• louie734 on June 14, 2021

  Frustrated that most pressure cooking references are meat-focused, I bought this book for the genius tables with basic cook times for grains, beans, and vegetables. I use those every time I pull out my instant pot - no other book or resource has the detail or dependability of Jill's instructions. I'm starting to realize what a gem the entire book is, and digging into the various recipes, uncharacteristically making exactly as described. If I was smart, I'd store the book inside my empty pot, and save myself hunting for where I last left it - I use it often enough it usually doesn't make it back to the bookshelf!

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spring saffron risotto with peas and asparagus

  • louie734 on June 14, 2021

    This fancyish risotto comes out just about perfect with exactly zero fuss. I usually sub out a little water for a splash of whatever white wine is open. Even the leftovers taste good. And almost all Jill's recipes are oil-free, too.

• French green lentil salad

  • louie734 on June 14, 2021

    Instead of sautéing the onion then cooking with the lentils, I just threw the trimmings of a half onion into the IP with the lentils & water, then let-her-rip. Didn't have any mint, doubled the parsley. Since I love a dijon vinaigrette, I threw some in with the vinegar. I even skipped the toasted nuts. I absolutely loved this lentil salad, a favorite side dish or light lunch in warm weather, and the IP makes it stupid-fast. Was just as delicious out of the fridge days later.

• Basic risotto

  • louie734 on June 14, 2021

    One night after a 12 hour shift, I wanted something hot for dinner, and put a half-recipe of this in the IP before a shower. Frozen peas and a flurry of chopped parsley at the end made this a special treat - especially given how effortless this recipe is. As per usual, I subbed out a little water for a splash of whatever white wine is open.

• Creamy dreamy zucchini chowder

  • louie734 on June 14, 2021

    Totally easy and delicious, toes the line between hearty and delicate. Used almonds stored in the freezer leftover from making almond milk. This is stupid good, freezes well, and tastes good any time of year.

• Black bean and sweet potato hash

  • louie734 on June 14, 2021

    Usually I make veggie enchiladas with roasted sweet potatoes and black beans, and wanting to streamline the process, I thought I'd try this hash as the base: a roaring success. I added a few tofu cubes to the top of the cooker and was pleased with the texture it added. The enchilada sauce I make calls for a spice mix based on chili powder, punched up; I stole some of it to use instead of the chili powder, then added the finished sauce once done with the pressure cooking portion of the recipe, and rolled the enchiladas as usual. The next day, my bf scrambled leftover hash with an egg for a huevos-rancheros situation he described as "EPIC."

• Garlic parsley mashed potatoes

  • louie734 on June 14, 2021

    This makes perfect mashers, and nobody misses the dairy. We like to fold in chopped scallion with the parsley.

• Borscht with a lemon twist and greens

  • MelMM on November 12, 2017

    This borscht recipe is a bit unusual, as it calls for red lentils to be added to usual mix of beets and cabbage. The lentils break down during cooking and thicken the broth, making for a more substantial soup. Taste-wise, you wouldn't know they were there. I liked that the beet greens get added at the end, so nothing gets wasted, and I thought that they were a nice addition. I used a lightly smoked salt, so the smoke flavor would not be too pronounced. I puréed the soup as directed, but kept it somewhat chunky. I used a vegan sour cream instead of the non-dairy yogurt. I added additional salt at the end and an extra lemon's worth of juice. We liked this very much.

  • lorloff on September 26, 2021

    We loved this dish. So fresh tasting. The lentils were brilliant adding a lovely texture to the dish. This is the best dish I have found using both the beets and the beet greens. We were received really huge beets from imperfect foods with beautiful greens each weighed about 14 Oz. I was surprised at how quickly it cooked. I added 3 garlic cloves and started off the soup in about 2T olive oil when browning the onions and carrots. We used the full amount of smoked salt plus some more at the end. Did not add any cream (vegan or not). Instead used one of the suggested herbs at the end from our bumper crop of garlic chives. A repeat for sure. My husband would not serve seconds so that we will have leftovers for the next day!

