It is no secret that I love my Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker. Since it was on mega-sale, during Amazon Prime Day, I naturally shared the love with all my Facebook friends, and was pleasantly surprised that a handful decided to purchase the Instant Pot. Then I came across this little number: 215,000 Instant Pots sold on Amazon Prime Day. Holy. Instant Pots. So in celebration of the success of the Instant Pot on Prime Day, here my take:
I mean, it only has like, 8,000 positive reviews on Amazon.. and is the number 3 seller in the Kitchen & Gadget department.
But… If you still need convincing, here goes:
It has not only enhanced the what we eat, it has taken away much of the stress of trying to prepare real food dinners in a timely manner. We have always tried to eat real, paleo / primal style meals- but sometimes that mean either a) eating a 11:00 at night, or b) eating canned tuna and microwaved sweet potatoes. With my Instant Pot, I can have dinner in an hour- no matter what I’m cooking! So far beef roast is takes the longest to cook- which has been 45 minutes. That’s NOTHING compared to all day in the crockpot, or hours in the oven. I used to throw meals in the crockpot in the morning before work, put it on low to serve for dinner. Dry, dry, dry, overcooked, dry. Every. Single. Time. My husband (very nicely) asked that I just stop trying to “save time” by making crockpot meals.
So, when one of my favorite paleo bloggers highly recommend the Instant Pot, I put it on my Christmas list, was thrilled to open it Christmas morning, and haven’t used my crockpot since!
My favorite features:
- EASY TO CLEAN. I hate doing dishes. Easily, my least favorite chore. The Instant Pot has one metal insert to clean, and I simply wipe down and dry the inside. Easy-Peasy.
- SEAR. Everyone knows that the secret to a great roast or chicken is the sear- which I would never do prior to owning and Instant Pot, because more dishes, duh! With the sear function, I get awesome roasts, and no extra dishes.
- ONE POT DINNERS. Through the magic of pressure cooking, food doesn’t dry out or taste overdone the way it does in the crockpot or oven.
So what is in my typical Instant Pot meal? Actually it’s a combo: meat + starchy veggie + accent veggie + water / broth + seasonings. One night it might be roast + potato + onion, the next night it might be chicken + squash + peppers.
Key accessories to enhance your Instant Pot experience:
An extra Instant Pot Stainless Steel Inner Pot (especially if you put of doing dishes.. but still want to use your Instant Pot everyday..)
Instant Pot Tempered Glass Lid 
Deni Round Pressure Cooker Dessert Pans
Yogurt Cup & Sterilization Rack for yogurt-making
And if you like to have recipes at your fingertips:
Hip Pressure Cooking: Fast, Fresh, and Flavorful
Great Food Fast (Best of the Best Presents) Bob Warden’s Ultimate Pressure Cooker Recipes
A handful of Paleo Instant Pot favorites:
Salsa Verde Chicken – Serve with Fried Plantains!
Maple Smoked Brisket– throw a couple sweet potatoes in the instapot for a one pot meal!
*Use Liquid Smoke without MSG – found HERE. Additional ingredients: maple sugar, date sugar, or coconut sugar.
Lemongrass + Coconut Chicken– I only use Red Fish Boat Sauce (the rest taste icky!) and Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos
Moroccan Sticky Chicken Legs– I use this Blackstrap Molasses
And finally, cooking times for various Paleo staples:
Spaghetti Squash (My FAVORITE way to cook spaghetti squash!)
You should totally join the Instant Pot Facebook Group – TONS of helpful tips, advice and recipes!
I hope you decide to try one of these Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker recipes, and would love to hear about your favorite recipes too!
