Notes about Recipes in this book

• Red lentil soup with mint oil

  • Jane on February 06, 2018

    This was a great soup. I wish I’d made double quantities as it will be a good one to freeze in individual portions for a quick lunch. The addition of cumin, turmeric and tomato paste as well as firstly cooking the onions until golden, gives the soup a good depth of flavor. I didn’t like the mint oil though so I just used fresh mint.

  • westminstr on December 27, 2017

    Have made the stovetop version of this soup many times. As she says, the IP is not faster but is more convenient. I skipped the mint oil and had to leave out the garlic, only had about 1/3 of a large lemon. It was still very good and E liked it a lot. I liked how the onions cooked down in the IP, they were very soft.

  • mlbatt on February 27, 2020

    Didn't do the mint oil, didn't need it - I did add a bit of dried mint to the soup. Will make again!

  • rionafaith on October 08, 2019

    Quite thick, would use a cup or two more liquid next time. Used canned chopped tomatoes and they stayed a bit chunky, next time would use crushed or omit and only use the tomato paste. Flavor was very good, I used about 1/8 tsp of cayenne and it was just right. I did not make the mint oil but I did garnish with fresh mint, which was interesting but maybe not strictly necessary. I would be curious to try the mint oil next time though. Will make again with some tweaks.

  • LittleKi on September 13, 2020

    Tastes as good as any lentil soup I have made with the convenience of being able to just press a button and walk away for a few minutes. Skipped the mint oil. If I am putting something in the IP, it's because I want to avoid fussiness.

• Farro pilaf with spiced cauliflower, pine nuts + raisins

  • Jane on August 18, 2018

    This was a great recipe - quick (especially for cooking farro). Although Melissa says one hour, it only took me 45 minutes start to finish. I liked the spicing on the cauliflower and the sweet & sour raisins and marinade. And as she says, just one pot to clean.

  • ncollyer on November 12, 2017

    This is a tasty and substantial vegetarian dish with complex flavours. Clever use of the Instant Pot to cook multiple items at once.

  • TangoTosca on December 03, 2017

    Interesting recipe! Impressive to cook farro so quickly.

  • LittleKi on August 01, 2022

    On the page, this looks like a lot of work and ingredients but it is really very simple and clever. Didn't know farro could pressure cook in eight minutes!

• Moroccan chickpeas + kale

  • westminstr on April 27, 2018

    I made a half recipe w an entire bunch of kale. I didn't have any fennel bulb but put in some frozen fennel stalks for flavor. I also presoaked the chickpeas, then cooked for 18 minutes on HP with four cups of water. The chickpeas turned out perfect but the dish was too watery - and I just realized now that I completely forgot to cut the quantity of water in half (though luckily I did reduce the water quantity somewhat to account for pre-soaking). So the wateriness was on me, not on MC. I liked the flavor but not sure I will repeat since there are many more bean dishes I want to try in my IP.

  • mcvl on April 04, 2020

    Pleasantly tasty. I had neither fennel nor apricots (#covidcooking), so used fennelseed and hunza raisins instead. Like Skamper I used harissa instead of jalapeños. I think the apricots were probably the biggest loss -- will try again some time.

  • Aggie92 on March 22, 2018

    Our local newspaper featured this recipe a few weeks ago and I knew I had to make it. The other half isn't so crazy about chickpeas as a main protein so I thought I'd make this for my lunch. Should have read the recipe thoroughly first since it took quite a while to put together and cook. Needless to say, I had quite a late lunch, albeit delicious. Since it was just me eating this, I cut the recipe in half (except I used a whole bunch of kale and left out the fennel since I didn't have any in the veggie bin.) My chickpeas were a cross of cooked just right and just a tad underdone. Could have been high altitude (I did not adjust the cooking time for 6200') or my beans may have been a little old, This was seriously delicious and I will definitely make it again and again.

  • TrishaCP on November 02, 2019

    Not bad, but a lot of work and not repeatable in my book. I used the preserved lemon and rather wish I hadn’t. Straight up lemon juice would be much better.

  • zorra on January 12, 2018

    My kind of everyday dinner recipe--familiar main ingredients but with distinctive flavorings. Used 6.5 cups water, 2 bunches of kale (sliced thin & wilted on stove while stew cooked), & added 2 shredded carrots at the end. But when will I learn that a pound of any dried bean makes more meals than 2 people care to eat in any week?

  • dinnermints on February 19, 2018

    I've never pressure-cooked beans with this much salt before, but seeing that zorra didn't mention anything about the beans not cooking properly, I thought I'd give it a shot. Really enjoyed it - the flavor gets all throughout the beans, and while I wouldn't describe them as "velvety" per the author note, they were delicious. I used 1.5 seeded jalapeno, 8 garlic cloves, and would also use 2 bunches of kale (without increasing the water). And it took me a full three hours instead of the two indicated by the recipe.

  • clcorbi on May 13, 2018

    I pre-soaked my chickpeas as well but didn't decrease cooking time to compensate, so they were a little too soft--my mistake. I also found that the dish was too watery, but then again, that's my experience with most pressure cooker recipes. Neither of us like cooked kale, so I substituted a head of diced broccoli which I added for the last few minutes of cooking. Not authentic or anything, but we both liked the result, and the leftovers were delicious as well.

  • Dannausc on April 18, 2020

    Fairly easy. Flavorful and good.

  • Skamper on February 25, 2019

    To make this doable on a weeknight, I made through the end of step 2 (cooking the chickpeas) the day before, then reheated the next day on saute and added kale, apricots, and about 2.5 T preserved lemon. Used 1 T harissa paste instead of jalapeno, added with the tomato paste. Good but a fair amount of work and time.

• Smoky lentils + sausage

  • westminstr on October 25, 2018

    I really liked this dish! I subbed French lentils for green (which I would do again) and my only critique would be to try cooking a bit less next time - maybe 9 minutes instead of 11. Lentils had great flavor though even if a bit softer than I prefer. Used Whole Foods sausage and liked it. Served w simple green salad.

  • TrishaCP on November 30, 2018

    This had a pretty high (and favorable) work to taste ratio. I cooked this in advance because of work deadlines and it held up well. Based on comments here, I cooked the lentils for 9 minutes. I also didn't bother with the rack for the sausages- I just laid them on top. I used mild sausages but would go for spicy ones next time. The heat from my paprika (using the hot kind) was negligible.

  • wodtke on December 10, 2017

    Easy enough, and pretty good. Not stunning. Lentils a bit crispy, but that's probably how they're meant to be, as they are green lentils. Cook a little longer than specified if you want softer ones.

  • clcorbi on February 12, 2018

    We really liked this. I used soy chorizo rather than meat sausages, and sliced them into coins before browning. I also added a generous dollop of TJ's umami paste with the onions and garlic. I then just mixed the sausage coins back in with the raw lentils and cooked the whole thing together. This is a really nice comfort-food dish, and was very good over mashed potatoes as a winter dinner. I would make it again!

  • Skamper on September 06, 2019

    My husband liked this more than I did. I thought it could have used more flavor.

  • ChristineL32707 on June 09, 2019

    This is good - two of us ate everything. Used 3 sausages; Needs more seasoning - salt, pepper, garlic - play with it. Tried with Polish sausage - YUM. Maybe fry a slice of bacon and brown sausages in that.

• Indian chickpeas with tomatoes + onions (Chana masala)

  • westminstr on May 26, 2018

    Following these notes, I used pre soaked beans and cooked for 18 minutes. Chickpeas were perfect and broth was so good! This is going to be my basic chickpea cooking method from now on. I made the tomato-onion mixture on the stove while chickpeas cooked. I made a half recipe w a couple of fresh Roma tomatoes instead of half a small can. This dish didn't taste completely "authentic" to me - spicing was pretty mellow and on the sweeter side - but very tasty nonetheless. I loved it and would definitely make it again. Used the IP to make rice after adding the chickpeas to the tomato-onion mixture on stovetop. Used chickpea liquid to cook the rice and it turned out great!

  • TrishaCP on February 13, 2018

    We really liked this as well. I needed to make a salt-free version, so I cooked the onions until they were deeply caramelized to make sure the sauce was very flavorful. I pressure-cooked the beans dry per her recommended time, but they were a bit blown out (though soft) in the time specified. I need to keep experimenting, but my guess is that you will get a better result with pre-soaked beans.

  • twoyolks on February 08, 2018

    This was really nice served over rice. I would've liked more of a spice flavor to the sauce but I think I was using old garam masala. I soaked the chickpeas overnight in the water and salt and then cooked them at pressure for 12 minutes. The chickpeas were perfectly cooked.

  • clcorbi on March 19, 2018

    Agree with Trisha that this dish would work better with pre-soaked beans; mine were also blown out and not as soft as I would have wanted. Next time I'll soak overnight (which was my gut reaction in the first place). I also would prefer the onions to be diced next time, as I didn't enjoy the texture of the long strings of onion. Otherwise, this is a very tasty dish.