• Middle Eastern chickpea and tomato soup

  • MelMM on November 12, 2017

    I made a few modifications to the recipe. I started with unsoaked chickpeas, and cooked them with the broth and salt (much more than called for) for 50 minutes, then added the other ingredients that were supposed to go in at the beginning and cooked for 12 minutes more. After some of the soup is puréed and the tomatoes were added, I switched to slow cooker mode and cooked for a bit more. I garnished with parsley instead of cilantro, and added a zig-zag of olive oil, plus a sprinkle of sumac. It was a delicious soup.

• Ethiopian red lentil stew (Misr wot)

  • Apollonia on March 30, 2021

    Have made this several time--- how much you like it ultimately probably mostly depends on your berbere spice blend, since the recipe is otherwise simple, but when it's good, it's good. Best served with injera if you can make it or get yours hands on it, and ideally another veg dish to round out.

• Mushroom risotto

  • redjanet on February 19, 2018

    I love making risotto in the instant pot! It is so ridiculously easy and comes out well every time. The author gives instructions for the basic risotto recipe and then different variations. This mushroom variation worked well and I really liked the inclusion of chopped rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes. I do think it could have done maybe with a little bit of extra flavour, maybe in the form of a splash of white wine or some vegan butter (or both?), but I will definitely be making this again. Leftovers reheated well for lunch the next day.

• Orange-scented beet salad

  • michalow on November 08, 2022

    A nice change of pace from my usual way of preparing beets. My beets were a wee bit undercooked. Still good, but I'll let them go a little longer next time.

• Hearty healing sweet potato soup

  • clcorbi on December 21, 2017

    Pretty good, with modifications. Rather than using 1/2c of chickpeas I just used the full can and upped the stock slightly. I used chicken stock since that's what I had, omitted the spinach, and added 1/2t salt and some red pepper flakes. I also only blended half the soup. With these changes, we really enjoyed this soup and found it quite flavorful. I'm not sure why this cookbook omits salt and oil from so many recipes, but I've accepted that I'll just have to add them back in to get the depth of flavor I want.

• Thai red curry with winter squash, mushrooms, and broccoli

  • clcorbi on December 13, 2017

    This was just okay. To be fair, I had to omit the kaffir lime leaves, but I don't think they could have saved this. I differed from the instructions slightly by adding some olive oil to sautee the onion/garlic mixture, as well as a decent amount of salt at varying stages. Even with the salt and a decent squeeze of lime juice and Sriracha, this was fairly bland. Would not repeat.

• Pakistani greens (Sai bhaaji)

  • Handcraftedlife on June 28, 2017

    Excellent! I used sundried tomatoes instead of canned/fresh, and they worked great.

  • deboChicago on September 04, 2019

    I had to make this a bit differently from the recipe because of a dinner guest who couldn't tolerate tomatoes. It was really not good without the tomatoes, but I added golden raisins and a splash of vinegar and this helped a lot. Leftovers were even better. So the recipe went from "ugh" to...wow, that was pretty good! Fairly easy to prepare--just a lot of greens chopping. Texture was interesting with kale as well as zucchini in the mix. I'm curious to try it with tomatoes next time.

• Cauliflower and chickpea burgers

  • Handcraftedlife on September 04, 2017

    I used broccoli instead of cauliflower. Excellent!

• Smoky double-corn pinto burgers

  • deboChicago on March 04, 2020

    This was good. The burgers stayed together fairly well, which can be a challenge for vegan bean burgers. The spice level was good but they were pretty dry. However, in a sandwich with two crispy corn tortillas, avocado, tomato, spinach, and mayo, they were quite satisfying. I’m not at all sad that we’ll be eating the leftovers for the next couple days but I will keep my eyes open for better bean burger recipes.

• Creamy mushroom soup

  • deboChicago on June 10, 2020

    This is really good, creamy yet light. Will certainly make again.

• Spicy brown rice and bean soup with cilantro and lime

  • Ajammies on December 02, 2021

    Very spicy (as in heavily flavored not hot spicy) if you don't add anything else. Was good with a dollop of (I used plant based) sour cream and scooped up with tortilla chips. Would be tasty with some sautéed squash or zucchini