Instant Pot Archives - A Calculated Whisk

Instant Pot Balsamic Short Ribs

January 16, 2020 By Becky Leave a Comment

These Instant Pot balsamic short ribs are easy to make and the epitome of winter comfort food, plus they’re dairy free, paleo, and Whole30 compliant!

Shooooort ribs! I remember the first time I ordered them, at a restaurant in Jamaica Plain on New Year’s Eve in 2011. I said to the waiter, “So short ribs are pork, right?” 😂

I’ve learned a lot about short ribs since first falling in love with them almost a decade ago. To begin with, they’re beef! Also, they’re one of the richest, most tender cuts you’ll find, and are best slow cooked or braised. After much testing and experimenting, I’m happy to report that using your Instant Pot* is one of the best ways to cook them (*this link and others with an asterisk are affiliate links, which means I earn from qualifying purchases).

Instant Pot Tomato Sauce (made with fresh tomatoes)

September 9, 2019 By Becky Leave a Comment

Instant Pot Tomato Sauce (made with fresh tomatoes)

This simple and luxurious Instant Pot tomato sauce is inspired by Marcella Hazan’s classic recipe, but takes advantage of fresh summer tomatoes from your garden or CSA.

Something about September makes me want to bust out the Instant Pot for almost every meal! All summer long I only used it for rice (it makes the most PERFECT rice!), but now that it’s fall I’m ready to make all manner of sauces, soups, stews, and braises.

Instant Pot Short Rib Ragu

September 28, 2018 By Becky 18 Comments

This post is sponsored by Pomì.

This easy Instant Pot Short Rib Ragu is packed with rich, hearty flavor and is perfect for cool fall nights. Enjoy it with pasta, spiralized veggies, or polenta.

It’s officially fall, which means it’s time for warming comfort food dishes like this Instant Pot Short Rib Ragu. This meaty sauce gets its flavor from organic, 100% Italian Pomì strained tomatoes, a classic soffritto of onion, celery, and carrot, and of course, the short ribs themselves. If you haven’t tried short ribs before, you are in for a treat: after being seared and then pressure cooked to perfection in the Instant Pot, they shred into the most tender morsels of beef you’ve ever tasted. The sauce is finished with a handful of fresh basil for freshness, and a splash of heavy cream or coconut milk for creaminess if you’re so inclined.

Instant Pot Bacon and Sweet Potato Chili

September 21, 2018 By Becky 6 Comments

Instant Pot Bacon & Sweet Potato Chili (Paleo, Whole30)

This paleo & Whole30-compliant Instant Pot bacon and sweet potato chili is an old favorite made twice as fast in the pressure cooker. Make a big batch and freeze some for later!

I’m kind of a chili purist. I don’t like beans in my chili and I don’t want any tomatoes in there, either. I also don’t like it to be too soupy. Over the years I’ve tried many chili recipes, but my bacon and sweet potato chili is the only one I come back to again and again. Many of my friend have made it, too, and it’s always a hit. It freezes really well, so it’s a perfect make-ahead meal. I’m definitely planning to stock my freezer with some to have on hand once our baby arrives!

How to Make Ghee in an Instant Pot (or on the stove!)

January 12, 2018 By Becky 19 Comments

It’s so easy and quick to make ghee in an Instant Pot (or on the stove), and it’s much more delicious than store-bought! Use your homemade ghee anywhere you’d use butter for more flavor and less lactose.

I’ve been making my own ghee at home for several years now, and it may be my favorite food in the entire world (apologies to macaroni and cheese, my childhood favorite).

If you’re not familiar with ghee, it’s basically clarified butter taken one delicious step further. When you cook butter and strain out the browned milk solids, the end result is a healthy, lactose-free fat that lasts almost forever and won’t burn at high temperatures the way butter does.

Instant Pot Fesenjan (Persian Pomegranate Chicken)

January 5, 2018 By Becky 78 Comments

This aromatic Instant Pot fesenjan, or Persian pomegranate chicken, is packed with flavor thanks to pomegranate molasses, toasted walnuts, and spices, and will warm you right up on a winter’s night!