  • rionafaith on January 23, 2021

    My chickpeas probably could have used a few more mins at pressure as they were still slightly al dente. Maybe I will soak them first next time as other comments suggest. This had really good flavor, though I think I might prefer the sauce to be pureed before adding back the chickpeas? Might try that next time too.

• Duck confit

  • westminstr on January 18, 2018

    I had problems with the IP not maintaining pressure, which could have been because I halved the recipe. I forged ahead despite problems and at the end of the process the duck legs were properly cooked and astoundingly delicious. I would like to try again with the proper proportions to see if it works better with more duck legs in the pot. (I also omitted the allspice)

  • Zosia on July 11, 2019

    Like westminstr, I made a half recipe with only 2 legs but I had a different problem, the dreaded "burn" warning when it was coming to pressure. And it happened twice!.... the second time after I had cleaned the pot and strained the fat. The 2 legs hadn't rendered enough fat to cover the bottom of the pot completely so I added fat from chicken-duck stock I had made the day before - about 2 tbsp. That seemed to fix the problem. The resulting duck was as delicious as the other reviewers have said.

  • janeh9 on March 21, 2018

    I made the full recipe, forewarned by wetminstr's comment. I followed the recipe exactly (unusual for me!), and the result was amazing and delicious. The bonus is a nice little jar of duck fat as well as some concentrated broth in the freezer. This will definitely be repeated.

  • mirsaidi007 on January 22, 2021

    This was delicious and relatively quick/easy. Made two batches with 4 legs in each. The first batch, even with 4 legs, never came up to pressure. Perhaps because of the lack of rendered fat (there wasn't much after searing)? Luckily I had a 1/2 cup of duck fat on hand from roasting a duck a week earlier (this was over the holidays - the time for duck apparently!) - once that was added it quickly came up to pressure. For the second batch I just poured in the fat from the first batch. I have also subbed bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for the duck legs with great success!

• Braised pork with garlic, fennel + olives

  • westminstr on October 04, 2021

    Loved this! Basically followed the recipe except I marinated 24 hours and cooked for 45 min at HP which was plenty. Any more and I would have had totally shredded pork. Had plenty of jus after draining the fat & served over polenta which was perfect, because the jus was on the thin side. Jus was salty on its own but perfect w the polenta. Swiss chard on the side. Kids did not love, they prefer the garlicky Cuban pork from this book. Plenty of leftovers!

  • sck on January 24, 2018

    Really delicious! I might use a bit more fennel seed next time, but people craved seconds. Serve with rice to soak up the delicious sauce.

  • FJT on August 07, 2021

    After reading the comments below, I doubled the amount of fennel seed and this paid off. Definitely reminiscent of porchetta. I did have some issues with the recipe though. Despite not reducing the wine by as much as the recipe stated because my pressure cooker requires at least 100ml, I had very little sauce when I opened the pressure cooker up and most of that was actually fat. So it was never going to work well over rice as intended. I shredded the meat, didn’t add the olives and used it as a replacement for the traditional tomato-based ragu in a lasagna. This was very, very good!

  • rionafaith on April 19, 2019

    Meltingly tender, fall-apart pork. A tad salty -- I would reduce salt to 2tsp when seasoning the meat next time, and/or thoroughly rinse the olives. I used extra dry vermouth instead of wine and black kalamata olives instead of green, as that's what I had in the pantry. Also used half the amount dried rosemary and sage as opposed to fresh. I did not find the fennel flavor prominent at all -- could add more next time? I served with lots of fresh chiffonaded basil and a good squeeze of lemon and it was very tasty.

  • luluf on August 05, 2021

    This was ok, it was tasty but like most of the slow cooked meat dishes I have made. They just have a general savoury meat taste. It was nicer the day after I made it and I really enjoyed it for lunch

• Smoky barbecue chicken

  • westminstr on May 26, 2018

    We liked this one too (except for E). I made a half recipe and we ate it all. I omitted the chipotle, still good without though probably better with. Served w greens & cornbread.

  • TrishaCP on April 24, 2018

    Another fan here. Easy to pull together and the flavor was great. I didn't have chipotles in adobo, so I used 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chiles, which made it nice and smokey.

  • lchristoffersen on July 15, 2019

    I found that the thighs were significantly overcooked at 15 minutes on high pressure. I looked at online Instant Pot guides and found that most sources suggested 8 minutes (with a maximum of 10).

  • hirsheys on June 23, 2019

    Delicious and quite easy. Next time I'd maybe use chicken breasts, though I'm not sure that they'd be as moist. Still, the sauce is *very* tasty. I liked these on tortillas with some melty cheddar and cole slaw.

  • purpleshiny on January 28, 2018

    We've made this several times. It's great in buns, but also great on polenta or on mac and cheese. Freezes and reheats beautifully. It's a little spicy as written (bonus for us, but not for everybody, so noting it here.)

  • Zosia on November 04, 2020

    We would have preferred a sauce that was a little less sweet and with more sharpness - an easy adjustment for next time - but the dish was still very good. I didn't cook the sauce down to a paste at the start, just brought it to a boil before adding the chicken, but I still got the "burn" message. Nothing was actually burning so I just added 60ml stock that was cooked off at the end. I used chicken breasts, 290gea, cooked at high pressure for 10 minutes with quick release. They were tender and juicy. (Edited to add: even better w/o the brown sugar and cooked for 9 minutes, quick release)

  • tarae1204 on January 02, 2023

    This chicken recipe has been on repeat in our house for years - it’s what got my younger son to start eating chicken at all when he was a picky toddler. Tonight we made it with generous quantities of the homemade sauce (which is adaptable) and only half the quantity of chicken. The chicken isn’t really over cooked as it just shreds so easily. It could use some green onions and herbs…

  • mamacrumbcake on August 04, 2018

    This is good and easy and makes excellent sandwiches. I followed the directions exactly and it turned out great. There was no problem coming up to pressure, even though it seemed like there was not enough liquid. I used the full amount of chipotle and it was not spicy. The barbecue sauce is delicious!

  • NJChicaa on April 01, 2018

    I didn't know if I was going to like the sauce as I smelled it cooking but my fears were for nothing. It was delicious! This is a wonderful recipe. Will make again and again.

  • clcorbi on December 19, 2017

    Excellent, and seriously speedy to throw together. Although MC mentions that you can substitute bottled barbecue sauce to make this recipe even faster, the sauce takes so little time and has such a lovely depth of flavor that I really don't think bottled would suffice. I chose to reduce the sauce at the end with the chicken still in the pot, shredding it as the sauce reduced, and that worked perfectly for me. We ate this scooped into soft tacos with some hot sauce and sliced cucumbers. Perfect.

  • averythingcooks on January 05, 2023

    I made a 1/2 recipe of this & went the slow route (instructions included on the page) and 5 hours on low produced tender, flavourful chicken thighs. I did up the heat factor in the sauce a bit for our palates and just before serving, I turned the slow cooker to high (lid off) & stirred in a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. I wanted an easy (mostly hands off) main to serve with mashed potatoes & broccoli and this fit the bill perfectly.

  • cdglamontagne on May 26, 2019

    We make this all the time for easy dinner or weekday lunches, but we cheat with Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce. The sauce in the recipe is good but I don't notice a huge difference to be honest.

  • jhallen on February 28, 2021

    This was good but not necessarily great. Certainly easy and everyone liked it.

• Eggs cooked hard or soft

  • westminstr on January 24, 2018

    I had to make some hard-boiled eggs for hiking snacks and decided to drag out the IP. They really did peel easily! I think I did 7 minutes at regular (high) pressure only because I'm pretty sure I forgot to adjust the pressure as the directions specified. And I did use an ice bath to stop cooking which I normally don't do. These turned out with firm yolks but not dry - they were good for hiking since they needed to hold at room temp for hours. For dinner I would definitely do less time for a runnier yolk. Let the experimentation begin!

  • zorra on January 10, 2018

    Silly,  I said. Why use the behemoth cooker when a saucepan would do? But Clark is right, the point is the peeling, it's effortless. We tried low pressure for 8 (dry), 7 (just right for mashed yolks) & 6 minutes (nice.) Since the pot already occupies my otherwise clutter-covered counters, it's worthwhile. I foresee deviled eggs becoming more than a once-a-year dish for us.

  • Barb_N on March 02, 2019

    I am not ashamed to say I spent $100+ on an instant pot in order to make peelable hard cooked eggs - and it delivered on its promise! Looking forward to softer yolked eggs, will take timing mentioned by other reviewers under advisement. For now, I am in deviled egg heaven.

  • mirsaidi007 on April 27, 2018

    I wanted soft-boiled in order to make a large batch of ramen eggs, so went with 6 minutes, per the instructions. The eggs were very hard-boiled. Searching a few online sources leads me to think 3 minutes is optimal? Regardless, good thing I like deviled eggs and cooking eggs in the IP maybe dependent on the number of eggs.

