What is an Instant Pot? Learn the differences between instant pot vs. slow cooker & pressure cooker and how to cook delicious recipes with it.
If there’s one kitchen gadget that I cannot stop raving about ever since it came into our lives, it would be the Instant Pot (and this is NOT a sponsored post). But, just in case you’re not familiar, today’s post will give you an overview & a roundup of delicious recipes you can cook with this amazing appliance.
What is an Instant Pot?
It is an intelligent, 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Cooker. It does the job of an electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, and warming pot.
You can purchase the one I use (and the most popular one), Instant Pot DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W on Amazon. They also have newer models DUO Plus 60 9-in-1 (6 Qt) and DUO Ultra 10-in-1 (6 Qt).
Instant Pot vs. Conventional Pressure Cooker
Both offer very similar functionalities. The main difference is the Instant Pot uses programmable electronic control which is missing in the conventional pressure cookers. That is why Instant Pot is also known as the electric pressure cooker, allowing it to produce more consistent cooking results.
Instant pot also comes with an integrated heating unit, making it more energy efficient and safer. A conventional pressure cooker, however, uses a separate heat source (either a gas stove or an electric range).
Instant Pot vs. Slow Cooker
The slow cooker cooks in a low temperature, while an Instant Pot (pressure cooker function) cooks at a higher temperature, which means it cooks food 70% faster. Who doesn’t like that?! If you’re short on time, you can make a meal faster with the Instant Pot. You can come home, spend a few minutes prepping the ingredients, toss them into the pot and dinner is done within 30 minutes or so.
What makes the Instant Pot stand out though is it is both a slow cooker and pressure cooker, so you don’t have to get separate gadgets for different preparations.
Frequently Asked Question – Cooking Rice with Instant Pot?
I often get asked if I’ve used the Instant Pot for cooking rice and how to cook rice with Instant Pot.
My answer is I only use my Instant Pot for cooking main dishes, so I prepare my rice separately in my favorite Zojirushi rice cooker. Also a reader did mention that the rice gets stick to the inner pot of Instant Pot. If you wish to give it a try, I’d love to hear your experience. Do you cook Japanese short grain rice (which is stickier than other white rice)?
3 Main Reasons I Love about the Instant Pot:
1. Huge time saver.
With its multiple built-in cooking modes (including sautéing), I can now brown the meats and ingredients directly inside the pot without using my stove and a separate pot. That means fewer dishes to clean!
2. Delayed Electric Timer.
I can set it, walk out of the door and not worry about it.
3. Easy to Clean.
The cooking bowl is made with stainless steel, so I can just throw the pot and other small parts into the dishwasher and wash the lid by hand.
Now that you’ve learned more about the Instant Pot, I hope you’d have fun cooking up the delicious recipes that I share below.
17 Favorite Instant Pot Recipes
1. Pressure Cooker Potato Salad
If your family loves potato dishes, you want to give this delicious Pressure Cooker Potato Salad a try. With the Instant Pot, there’s no waiting for the potatoes to get boiled since they will be ready in 5 minutes!
2. Pressure Cooker Short Ribs
Boneless short ribs are cooked with daikon and carrots in a savory sauce until moist and tender. A beautiful dinner gets done in 30 mins!
3. Pressure Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
Just because you don’t have time, you don’t have to give up on homemade bolognese sauce all together. With the instant pot, you can easily whip up this family-favorite while achieving full depth of flavor for the sauce anytime. It’s a sure win!
4. Slow Cooker Sriracha Chili Chicken Wings
With only five ingredients and minimal prep work, these Sriracha Chili Chicken Wings are perfect as party appetizers and easy weeknight meals. After 2 hours of slow cooking in my Instant Pot, the meat is tender and almost falling off the bones. You can serve as it is, or for crispy texture, pop them into the oven for a quick broil.
5. Pressure Cooker Nikujaga
Nikujaga (肉じゃが) is a classic Japanese home cook dish, featuring sliced meat, vegetables & potatoes simmered in dashi soup. Cutting the meat into smaller chunks helps to cook all the ingredients evenly in the electric pressure cooker.
6. Pressure Cooker Japanese Curry
If you love the mild and thick Japanese Curry, then you’ll love this quick and easy electric pressure cooker recipe. It cooks the curry in just 15 min and tastes fabulous.
7. Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork
Easy and extremely versatile, this Instant Pot Asian Pulled Pork is going to be your hero meal on a busy week. You get irresistibly tender meat that can be stretched out for a week with very minimal work. Enjoy the pulled pork in your sandwich, rice bowl, or tacos!
8. Slow Cooker Chicken Wings
Cooked in a savory soy sauce broth with daikon, these Slow Cooker Chicken Wings give you plenty of hands-off time but surprisingly moist and tender meat.
9. Pressure Cooker Pork Belly (Kakuni 角煮)
A once-a-time-consuming dish like pork belly can now be prepared in a much faster time with an instant pot. The best part is you don’t have to constantly monitor the cooking temperature and liquid to get the pork super tender. Enjoy the Pressure Cooker Pork Belly with a steaming bowl of rice!
10. Pressure Cooker Oxtail Broth
Richly flavored and packed with nutrients, Pressure Cooker Oxtail Broth is a perfect beef stock for many Japanese soup recipes. Use the broth for your Japanese Udon, Japanese Curry, and Japanese Fish Cake Stew (Oden). You can also enjoy the broth as it is for a warm pick-me-up. Did I say it’s high in collagen which is great for the skin?
11. Pressure Cooker Oxtail Soup
Cooking oxtails take a long time, but not anymore! With a pressure cooker, you can make this hearty Oxtail Soup in a much shorter time!
12. Pressure Cooker Japanese Seafood Curry
If you love curry, it’s time to try Japanese Seafood Curry packed with amazing flavors from the shrimp, squid, scallops, spices, and kombu dashi.
13. Pressure Cooker Steamed Pork with Garlic Soy Sauce and Ginger Miso Sauce
Enjoy this tender, juicy Pressure Cooker Steamed Pork by using Instant Pot pressure-steaming method. Once the meat is cooked, slice into thin slices and drizzle with a savory garlic soy sauce or ginger miso sauce. So delicious with rice and a side of vegetables.
14. Instant Pot Beef Tendon Stew (Gyusuji Nikomi)
Pressure cooked in savory Japanese seasonings, this Japanese Beef Tendon Stew (Gyusuji Nikomi) is incredibly flavorful and literally melts in your mouth.
15. Instant Pot Kabocha Flan
Pressure Cooked in Instant Pot, this Kabocha Flan with caramel sauce has a silky smooth texture and rich custard flavor with a hint of sweet kabocha.
16. Oxtail Oden (Fish Cake Stew)
This is a fancier version of Oden – Japanese fish cake stew – with a richer, heartier broth made from a combination of oxtail and dashi. Once you make this very flavorful Oxtail Oden recipe, it’s hard to go back to the simple version anymore!
17. Pressure Cooker Anko (Red Bean Paste)
Anko (red bean paste) is a popular filling in many favorite Japanese sweets & desserts. All you need is azuki beans, sugar, and salt, and use the ‘Bean/ Chili’ function’ to prepare this sweet bean paste in an instant pot.
I hope you have fun using your Instant Pot and enjoy making these pressure cooker & slow-cooker recipes!
Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for the FREE Just One Cookbook newsletter delivered to your inbox! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on February 12, 2017.
Hi Nami! First time I knew about IP was through you. Thank you for sharing your yummy recipes. Indeed IP saves so much time and less washing of extra pots and pans. I have a small kitchen counter so IP does all the job and no need of using more pots and pans. Since rice is a staple in my house I just have to manage my time. Cook rice first then IP is free to cook the other dishes. I am so happy with it that I introduced it to my daughter in law. She bought one too.
Hi Gemma! I’m so happy to hear that you are enjoying cooking in IP! As I’m always a last minute person (I wasn’t like this before….I was way more prepared!), slow cooking doesn’t work me…. I usually have no idea what to cook until the late afternoon. 😀 So pressure cooking has saved so much of my time. It’s wonderful! No wonder this company is doing well. It helps so many home cooks! I’m glad you are enjoying and thank you for your kind feedback. I’m glad I could share some cooking equipment that I enjoy using on my blog. 🙂
How does the InstantPot slow cooker function compares to a regular slow cooker?
HI Diana! I’m sorry but I don’t own a regular slow cooker so I can’t compare it myself… I assume it works similarly but I don’t know in details.