Here it is: the first new recipe of 2018! This sweet and nutty Instant Pot fesenjan has already become a big hit over here, receiving rave reviews from both my husband and my mother, who came to stay with us for a week around Christmas.

I want to share a bit about my year here, but if you’re hungry, feel free to scroll right down to the recipe details!

The biggest highlight of 2017 was of course getting married–Ben and I had such an amazing time at our wedding, and we got to see so many family members and friends that we hadn’t seen in a long time. Even though we’ve been married for almost four months now, I still haven’t had a chance to put together a post about our wedding, but plan to do so soon! I can’t wait to share all the details with you.

Grain-free Instant Pot Pumpkin Pie

December 18, 2017 By Becky 25 Comments

This grain-free Instant pot pumpkin pie is easy to make in your pressure cooker, and is the perfect size for an intimate holiday gathering. Recipe from Emily Sunwell-Vidaurri’s new cookbook, The Art of Great Cooking with Your Instant Pot.

It’s time for an Instant Pot dessert! I recently took a little poll over on Instagram stories, and found that 74% of you have an Instant Pot. If you’re among the 26% that doesn’t have one yet, you should add it to your Christmas list–it’s my very favorite kitchen appliance of all time because of its cooking speed, ease of use, and versatility. It sautés beautifully, plus it does the work of a slow cooker, rice cooker, pressure cooker, and more. And now, we’re using it as a pie maker!

Instant Pot Meatballs

November 28, 2017 By Becky 29 Comments

These Instant Pot meatballs are so easy and quick to make–no stove or oven required–and are the ideal paleo & Whole30 comfort food.

How was your Thanksgiving?? Mine was pretty good. I made an apple galette first thing in the morning and we left for Atlanta around 11 to go to a big family Thanksgiving at Ben’s cousin’s house. Amazingly enough, traffic from Chattanooga to the ATL was very light, and we made it in under two hours. I managed to eat only a relatively appropriate amount of dessert and even brought some galette back home, which made a perfect Black Friday breakfast.

Instant Pot Potato Leek Soup with Cauliflower

January 23, 2017 By Becky 47 Comments

This Instant Pot potato leek soup is lightened up with the addition of cauliflower, and comes together super quickly in a pressure cooker. It’s also paleo and Whole30 compliant!

It’s Day 1 of my January/February Whole30! Usually I start a Whole30 right at the beginning of January, but this year I had plans to help out with a styled wedding shoot and travel to Florida. I wanted to make sure I could eat some faux wedding cake and all the Cuban food, so I pushed my start date to today.

I went to a great yoga class last night and made some mini frittatas (similar to these) to reheat for quick breakfasts, so things are going swimmingly so far. Tonight my Whole30 partner in crime Lindsey and I are making my shepherd’s pie with rutabaga, which is one of my favorite cold-weather meals of all time.

This instant pot potato leek soup is a great addition to my winter Whole30 repertoire. The base of the soup is half potato and half cauliflower, so you get the great flavor and creaminess of potatoes without the huge carb spike.

Anyone suspicious of cauliflower will not be able to taste it! The leeks add wonderful savory flavor to the soup, which is further complemented by the grassy, oniony freshness of the chives sprinkled on top.

Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo (Instant Pot or Not)

January 16, 2017 By Becky 21 Comments

This paleo, Whole30-compliant shrimp and sausage gumbo is a flavor-packed meal that comes together in half an hour in the Instant Pot, and just a little longer on the stovetop.

Today’s recipe comes from my friend Megan‘s book, The Big 15 Paleo Cookbook. If you don’t have it, you need to get your hands on it as soon as possible. It’s full of simple but delicious paleo recipes made with straightforward ingredients. The book has 15 chapters, each focusing on recipes made with one of the “big 15” paleo ingredients (see the cover below to find out what they are!).