  • cooknnaked on March 07, 2019

    This is the only recipe, that I have access to, that used low pressure for eggs. I looked online and found a blog post that says low pressure produces unreliable results. For now, I think I'll stay with high pressure and follow the directions from a different source until I feel more confident with this new technique for hard cooked eggs. UPDATE (March 19, 2019): My eggs at high pressure were perfect, firm yolk but not dry. I used the 5-5-5 formula, 5 minutes at high pressure, 5 minutes natural pressure release, 5 minute chilled water cool down. I did them twice so far, once with 5 eggs and once with 7 eggs.

• Garlicky Cuban pork

  • westminstr on February 03, 2021

    This was really good! I marinated a few hours, subbing 1tsp dried mexican oregano for fresh. It took quite a while and I had lots of extra jus. Next time I’ll try reducing cooking time to 60 min. This was good with garlic rice and as tacos, served w cabbage slaw. Made again 4/10/21: shoulder was 3.75 pounds. Made a half marinade w one Valencia orange & one lime, cooked 60 minutes. This turned out good! Still had plenty of jus.

  • sck on October 21, 2018

    Excellent with bitter oranges. I also wish I had reduced salt - jus was too salty to use as much as I would’ve liked and covered up some of citrus. Would also reduce cooking time to 65-70 min for 5#.

  • fprincess on September 05, 2018

    Aka mojo pork. I approximately halved the recipe and used dried oregano instead of fresh. I marinated the pork for the minimum amount of time (1 hour). Meat was purchased at Siesel's. The pork came out super tender and delicious. Great recipe! Served with rice and black beans. Picture here: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/155098-instant-pot-multi-function-cooker-part-5/?do=findComment&comment=2169688

  • TrishaCP on May 16, 2018

    Good, although I would prefer sour oranges next time they are in season. We served with corn tortillas with trimmings as suggested. I marinated overnight and cooked the next evening, so almost 24 hours in the marinade to no ill effect.

  • FJT on April 13, 2019

    This was easy to make and quite tasty, but I think using sour oranges would be much better as others have said. I marinaded the meat overnight and cooked this in my stovetop pressure cooker for 55 minutes at high pressure. I could probably have reduced the cooking time still further, but the meat pulled apart really easily, so no complaints! I took on board previous comments and didn’t add as much salt as the recipe suggests which meant I could reduce the meat juices.

  • jenmacgregor18 on December 20, 2022

    I cut the salt in half and marinated it overnight with orange and lime juice. 1/2 the salt was too little for me. I'd go for 2/3 next time and a little extra garlic and lime juice. I refrigerated it first, then shredded half of it, and the other half I sliced as best I could. Even chilled it was very tender. I froze the slices for attempting Cubanos at a later time. We ate with rice. B really enjoyed it. I agree with the group: the pork is tender, juicy, and flavorful with little effort. Update: very good in Cubanos

  • chawkins on March 27, 2023

    Very good. I had a 3lb 2oz pork shoulder that I cut into 2 pieces, used 2 oranges in place of the grapefruit and marinated overnight for about 18 hours, replaced the fresh oregano with 1/3 of the called for amount in dried. Excellent served alone or as taco filling.

  • NJChicaa on April 01, 2018

    I marinated overnight and it gave the pork great flavor. I would definitely recommend going longer than the 6 hours recommended.

  • clcorbi on January 07, 2018

    Yum. Very delicious and low-effort. I marinated the pork overnight, so I went over the max of 6 hours, to no ill effect. Final product was juicy and flavorful; I'd make this again.

  • rionafaith on November 19, 2017

    Yum! I used half the quantity of dried oregano as opposed to fresh. I would have liked to reduce the jus down more, but worried that it was getting too salty, so next time I would use only 1T salt or maybe even less. We served this as tacos in corn tortillas with avocado and a cabbage slaw. Would make again!

  • Dannausc on April 18, 2020

    Super tender and really good. I served half as tacos and half over garlic rice. Both ways were great.

  • eszpee on March 15, 2022

    This was surprisingly good, I was afraid that the meat will overcook and dry out, but not at all. I added the juice of one orange to the marinade, and cooked with half the meat, keeping everything the same amount, except for the salt, which I also halfened.

  • jhallen on February 25, 2021

    Made this as written and it was great (except I forgot the bay leaf). Really good.

  • aisy on May 20, 2021

    I make Cuban pork often, and this is now my favourite recipe. I marinate overnight. The browning before instant pot is key.

• Mashed potatoes with sour cream + chives

  • westminstr on December 02, 2019

    Made for Thanksgiving exactly as directed except that I omitted the parm at the end and served the chives on the side. They were easy and so good! I made them about 2 hours ahead of serving (shortly before guests arrived) and then held them on the keep warm setting with the lid on for several hours. They kept perfectly. I would definitely do this again.

  • Kfaber on January 12, 2018

    Some of the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever made. Got a great fluffy and smooth texture and so much flavor!

  • averythingcooks on January 09, 2023

    These were delicious! I made 1/2 for 2 of us (with the full amt of water/salt) and riced the potatoes before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. The parm, sour cream & chives make these special but the real takeaway for me is the method - fast, much easier to clean up (the instant pot insert just wiped clean) & the potatoes lacked that water logged texture that I sometimes find after boiling. With or without all the high impact add ins, I'll probably always use this method for the potatoes.

  • BrendaD1962 on April 23, 2022

    Delicious! I halved the recipe as it was just my husband and I eating them. My husband says these are his new favourite mashed potatoes.

• Guidelines for white rice

  • westminstr on May 26, 2018

    Followed these guidelines for basmati except that I used chickpea broth (leftover from Chana masala recipe) for cooking the rice instead of water. The rice was excellent!

  • mlbatt on February 27, 2020

    I use these guidelines every time for perfect results.

• Split pea soup with ham hocks

  • vickster on March 02, 2018

    This is the traditional split pea soup, and I loved it. I made a few changes: only 2 celery stalks, 2 carrots chopped, 2 garlic cloves, and a teaspoon of thyme. (I left out the nutmeg). I used chopped ham slices (like Wende - about 1/2 lb) and it really blended in well and infused the soup with a wonderful smoky flavor.

  • Wende on December 13, 2017

    This recipe turned out very well. The first time I made it, the store (Whole Foods) was out of ham hocks, so I bought a small piece of pre-packaged organic ham to use. The ham turned into lovely shredded chunks and infused the soup with great smoky flavor. The second time around, I used smoked ham hocks. It was not nearly as flavorful as the ham was. So I'd stick with the ham.

  • rionafaith on November 19, 2020

    This was a really good version of the classic split pea soup. I used smoked ham hocks and they were larger than the weight called for but I didn't find it overwhelming at all (actually there wasn't too much meat on them when the time came to pick it off, but the flavor was great). Satisfying with some homemade bread and froze/reheated well.

  • eszpee on February 26, 2022

    True comfort food! I used bacon and no salt, it was perfect. Liquid seemed too little, so I increased it to 1.5 liters - perfect for my taste, between soup and chowder.

• Black beans with green chiles + cumin

  • PennyG on October 14, 2018

    Delicious! I used roasted Hatch chiles, rather than the poblanos called for in the recipe, because I had some on hand in the freezer. Also, I thought the 40 minutes at high pressure seemed a bit excessive and checked my “bible” for pressure-cooking times, Hip Pressure Cooking. 24 minutes at high pressure is called for at HPC for unsoaked black beans so I split the difference somewhat and selected 30 minutes. It was plenty! I will serve these as a side dish this evening for dinner but as my lunch main with cornbread later this week!

  • jenmacgregor18 on March 01, 2023

    Great flavor. I did omit the sage and subbed sofrito that I had on hand. I had soaked the beans and mine did turn out too soupy, so I pureed most of the beans. But it tasted great.

  • babyfork on February 26, 2020

    I was trying to use up stuff in my pantry and discovered a bag of Rancho Gordo Midnight Black Beans. Took a few shortcuts, but loved the end result. Used a 4 oz can of Ortega fire-roasted whole green chiles instead of the fresh peppers. And instead of making a fresh salsa to stir in at the end as called for I subbed a 7 oz can of Herdez Salsa Casera (which had similar ingredients). I had a package of smoked jalapeno cheddar bratwurst sausage which I chopped up and browned in a skillet and then stirred into the beans. Made a really tasty "stew" to serve over rice. BTW, I thought the fresh sage might be weird in this but it blended in and I wouldn't have known it was in there unless I knew it was. Sammy was a fan!

  • tarae1204 on February 16, 2022

    Absolutely delicious beans. I think this recipe turned my children into bean lovers, which is a good thing. While my Rancho Gordo Midnight Black Beans cooked in the Instant Pot, I was able to make corn muffin tops from Back in the Day Bakery.

  • mirsaidi007 on April 28, 2018

    As clcorbi wrote, these really are delicious! I had forgotten to pick up cilantro and scallions for the puree, but no matter, it turned out fabulous so don't put off making these if you don't have them. The puree itself, even without the cilantro and scallions, will be made again to be served with chips. And it is absolutely worth it to char the chiles and it can be done with minimal attention on the grill. It came out the consistency of chili and I ate it with cheese and avocado. I will make cornbread to eat with the leftovers.

