There are so many people who say the can't cook, but I swear I'm on a whole new level of not being able to cook. This little appliance helps expand our menu and I Have learned to do so much with it. I will sum up in a nutshell, I love how easy it is and how I throw everything in it comes out done. No stirring and not many messy dishes. I still don't love it for meats (which I don't eat much of anyway), but I think that's just a matter of needing to experiment more with them. I seriously can't believe how many foods can be cooked in here!

What got me thinking about the IP was talking to a friend at work who is a firefighter. He works long shifts with mostly men, they can't really cook, but they just buy meat and throw it in here. He swore by it. Then someone else chimed in and said they pressure cook a lot. About a month later it went on sale for Prime Day and I picked it up. I am all of a sudden a much, much better cook! There are so many cookbooks for this, my favorite being Hip Pressure Cooking: Fast, Fresh, and Flavorful and there's a wonderful Facebook page where people post their successes and fails, so we can all learn from each other. This whole last month has been wonderful. I'll highlight some things I've tried or heard about:

-Chicken: For the first time every I cooked a whole chicken (see picture of it falling apart). My husband couldn't believe I cooked a whole chicken since I usually buy them at the store already made. It was excellent. I did 6 minutes per pound + 2 minutes. I also cook chicken thighs for dinner about once a week, which I had never cooked before. I do that for 10 minutes with some chicken broth and whichever seasoning sounds good. Ironically enough, I can't get my classic boneless, skinless chicken breasts to turn out, but based on my Facebook group a lot of people have success with them.
-Pot roast: I tried this once and it didn't work great. It was a very lean, thick cut of meat. I heard that the leaner meats are harder to do. Next time I'll try something different.
-Eggs: I can hard boil 30 eggs at once!!! I work 12 hour shifts and eat 4 with my lunch and 4 with my dinner. Since I work 4 days in a row I have to hard boil 32 eggs. I used to use my egg cooker and do 7 at a time, which was a pain. Now it's quick and easy!
-Steel cut oats: Another thing that I never ate before. At one point a couple years ago we tried making them a few times, but it's so annoying having to stir the pot all the time and then half the time I ended up with some crusted on the bottom which was annoying to clean up. Now I use the PIP (pot in the pot) method. I put 1 cup of water in the bottom, then the trivet in, then 1 cup of steel cut oats in a large Pyrex glass dish with 2 1/2 cups of water. I put it on for 10 minutes manual high pressure and walk away. Once the pressure releases and I open it they are perfect! I then divide them up into mason jars and put them in the fridge. At breakfast time I warm them up, add some milk for creaminess and they are perfect. We eat them every single morning now. The only dish I have is the Pyrex bowl and I just rinse the metal pot out since it didn't touch any food.
-Soups: I had never made soup before this. I have made chicken noodle soup many times and everyone loves it. I HATE how chicken noodle soup always has mushy noodles. Not mine! I cook the noodles to how I like them. I've bene wanting to experiment with more soups, but I'll do that in winter.
-Yogurt: Another amazing feature. I've made yogurt 3 times and love it. My 2 year old only eats my yogurt. I can make a gallon of organic yogurt for a fraction of the cost of buying it at the store. It takes some patience, but the hands on work part of it is only about 20 minutes. There's a lot of waiting for things to heat, cool, incubate, set. I've finally learned when to start to have each step finish at the right time. Feel free to ask if you have questions.
-Sides: I found a recipe for a mac and cheese that everyone loves. My daughter and her friends are always begging me for it. The best part? It's only 5 ingredients (pasta, heavy whip, butter, salt and cheese). It also only requires washing a cheese grater and the pot and it only takes 20 minute from start to finish. No hard to pronounce, artificial, food dyed ingredients. I have also mastered spaghetti with meat sauce. Before this I had never once made spaghetti with meat sauce. Now I do it all the time. Again, I only have ONE thing to clean afterwards. If I tried doing with without the IP I would have a pan for the meat, pot for the pasta, strainer. It only takes about 20 minutes start to finish. It can be real simple (meat, jar of sauce, pasta, water) or get really complicated with making your own sauce (even then it's still pretty easy).
-Veggies: Many veggies can be cooked in here. Delicate ones, like broccoli are harder to do. Con on the cob in here is amazing though. Much quicker than any other method.
-Deserts: I haven't made a desert yet, but on my Facebook group a ton of people are making cheesecake. I try to keep deserts out of the house and just have them for special treats when we're out. So I haven't tried this. A ton of people in my Facebook group are doing it and they look like they turn out great.
-Chicken broth: I am not the type of woman who makes chicken broth. My step-mom does that kind of stuff and I look at her like "why don't you just buy it". Well, now I am the type of person who makes chicken broth. After throwing a whole chicken in here I take the carcass (I hate that word!) and put it back in with some veggies, set it for 2 hours and it's done! I strain it and then have beautiful, healthy, yummy chicken broth. The first time I did it my husband looked at me like I was cray-cray. Now he helps by saving his bones. There is no better chicken noodle soup that when it's made with homemade broth! Yummy!!!
-Spaghetti squash: This is one food I accepted that it's harder to make than it's worth, so we hadn't eaten it in years. Not anymore! I put it in for 20 minutes without cutting it. When I opened the pot the squash is intact, but with the skin peeling off. It's easy to cut it in half from there, scoop out the seeds and separate it.
-Applesauce: Whenever my apples start getting too soft, I peel them, use my little apple slicer and throw them in here with some cinnamon. There are recipes for if you want to add sugar, lemon, honey, ect. I prefer just apples and cinnamon though since it's healthy and natural. My kids love it. 8 minutes on manual with a natural release. I just stir it with a fork and don't even need to blend it. There are small, very soft chunks. I wish I had this when my son was a baby!