About Rice – I use my InstantPot all the time to make rice.
I use Nishiki Short Grain rice.
2 cups of water, 1 1/2 cups of rice.
Mix it around in the pot so everything is wet and also tap the grains softly making sure they’re level. (I don’t know if this is necessary but I do it every time out of habit.)
Close & Seal the lid.
Press the Rice button, which defaults to 12 mins – and walk away.
Turns out perfect every time!
*Note: If you want to try and make something like Ginger Rice (https://www.justonecookbook.com/ginger-rice/) I would add extra water.
I am still experimenting with this. I am unsure why the rice drys out so quickly,
I think the sodium from the soy sauce brings the water level down and perhaps the sugar in the sake & mirin makes the boil more energetic, losing more moisture.
Anyways, I’m very happy to see InstantPot recipes used here. I’ve never used it more than I do now!
Hi Scott! Thank you for sharing your detailed tip with JOC readers and me! I’ll try making rice in my IP soon. I have to try. Also, about ginger rice (or any Takikomi Gohan/Japanese mixed rice), it’s very interesting. I think depends on the additional ingredients, the moisture level might be slightly different, as vegetables etc will release more water. If you put aburaage like I did in Ginger Rice recipe, maybe aburaage absorbs more moisture too? I’m so happy you’re cooking in your IP more often. 🙂
Hey there! I’m glad you have this page, it’s hard to find pressure cooker recipes, whether in books or on the internet.My family has had an electric pressure cooker for years and never used it until now. I tried the pork belly pressure recipe (in a pressure cooker, not instant pot) and it turned out great! (although my family decided it didn’t render enough meat per fat ratio.)
I also tried it with different meats, as my brother hates pork, and if you want some reviews on them let me know. Next time I’m trying it with a less fatty pork, but that may take a few weeks to try (we only make asian once a week and I’ve got a few recipes lines up already)
Hi Erin! That’s great that you start using your pressure cooker! Sure, I’m sure JOC readers would love to hear your tips and feedback! 🙂
I really want to get rid of my slow cooker and buy one of these Instant Pots! My mother always told me horrifying stories about pressure cookers blowing up, so they always intimidated me. Now that the Instant Pot exists – and has been used by several of my friends – I am stoked about getting one. 🙂
Hi Rachel! Haha I know, I grew up seeing how pressure cooker (on stove) behaved, and I was terrified too. But with electric pressure cooker, you have an option to “naturally release” the pressure, hence you don’t even hear any hissing sound, or don’t even have to be in the kitchen! How smart that slow cooker and pressure cooker in one gadget. I am not a good planner and never start preparing a dinner early so pressure cooker works for me. =P
I used instant pot to cook rice all the time and it didn’t stick to the pot. I rinsed the rice before I put it in the pot so maybe that’s why the rice didn’t stick to the pot. I used the chicken curry recipe with my instant pot and the food was amazing! Thank you for sharing ????
HI Jocelin! Thank you so much for your feedback. May I ask if you used the Japanese short grain rice? It’s more stickier than other rice, so I’m curious how it is… 🙂 Happy to hear your chicken curry came out well too! Thank you for trying my recipe! 🙂 xo
I just got an Instant Pot and have been browsing your site for recipes. I can’t wait to try out the Japanese curry. It’d be awesome if you could create more recipes involving the Instant Pot!
Hi Jae! Yay! I plan to share more, but I can’t forget about my readers who don’t own one, so… I’ll try to share IP recipes once in a while (will not stop sharing). 🙂 Thank you for your request!
My main problem with the Instant Pot is that before the pressure cooking process actually starts kicking in, the pot takes at least 20 min for it to heat up or so… That’s taking too long! How do you tackle this?
Hi Loi! Usually 15-20 minutes for me. However, I usually set and leave the kitchen (we have kids activity in the evening), so I’m not around when my IP is doing the cooking…. which is why it works for my lifestyle.
If I was going to make the same tender meat that falls off the bone in a regular pot on my stovetop, I would need to stay in the kitchen to watch my food for a long time. Considering that, IP works really great. I can leave the house AND cook in relatively shorter time.
If you use IP for something that can be cooked in a pot for the same amount of time, your benefit is just being able to leave the kitchen and feeling safe.