  • meginyeg on March 11, 2022

    Good flavour but it was a bit more soupy than I intended so I went with it. I added corn and we had a really nice black bean soup.

  • clcorbi on December 12, 2017

    My first recipe from this book and first time using a pressure cooker. These were delicious! I used ground sage instead of fresh, and a few pickled jalapeno slices in place of a fresh chili, but otherwise followed the instructions as written. I found that the beans were a bit watery, but I used the sautee function for a few minutes until they were cooked down to my liking. We ate these as a soup with some garlic bread, but I am looking forward to using the leftovers in tacos or folded into a quesadilla. These have such a nice, vibrant flavor, I would definitely make them again.

  • hbakke on February 26, 2022

    Nice flavor from the chiles and tomato puree. Mine came out pretty watery even after using the sauté function for a few minutes. Also, I think my black beans may have been very old because they were a tad undercooked after 40 minutes in the pressure cooker.

• Green beans, Italian grandma-style

  • mlbatt on October 28, 2018

    Turned out perfectly - even with frozen cut green beans. I used quartered grape tomatoes, but I think even drained diced canned (good quality) tomatoes would work just fine in this recipe. This one's a keeper!

  • vox82 on January 06, 2019

    January 2019. Delicious. Used canned diced tomatoes. My only problem was, the beans left a mess at the bottom of the multicooker.

  • luluf on August 05, 2021

    Really lovely flavour. I cooked the beans for 3 minutes and they were over cooked. Next time I will try 2 minutes. Great easy side dish

  • LittleKi on July 29, 2022

    Loved this. Fast, tender, flavorful food!

• Guidelines for brown rice

  • mlbatt on February 27, 2020

    Brown rice turns out perfect every time using this method - note the different guidelines for short- and long-grain brown rice.

• Coconut cheesecake

  • sck on January 05, 2018

    I wasn’t crazy about the flavor of coconut oil here. (unlike in her coconut granola recipe where it’s wonderful!). I won’t make this again.

  • zorra on March 28, 2018

    Five people enjoyed this little cake. I cooked it an 5 extra minutes because the entire thing, not just the center, was wobbly after 32 minutes. Wonder if that's because I used Philadelphia light cream cheese?

  • BrendaD1962 on August 29, 2021

    We absolutely loved this! I followed the recipe exactly (using coconut oil instead of coconut butter, and brown sugar instead of coconut sugar for the crust). It was perfectly done at 32 minutes, plus 8 minute natural release. It’s so delicious and my husband says it’s his new favourite cheesecake. A definite hit!

• Classic beef + bean chili

  • mcvl on January 29, 2021

    Since my husband turned vegan (and I didn't) I've been open-mindedly experimenting with various plant-based proteins. Made this with Impossible Burger and it turned out great. I find it's better to experiment with a new recipe than an old favorite.

  • Delys77 on November 20, 2017

    This is a weird one for me, I just couldn't get my instant pot to come to pressure. After 2 tries I gave up and dumped the contents to a pot and did it on the stove top. I did find that the bottom was starting to scorch but the chili wasn't simmering yet. Perhaps there was just too much stuff in the cooker. That is disappointing because I went with all the measurements she suggested and she doesn't stipulate any specific size of cooker so it should have worked.

  • mzgourmand on November 01, 2020

    This is a delicious chili recipe - we all loved it, as did our guests. And I will definitely make it again. My only caveat, as noted by other posters, is that this is a time-consuming,multi-step recipe - it is how Clark builds the layers of flavor with standard pantry items, and it is a very successful technique, but definitely not an "instant" recipe. It also requires use of a stove top pan. All told, recipe delivers the flavors of a chili that has simmered for far longer than the actual time of the recipe, and is definitely worth it, but something to be aware of in terms of meal planning.

  • doughet on November 07, 2017

    This chili was so good that my husband (the chili maker in our family) is worried that he's been replaced by the Instant Pot. I liked starting from dried beans and getting so much flavor in them so quickly. We used our own chili spice mix rather than the recipe's, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. We used 2 jalapeños for a pretty mild chili; next time would use 3 or 4 for a little more heat. On the day it's made, this chili tastes like our standard homemade chili does on its second and third days, when it's at its best.

  • hbakke on August 06, 2019

    This is good chili. It is definitely more of a Wendy's chili than a thick and chunky stew-type chili. I don't know if I would make it again because it was pretty time consuming. There were a lot of dirty dishes and multiple steps involving stovetop cooking that sort of negate the ease of using a pressure cooker. On a positive note, this was my first time cooking dried beans and I think it turned out well.

  • dc151 on July 27, 2021

    Ok, so this was great. Very flavorful, I liked the consistency, a bit on the thinner side. But it took three hours given IP cooking dried beans, then a very full IP with it all, both NP release. BTW, I used Rancho Gordo beans, and I have become a convert- so much creamier than grocery store beans! A worthwhile splurge.

  • skvalentine on April 13, 2022

    I loved this! So delicious. We served it on the thinner side over rice and topped with scallions and cheddar and it was a huge hit. I used dried Rancho Gordo beans-- can't remember the variety but they were larger than a pinto bean, so they took quite a bit longer to cook. This is not a weeknight meal! But a delicious option for a casual get-together and I will definitely be making this again soon.

• Garlicky beans with broccoli rabe

  • mcvl on March 28, 2020

    No broccoli rabe available, so used flat-leaf escarole instead, very good, would do it that way again. Like most of Melissa's recipes, this tastes under-salted to me. This is my first time with the Instant Pot, quite successful.

  • bernalgirl on November 16, 2020

    Now that I'm home, I prefer to let my beans cook in a low oven to allow some evaporation, so that's what I did with a pound of Rancho Gordo yellow eyes, adding rosemary to my usual seasonings. I also used broccoli because I had so much, and served with dijon chicken sausages from my local grocer. This dinner had something for everyone and we devoured it.

  • chawkins on April 11, 2022

    Not very garlicky for me. I cooked the beans for 30 minutes and it still had a bite to it, so I gave it another 5 minutes and that did the trick.

  • rionafaith on October 08, 2018

    Tasty and light vegetarian meal. I substituted a pinch of dried rosemary instead of fresh and celery instead of carrot. Cooked the beans slightly ahead of time and then used the bean cooking liquid instead of water for the sauté, as it was full of flavor. Did not need to cook the broccoli rabe as long as instructed, and I would probably use less liquid in the sauté next time too so as to encourage a bit more browning. But I'll make again! Note that this is NOT a one-pot meal, as only the beans are cooked in the pressure cooker and the broccoli is sautéed separately on the stovetop.

• Korean chile-braised brisket + kimchi coleslaw

  • Emily Hope on April 09, 2019

    I was a little disappointed in this given the rave reviews -- followed the recipe exactly (minus the gochugaru flakes as was cooking for our spice-averse kids), and found the brisket to be a bit dry/mushy. Maybe because we used pasture-raised brisket? The flavor of the sauce was good, but even with the lightest lager I could find I detected a back note of bitterness from the hops that I don't care for (would just use chx broth next time), and by the time it was reduced to a saucelike consistency, it was pretty salty. Served w/rice, kimchee and this slaw: https://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2019/02/jenny-rosenstrachs-perfect-slaw.html We liked it better the next day chopped up into small chunks w/sauce and put into nori sheets with rice and gochujang mayo, in homage to the short rib "tacos" we used to get at Namu in SF.

  • TrishaCP on December 17, 2017

    The brisket was excellent. We didn't serve the slaw (maybe with leftovers). I used all of the gochugaru and gochujang on a 3 lb brisket, and we found it sufficiently spicy. I like the Korean taco idea below.

  • FJT on January 21, 2023

    I had a 1.5kg (3lbs) piece of brisket, but I made more than the full amount of sauce: I had a 330ml bottle of beer so I scaled up the other ingredients to use the full bottle of beer. Frankly, you can never have too much sauce! I reduced the sauce a little and thickened it with cornflour before serving. We really enjoyed this - spicy but not overly spicy. Will make again.

  • Delys77 on January 13, 2022

    Made with a small 1 kg piece of brisket that was fairly fatty. Went with half proportion of all the ingredients and the result was flavourful with a bit of warmth but not spicy. We didn't have any beer on hand so I used half chicken stock and half shaoxing wine and the result was very nice. Well done meat is not always popular with my husband but in this case the brisket had a nice texture and the full flavour sauce was punchy enough that he liked it. Overall I would say this is a winner. Didn't make the slaw, instead served with some steamed rice and cucumber salad from Growing Up in a Korean Kitchen.

  • Shannoncooks17 on March 09, 2020

    This turned out great! I had stew beef from some beef we purchased locally and I wanted something to Instant Pot but that was being used so I did the slow cooker version given in the book. Cooked the meat exactly as recommended. Shredded the beef. There was a lot of liquid, so I added some corn starch in water to thicken it into a sauce that stuck to the meat better for sandwiches. The slaw I made was a combo of cabbage mix, small amount of mayo, fresh squeezed lime and Spicy Chili Crisp (sooooo good, you can find it in Asian markets). There was a nice heat to this but not killer. Next time we make this we may try using Hawaiian Sweet Rolls to add a little sweetness with the warmth. Great recipe!

