Instant Pot

Make Easy One-Pot Meals with the Instant Pot

Looking for a quick, easy way to make weeknight and weekend dinners? Most dishes - such as roasts - that would normally take hours in the oven can be ready in mere minutes with the Instant Pot from Williams Sonoma. Forget the time-consuming prep and cook and enjoy fast meals that are just as delicious - even full-on turkey dinners. Read on for ways to make the most of these pots and what variations are on offer at Williams Sonoma.

What is an Instant Pot?

An Instant Pot is essentially an electric pressure cooker that boils water up to 120 degrees Celsius and can cook food up to six times faster than the oven or slow cooker. You can use this pot for all kinds of recipes from pulled pork to yogurt, chicken mulligatawny soup, or even a perfectly-done pot of rice. Thanks to the microprocessor, this pot uses up to 70% less energy than traditional cooking methods.

Canadian-designed, the Instant Pot pressure cooker has gained much interest in the past couple of years. As such, models have since been improved and expanded upon with great features such as delay start up to 24 hours and keep warm functions. Here are some of the models on offer:

• Instant Pot 6 Quart and Instant Pot 8 Quart. These are the most common types of Instant Pots. The most distinguishing factor is size. Both of these pots can be used for slow-cooking, sautéing, braising, making cakes and much more.
• Instant Pot Duo 9-in-1. This model has nine different functions, including slow and rice cooker, steamer, cake maker, yogurt maker, sterilizer and warmer. There's also various temperature levels for each function for easy adjustment. Also available is the Instant Pot Duo60 7-in-1 version, with slightly fewer functions.

Benefits

• Simplicity and Speed. Think of all the advantages of slow cooked meals done fast. Its built-in programs, such as soup/broth, porridge, steam, saute and keep warm helps take the guess-factor out. Just a push of a button and you're off!
• Consistency. As it's meant to trap in flavors, the Instant Pot consistently delivers great results, such as tender and moist meat. Pair with a carving set and cutting board to help serve up your delicious, one-pot meal.
• Keep it Warm. The Keep Warm setting keeps food warm up to 10 hours and can be manually adjusted to stay warm for almost 100 hours. Perfect for heading out to work in the morning and coming home to a cooked meal.
• Easy-to-clean. The lid, inner cooking pot and stainless rack are all dishwasher-safe. A quick wipe-down of the front of the cooker and you're done.

Although traditional cooking methods and slow cookers are great, if it's speed, simplicity and consistency you're looking for, try something new with Williams Sonoma's vast selection of Instant Pots.