What No One Tells You About EASY Instant Pot Benefits
If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, you need to know all about the EASY Instant Pot benefits that no one talks about! The Instant Pot is not just for home cooks, it’s also the best kept secret of world renowned chefs worldwide!
If you already have an Instant Pot, you probably love it. Why? There are SO MANY Instant Pot benefits from quick cooking to keeping food moist and warm for hours.
This post is all about Instant Pot benefits!
The instant pot is an easy, quick way to cook dried beans for a healthy protein and plant point!
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What Are the Instant Pot Health Benefits?
The Instant Pot can help you actually eat healthy in a manageable way that fits into your lifestyle. How? It can take veggies and beans and cook them quickly to perfection. You can cook like your grandma, or great-grandma without all the behind the scenes effort they used to expend!
Instead of soaking beans overnight before cooking them for hours the following day, throw dried beans into the Instant Pot and press the beans button. Seriously, it’s that straight forward. Fast forward 30 minutes and you have perfectly cooked beans with ZERO FUSS and all the health benefits!
So, Is Instant Pot Healthy?
Yes! Homemade beans are healthier than canned beans and can be flavored with your fave seasonings! Don’t throw away the bean stock (that is the liquid in the pot)! You can jar and keep your bean stock to use in your next soup that you will absolutely be making in YOUR Instant Pot!
So many people LOVE their Instant Pot. Why? Let’s go through the top instant pot benefits including why having a slow cooker is not a substitute for the Instant Pot. And, how you can decrease your clean up and time making meals. Let’s get started!
Instant Pot vs Pressure Cooker
A pressure cooker and an Instant Pot are the same thing. The Instant Pot is just a name brand pressure cooker.
Dr. Kait
Instant Pot Advantages and Disadvantages
The Instant Pot does so many things that the advantages feel well worth the cost and space in the cupboard. Guess what, the New York Times agrees too!
What Does the Instant Pot Do?
Really this should say what does the Instant Pot not do. This amazing little machine can do it all,
- sauté
- pressure cook
- make stews that melt in your mouth
- make soups in half the time
- perfectly cook rice – game changer if you are anything like me
- make chili and spaghetti sauce in 30 minutes that taste like they’ve been cooking all day
- brown or sear meat
- steam vegetables
- makes yogurt (I’ve never used this function but it’s on there!)
The only disadvantage I can think of is you cannot adjust the sauté temperature in the Instant Pot, though maybe you can do this with other pressure cookers. I haven’t found one that you could yet though. Also, you have to store the Instant Pot when it’s not in use, and it is kind of large. But, frankly you’ll be using it all the time if you’re anything like me. Therefore, it will rarely be in storage.
I have a slow cooker so I don’t need an Instant Pot. Wrong!
Dr. Kait
Instant Pot vs Crock Pot
I have a crock pot and thought because they both cook food automatically and cook while you’re away, therefore, I didn’t need an instant pot. I totally was wrong on this one!!
For years I thought I did not need an Instant Pot because I had a slow cooker. And I used my slow cooker all the time. But here is the thing, the slow cooker does not keep food warm for 10 hours (try 2 hours). And, the slow cooker does not sauté or brown meat, sear, etc. Nope. None of those things.
Instant Pot Cooking Benefits
1. Keeps Things Warm
Does this mean you should throw out your slow cooker? No…It just means that the Instant Pot can significantly shorten your cook time AND extend the time you can keep things warm. Bringing something to work for colleagues?
Use the Instant Pot to bring your favorite game day meal or pot luck contribution so it stays warm and doesn’t get overcooked by 11 a.m. Tailgating? Bring the Instant Pot so you can focus on game day and not keeping the food from overcooking or keeping the lid on the pot. The Instant Pot lid actually latches.
2. Helps Make “One Pot” Meals Possible
Because the Instant Pot can sauté and sear, it basically acts as a skillet on a hot plate. You can do all the things you need to do in the same pot before placing something in the slow cooker. Because you are not using a slow cooker, you’re using an Instant Pot.
3. Significantly Reduces Time
At one point, I think we all thought that you had to be home to make a nice homemade meal. Enter in hamburger helper and all sorts of other ready to use boxes to support busy folks looking to share homemade food while juggling work, kids activities, and whatever else they have going on. Oh, I’m sorry did you want to have a life and also make a homemade dinner? Forget it.
But guess what, the Instant Pot can take your chili that really should have 2-3 hours and make it in under 30 minutes. It will taste like it’s been simmering all day.
How about soups? As a pressure cooker, the Instant Pot can cook dried beans into soft, delicious beans that are not overdone. Like my Northern Beans recipe. Press the soup button (yes it really is that easy) and this can all be done in less than 30 minutes.
4. Cooks Beans Perfectly
Do you want to add an excellent source of protein and fiber to your diet regularly? Beans are a great option! Cooking dried beans is a little bit time intensive but the Instant Pot eliminates A LOT of the work involved. Instead of soaking them for 24 hours prior to cooking, just throw them in and press beans. You’ll have perfect cooked beans ready to go in 25 minutes. Or, you can have perfectly cooked chickpeas for homemade hummus in 10 minutes (plus the time it takes for the instant pot to get to pressure).
What Can You Cook in a Pressure Cooker?
Now, you probably see that there is an endless list of things you can cook in an Instant Pot. Unfortunately, the Instant Pot Cookbook is pretty basic and includes a lot of recipes that are not gut healthy. If you’re looking for gut healthy Instant Pot Recipes to try, take a look at some of the ones below!
Roasted Veggies with Almond Bean Dip
This Mediterranean recipe will have everyone eating their vegetables. The Roasted Vegetables with Almond Bean Dip and Drizzled Honey truly is so delicious that even the kids were asking for seconds. Yep, you heard that right, seconds for more beans and veggies.
Corn Hummus
This summer Easy Instant Pot Corn Hummus combines corn, hummus, and a vegetable medley to serve up a delicious appetizer or main course. I like to pair my corn hummus with whole wheat naan bread. However, you could also serve it with tortilla chips or pita chips. Or, if you are baby Joe, you might just eat it plain!
Refried Beans
When it is hot and humid, the last thing I want to do is use my oven. Making homemade refried beans in the instant pot is a great way to keep the heat out of the kitchen. This recipe uses pinto beans as the main ingredient and an immersion blender to easily make this a one pot meal. Pinto beans are a staple ingredient in my cupboard and an excellent source of fiber and protein!
Garlic Hummus
At least once a week I make garlic hummus. I’ve used it in Taco Bowls and layered it in Greek chicken tacos. I’ve served garlic hummus with whole wheat naan bread and also with whole wheat tortillas. In our home, this one pot garlic hummus is kid approved, baby approved, and something all seven of us can agree upon.
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