  • Rinshin on December 16, 2017

    Did not use kochugaru and halved the amount of kochujung. The meat itself was not spicy at this level, but the sauce still had some kick. Added potatoes, carrots, and celery for 5 extra minutes. This was good. Did not make the slaw.

  • meginyeg on June 14, 2021

    We really liked this. It wasn't super spicy and the flavour was great. Served with the kimchi slaw. They matched perfectly. Will make again.

  • rionafaith on November 19, 2017

    Delicious, though not spicy at all despite the name. I used only a 3 lb brisket as that was the largest my supermarket had, but now I wish I'd cooked more meat! We actually served this in corn tortillas with avocado and the slaw, as a kind of Korean taco, which was fantastic. I doubled the amount of kimchi in the slaw, as it was not nearly enough, and I still wanted a bit more kick.

  • lizbot2000 on January 12, 2019

    This was fabulous! We really enjoyed it. The coleslaw is so good, and it really makes the meal, so I highly recommend making it. The meat is good on its own, but the slaw really complements it. I also doubled the kimchi in the slaw, which turned out great.

• Port-braised short ribs with star anise

  • TrishaCP on December 03, 2017

    Flavorful and not too anise- heavy.

  • CaraGulati on November 28, 2022

    Very tasty. Next time I’ll blend the sauce before reducing. The carrots were too big.

• Japanese beef curry

  • TrishaCP on October 09, 2020

    I used half curry powder and half garam masala and was happy with that choice. It was not too sweet for us. My sweet potatoes also disintegrated at the 3 minute mark.

  • purpleshiny on January 28, 2018

    This is a good, substantial curry that freezes and reheats well (even with the greens). The sweet potatoes are particularly good in this.

  • dinnermints on November 19, 2017

    This was good; I'd probably make it again. I used the slow cooker variant, which worked well. Made some brown basmati rice with a bit of purple sticky rice + some shredded unsweetened coconut thrown in to go with it = lovely color and flavor. It was even better with some shichimi togarashi sprinkled on top for some heat and crunch.

  • cjross on October 19, 2018

    Pretty good although I didn't love the flavour. I like someone else's suggestion of doing half garam masala and half curry powder. Everything kind of mushed when I stirred in the roux.

  • babyfork on March 20, 2020

    Used the other reviewer's suggestion to use half curry powder and half garam marsala. I followed the 3-minute instruction for the sweet potatoes, but they disintegrated. In the future I would remove the stew at that point and cook on the stove after adding the sweet potatoes. It was a bit sweet...not sure the apple was needed and I wish the author would've given a measurement for the sweet potato. I got a large one, but I think maybe it was too large! I bought the mustard greens, but did not end up adding them. Overall, this was tasty served over rice. Probably would make again with a couple adjustments.

  • clcorbi on January 22, 2018

    Really excellent. We made this for a dinner party and served it with crusty bread and all suggested garnishes, and everyone loved it--no leftovers. I followed the recipe as written except I seared all the beef chunks before pressure-cooking, added a generous amount of TJ's umami paste, and I used half garam masala and half curry powder for the spices (instead of all garam masala). I'd probably do that again, because we really enjoyed the final flavor. Yum.

  • cdglamontagne on May 26, 2019

    This was good but we found it too sweet. Could have been the garam masala blend I used, maybe the suggestion others made to swap more curry powder would fix that.

• Coconut curry chicken

  • TrishaCP on January 24, 2018

    We really enjoyed the flavors of this curry. I didn't use a coconut garnish either, so there wasn't a really strong coconut flavor, but it still was delicious. We did reduce the sauce for a bit, but it was still quite saucy, which is not a problem for us.

  • FJT on October 09, 2020

    This was delicious. I made it with a whole chicken which I skinned and cut up. Cooked on high pressure for 8 minutes, then took the chicken off the bone. In light of the comments below I used only about half a cup of tomato pulp and 200ml of coconut milk. Really easy dinner that everyone loved.

  • Delys77 on November 20, 2017

    I left out the coconut garnish and I did thicken with a touch cornstarch but otherwise followed the recipe and the results were very very tasty. The chicken has a much nicer texture than slow cooker chicken and the sauce was just scrumptious.

  • twoyolks on January 17, 2018

    I liked this but didn't love it. I found the sauce to be too strong on the tomato and not strong enough on the coconut. I also found that none of the spice flavor really came through in the sauce. I have made similar curries that I much prefer.

  • purpleshiny on January 28, 2018

    This curry is the bomb. Much better than the Food52 curry (and the Food52 curry is amazing). I do find the sauce reduction step is required. Depending on what you are used to, you might want to adjust the tomatoes down and/or the coconut milk up. Like many curries even better the next day.

  • Londonyankee on June 05, 2018

    Good curry! I still had to reduce it a bit, but it was thicker than a recipe that I had been using from the web that was too watery for me. It might be a good idea to reduce the tomato and increase the coconut milk, like purpleshiny says.

  • Larkspur on December 04, 2022

    Delicious and everyone in my family liked it, even the picky eater! Some of us spiced our servings up a little more with some Indian hot pepper powder.

  • mamacrumbcake on October 22, 2019

    This was delicious! Like others mentioned, it did take a while to reduce the sauce. The coconut flavor is not strong, but nevertheless very yummy. The recipe says that it takes an hour to make this, but I would start prepping at least two hours before you plan to eat. The cooking time from sautéing the onions to the 20 minute rest is about 90 minutes. The prep work takes a bit of time—lots of ginger, garlic, and tomatoes to grate.

  • rionafaith on September 03, 2018

    Nicely flavored curry, though more chunky (from tomatoes and onions) than creamy. I did end up reducing the sauce for 20 minutes or so. Would have preferred more coconut milk creaminess but I also didn't want the sauce to end up thinner. Still, this is quite nice for the minimal time it takes.

• Indian butter shrimp

  • TrishaCP on April 18, 2018

    Another fan of this recipe. Based on how long it took me to prep the (already cleaned) shrimp marinade and prep and cook the sauce, I would probably start the sauce first next time so that the shrimp marinates while the sauce comes to pressure and cooks. Just to streamline the timing a bit more.

  • stef on April 25, 2018

    Wouldn't call it quick. The sauce was very good but should be served over rice. I served it with little potatoes and they didn't absorb the sauce

  • meginyeg on March 25, 2021

    Tasty dish. Relatively straight forward . Will make again.

  • clcorbi on February 03, 2018

    This was very tasty and super weeknight-friendly. The result wasn't quite as delicious as Madhur Jaffrey's butter chicken recipe (my gold standard), but for so much less effort, it's definitely worth it.

  • bwhip on February 11, 2018

    Made this for dinner tonight, and it was excellent. My wife and I both just loved it. While it would probably be best with rice, as the author suggests, my wife really wanted it with Naan bread, so I made the flatbread from the Baco cookbook which we love, and it worked out great. Pretty easy and weeknight friendly, and the flavor is fantastic.

  • aholberg on September 01, 2020

    This is a good recipe; not diet food, but quick and tasty.

  • BrendaD1962 on September 10, 2021

    This was very very good and I’ll definitely be making this again. I served this over basmati rice with homemade naan (from Nik Sharma - Season) to mop up the delicious sauce. A keeper!

• Vietnamese chicken + rice soup

  • TrishaCP on February 18, 2020

    Really good even without the kombu. I loved the jalapeño and cilantro garnishes.

  • eliza on February 20, 2018

    A pretty good soup that was ready in just over an hour. I did omit the kombu as stated in the headnote. I found the final soup tasted good with just a hint of the ginger and spices coming through, so in future I will probably increase the ginger. Also, the soup was quite salty (even with low salt stock), so next time I would probably decrease the stock a bit and increase the water.

  • jenmacgregor18 on October 10, 2022

    This is easy & very flavorful. I agree the raw onion, jalapeno & cilantro at the end are not optional. I omitted cinnamon & cloves and added lemongrass.

  • purpleshiny on January 28, 2018

    This is a favorite. The garnishes make it. Really easy and freezes well.

  • dinnermints on April 16, 2019

    I was looking for a chicken soup to soothe a cold, and this was just perfect. I used sweet brown rice instead of sushi rice - cooked on high pressure for 5 min, then released naturally for 15 min. It was a little on the al dente side, but that worked. I added 1 T fish sauce at the end, and would do that again. I agree with purpleshiny; the garnishes really kick it up a notch. It did take waaaay longer than an hour; possibly even two hours.

  • Larkspur on March 05, 2019

    Very good. Left out kombu as didn’t have any. Lots of foam when released pressure after 10 minutes after rice.

