Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot®

by Melissa Clark

Librarian's note: An alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.

Inspired by her viral New York Times article "Why Do Cooks Love the Instant Pot®? I Bought One to Find Out," Melissa Clark's Dinner in an Instant has all new recipes that bring her signature flavor-forward dishes to everyone's favorite countertop appliance.

Dinner in an Instant gives home cooks recipes for elevated dinners that never sacrifice convenience. Beloved for her flawless recipes, Melissa Clark turns her imagination to the countertop appliances that have won American hearts from coast to coast. Recipes include Fresh Coconut Yogurt, Japanese Beef Curry, Osso Buco, Smoky Lentils, Green Persian Rice with Tahdig, and Lemon Verbena Crème Brulee. 
Dinner in an Instant provides instructions when possible for making the same dish on both the pressure cooker and slow cooker settings, allowing home cooks flexibility. Symbols guide the reader toward Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, and Gluten Free dinners.
Fresh, approachable, and classic, Dinner in an Instant is Melissa Clark's most practical book yet.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, Foodie, How To

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 17, 2017

About the author

Melissa Clark is an American food writer and cookbook author. Since 2007, she has been a food columnist for The New York Times. She has written more than 40 cookbooks and in 2018 won a James Beard Award.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you go on the Instant Pot Community on Facebook, you will see pages of overcooked ribs ("sooOOOo good!"), tough beef stew ("hubby is picky and even he liked!"), mystery meatloaf from outer space ("best and EASIEST ever!!!!! Love!!!") and things that just should not be, like lasagna, moonshine, muffins, or (bewilderingly) plain Kraft Mac and Cheese.

Reading those posts, you'd think that sweet Jesus came down from heaven Himself and bestowed upon us the almighty Instant Pot.

I'll say it: most recipes for the Instant Pot on the internet look disgusting.

After browsing the internet for recipes, I wanted something a little more... epicurean... than Hamburger Helper. I'm the type of home chef that weighs flour when baking and ALWAYS cooks with a meat thermometer. I was thrilled to receive an Instant Pot for Christmas, but was thoroughly discouraged after browsing what people make with it.

Enter Melissa Clark.

I've been a fan of hers as a subscriber to New York Times Cooking - she's actually how I found out about the Instant Pot phenomenon. In the cookbook, she says something to the effect of "I don't want to show you what you can make in an Instant Pot, but what you SHOULD make".

This is not an "easy weeknight cooking" guide. The recipes are sophisticated with interesting flavors. This book has been knocked within the Instant Pot community because you "have to go grocery shopping for the ingredients" (a critique I have never understood) and "need to do prep work instead of dump and go". That is EXACTLY what I wanted - if this doesn't describe your cooking style, don't buy this book.

Reading this book gave me an idea of the IP's strengths and weaknesses - I'm looking forward to trying several of the recipes in here as well.
I wish there had been more vegetable dishes, but many of these look so lovely and fit for a special occasion.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melissa Clark has always been one of my favorite contributors to the Food Section of The New York Times (much of which, sadly, is now behind a paywall). Her recipe for Italian Porchetta Pork Roast is one of my favorites ever! And she does not disappoint in her cookbook devoted to her new love, the electric pressure cooker/multicooker.

Sophisticates will get the most out of a cookbook that tells you how to effortlessly create Spanish Garlicky Squid and Chorizo, Duck Confit, Braised Roman-Style Lamb with Herbs and Peas, Thai Coconut Clams, Lamb Tangine with Apricots and Olives, and Wild Mushroom, Pancetta and Pea Risotto. But Clark includes easy substitutions for cooks in places where getting broccoli rabe, saffron, squid, duck legs, garam masala, fresh tuna, pancetta, Asian fish sauce, pine nuts or fresh mozzarella is nothing but a dream. While this is not a book for beginning cooks, anyone who has been cooking for at least a few months will find lots to love in Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot®.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a couple of recipes from every chapter I’m determined to try, with adaptations to my food tolerances, and including a few new ideas about how to do that (like a sticky tamarind sauce that I’ll happily swap for the standard barbecue sauce ingredients I can’t use and the disappointing common substitutes).

