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When the heat of high summer sets in, the meals I turn to usually involve quick prep, minimal cleanup, and, most important, as little time as possible standing in front of a hot stove. Salads, sandwiches, and no-bake desserts jump into the weekly rotation. But after one too many caprese salads or grilled hot dogs, I start to crave meals that deliver big, complex flavor—the type that usually requires a three-hour simmer on the stove or a long roast in the oven.
On those occasions, I turn to my Instant Pot. The trusty appliance, which gets me through long winter with wine-braised short ribs, doesn’t need to head to storage until fall. My Instant Pot cooks dinner without leaving my kitchen feeling like a gym sauna, and it’s my summer hero.
If you haven’t cooked with an Instant Pot, it’s a self-contained electric pressure cooker that utilizes a handy little digital computer to build up pressure safely (no explosions here). Then, after the allotted time, it releases all that beautiful pressure, unlocks, and voilà, dinner’s on. It does it quickly and efficiently without an external heating mechanism, and the best part? Only one pot to clean.
The Instant Pot takes the guesswork out of cooking tougher cuts of meat while creating fall-off-the-bone meals in a fraction of the time. Taco Tuesday just got super easy with pork carnitas and refried beans that taste like they have been simmering for hours on the stove. I like to throw bone-in chicken thighs into the pot with thinly sliced bell peppers, tomatoes, white wine, and chicken stock for a take on pollo alla Romana that’s as saucy as it is simple. When I do fire up the grill, instead of standing over the coals for a torturous amount of time, I pull ribs and drumsticks out of the IP and just give them a quick kiss over direct heat for a little dramatic char. They’re done in the same time as the hot dogs and feel just as apt for summer.
Make this vegetarian chili-ish bean soup and set out a toppings bar in the backyard. Whip up dal without going near the stove. If you are lucky enough to have an abundance of summer veggies, the Instant Pot is also a canning device, so jars of tomato sauce and marinated eggplant from the garden can be sealed and stored for months.
Once I began using my Instant Pot in the summer, I realized this little workhorse was a year-round appliance. Sure, it’s excellent for those soups, braises, and stews to celebrate sweater weather, but when it’s 90 degrees outside and I can’t bear turning on the stove or oven? My Instant Pot does all the work without lighting a burner.