in the soup base. Cover the instant pot with the lid and set it to cook at high for 45 minutes. Once the soup has finished cooking, allow the pressure to release on its own, then add in the rest of the ingredients. Cook for another 15 minutes with the lid loosely placed on the instant pot. Serve it with rice when it’s done.

Chilli

This old favorite is an all-in-one dish and is delicious with almost any siding. Serve it with chips and salsa, over rice, on a baked potato, or even on its own for a hearty, filling meal. The spice can be adjusted to the diners’ preference.

Here’s what you’ll need to make instant pot chilli:

• 1 kg of lean ground beef
• 1 can of crushed whole tomatoes
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 cup of black kidney beans (if these come in water, drain off the water first. If dry, soak in water for up to 24 hours before using, then drain off water before use.)
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds, ground
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oil

To make this dish, set your instant pot to sauté, then add in the cumin seeds to toast for about 30 seconds. Scoop them out to prevent them from burning, then add in a tablespoon of oil. Once the oil starts to sizzle, add in the onion, garlic, and beef. Allow the beef to brown evenly, draining off any excess fat. Once beef is browned, add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, and spices. Seal the instant pot and set to cook on high for an hour. The poblano can be left out if a less spicy dish is preferred.

Pot Roast

Another family favorite, this dish is great served over mashed potatoes or white rice for sopping up all the juices and gravy from the roast. To make it, you’ll need:

• 1 whole chuck roast, about 2.5 kg
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
• 4 white onions, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup of frozen green peas
• ½ cup of Worcestershire sauce
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of beef or chicken stock
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oil

To make this dish, start by setting the instant pot to sauté. Once the cooking chamber has come to temperature, add the beef, allowing it to brown evenly, flipping the meat as needed. Once the meat has browned, remove it from the chamber and set it aside. Then add the garlic and Worcestershire sauce, along with the flour. Stir the mixture to allow the browning at the bottom of the cooking chamber to release, then add in the stock. Add back the beef and the vegetables, then seal the cooker and set to cook on high for an hour. Once cooking is finished, serve over a bed of mashed potatoes or with toast on the side.

Instant pots are a great option to save time while also preparing delicious meals. If you get one today, you’ll be amazed by all the things you’ll be able to do with it!