12 Simple pressure cooker recipes

We all know that fashion is cyclical; what’s out one moment is the height of chic the next. It’s the same with cooking; the pressure cooker, that much loved 1970s kitchen essential is back with a bang, but this time technology has upped its convenience. 

Electric automatic pressure cookers are excellent (Instant Pot seems to be the market leader—but there are lots of brands). I love mine—it’s a real set-and-forget device that I use a lot to make stews, soups, risottos, chilli, porridge and yogurt. 

I’m starting with a great no-fuss pasta dish. Pasta puttanesca is the ultimate tasty, easy after-work dinner. Simply dump all the ingredients into your electric pressure cooker or Instant Pot and press go! I love the powerful flavours for barely any effort.

Pressure cooked whole chicken makes perfectly juicy and tender chicken in less than 45 minutes. This is by far the most succulent, tender, fall-of-the-bone chicken you’ll ever make. A few minutes under the grill at the end of cooking crisps up the skin beautifully. 

Instant Pot Baked Potatoes with crispy skins! They cook in just 12 minutes in your pressure cooker. Then, finish them off under the grill for perfect, crispy & salty skins. I love baked potatoes, but don’t cook them enough as they take too long. Here’s the perfect solution! 

Even the most organised person can forget to plan ahead. If you need to get dinner on the table fast but forgot to take your chicken out of the freezer, your Instant Pot is going to be your best friend. You can safely cook frozen meat in an Instant Pot because pressure cooking cooks food quickly. Unlike a slow cooker, in which frozen food may stay in a dangerous temperature range for too long, the Instant Pot can quickly bring frozen food to a safe temperature.

Pressed pork belly is a favourite treatment for probably the tastiest and one of the cheapest cuts of pork. This recipe looks fantastic, tastes amazing and is proof that you can cook great-looking dishes in a pressure cooker.  

Instant Pot Hot Sauce is fast and so fun to make! Grab your favourite chili peppers and a few other simple ingredients. You can control the flavour and heat, and it tastes great. A bottle of homemade sauce makes a great present, too!

Homemade Soft Pretzels are both delicious and easy. I love the classic tangy, chewy crust with the fluffy inside, and that’s what this recipe provides. The dough is raised in the pressure cooker, and then quickly blanched in boiling water with bicarbonate of soda added, for that authentic pretzel crust. 

This Instant Pot clotted cream recipe is a revelation.  Use your Instant Pot to make the famously decadent spreadable cream that’s the highlight of a classic British afternoon tea. The only question that remains is jam or cream first? (Jam, obviously!). 

This incredible Flourless Espresso Chocolate Cake is a total dream for chocolate and coffee lovers—and you can bake it in your Instant Pot! Dense, fudgy, and decadent, as I think chocolate cake should be, this truffle-like dessert is made with only five ingredients and is completely gluten-free and low-carb/keto.

Dulce de leche is traditionally made from milk and sugar or alternatively can be made from a tin of sweetened condensed milk. Here’s how to make this treat in an electric pressure cooker. Delicious in a banoffee pie, or (my favourite), simply spooned over ice cream. 

Chocolate Fondue is a fun, easy dessert idea that comes together in just minutes. This recipe uses the pressure cooker as the basis for a simple bain-marie. Dip strawberries, cookies, pretzels and more into your homemade Chocolate Fondue. I love the hands-on nature. Time to get dipping!

Finally, I’m finishing with the ultimate steamed pudding—a Christmas pudding. This vegan Christmas pudding is rich, dark, absolutely packed with flavour and although stuffed with dried fruit, it is wonderfully light. Not at all like the heavy, dense puddings of my childhood. 

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Helen Best-Shaw, is a freelance food & travel writer, recipe developer & photographer. She has been blogging at Fuss Free Flavours for over 10 years.  

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