  • rionafaith on December 27, 2018

    Simple and good. I used homemade stock and adding the spices made it deliciously fragrant. My only concern was that during the second release (after cooking the rice), my IP spurted out quite a lot of foam, to the point that I had to clean the cabinets and everything else on that side of the kitchen. I've never experienced such a violent quick release in the dozens of recipes I've used, and wonder if this might be better with a full natural release... though I think that would overcook the rice, as it was pretty soft already. Perhaps next time I'll just try cooking the rice in the broth rather than bringing it to pressure again as I don't think it would take much longer.

  • lizbot2000 on February 09, 2020

    This was extremely delicious and pretty easy. I really can't get over how great the broth tastes for so little effort. The raw onion, green onion, jalapeño, and cilantro are not optional, as others have mentioned. They really make the dish.

  • Dannausc on April 18, 2020

    Fairly easy; quite good.

  • PQPantry on February 28, 2019

    Quick and easy recipe. Will make again! Had to sub risotto rice for sushi rice and it worked well.

• Shakshuka with herbed yogurt sauce

  • zorra on March 28, 2018

    Sauce was delicious, but the eggs were over-done, even at 1 minute on low pressure. Better to poach them separately. Served with feta instead of the yogurt sauce.

  • Londonyankee on February 08, 2019

    It seemed too watery so I sauteed it before putting the eggs in - big mistake, because the sauce burned a little. Eggs were also overcooked - maybe because the sauce was still hot from the saute? Great flavor, and we don’t like eggs undercooked, so I‘ll try again and leave the sauce alone next time.

  • NJChicaa on April 01, 2018

    Delicious! Will definitely make again.

• Classic vanilla bean cheesecake

  • zorra on January 05, 2018

    Odd 1st recipe to choose, but had to try it when there were others around to eat it. You can indeed make a lovely little cheesecake in a pressure cooker! But the characteristic tang of my mother's cheesecake was missing, & I probably won't repeat this. No graham crackers, so we made a crust of 3/4 cup minced walnuts, 2 Tbsp melted butter & 1 Tbsp white sugar, which worked well. Also inserted parchment on bottom of my leaky little springform pan.

  • purpleshiny on January 28, 2018

    Excellent cheesecake. I used sour cream instead of crème fraiche (it's what I had). I would add a little lemon zest next time. I used the same base recipe to make a lime cheesecake that also turned out well (lime juice instead of the vanilla and brandy plus added lime zest and upped sugar to 3/4 cup. Also added a tablespoon of cornstarch for insurance). I think an 8 hour chill is minimal on this - the texture definitely improves the longer you chill it. I'd recommend at least overnight and preferably 24 hours. 1/8 of the cheesecake is a perfect serving.

  • a2cook on September 16, 2020

    Unbelievably good cheesecake with a perfect balance of dense yet creamy texture. I didn’t have brandy, so I used bourbon. The taste gets even better the longer it’s chilled, so I recommend chilling for at least 24 hours. This is a ridiculously easy recipe; the hardest part is waiting for it to chill.

• Wild rice salad with clementines + pine nuts

  • crandall57 on May 20, 2020

    Easy and delicious. Used walnuts instead of pine nuts and sprouted brown rice instead of wild rice. Served over a bed of lettuce. Could add grilled chicken for extra protein.

  • ncollyer on February 10, 2018

    Delicious. The Instant Pot cooks wild rice perfectly. Lovely winter salad with crunch from the pine nuts, lift from the citrus and freshness from the cilantro.

• Bone broth

  • eliza on May 30, 2019

    I liked this broth; I used it to make an excellent soup (mushroom and thyme, my own recipe), and it also made a good broth on its own. I am noting the details here for my own reference and for anyone else that's interested. I used 2 packs of beef bones and 5 chicken backs. Roasted at 450 for 30 minutes. Placed in 6 Q instant pot with 3 quarts water and the remaining ingredients as listed (I would reduce salt next time a bit). Cooked on high setting 2.5 hours natural release. Total time including roasting was about 4 hours 15 minutes. More time needed to cool broth if necessary. Once cooled and refrigerated it gelled up nicely.

  • lhkelsey on December 06, 2017

    This is amazing! I cooked it for 2 hours and then left it on "warm" for an hour and a half. Loved it!

  • TangoTosca on December 03, 2017

    Roasting the bones makes all the difference

• Hummus

  • lchristoffersen on July 15, 2019

    The weight/volume measurements are off. 16 oz dried chickpeas = 3.5 cups.

  • ksg518 on March 01, 2021

    I think the ingredient ratios may be off for this recipe (which I think is the point of lchristoffersen's comment). This is a variation on Clark's hummus from her Dinner cookbook. That hummus is great. This one, not so much. I think my chickpeas could have used 5 more minutes but even so this is a very thick hummus. I added lots of extra water, more tahini and even more olive oil. My blender (a Vitamix) still couldn't turn this into a smooth sauce. Not a repeat.

  • rionafaith on November 19, 2017

    Basic easy hummus from dried chickpeas with no pre-soaking. Not the smoothest I've had (maybe I should have cooked the chickpeas for a couple minutes longer?) and I had to add a good 5 or 6 extra tablespoons of water, but a great jumping off point.

• Sticky tamarind baby back ribs

  • LDGourmet on April 30, 2018

    I was disappointed in this recipe .While I love this book, it's really bad form to have your COVER photo be so misleading. I also found this recipe to be off. Not red, sticky looking glazed perfection. Bitter, greasy black. Like the other reviewer here, I had to tweak the sauce (recipe says "you may need to add more honey" - then put more honey in the recipe!) and yes they were swimming in oil and bitter. I like sour, tamarind should be a note in a balanced sauce this was not. Bad form to have the cover recipe be so disappointing. I'll still recommend this book for other things but really, looks bad and would make me shy away from buying another from this team. Also, if I'm going to use a pan, rack, broiler anyway, the IP saves minimal if any time.

  • Veronik on July 24, 2018

    We wanted to finish these on charcoal, so reduced the cooking time to 20 minutes so as to have the ribs spend more time on the grill. The recipe calls for broiling the ribs for 1-3 minutes, but I didn't think that would be enough time for the smoke to make a difference to the flavour. In the end, 20 minutes in the IP and 20 minutes on the grill was just right, but I will marinate the meat next time, and possibly add some brown sugar to the sauce.

  • babyfork on February 12, 2018

    This was a pretty good recipe that needs some tweaking. The 32 minute time for pressure cooking was too long. The ribs were falling off the bone. I refrigerated the ribs and liquid after pressure cooking (separately). Removed fat from the sauce the next day. It was somewhat sour and bitter so I added 1 tbs Worcestershire, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/4 molasses, 1/2 cup Dr Pepper and 1/4 cup honey and reduced until thick.

  • VeryVigario on July 22, 2018

    i tried this on pork boneless ribs- I wish I had added brown sugar to the sauce, it wasn't sweet enough. Also, I can't comment on the cooking time with bone-in ribs, but mine were overcooked.

• Classic boeuf Bourguignon

  • FJT on October 30, 2021

    This was excellent! Great depth of flavour. I cooked it for 30 mins on high just to be sure the beef was tender having read the other comments. Will make again as it’s quick and easy compared to a standard beef bourguignon.

  • twoyolks on October 26, 2018

    I used smaller beef cubes and made sure to remove excess fat. I cooked it for 30 minutes which got the beef to be actually tender (it was not tender after 20 minutes). I liked the flavor but I felt the sauce was too acidic and not beefy enough. The sauce would have also done well with some enrichment at the end.

  • PiaOC on April 18, 2021

    1st time using the instant pot - this recipe was a great success. I used oyster blade beef and having read others' comments, cooked for an extra 5 minutes. I reduced the salt but it was still a tad salty. Served with mashed potatoes and steamed greens. Very good winter meal.

  • dinnermints on November 18, 2017

    Delicious! I made it the pressure cooker way, but wish I'd done it the slow cooker way for a break in cooking. I've never made boeuf bourguignon before, and am guessing you're supposed to serve large chunks of beef, but I ended up shredding the chunks and liked that better. This worked out to more like eight servings. I used a large skillet to brown the beef instead of the instant pot.

  • mamacrumbcake on July 30, 2018

    The only criticism I have is that this dish is just a touch too salty. Next time I would reduce the amount of salt used for seasoning the meat to 1 1/2 teaspoons instead of two. The sauce is rich and beefy and the mushrooms and onions are delicious—roasty and caramelized. You will want something to soak up all the good sauce so definitely make rice, noodles, or potatoes. Most of the meat was perfectly tender but one or two pieces were slightly larger and not as tender as the others—just something to keep in mind as it matters what size the beef cubes are. I might add a minute or two to the cooking time next time.

  • NJChicaa on April 01, 2018

    The flavor was wonderful but the beef cubes were still kind of tough after the 20 minutes of high pressure cooking. I suspect a longer cook time is needed.

  • clcorbi on November 14, 2018

    I really enjoyed this, although I made a couple tweaks--I added a healthy amount of TJ's umami paste as well as triple the tomato paste called for. I also salted more often while cooking, rather than adding one large quantity of salt before starting the pressure cooking. The result was delicious and had a great depth of flavor. Unlike most pressure cooker recipes I've tried, I also found that this one came out perfectly thick and glossy as soon as I took the lid off--I didn't need to reduce it at all. Served with buttered egg noodles, this is a cozy winter meal.

