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Instant Pot Problems

I had some Instant Pot problems at first. I’d read all about dinner in minutes and was disappointed my first meal took way longer than I initially expected.

I’d read a post about a ten minute pasta dinner on the Facebook Instant Pot community group (which has FORTY THOUSAND MEMBERS and counting!).  I decided that would be my first meal.

A ten minute pasta feast sounded fantastic!  I had all the ingredients on hand, plus a hungry family.

I followed the poster’s instructions.  I dumped in a bag of frozen meatballs, a box of uncooked pasta, a jar of sauce and a jar and a half of water.  I put the lid on and set it for ten minutes of high pressure.

But I didn’t realize the ten minutes wouldn’t start until the pot came to pressure.  I’ve never used a pressure cooker before.  This “come to pressure” thing was a new concept.

It took about half an hour to come to pressure.

This means the meal took forty minutes to cook.

I could have boiled pasta, defrosted meatballs in the microwave and warmed the sauce on the stove top TWICE in forty minutes.

My kid swears she nearly DIED of hunger.

Yes, it tasted it good. But no, it wasn’t worth waiting that long, she said.

I was frustrated with the time it took to get to pressure for the next few meals I made as well.  Yeah, the food tasted good, but what was the point of calling the thing an “Instant” Pot if it took half an hour before the magic timer kicked in?

How I Fixed It

After a bit of reading I saw I wasn’t the only one frustrated with the time it took their Instant Pot to come to pressure.  I saw a simple suggestion given several times.

Click next to find out the simple advice that makes cooking in the Instant Pot so much faster!