"2 Minute" Recipes - 365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking (2024)
One thing that I love about my Instant Pot is how it can speed up the cooking process. Even if I don’t exactly plan dinner ahead of time I can still throw something into the Instant Pot and get it on the table within a short amount of time. Today I’m going to be sharing with you 2 minute recipes (recipes that take 2 minutes of pressure cooking time or less in the Instant Pot).
First off I want to clarify what 2 minutes of pressure cooking time actually means. When a recipe says to set the pressure cook button to 2 minutes that doesn’t actually mean it will be done in two minutes. Sad but true. The pot will take time to build the pressure. Building the pressure can take a long time if the pot is full of a cold liquid. I’ve had recipes take 20 minutes or maybe even more time to build pressure.
If the pot just has a small amount of food and liquid in it, it will generally build pressure faster. If the liquid you add is warmed up that will cut down on pressure building time. I like to turn my Instant Pot to the saute setting while I add in the liquid so it can sort of “preheat” in a way. I’ve had the pot build pressure in as little time as 5 minutes. Generally the Instant Pot takes about 10 minutes to build pressure.
Once the pot has reached pressure the Instant Pot will start counting down the time that you have set. This will be the time that the food is cooked under pressure. Once the pot beeps indicating that the time is up you have one more step. You must release the pressure before removing the lid. In fact, you physically won’t be able to remove the lid while there is still pressure in the Instant Pot. This is one of their many safety features.
You can move the valve to venting immediately and perform a quick release. Steam will escape from the pot and it will take a couple of minutes to release it all. Then you’ll be able to remove the lid. Or you can use a natural release which is just letting the pot sit there for several minutes until all the pressure has naturally dissipated and then remove the lid. Or you can do a combination of the quick release and natural release. This is what I use most often. This means you’ll let the pot sit for 5 or 10 minutes and then move the valve to venting to release any pressure that is left.
So when I say 2 minute recipes it’s going to be more like 5-10 minutes of pressure building time + 2 minutes pressure cooking time + pressure releasing time (5 minutes-10 minutes). However, this is ALL time that you don’t have to do a thing. You can clean up your dishes. You can set the table and fill up your water glasses. You can prepare a salad. You can throw a batch of laundry in. The Instant Pot saves you time period. Whether that’s the cooking time or the time that you can get other things done instead of babysitting the cooking food.
So without further ado here are 5 Instant Pot recipes with 2 minute (or less) pressure cooking times:
Garlic Herb Pork Chops with Green Beans
This one pot meal can be made in minutes. The pork chops and green beans are full of rich buttery herb flavors. Serve as is for a low-carb meal or serve with your favorite starch (potatoes, rice or noodles).
Pasta Primavera
A meatless pasta and vegetable dish. Rigatoni pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with tomatoes, fresh green beans, carrots, mushrooms, garlic and zucchini. The whole dish is tossed with grated parmesan cheese.
Tortellini Soup with Parmesan, Chicken Sausage and Mushrooms
My husband said “this is maybe the best soup I’ve ever had!” It’s slightly creamy (but doesn’t go overboard with dairy) and has amazing flavor thanks to the chicken sausage. It also has a nice pop of color from the chopped spinach. This soup can be made in minutes with your electric pressure cooker.
Sausage Pepperoni Spinach Ravioli
Ravioli is cooked in a marinara sauce with Italian sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and spinach for asuper fast and easyone pot meal.
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Reminiscent of Panera Bread’s broccoli cheddar soup this pressure cooker versionhas chopped broccoli, shredded carrots and celery simmered in a velvety smooth cheese sauce. I believe this version is just as good or better than you could order at any restaurant! Try it for dinner this week.
If you liked this check out my ZERO minute pressure cooking times article.
What Pressure Cooker Do You Use?
I use a 6 quartInstant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Still, most electric pressure cookers and nearly all multicookers have a “Slow Cook” button as part of a whole suite of options on the pot. And yes, almost all work like a separate slow cooker does.
Traditionally cheaper cuts of meat always slow cook better. Slow cooking breaks down the connective collagen in meat, which turns into unctuous gelatine. This creates that soft and tender mouth feel we all crave.
Is cooking in a pressure cooker healthy? Yes, cooking in a pressure cooker is healthy. Unlike a slow cooker, which cooks foods for a long time at a lower temperature, pressure cookers do use high heat when cooking - but not for a long time. This means that most of the nutrients won't be lost.
Slow cookers and pressure cookers are large countertop appliances that can be used in place of pots, pans, and even ovens. The distinction between them is in their names; slow cookers cook food slowly, while pressure cookers cook food fast using pressure.
Anything that takes eight hours to cook in a slow cooker can be cooked in about 45 minutes in a pressure cooker, and most things cook much, much faster even than that.
You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.
Can you overcook something in a slow cooker? Slow cookers are specially designed to cook food for long periods of time, but yes, you can still overcook in a slow cooker if something is left on the wrong setting for longer than it's supposed to be.
Slow cooking the meat means it never has the chance to toughen up and will be extra silky and tender. Pressure cooking is faster, though you may lose a little bit of the tenderness. If you're going for the pressure cook method, be sure to get a pork shoulder or pork butt, as opposed to a pork loin.
While there are some disadvantages to using a slow cooker, such as the risk of overcooking food or forgetting to turn it off, these generally pale in comparison to the benefits. For busy families or those who enjoy coming home to a hot meal, a slow cooker can be a great addition to any kitchen.
Season your meat as you normally would. Heat a little oil using the Sauté function and sear the meat. Add 1 1/2 cups of liquid (water, stock, etc.). Cook for 20 minutes (per pound of meat) at high pressure for large chunks and 15 minutes (per pound of meat) for small chunks.
Cooking brisket is pretty simple. All that it really needs is a long and slow cooking time. That's why I love to make it in my slow cooker. However, if you are short on time, you can also use your Instant Pot to make it, with pretty similar results.
More From Good Housekeeping. Taste: For overall taste, the pressure cooker was the hands-down winner. Beef, carrots, and potatoes all retained their rich flavors. After 8 hours in the slow cooker, they emerged bland and seemed to need salt.
If you're planning to cook your meals mostly when you're not home or overnight, then sticking to a Crockpot might be a better choice, since the heat distribution is more even and there is no need to stir at all.
Another tip, taken from an Instant Pot Facebook group, is to open the valve all the way on your Instant Pot lid when slow cooking. This allows some moisture and steam to release and keeps the Instant Pot from overcooking your slow cooker recipes.
It's no surprise that pressure cooking is faster than slow cooking, but did you know that you can get the same fall-apart tender results using a fraction of the energy too? Here's an infographic with side-by-side comparison of slow cooking in the crock pot or braiser vs.
Pressure cookers save you time by cooking foods TWO to TEN times faster than other cooking methods. They are the fastest way to cook delicious meals: beef roasts, chicken, rice, dry beans, you name it.
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