  • rionafaith on February 10, 2019

    Very good version of the classic. My meat didn't seem tender enough when I opened the cooker, so I brought it back up to pressure for an additional 5 minutes and did another natural release and that did the trick -- the beef was practically falling apart and delicious at that point. I used a local Terhune Orchards "Red Rooster" wine that was on the sweet side, so I omitted the pinch of sugar. I used nearly a full pound of mushrooms because I love them, and I stirred in 8 oz of thawed frozen peas at the end to add some color and more veg content -- maybe untraditional, but I thought they were a really nice addition. Served over cauliflower puree.

  • skjohns on December 23, 2017

    I followed the recipe exactly except cut the meat into smaller cubes (recipe calls for 2" cubes). Easy and delicious... will definitely make it again. I think dinnermints idea of shredding the meet before serving sounds good too,

  • TangoTosca on December 03, 2017

    The best recipe of this I’ve ever made, and it was so easy

  • Ileana on January 15, 2023

    Halved the amount of salt and increased the cooking time by 5 minutes. So rich and comforting. Served over polenta with a green salad.

• Butternut squash soup with coriander + lemon

  • FJT on October 01, 2019

    Nice soup. I normally do squash soup with lots of spices, so this made a change. I agree with dinnermints that the lemon is lovely. Cooked in my stovetop pressure cooker for 15 minutes (would have been 12 minutes but some elements were frozen when I started so I added a few minutes) at low pressure.

  • dinnermints on July 03, 2018

    The lemon in this soup is a lovely thing. I made 1.5 recipe, and that worked out fine in the IP.

  • deanasma on August 07, 2019

    I had to use an apple as I had no fennel. It was ok. The thing I found made all the difference was the drizzle of olive oil when served. That really added a nice dimension to the soup.

• French onion soup

  • FJT on October 15, 2019

    Really nice soup and very easy to make. Cooked for 5 mins at low pressure in a stovetop pressure cooker.

  • dinnermints on February 01, 2018

    Good & simple. Wonder if I could double it, or at least 1.5 it. I used a 2 oz bread slice with 1/2 oz of gruyere per serving, and cut it into 1" chunks before putting it in the bowls. For sauteing the onions, the "less" setting was too little; next time would try "normal" or "more."

  • Baxter850 on December 09, 2018

    Super tasty and easy. Will definitely make again. Used Better than Bouillion beef flavor. So good.

  • LittleKi on September 15, 2020

    First time making this with chicken stock...but a very good homemade stock. For a more affordable crouton, used mozzarella and parmesan. Really good!

• Rice pudding with cardamom + rose water

  • FJT on November 17, 2021

    Followed the instructions carefully but ended up with a burnt layer which got stirred through everything when I added the cornstarch slurry. Not the best looking rice pudding. The taste (ignoring the burnt bits) was quite nice. Would probably be better to make this in a bowl set on a trivet with some water in the base, but then you would have to transfer it to a sauce pan to reduce at the end so you'd end up with loads of washing up. Think if I were to make another rice pudding (it's a rare event - this one only came about as I needed to use up some milk!) I would revert to old-fashioned methods.

• Braised Roman-style lamb with herbs + peas

  • Delys77 on November 20, 2017

    This was very easy and very tasty. The herb finish really elevates the dish and the peas are lovely. The lamb comes out of the IP perfect.

  • MarciK on July 01, 2022

    I would have enjoyed this a lot more if it wasn’t so salty. The saltiness overpowered the benefits of all the fresh herbs.

• Beets with dill, lime + yogurt

  • ncollyer on October 25, 2021

    Lime zest and dill really complemented orange beets. Fresh and delicious.

  • annmartina on December 17, 2017

    I did not like the lime. I did like the yogurt.

  • Dannausc on April 18, 2020

    I baked the beets because I don’t have a steamer basket for my Instantpot. It was easy and pretty decent.

• Butter-braised Yukon Gold potatoes

  • twoyolks on August 27, 2018

    The potatoes soak up a lot of the flavor from the stock and butter.

  • averythingcooks on December 26, 2020

    These were okay but somehow I expected more. We ended up just mashing them with more butter and some sour cream and stirred in the scallions at the end. Yes - a good side of mash but again, I somehow expected something beyond that.

  • kbsteffens on December 18, 2020

    I was really surprised by how flavorful, silky, and delicious this was with almost no effort. Didn't even use the best stock and we loved it. Perfect, fast weeknight soft potato.

• Beef barley vegetable soup

  • twoyolks on January 29, 2018

    I particularly like the broth for the soup. The meat itself was a bit bland. The carrots were too soft. I liked the barley.

  • dinnermints on January 08, 2018

    My husband actually said this was "really delicious" (the most I usually get out of him is "pretty good"). Excellent flavor. I made the beef broth for it, but probably wouldn't bother the next time. The pearl barley did get pretty soft, and I might try hulled barley next time. I substituted a bulb of fennel for the celery.

  • ddenker on February 06, 2018

    We used 2.5 lbs of beef and upped the carrots/celery/shallots and beef stock. Should have done even more veggies. Accidentally had to leave the house so the IP stayed on warm for two hours after pressure release was done. The barley and veggies ended up on the softer side, so this would hopefully be improved by following the recipe next time. However, we really loved the flavors and will make it again.

• Dulce de leche

  • Wende on December 13, 2017

    This was very easy to make (was easier and took far less time than the standard oven way) and it turned out perfectly.

  • dinnermints on April 02, 2019

    It's almost disturbing how easy this was to make, given how hard it is to stop eating it. I blended it with an immersion blender to give it a smoother texture. Fantastic.

• Steel-cut oats with maple syrup + currants

  • purpleshiny on March 31, 2018

    I reduced the water to 3 cups the third time through and will probably reduce again next time to 2 3/4. Oats are done perfectly and the toasting in butter gives a great depth of flavor.

  • dinnermints on December 10, 2017

    Good and easy. The oats turned out a bit runnier than I usually make them, but otherwise some legit oatmeal. I tried putting the instant pot on the saute function to thicken them and succeeded in burning a bunch of it to the bottom of the pan. Recommend the additional flaky sea salt on top + additional maple syrup.

  • rionafaith on February 09, 2019

    I don’t know if I’ve made steel cut oats before but I loved the texture of them here. I prefer thicker oatmeal, so I’ll reduce the water to 3 cups next time. They do thicken up a bit as they sit, though. Hoping the leftovers are just as good as this will make good breakfast meal prep if so. The flaky salt on top (I used fleur de sel) adds a lot.

  • averythingcooks on January 10, 2021

    I have always been a stove top steel-cut oats person and I have suffered through the clean up of boil overs - but not any more! The instapot method worked really well. I did think they were a bit runny (but still with good texture) when we 1st lifted the lid but we popped it back on (instapot off) for several minutes and they were great. Maybe less water next time (as suggested by other commenters) or even a longer natural release "resting" time. I used coarsely chopped craisins in place of dried currants and I love the hint of maple syrup "cooked in" (so no additional sugar needed for us). A definite repeat!

  • cdglamontagne on May 26, 2019

    Love this recipe and make it often for breakfast during the week. Oats are delicious every time and SO MUCH CLEANER than making steel cut oats on the stove. The toasting is a nice touch.

  • skvalentine on October 08, 2021

    My favorite way to cook oatmeal now. Megan Gordon's cookbook Whole Grain Mornings has a wonderful and similar recipe but it's stove-top and this one is So Much Easier. I also like that it's dairy-free but still totally delicious.

• Yellow split pea dhal with cumin + ginger

  • purpleshiny on January 28, 2018

    Even with the oil a bit burned, this was pretty tasty. My preference is to have the spices cooked with the dal - the dal by itself doesn't have much going on. Quick weekday meal.

  • clcorbi on January 09, 2018

    Not the best dal I've ever had (my favorite being the Daily Dal from Made in India), but this made a very easy, satisfying weeknight dinner with some naan. Probably would not repeat when there are so many other dals to try, though.

  • rionafaith on November 10, 2019

    Nice basic dal. I used the larger amount of water and was a little concerned at how watery it looked after opening the pot, but after a stir and letting it sit for 10 mins or so while I made the tarka it thickened up to a nice creamy consistency, perfect over some rice. I used a whole (rather large) jalapeño and was a little worried it would be on the spicy side, but it really wasn't at all. Next time I might use a touch more ginger.

• Red curry vegetable noodle soup

  • purpleshiny on January 28, 2018

    Easy and comforting. I would at least double the vegetables next time. Possibly triple.

  • purpleshiny on January 01, 2020

    Have made several times. Just as good with green curry paste if that's what you have on hand.

  • LostInTheKitchen on January 06, 2023

    As has been said above - tasty soup, but very thin; can take a lot more vegetables. The recipe itself is a little unclear: I used 110g of sweet potato (recipe calls for one small); and two heads of 6-8" baby bok choi; recipes calls for "a bunch", but I'm not sure what that would mean! All of that basically disappeared in the soup.

