Cookbook Review: “175 Best Instant Pot Recipes” by Marilyn Haugen

Instant Pots are one of the hottest small kitchen appliances on the market right now. While officially categorized as an electric pressure cooker, an Instant Pot is actually a programmable multicooker, with more than one function to help you prepare food with only one appliance. Because it is so versatile, you might not be aware of all you can do with it. That’s why a cookbook like 175 Best Instant Pot Recipes can be such a boon.

Summary of 175 Best Instant Pot Recipes

175 Best Instant Pot Recipes starts off with a short primer on “Instant Pot Basics,” so you will have a good idea of what your multicooker can do. Then it goes right into the recipes, organizing them in the following categories:

• Breakfasts
• Soups, Stews and Chilis
• Main Courses
• Side Dishes
• Entertaining and Special Occasions
• Esserts and Snacks

What Worked for Me

The recipes are easy to read and follow. The reader is given clear information about which function the recipe will use upfront, so they don’t have to read through the recipe to find that information.

The pictures are sufficient enough to get your mouth watering, but not so ubiquitous that it makes the book too stiff to use.

At the beginning of each section, the recipes are listed by which main function they’ll use: Pressure cooker or slow cooker.

This is a simple cookbook that is great for beginners.

What Didn’t Work for Me

I probably would have organized the recipes differently, and there’s not a lot of variety. Many of the recipes are just variations on a theme.

Who would benefit most from 175 Best Instant Pot Recipes?

The author suggests that college students would love having this book and a multicooker because it will help them save money while eating well at the same time. Why eat ramen, when you can have homemade mu shu pork (pg 84)?

Busy moms will benefit for the same reason. Here’s an appliance that will let you plan ahead (as you would for a slow cooker) and make something quickly when you didn’t have time to plan (using the pressure cooker function).

Whether you need to fix it in the morning and eat it at night or have a meal ready within an hour, you’ll be able to find the Instant Pot recipes you need in this book.

Recommendation

Rating for 175 Best Instant Pot Recipes

I’m giving this cookbook four chefs because of its utility. This is a very useful, if not creative, book.

Pick up your copy on Amazon.com here.

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. If you’ve read past book reviews, you’ll know that I don’t pull my punches when I believe they are warranted. I also try to provide balanced information so you can make your own decision to read or not read the book, even if you disagree with my opinion.