I chose to make the gumbo recipe from the shrimp chapter, and while I wondered how it would turn out since it’s made with just a handful of everyday ingredients, I was definitely not disappointed.

You don’t have to bother with a roux–this paleo shrimp and sausage gumbo gets its great flavor from vegetables, healthy cooking fat, and Creole seasoning, plus the shrimp and sausage themselves. Megan recommends using shell-on shrimp for better flavor. I was hesitant at first, but after trying it I really do think the gumbo has more flavor due to having the shrimp shells in while it cooks.

Using unpeeled shrimp also makes it harder to overcook them, which is often a problem with quick-cooking shrimp. It’s a little messy peeling the saucy shrimp, but it’s also kind of fun. I love a good hands-on eating experience! If you don’t, you can peel them beforehand or even buy pre-peeled shrimp.

40 Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes

January 11, 2017 By Becky 8 Comments

Move over, slow cooker–you’ve been replaced! This roundup of Whole30 Instant Pot recipes will help you save tons of time and eat ridiculously well while meeting your nutritional goals.

Looking for more Whole30 recipes? Check out these 16 Whole30 Sheet Pan Dinners. Also, there are over 80 Whole30-compliant recipes in my cookbook, Paleo Planet!

If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet, you are missing out! This electronic pressure cooker has quickly become my number one kitchen gadget because it saves me so much time without sacrificing any flavor. I have this model, which is just $99 right now, but there’s also a new bluetooth version that looks pretty amazing.

With the Instant Pot, recipes that take all day in a slow cooker are done in just an hour or two, which is perfect for people like me who don’t excel at planning ahead. It also has a sauté feature, so you can brown meats right in the pot before pressure cooking.

And if you enjoy being able to have dinner simmering away slowly all day while you’re at work, worry not–in addition to high and low pressure settings, the Instant Pot also has slow cooker settings.

It’s perfect for making rice, too, so you can basically replace your crockpot and your rice cooker with this one miracle appliance. It’s also a great steamer, and has settings for pasteurizing milk and making yogurt (I have yet to use those, but I like knowing they’re there).

If you’re doing a January Whole30, these Instant Pot recipes will save you from food boredom while also saving you tons of time. Even if you’re not doing a Whole30, these healthful, real-food recipes are perfect for feeding you and your family any night of the week.

Looking for even more Whole30 Instant Pot recipes? Find ten more right here!

Whole30 Instant Pot Chicken Recipes:

Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup from Real Simple Good

Cheesy Chicken & Green Zoodles from The Castaway Kitchen

Pressure Cooker Lemongrass & Coconut Chicken from Nom Nom Paleo

Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

December 21, 2016 By Becky 25 Comments

These easy Instant Pot mashed potatoes save time and are just as delicious as stovetop taters. There’s a paleo and Whole30 version, too!

Ever since I got my Instant Pot last year on Black Friday, I haven’t had to wait for water to boil to make mashed potatoes and have pretty much forgotten about the stovetop version. The Instant Pot is just so much easier and faster–there’s really no comparison. The potatoes cook start to finish in about 20 minutes, and then I mash them right in the pressure cooker with a handheld potato masher. Done and done.

There are two versions in the recipe card below–the version I normally make, and the version I make when I’m doing a Whole30. In my mind there’s really no question that the regular version is a little better, but the cream-free version certainly does the trick when I’m craving the comfort of mashed potatoes during a month of squeaky-clean paleo eating.

In both versions the potatoes are cooked with chicken stock instead of water, which means you don’t have to drain them. It also adds flavor and nutrition. If you use bone broth like I do, your mashed potatoes will have a good amount of protein in them!

The main difference between the two variations is that the Whole30 version calls for more stock since you won’t be adding cream later. It also calls for a little extra ghee to make up for that lack of cream. I always like to finish off my mashed potatoes by adding a little more butter or ghee on top, and in the winter I love to add some finely minced rosemary, too. In the warmer months, snipped chives provide a similar pop of color and freshness.