8 Hacks for Converting a Crock Pot Recipe to an Instant Pot Recipe with a Free Printable Mini E-Book

Because we were all in love with the slow cooker until just recently…thanks, mom.

(Inside: A quick and dirty introduction to the Instant Pot and the 8 Hacks for Converting a Crock Pot Recipe to an Instant Pot Recipe (with a Free Printable Mini E-Book) that I use to turn a slow cooker recipe into an instant pot recipe. Makes things ridiculously easy.)

If you have ever used a slow cooker or crock pot (same thing, ya know), you understand that sometimes it takes a lot of time and patience to cook a delicious meal.

Sometimes like ALL FREAKING DAY.

Unfortunately, very few people have time for that crap.

And if it only takes 4 hours instead of 8, that means you have to come home from work at lunchtime to load up the slow cooker.

Ugh.

What about that time you forgot–then you had your setup all ready, but the food wasn’t when your guests were about to arrive.

Sigh.

With the introduction of instant pots (which my mom tells me I could have had a pressure cooker all this time–WTF, she was totally hiding this ridiculously useful tool my WHOLE LIFE!), it’s sooooooo possible to prepare a traditional slow cooker meal in just a matter of minutes.

No. Really.

With an instant pot, it only takes 8 Hacks for Converting a Crock Pot Recipe to an Instant Pot Recipe.

And, by checking these out, you’ll find that converting a crock pot recipe to an instant pot recipe turns out to be ridiculously easy–and thus your meals that used to take a day to make are now so freaking fast, it’s not funny.

Oh, and if you’re just here for the free printable mini-ebook, just keep scrolling (it’s the perfect little gift to give someone with an Instant Pot…).

A quick and dirty introduction to the Instant Pot and the 8 Hacks for Converting a Crock Pot Recipe to an Instant Pot Recipe (with a Free Printable Mini E-Book) that I use to turn a slow cooker recipe into an instant pot recipe. Makes things ridiculously easy. #instantpotparty #instantpot #instapot #instantpothacks #hackinstantpot #howtouseinstantpot #howto #cookinginstantpot #cooking #pressurecooker #slowcooker #crockpot #crockpotconversiontoinstantpot #slowcookerconverstiontoinstantpot

8 Hacks for Converting a Crock Pot Recipe to an Instant Pot Recipe

Liquid Matters

How much liquid are you planning to use?

This is an important thing to consider because very little water is lost when you cook using a pressure cooker.

But you need some–so, where’s the “sweet spot”?

You should definitely use a maximum of 1 cup of broth or water when cooking instant pot recipes.

But, if the item you are going to cook already has high water content, you might have to use ½ cup of water.

For soups, you obviously don’t need to change the liquid content for slow cooker to instant pot conversion, but for things like a roast (just as an example), I’d go with 1 cup of broth.

Under Pressure

Use the quick pressure release method if you don’t know the type of approach to use.

Just better safe than soggy, right?!

Things that can cook quickly and might need this kind of pressure release include rice, delicate vegetables, pasta, etc.

As for meat, you can opt for the natural release meaning that the pot will beep when its time.

You should let it rest for 10-20 minutes when there is no steam spurting out after turning the valve from “sealing’ to “venting.”

But, when in doubt, quick release it out.

Special Buttons

Use the meat stew button to cook meat that might take 4 to 8 hours to cook on a slow cooker.

It’ll take approximately 25 -30 minutes to cook a really big cut of meat in a pressure cooker.

Chicken will take about 15 minutes if you use the poultry button.

To avoid overcooked meat, ensure that you set the vent to “sealing” and not to “venting.”

And be sure to do natural release with this one–let that meat rest, just like you would if you grilled it.

If you don’t want the liquid to infiltrate the food as much, you can put your food or liquid in a silicon mini-loaf pan to keep things separate.

The instant pot doesn’t care where the liquid is–just that it’s in there.

No-No Liquids

If you like adding flavor to your food using different liquid, you might need to avoid some of them since not all can cook well in an instant pot.

But you can add them after cooking using the sauté setting with the lid off–kind of using them as a seasoning after the fact.

If you add them to the pressure setting, you might experience an explosion of foam and ewww upon removing the lid.

Such liquids include; cream, wine, beer, milk, butter, hard cheese, and brandy.

Stick with amazing liquids like broths and water—you know, the good stuff.

Thick as Thieves

When cooking something like a stew, you can initially cook it with a thin liquid.

But after you finish cooking it, you can change your pot to sauté and add a thickener.

The same with things that include tomato sauce.

Tomatoes and tomato sauces actually thicken, so you can’t really count them as a liquid–but as a thickener.

By adding them at the end, you can avoid getting the “burn” notice.

Flavor Gator

Sometimes cooking under intense pressure can reduce the flavor of a dish.

This happens because when you add more liquid and combine it with pressure, it dilutes the molecules that make flavor.

You will, therefore, need to add more flavor to the food.

Adding flavor mostly applies to meat.

You can add flavor before and after cooking by using broths instead of water, going just a weeeee bit overboard on the seasoning, or just by not overcooking it–experiment with shorter cook times on things like steaks and prime rib.

Safety First

Your pressure cooker needs enough space so that the steam can also build up.

You should avoid filling it more than 2/3 with food.

If you are cooking grain or legumes, you should also avoid filling it more than ½.

Don’t ever quick release solid foods like grains and beans.

Veggies Rule

You might need to add vegetables to meat when cooking slow cooker recipes.

However, you might end up with mushy vegetables when using a pressure cooker.

You can try a quick release halfway through cooking, then adding your veggies, resealing it and setting it to cook the remaining time.

 

Whew!

That seems like a lot to take in, but the ebb-and-flow of converting a crock pot recipe to an Instant Pot recipe make sense once you start really getting into the ins-and-outs of the Instant Pot. (I swear that was the most heebidie-jeebidie sentence ever.)

For real, it seems like it would be so much more complicated to turn a slow cooker recipe into an instant pot recipe, but it’s really not.

Which is kinda nice. Because I do so love a good old fashioned pot roast. Or tamale pie

And those were all slow cooker recipes converted to instant pot. So…

Oh, but before you pop off, do me a solid and pin these 8 Hacks for Converting a Crock Pot Recipe to an Instant Pot Recipe so you can find it again later.

And if you’re looking for that free printable mini e-book? It’s down below…just keep scrolling…

A quick and dirty introduction to the Instant Pot and the 8 Hacks for Converting a Crock Pot Recipe to an Instant Pot Recipe (with a Free Printable Mini E-Book) that I use to turn a slow cooker recipe into an instant pot recipe. Makes things ridiculously easy. #instantpotparty #instantpot #instapot #instantpothacks #hackinstantpot #howtouseinstantpot #howto #cookinginstantpot #cooking #pressurecooker #slowcooker #crockpot #crockpotconversiontoinstantpot #slowcookerconverstiontoinstantpot

ALRIGHT! (drum roll please) Here’s the 8 Hacks for Converting a Crock Pot Recipe to an Instant Pot Recipe mini-ebook: HERE!

 

 

 

Party on, dude! Catch you the flip side.

Written by Chantal

Dude. I'm down for the Instant Pot Party like nobody's business. I love and live food. And I do it all under pressure here. You can also see me over at NerdyMamma.com where I adventure with my kids!

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