Those are a few of them things I've made. I have learned to experiment more. Since I usually don't have to do many dishes with the IP I tend to enjoy experimenting. I have a cookbook I write all of my successes in. My family is constant surprised at how much this has changed how we eat. I usually don't keep appliances out on my counter, but since I use this at least once a day I never put it away. The only downfall is I think there is a learning curve to it. It's a little intimidating at first and requires some trial and error. I was terrified of almost everything the first time I did it. 90% of everything has come out great. I'm learning what I like to cook and don't like to cook in it. I love that when we have a last minute neighborhood get together (it happens a few times a week) I can whip up a pasta dish and veggie real quick.

Tips (Added Jan 2017):
-Recipes generally don't include time to come to pressure. Think of this is the same as your oven warming up or water boiling. After your food goes in the pot it has the pressurize, then the timer starts counting down. You can speed this up but turning on "saute" first. It cuts the time more than in half.
-Instructions have lingo related to you the pressure gets released. First there's natural pressure release (NPR). This is just leaving the pot alone until the pin drops, indicating there's no pressure in the pot. The lid can then be removed safely. Then there's a quick release (QR), which is where you turn the pressure release valve at the far side of the pressure cooker. This takes about a minute and releases a bunch of steam, so you probably don't want this under a cabinet. There is also a chance of some food/fluid coming out, depending on what's in the pot and how full it is. If that happens you can wait for it to do the NPR or you can do short, slow bursts.
-If you're having problems with getting anything to work check all the parts first. Is the silicone ring in place? Is the pin in place and able to move up and down? Is the valve set to "sealing"? Is there enough water/fluid in the pot to pressurize?

Nov 2016 update: Well, it's not longer sitting on my counter, but I still use it about 2-3 times a week, which is more than any other appliance. I got over the honeymoon period, where I tried EVERY food in here. Now I know what I like and what I don't like in here and I stick with that. I recommend you get 2-3 good cookbooks with this and start finding fun recipes on Pinterest. I keep adding pictures and things in my review.

Updated: 9/26/2017
I’ve had my Instant Pot (IP) going on two years; I bought it on Black Friday 2015. I am still as enthusiastic about it now as I was when I bought it, but I don’t use it as much anymore. I use it a few times a week mainly for side dishes or one pot meals. I love it for steaming vegetables, easy peeling hard boiled eggs, creamy risotto, and it makes a mean mac’n’cheese! Lots of one pot meals like chili, sausage and peppers, butter chicken, even ziti spaghetti. Super for soups. I love, love, love making an Olive Garden copycat Zuppa Toscana in it.

It’s not Instant Cooking... it takes time to get to pressure, add the actual cooking time, and then a cool-down (or natural release) period. Your recipe might state a cook time of 30 minutes but it doesn’t mention the 10-20 minutes it takes to get to pressure and the 10-15 minutes it might need for a natural pressure release. Be sure to factor that in so your family isn’t waiting at the table 30 minutes before your dinner is ready. You’ll know what ‘hangry’ means then!

There is definitely a learning curve with this cooker. Pressure cooking is dependent on density – and you’ll see that in the charts that the Instant Pot company has on it’s website; something cut into chunks will cook faster than a big solid piece. I think the hardest thing to learn to cook in the IP is meat. I pretty gave up on roasts. It just takes practice and patience.

I recommend using recipes when you are learning how to use your IP. There are great free recipes online, some of my favorite websites are Pressure Cooking Today, This Old Gal, and Dad Cooks Dinner. Instant Pot also has a company sponsored Facebook group that posts recipes and is a good place to learn about your pot.

I love that I can cook pot-in-pot, in winter I put steel-cut oats with all my add-ins (raisins, vanilla, cinnamon, almond milk) into a small stainless-steel bowl, set that on the included trivet, throw a cup of water in the bottom of the IP, set it for 5 minutes manual pressure and then go get ready for work. By the time I’m done, it’s cooked, depressurized, and so yummy. Way easier to clean a little bowl too. The recipe for that comes with the IP.