Like, my IP curry recipe, you can do the same thing in the stovetop. Not much benefit out of pressure cooking as I’m not cooking big chunky meat. The benefit is that we can leave the kitchen instead of cooking on low heat and stay in the kitchen etc.
So 20 minutes of pressurizing time is nothing, compared to HOURS of cooking/simmering. 20 mins is not bad if you need to go out. But if you are cooking some food that can be replaced by regular pot, AND you’re home… maybe not much benefit out of it?
Hi Nami. Thanks for the reply. My wife, Risa Closson is trying to decide on a great dish to start with. We will send you once we have all the material created. Excited! Talk to you soon.
Hi Clayton! Keep us posted! 🙂
I love my instant pot! What a time saver and the convenience of cooking the whole meal in one pot with easy clean-up. makes it an indispensable tool no kitchen. should be without. ICHIBAN !
I have tried cooking rice in it several times and must admit I don’t care for the texture or moisture content, though I’ve tried different amounts of water.
My 20 year old Aroma Rice cooker makes perfect rice every time.
Hi Paul! Yay! So happy that you enjoy cooking in your instant pot too! It really works for my schedule with evening activities for the kids. I can’t be home to keep an eye on my food. I’m very thankful for my IP.
Thanks so much for your feedback on cooking rice. I have to try cooking the rice one day… I wonder if everyone tries with Japanese short grain rice or other rice varieties. The texture are so different, and I feel like Japanese rice is stickier than others so I am not convinced yet to cook my precious rice in there. LOL.
Thanks for writing!
Oh, Nami! I’m determined to try at least a couple of your Instant Pot recipes! I bought one from Amazon after reading your posts, thank you very much! And I’ve started binge watching Midnight Diner, too! Can’t wait to which recipe you’ll create!
Hi Donna! Yay!! Hope you enjoy the IP recipes. I need to shoot more IP recipes, but I also have other recipes to share… (and not everyone has IP). I hope to share more recipes in the future.
It’s only 30 minutes so we finished the series quickly. I’m waiting for Season 2. We prepared 5 recipes so far from the show. 🙂 Can’t wait to share!
Ohaiyo Nami-San !
After reading several of your recommendations on Instant-Pot, I ordered one from Amazon.
It’s not the deluxe (7-in-One) model you have but I think it good for the two of us.
Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker, 6Qt, 1000W (updated model) (only 6-functions)
It’s scheduled to be delivered tomorrow (Feb. 15th).
Anxious to try it.
Ohayo Doug-san! 🙂 Honestly, I don’t use 7 functions too. Maybe I’ll try yogurt one day, but I just keep using pressure cooker only these days. 🙂 Hope you enjoy using IP! Set and leave the kitchen. And when you come home, meat fall off the bone in a short cooking time… LOVE IT.
Excellent post…thanks
Thank you Lyn! 🙂
I don’t have the “Instant Pot” but do have an electric pressure cooker. The only difference I see is that the Pot does a few more things than my pressure cooker does, like make yogurt. I do make rice in the pressure cooker. 1 C rice for each 1 1/2-1 3/4 cup water and it comes out fine.
Hi Becky! I haven’t tried other brand of pressure cooker, but I mostly use pressure cooker function so ours should be pretty much the same. I heard from a reader that his/hers (Japanese brand) doesn’t have saute function. I’m happy to hear you cook rice in it, too!
What is the brand name, cost, and quart capacity of the Instant Pot used and featured in these recipes, Where is the best place to purchase the Instant Pot?
Hi Edwin! Amazon is probably the best place to purchase (). The prices changes on Amazon, and the best deal usually comes during holidays (or Black Friday). However, once in a while there is a really good sale. Mine is 6 QT and works for family of 4. Hope that helps?
Hi Nami,
I use the instant pot to cook rice all the time. I don’t have a problem with the rice sticky to the pot. Of course it’s not non-stick material, so there’re traces left on the pot, but I don’t have problems taking all the rice out and the marks are easily washed off. I don’t own a zojirushi rice cooker, but it cooks better than my old one from target, Especially when I let it natural release, the rice shines!
Hi Sofie! This is such a great feedback. Thank you! I can guess how much rice gets stuck, as I have seen how rice gets stuck at the bottom of stainless steel pot. I’m happy to hear your rice shines too! 🙂 Thank you for your feedback. I think my readers need to hear from both side, and glad we got yours!