These are more sophisticated recipes than in common fare cookbooks yet completely accessible. A nice balance of special and normal, or of requiring a bit more attention versus either slapping something together or overworking the whole idea of dinner. I was pleasantly surprised with this one.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I regret this purchase. The recipes are too complicated for weeknight cooking. Most have around two dozen ingredients, and many require the use of pots and pans in addition to the instant pot. Also, the only recipe we have made so far exceeded the maximum capacity of my 6L instant pot.

[Nicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This title is misleading and the recipes too fancy and time consuming in my opinion.

[Honest Mabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean okay

So you have some basic recipes that everyone has in the beginning and then it goes off to left field. I get wanting to be unique but too many of these were just not anything I would find myself making at all.

And I couldn’t care less about dump and go. I care about flavors that intrigue me. This was not for me. But I see the popularity of others embracing the book for its unique take. Really you only need to have the time frames for the instant pot. Unique recipes are nice but if you have the skill set to be creative (it’s why I explore cooking in other cultures) one doesn’t necessarily need this book. Just good ideas and instant pot cooking times.

But I don’t need to basically tell everyone else they are unsophisticated fools like some of these other reviews. 😂😂😂😂

[jeanmarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the recipes in this book a LOT. However, while the title is clever, the only 'instant' is the pot you cook it in. This cookbook is perfect for people who love cooking and have tons of time to devote to it and appreciate good food. This cookbook is NOT perfect for people who love cooking but don't have a lot of time.

I've made 3 or 4 of the recipes from here, which I admit is a small percentage. In these recipes -- and in the book overall -- are a ton of steps and dishes for most things. The mac and cheese has you blend the sauce in a blender before putting it in, for example. The beef bourguignon has you brown the meat for 8-12 minutes in TWO batches. Plus, sautéing the vegetables. Oh, and making the onions and mushrooms on the stove, then add those to the pan. Also, after you're done, cook the sauce down to reduce it. I'm not opposed to doing some sautéing before cooking, but for that beef recipe (which is the most delicious pot roast-y dish I've ever made or eaten), if I'd followed all her instructions I'd also have dirtied a pan, the instant pot, two additional bowls, and a bunch of utensils. I don't mind this in theory, but I didn't buy an instant pot so I can have more steps to my meals!

I think a better book title would have been something like 'instantly elevated' -- the dal from the cookbook is also terrific, but this is NOT a weeknight cookbook.... or really a timesaver. The title makes you think that it will help you conquer dinner somewhat quickly, which is NOT the case!

Ok, all this aside -- there are many pros to the book: she tells you how long it will take (helpful for planning, although I am still quite slow even when I cut steps), she gives you a crock pot alternative (instant pot has a slow cooker function) for many of the meals, there is a pretty good variety of recipes and everything I've made so far is delicious. I'm just disappointed in how many steps everything has. I was hoping for something along the smitten kitchen line -- it's good food but you can be confident she's tested this as the 'minimally delicious' way to do it. Instead, I'm sautéing this and that and questioning what browning the beef is doing besides aesthetics, etc.

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book for two purposes: to find a few more time-saving dinner recipes, and to learn a bit more about my Instant Pot. I didn't find the former. Most recipes called for at least a dozen ingredients, and there were very few "weeknight" meals. I was pleased to see so many recipes designated as gluten-free or vegetarian, and her explanations for making yogurt, eggs and braised meats were informative. And she included several modifications for slow-cooking rather than pressure cooking, as well as notes when certain recipes in the Instant Pot wouldn't actually save time. The few pages on the cooker itself were somewhat helpful, but—and here's where my inner editor comes out—her publisher is completely confused on the proper use of serif and sans serif typefaces. All the explanatory text was in a headache-inducing sans serif, while the quick steps of the recipes were in serif. This book should come with a couple Excedrins.

[Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this... Recipes that are not your typical everyday ideas... These have a bit more pizazz.....