I rarely use my Instant Pot as a slow cooker, I have found that most everything I cooked in my slow cooker can be cooked at pressure. The pea soup I cooked all day in the slow cooker took an hour in the IP (15 min to come to pressure, 30 minutes on the Soup setting, 15 min natural release) and tasted just as good. I can do a corned beef in 90 minutes (plus that extra half hour I mentioned above). If you do use it as a slow cooker, please know that the low setting on the IP is equivalent to ‘stay warm’ on your slow cooker. It also only heats from the bottom not the sides like a traditional slow cooker. That hasn’t seemed to make a difference from what I can tell though.

Now to some specific tips:
Getting the lid on properly: The instructions say to line up the arrows to get the lid aligned with the pot before you close it and seal the vent. The arrows are really hard to see and honestly, you don’t need them. Don’t bother painting them white like some folks suggest. Instead, learn this: at the back of the Instant Pot is a black ‘ledge’ that the lid fits onto, the lid then slides to the right to close it. Put the lid on with the sealing mechanism at that point. It will make sense when you start to use it. Look from above when you put the lid on and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Kind hard to explain, see the 3rd photo below.

Accessories: My sealing ring lasted nearly a year. Towards the end of the 10th month it had stretched out so much that the only way to have it stay inside the lid was to freeze it. Although it worked, it’s not the best thing to do. I keep two rings on hand now, one for sweets and one for savory. The rings DO pick up odors and you don’t want a green curry smell on your custard. They are relatively inexpensive so buy one with your IP order.

I use the RSVP Endurance Stainless Steel 3 Quart Wide Rim Mesh Basket for a steamer basket. I did pry the riveted handles off but if I was to do it again I would bend them upwards in a vise. It’s hard to get this basket out of the pot without handles. I bought a pot lifter (see last photo) but it didn’t work well – it is designed to lift from the outside of a pot, not the inside. Now I just put my silicone mitts on and pick the basket up. That said, I am very happy with the basket. It can hold 5 lbs. of diced potatoes with a few raw eggs balanced on top (which by the way can be cooked together for 4 minutes on high pressure, quick release, for a great potato salad base– don’t forget to put one cup of water into the bottom of the pot though).

I use these style silicone mitts when handling the inner pot. Dexas Mini Silicone Oven Mitt with Raised Nibs, Red. The inner pot (stainless steel liner) spins when you stir food. I had tried binder clips to hold it in place when I stirred but it’s just easier to hold the pot while wearing one of these. Lots of recipes call for stirring something in at the end, or sauteing something at the beginning, and the spinning is just annoying. As mentioned above, the mitts are great for taking the hot stainless-steel liner out of the pot. Highly recommend.

I resisted the lure of the cheesecake for about 10 months then I finally succumbed. Way too many pictures of IP cheesecakes on Facebook. Pretty much anything that can be cooked bain-marie style can be done in the IP (think custard, crème brulee). I bought the Nordic Ware Leakproof Springform Pan, 7 Inch which works great. Some people like push pans. The only thing I can say about this is that a 6” cheesecake has a few less calories than a 9” one. The IP makes cheesecakes a breeze to cook. Beware.

Two last things 1) This cannot be used for canning. Electric pressure cookers do not come up to a high enough pressure to safely can food. They also don’t maintain a steady heat, they have on/off heat cycles. You need a stovetop pressure canner to be safe. 2) Don't be scared of this thing - it has lots of safety features. As long as you follow the directions you will be fine. Never force the lid off - it slides easily when pressure is gone. Open the lid away from you so any residual steam is blocked by the lid. Use common sense and you will be just fine!

This is a great purchase – you’ll love it!

Day one with the new toy... Chuck roast, baby carrots, fresh thyme, rosemary and garlic, a whole onion, beef broth, salt and pepper... Seared both sides for about 5 minutes on the saute setting, then used the meat setting for 65 minutes. The meat literally fell apart as I was pulling it out of the pot. A huge hit on it's first run, we have a bone-in leg of lamb thawing out now for tomorrow night.

This was supposed to be a Christmas present for my wife, but she passed away a month ago. Instead it is a way for us to remember how much she would have loved it.

I have had the Instant Pot for 5 months, using it reasonably regularly. This afternoon, I started it to saute vegetables, and then planned to use the slow cooker function to make chile. I set the slow cooker function to High / More, and it would never get above a "warm" temperature -- even six hours later. I don't think the chili is safe to eat. There goes my day and big batch of chili. I have written to Instant Pot -- let's see what their response is.

MY INSTANT POT STOPPED WORKING AFTER 5 WEEKS!!!AND AMAZON WOULD NOT COVER RETURN....NIGHTMARE

First off, HORRIBLE customer service!!! They have quite possibly the worse customer service I've encountered. My pot I believe was defective, it was not sealing and customer service would not respond at all to my requests. I'd only had for about 2 weeks. Luckily Amazon is amazing and everything worked out. I returned it and ordered a different brand and have not had one problem with it. Horrible, unreputable company that does not stand behind their product. Also, the sealing ring gets a terrible odor if you cook with garlic or other aromatic ingredients and the flavor can seep into other dishes you make so you have to buy new rings which are not cheap, about $5 each. You could be investing quite a bit of money over time