• Chicken stock

  • dinnermints on January 08, 2018

    Wish I'd seen TangoTosca's note...I did roast the bones; would skip that next time. I made a beef version and am not yet convinced it was worth the trouble.

  • TangoTosca on December 03, 2017

    This is good with or without roasting the bones

  • evatoad on November 08, 2020

    Made this many times. Nothing to it, tastes fantastic. I often like to put the IP on sauté for a while (30+ minutes) after it’s done cooking to concentrate it (makes it easier to store in the freezer).

• Shrimp scampi with white wine + fennel

  • cjross on October 19, 2018

    I love this recipe and have made it 8 or 10 times, every time I get fennel from my CSA. However, my husband and I eat a lot more than Melissa Clark does. We now use 10 oz of pasta and 2 cups of liquid but fewer shrimp, maybe 8 each. I have to let it sit longer than she does, maybe 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to get the pasta evenly textured.

• Wine-braised oxtails with fennel

  • Zosia on January 01, 2020

    Really delicious! The sauce was rich and silky (I pureed the vegetables with the cooking liquid at the end) and the meat was tender and quite luxurious. It took double the time to lightly caramelize the vegetables but I saved time elsewhere by roasting the oxtails in a hot oven, a technique I came across in another recipe I was considering. Unfortunately, I couldn't cook this in my 6qt instant pot. The burn message came up 2 times. I emptied and cleaned the pot, checked the seal etc after the first time (it had not yet reached full pressure) but after the second time (2 minutes after it was at full pressure), I transferred everything to a dutch oven and braised at 325F for 3 hours. The food wasn't over the maximum fill line but it was densely packed with relatively little liquid. I'm not sure if that's the reason...I still have much to learn about this appliance.

  • juliafj on November 27, 2017

    This was incredibly easy and flavorful! Highly recommend it!

  • Instapot2018 on March 18, 2018

    Wonderful results following it as written.

• Homemade ricotta

  • Barb_N on March 02, 2019

    I’m just trying out my instnt pot and this was billed as an easy recipe. Unfortunately I found the directions ambiguous- when I set my pot to ‘yogurt’ it sets for 8 minutes. Do I turn it off when it beeps after preheating or after cooking 8 minutes? I chose the first, but then it never curdled. I ended up redoing it on the stove, which worked a charm.

  • rionafaith on March 21, 2019

    Who knew homemade ricotta could be so easy? I should probably have gone ahead and used the whole half-gallon of milk I bought for a larger batch. This is the only recipe I've seen that calls for cream as well, so I'm not sure it's totally necessary? Anyway, this is delicious, fast, and easy. On my IP (Duo 6 qt), you have to press the yogurt button and then "more" to get the boil function indicated in the directions. Now I just have to find a use for all the whey I strained out...

  • FoodieOne on July 14, 2018

    This is a reason to own an Instant Pot. I have made ricotta on the stove, but using the Instant Pot is so much easier. I use a half gallon of milk and 1 cup of thick cream plus lemon juice or vinegar after heating. Recipe can be made with less amounts, but for me, emptying the milk and cream is more economical.

• Middle Eastern spiced chicken + rice with eggplant

  • jbny on April 13, 2018

    onions burn very quickly in the oven -- may be better to caramelize the onions and pepper in a frying pan.

• Creamy macaroni + cheese

  • Larkspur on October 28, 2018

    Turns out well—not quite as good as her stovetop mac and cheese recipe from Dinner though.

  • NJChicaa on April 01, 2018

    I've made it twice as written and it was a failure both times. There won't be a third time.

• Tuna confit with rosemary + garlic

  • janeh9 on March 21, 2018

    This was simple and delicious. I marinated for about 12 hours - less would probably be too little. Will be perfect in a summer time salad nicoise.

  • tarae1204 on November 13, 2020

    This recipe uses a lot of oil but you can save it in the fridge. The tuna comes out beautifully and extra makes great leftovers. I’ve made this twice and liked it when fully cooked but loved it when the center still had a blush of pink. The aromatics of fennel seed and rosemary are essential.

• Osso buco

  • tarae1204 on January 07, 2021

    It can be a little nerve-wracking to entrust over $40 of veal shank to one’s Instant Pot. But this recipe delivered perfect results. Rich, deep flavor and fresh gremolata added at the end.

• Steamed lemon pudding

  • tarae1204 on March 07, 2021

    The directions to steam the batter for 20 minutes in your IP then cook on high pressure for 45 with natural release seemed really long. I was doubtful. I added water after the first steaming as the original two cups of water had evaporated. I followed the total cook times and it produced an edible dessert, it was more like a warm steamed soufflé. I had hoped it would be more like a lemon pudding cake where you have the cake layer and “pudding” layer. This isn’t that.

• Chicken + dumplings

  • annmartina on January 18, 2018

    For a pressure cooker recipe there is still some time involved, but compared to making it conventionally, it is quicker. The dumplings aren't the traditional southern dumplings (which are more like noodles), but they're delicious, with a little bite from some added cornmeal. I love this version of chicken and dumplings.

  • NJChicaa on April 01, 2018

    The soup is fine but the dumplings were a gluey undercooked disaster even after the extra cooking time suggested in the recipe. I threw the whole thing in the trash after eating 1 serving for my dinner that night.

  • glacier206 on May 31, 2021

    I have made faster (and better) chicken and dumplings on the stove. These dumplings were terribly dense and the vegetables dissolved in the time it took to cook the other components.

• Garlic rice

  • NJChicaa on April 01, 2018

    The rice was fine but I didn't detect any garlic flavor. Next time I will add the sauteed garlic back into the cooked rice which is listed as an option.

  • clcorbi on January 07, 2018

    I served this rice with the garlicky Cuban pork from this book, as MC recommends. This is some tasty rice. My only caveat is that I wish the quantity of oil would be specified; I just used a few tablespoon's worth, but my final product did end up a bit oily, so I'd go a little easier next time. That said, the subtle garlic flavor that the rice takes on is really addictive. I served this as part of a spread for my book club, and multiple people commented how much they loved the rice--they couldn't put their finger on where the delicious flavor was coming from! So, yeah, I'd definitely repeat.

  • Dannausc on April 18, 2020

    Quick and easy; good.

• Plain yogurt

  • averythingcooks on March 03, 2021

    Our 1st try with the yogurt fn on our Instant Pot & it was a success! The request for 2 qts of milk caused a funny "smaller!" "bigger!" argument (me talking about US qts & T, imperial qts.... which are not the same and NEITHER matches the volume of a litre) but in the end 2 L went in. ALSO - read your manual because with ours (brand name "Instant Pot"), pressing the yogurt button 2'ce etc does NOT switch it to boil....you need to then use the adjust key. This is thick, rich & tangy and I can absolutely see this becoming part of our kitchen routine.

  • Skamper on February 25, 2019

    This recipe works well. I don't use the heavy cream and have tried 2% and 1% milk and both work well.

• Wild mushroom, pancetta + pea risotto

  • bwhip on July 06, 2020

    Really delicious, and quite easy. I was skeptical about risotto in an Instant Pot, but it turned out lovely. Rich and creamy, with great flavor from our nice homemade chicken stock. The crunchy pancetta was the perfect embellishment.

  • Dannausc on April 18, 2020

    Fairly easy and fairly good.

• Vietnamese caramel salmon

  • Dannausc on April 18, 2020

    Quick and easy; decent.

  • aholberg on September 01, 2020

    This has become my favorite salmon recipe. So simple and quick and yet I don't overcook it like I often do, with fish. I've served it to many guests, too. I usually go heavy on the sauce ingredients but light on the brown sugar.

  • luluinphilly on November 29, 2022

    This is such a quick meal and yields a complex, beautiful dish. I have found it to be verging on the edge of overly salted, so I sub one tablespoon of water for one of the tablespoons of fish sauce. (The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of fish sauce )

• Spanish garlicky squid + chorizo

  • Jviney on January 06, 2021

    This was so good, in spite of the limitations I put on it: I am still learning the IP and I could only find the kind of chorizo Clark says NOT to use (fresh). Flavor was deep and satisfying, lemon juice really brightened up the dish. Due to a diet, I did not serve it with rice or bread but it truly didn't need it.

• Butternut squash with tahini, pomegranate + mint

  • theBlackbird on February 27, 2021

    Very good and easy. My dinner companion said they were prepared to hate it and instead really enjoyed it. Not enough for a meal for 2 people, I would probably do 2 squash next time. Added more lemon juice to the tahini sauce than called for to add more acid balance.

• Maple chile-glazed sweet potatoes

  • skvalentine on January 22, 2022

    My kids love this recipe. It's sweet, bordering on dessert!

• Mussels with garlic + lager

  • aholberg on September 01, 2020

    We enjoyed this. I don't cook mussels often, so I don't have much to compare it to, but it was simple and tasty and I didn't mess it up, which is always a risk for me and seafood.