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had my Instant Pot since Prime Day 2015. But only used it a handful of times. One of my goals for 2018 was to get to know my IP and overcome my fear of it. It wasn't really fear, I guess, I just found it overwhelming. So many buttons, is it really on?, why is it beeping at me?! So when I heard that Melissa Clark had a new pressure cooking book coming out I put it on my Christmas/Birthday wish list. I loved her cookbook Dinner so I knew this would be a great source of recipes to try on my IP.

I'll list what I made below, but before I get to that I just want to say I am now devoted to my Instant Pot and use it multiple times a week. I've overcome my issues and want to use it more. This cookbook is great for getting to know your Instant Pot and what it can do. I highly recommend it.

Okay, so here's what I made and some notes on each:
Plain yogurt: This was a big test for myself. I've been wanting to make yogurt for a while now. It turned out pretty good. A little watery, but tastes like yogurt!
Eggs cooked hard or soft: I've done both. For hard cooked I made about 2 dozen at one time for a party. The shells didn't come off amazingly easy, but there was only one dud out of the bunch. I also made soft cooked the other morning. I found them not quite as jammy in the middle as I liked, so I would recommend reducing the cooktime to 4 minutes.
Eggs with spinach, smoked salmon, and pickled shallots - this was the first recipe I made from the book and it is a winner.
Garlicky cuban pork - I had an IP malfunction during the cooking of this so I'll need to try it again. (Make sure your plug is plugged all the way into the unit!)
Sticky Tamarind Baby Back Ribs - oh my! So good and easy! I want to try this cooking method with regular BBQ sauce.
Japanese Beef Curry - delicious. It was different than most curry's.
Smokey Barbecue Chicken - I used my own sauce here (I'm a Memphis girl, I am picky about my sauces) and it was great. My chicken was a touch dry so I made a note to release the pressure manually next time.
Indian Butter Shrimp - delicious. I had issues with Step 5, but made it work.
Vietnamese Caramel Salmon - I may only cook salmon in the pressure cooker now. It was perfectly cooked and not a hint of dryness. The sauce used was super tasty.
Long grain white rice - perfect. I'm not sure cooking rice in the pressure cooker is better than on the stove top - it certainly didn't save any time - but it's nice to know this is an option.
Creamy Macaroni and Cheese - decent
Garlicky Beans with Broccoli Rabe - only half this recipe is cooked in the IP. But it was a tasty dish.
Vietnamese Chicken and Rice soup - good, not our favorite though.
Red curry vegetable noodle soup - delicious
Beets with Dill, Lime, and Yogurt - delicious, but not sure if this was necessarily faster than other cooking methods.
Green beans, Italian Grandma-Style - delicious. I really wish Melissa Clark would develop a Greek Grandma-style.
Butter Braised Yukon Gold Potatoes - oh soooooo delicious. I loved this one.

I did not try any of the dessert recipes because I just can't get over that hurdle in my brain yet. Maybe next year.

Let me know if you have any questions. I really enjoyed this cookbook and will certainly continue to use it.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, but I mostly skimmed the second half after I realized most of the recipes were either more involved or used ingredients a little too exotic for my grocery budget. The stuff I made was good, but at this stage of my life, I'm more at the quick, cheap, and easy stage of meal preparation.

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I basically bought an Instant Pot because I knew Melissa Clark was writing an entire book on how to cook with it; I figured if someone who knows as much about cooking as she does would take up with one, the IP must be more than just a fad. And I've been very pleased with the IP (specifically for how it allows me to cook things like dried beans & brown rice, etc., in a hands-off fashion)... that having been said, as previous reviewers have noted, this is mostly Not a cookbook for weeknights. The best recipes in this cookbook (I've made a handful) are all about layering in different stages - browning onions first (or searing the meat), adding beans only after 30 minutes, cooking up a roux in the last 5 minutes, etc.... it is absolutely Not just dumping everything in the IP & walking away, only to come back to a full dinner. This degree of involvement may seem initially confusing, since the IP is self-billed as being all about speed and ease. However, I'd counter that there are PLENTY of web sites out there that already have "speedy" IP recipe databases (starting w/ IP's own site; Serious Eats and Epicurious are other sites w/ good fast IP recipe collections) - as much as I appreciate the usefulness of the "fast" recipes, most of them Taste fast (basically like every slow cooker recipe in existence). Clark's recipes are not about speed; rather, they're about getting the best dish possible out of pressure cooking. I haven't made one thing (Cuban pork, Japanese stew, chili) that wasn't deeply flavored & worthwhile, and where I didn't understand why she had us take this or that extra step. But yes, every time I plan on eating Melissa C.'s IP dish the same night, what transpires instead is my inevitable chirping at 8 p.m., right in the face of the fam's mostly stoic suffering, "Leftovers/sandwiches tonight! We'll eat this tomorrow..." (pressure is still building in the cooker at this point, with 45 minutes of actual cook time yet to kick off). The old "Do you want it fast or do you want it good" adage applies very much here.

