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I think my husband loves the Instant Pot more than I do but I sure love it a lot. We have the Instant Pot Duo (6 quart). It makes dinner time so easy! I’m going to tell you the top 7 things I love about my Instant Pot and how it can make your life easier so you have more time for more important things and be a #momtothefullest!
Scroll down to learn more about:
- Instant Pot Features
- Mean Prep
- Cooking meat
- Frozen meat in the Instant Pot
- Cooking dry beans in the Instant Pot
- Cooking large batches of rice in the Instant Pot
- Reheating a rotisserie chicken in the Instant Pot
#1: All the features
The Instant Pot line has many different products to choose from in different price ranges. The more expensive the more features. I am totally happy with my Instant Pot Duo and the features it has but if you want even more features you can purchase one of their other products: The Instant Pot Duo Plus, Instant Pot Duo Crisp, and Instant Pot Duo Crisp Ultimate Lid. The one I have is the most affordable (aside from the Instant Pot Duo 3-quart, which is just smaller.)
Anyway, back to the point: FEATURES! Mostly I use the pressure cook feature but it also has the following buttons you can use:
- Steam
- Saute
- Soup/Broth
- Soup/Stew
- Bean/Chili
- Poultry
- Rice
- Multigrains
- Porridge
There are also settings to keep food warm after the cook time ends and you can delay the start time if you don’t want it to start right away.
LIFE HACK: The saute function can act as extra stovetop space. For example…your stovetop is being fully used but you need to brown up some ground beef. Plug in your instant pot, press saute, and throw in your ground beef just like you would cook it on your stovetop.
#2: Meal Prep
This is my husbands favorite topic when it comes to the Instant Pot. He is very into body building, which means he eats about every 2 hours (yes, like an infant, my husband has to be fed like an infant). He also has to eat certain foods that benefit his physical goals. So, meal prep is a lifesaver for me at my home.
If I wake up in the morning and have no idea what me and my family will eat that day then my day isn’t going to go as well. I’ll get into meal prep more in another post but here I’m going to tell you how the Instant Pot helps me meal prep.
Meal prep(aration) simply means that you plan and make food ahead of time, whether that be for the next day or the next week. The way the Instant Pot makes meal prep easier is because you can make large batches of certain foods that can feed you and your family for days. Here are some foods you can make in the the Instant Pot for meal prep:
- Meat
- Veggies
- Rice
- Beans
- Soups
- Stews
- “Baked” potatoes/sweet potatoes
- “Hard Boiled” eggs
You can check out my collection of Instant Pot recipes that I’ve compiled over the years on Pinterest here.
#3: The way it cooks meat
This is probably the thing I talk about and love the most about my Instant Pot. When you use it to cook meat, it’s all about the cook time.
My best tip to get the meat to be super tender, easy to shred and juicy is to cook it longer than the recipe even says. I pressure cook chicken breasts for 40 minutes even if the recipe says 20-25 and it SHREDS I tell you.
We eat a lot of tacos so shredded meat is a must at my house. We butchered our own pigs a couple months ago and we will pressure cook that meat for up to 2 hours sometimes. Of course, you could also slow cook your meat alllllll day to get similar results.
#4: You can throw frozen meat into the Instant Pot
Ever forget to pull meat out of the freezer in the morning, head to work, and then come home not having a clue what you’ll make for dinner? Well, guess what? You can pull frozen chicken right out of the freezer and get straight to pressure cooking.
I like to use this “recipe” here from The Recipe Rebel. A quick Pinterest search will also help you find other great frozen meat, Instant Pot recipes.
#5: You can cook dry beans in the Instant Pot much faster!
Cooking dry beans is considered by many to be a more healthy option than canned. Dry beans can also be bought in bulk and cooked in the exact amount you want. However, they take what seems like all day to prepare and cook. I think you even have to soak them overnight before cooking but it’s been so long since I’ve had to do that I can’t even remember thanks to my Instant Pot!
Our household favorite is black beans, which are a great side dish for tacos, Mexican rice bowls, enchiladas, and more! Try this tried and true Instant Pot black beans recipe from the Minimalist Baker here.
#6: Large batches of rice are a breeze!
Unless you’re making instant rice on the stovetop, other types of rice are going to take quite a bit longer. Rice is a huge part of my families diet. My husband eats it with practically every meal as it’s a bodybuilder staple and my boys love it to because it gives them extra energy for martial arts and other wild-boy activities.
I prefer brown rice as it’s a whole grain with lots of fiber which helps with keeping blood sugar levels down as opposed to white rice. BUT my family loves white rice, so we do both quite often. It saves me a lot of time when making big batches of rice and I think the brown rice has a much better texture when pressure cooked.
You can check out a great Instant Pot brown rice recipe by clicking here and one for white rice by clicking here. (Both recipes by Amy + Jacky.)
#7: You can reheat a rotisserie chicken in it
Obviously we eat a lot of chicken at our house! But seriously, one of my favorite things to do with my Instant Pot is to reheat a rotisserie chicken. Every time I go to Costco I get a rotisserie chicken (I can’t help it, it’s only $4.99!). If you eat it right away, it’s so juicy and easy to pick apart for a meal. Most of the time, though, we aren’t going to eat it right away and it goes in the fridge. I think the packaging has reheating directions that include microwaving but I’m telling you there’s a better way:
- Place the trivet in your Instant Pot
- Add about a cup of water or broth to the bottom of the pot
- Place the ENTIRE rotisserie chicken onto the trivet
- Secure the lid and place the venting knob to the sealing position
- Pressure cook for 20-25 minutes
- Let it naturally release pressure for 10 minutes or so
- Release the rest of the pressure manually
- Pull out your juicy, hot chicken and enjoy however you like! (really good in tacos, chicken soups, or stir fry).
I hope this information makes your mama life insanely easier as that is our goal at Mom to the Fullest!
Comment below with your favorite thing about your instant pot and how it makes your life easier as a mom!
(Click here to purchase your own Instant Pot Duo)
