One-pot meals are a busy cook’s best friend, and if you’re not using the sauté button on your Instant Pot, you’re missing an opportunity. If your recipe calls for browning meat, pre-cooking onions, or doing any prep work on the stovetop, you can do that right in your Instant Pot. Sauté the ingredients in the bottom of the pot with oil or whatever fat you prefer, then continue on with the recipe by switching to the pressure cooker feature. One less pan to clean!
Yes, the Instant Pot can cook at lightning-fast speed, but you might be a little disappointed when the maci and cheese recipe that promises to cook in a few minutes takes longer than that.
This is because the time needed for the machine to come to pressure isn’t taken into account — but, there is a way to shave a few minutes off the process if you’re in a hurry to start cooking. Just turn on your Instant Pot right as you begin your recipe, even if you’re not ready to close the lid yet. Make sure you’ve added your cooking liquid so you’re not heating an empty pot, then finish the remaining prep. The pot will start to heat up while you’re working and it won’t have to start from cold once you do close the lid. Now you’re that much closer to some cheesy pasta goodness.
Watch the video to see everything you’re doing wrong with your instant pot!
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The sauté feature | 0:13
Underestimating cooking time | 0:47
Not cleaning the sealing ring | 1:36
Overfilling it | 2:13
Stacking foods | 2:50
The rice cooker function | 3:17
The liquid is all wrong | 4:22