[Skylar · Rating 5 out of 5]

So so so many delicious recipes in this book! Great accompaniment to an electric pressure cooker!

[Aneesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed results.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wondered why my favorite cookbook of the past two years (purchased March 2018, apparently) had such a low rating and I gotta say most of these reviews are hilarious. How dreadful that a recipe could call for you to buy coconut milk, or turmeric, or (god forbid) a fennel bulb! L.M.F.A.O.
It's true: many of these recipes call for meat to be browned and aromatics to be sauteed before the pressure cooking begins. It took me more than a few late dinners to get the hang of the prep+cook+depressurization times, but those dinners were delicious.
If I wanted to make quick, bland, basic food, I'd just use the booklet that came with the InstantPot.

[Dani]

Even though it only has 75 recipes, this book has a good variety. The chapters are:

Yogurt, Cheese, + Eggs
Meats
Seafood
Grains + Pasta
Beans
Soups
Vegetable
Desserts

The beginning pages also feature introductory information, such as the parts of a pressure cooker, its functions, notes for pressure cooking: manual versus natural pressure release, and other tips.

I feel the recipes are straightforward, and most are only one page long, though some are two pages. However, I am used to cooking with multiple steps. If you are looking for very easy or "weeknight meals", this isn't the book for you. However, if you have a little more time, or are just looking to expand what it is you can make in an pressure cooker, or shake up your flavors, this book will suit you better.

The recipes in the book are of a wide range: there are recipes such as fresh coconut yogurt; leek + artichoke frittata; braised pork with garlic, fennel, + olives; shrimp scampi with white wine + fennel; wild rice salad with clementines + pine nuts; Indian chickpeas with tomatoes + onions (chana masala); French onion soup; mashed potatoes with sour cream + chives; butterscotch white chocolate pudding, and classic vanilla bean cheesecake.

Some recipes include instructions for both fast-cooking and slowing options. There are useful notes here and there, and some recipes are clear in explaining why they are well-suited for the pressure cooker: for example, many meats and beans cook faster in the pressure cooker, but hard- or soft-boiled eggs aren't *faster*, but they do peel much more easily and cleanly. Other recipes, such as the Spanish garlicky squid + chorizo, explain that "cooking squid in the pressure cooker takes all of the anxiety out of it preparation, with the flesh turning out perfectly tender and supple without ever becoming rubbery." Explanations such as these, even though they are brief, really highlight the strengths and usefulness of pressure cookers.

Overall, this is a solid book that help you learn how to start using your pressure cooker, or help you expand your recipe repertoire with some accessible but flavorful recipes. If you are looking for a book with very easy, simple, or quick recipes, this is not the book you're looking for--although there are some short recipes, they can require multiple steps or other kitchens items besides just the pressure cooker itself.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

nonfiction/cookbook (instant pot / pressure cooker)
nice collection of recipes that you can make in about an hour (counting pressure-building time and pressure-releasing time), many of these recipes are on the fancy side for me, and would definitely require a special trip to the grocer (possibly even a trip to a special grocer), but they would be great for hosting an easy dinner party or lunch/brunch.
There was another person waiting for this book so I had to return it to the library before I was quite done drooling over the pictures, but I think this is one I might want to pick up again. It's also included in Amy + Jacky's (of pressurecookrecipes.com) favorite pressure cooker cookbooks, so you don't have to take my word for it ;)

[Ligaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading through several awful cookbooks for the Instant Pot specifically, I found this one to be quite brilliant! The author focuses on what you should make in the pressure cooker, not what you can make (almost quoted verbatim). The book is smartly designed, the recipes themselves are well organized, the photographs are beautiful and plentiful, notations are made for gluten-free/paleo/vegan/vegetarian, and she even gives you the option for slow cooking, if it's possible for that particular recipe. I hope to return this book to the library soon and put the title on my gift list!

[Carol Irvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many recipes that have a lot of ingredients ( and strange ones too) I need an Instant Pot cookbook that has everyday recipes 😡 Glad I got this from my library - I would be pissed off if I had bought it 😡

[Bfris · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me, most of the recipes were too fussy. Too many ingredients. There were some very nice pictures, but I prefer to have a picture for every recipe. And captions for pictures are also nice, but were lacking in this book.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

These recipes are more complex than I would make. Definitely nothing you can make in an instant. It’s also not good if you have picky eaters in the home. My crew wouldn’t eat any of these things.

[cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved all the photos! All cookbooks need lots of photos...but I wish the recipes were less...fancy? and more everyday?

[Becki Iverson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought an Instant Pot 6ish months ago and am only just now starting to really learn how to use it. I've discovered that it's an amazing tool but not at all intuitive to use, so I enlisted the help of some library-procured cookbooks to figure it out. I wish this had a little more instruction on the actual mechanics of the Instant Pot - how to wash it, what exactly all the different attachments look like, options for equipment you have at home that's safe to use inside - in short, all the boring stuff in most other cookbooks that I glide right past, but would be really useful for this new technology. I also wish she explained the time settings a little more - she mentions the gap between heating and cooking in the pot, but not how to figure out on your own how much time to use, especially for frozen foods and meats. The recipes are straightforward but seem like satisfying, hearty fare, and they definitely cut traditional cooking times down substantially. In short, this is a fly-through cookbook that for once I wish was actually a little beefier so we could get all the detail we need. I hope she does a Mark Bittman-esque update in the near future.

[Rona Maynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leery of new technology, I left my Instant Pot in the cupboard for a couple of years. I love Melissa Clark's recipes, so if anyone was going to overcome my resistance, Melissa would surely be that person. To a beginner, some of the instructions look a bit hard to believe. (Only half a cup of tomatoes and no other liquid for a pound of green beans? Yes, and the result is a keeper.) More explanation up front would have helped me understand how pressure cooking differs from stovetop/oven methods. But quite a few of these recipes are now standbys--among them the incredibly fast lentil and mint soup, the richly flavorful braised pork, and mussels in beer (easily adapted for more traditional mussels in white wine). I don't doubt I'll find others. Smoky barbecue chicken was not worth the trouble (burn warning followed by multiple additions of liquid) but I consider that a minor quibble.

Some cooks have complained that these recipes aren't "instant." Too many ingredients and steps, they say. But I you shop often and like the sensuality of cooking, so "faster" is plenty good enough for me. I brought my Instant Pot south for the winter, I packed only one cookbook--this one.

[Pesach Feldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming little book. I’ve been a fan of Clark’s work for years, and her recipes always feel like an intimate glimpse into the kitchen of a sharp, sophisticated Jewish woman from Manhattan, even if it’s not obvious at first glance. Her frequent (perhaps obsessive) use of sardines feels like a subtle homage to Eastern European Jewish traditions—the world of pickled and salted fish! Growing up in a Chassidic community, I was surrounded by older men who would sing praises to God over their pickled herring, though I could never fully warm to gefilte fish (in every sense—there was something unsettling about that fish head gazing out from the jar like a prop from Dr. Caligari). Clark hasn’t converted me to sardines as a staple, but her addition of fermented fish sauce to honey-garlic chicken wings was a revelation—something I’ll be adding to everything from now on. Her latkes are fantastic, and the addition of caviar gives the humble fried potato a luxurious lift, though there’s no denying that Clark embodies Manhattan’s high-end (parvenue?), avant-garde take on Jewish cuisine.

[Sandra The Old Woman in a Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll include a cookbook in my list if I read it from cover to cover, as I did in this case. The only thing preventing a 5 star rating was the paucity of photographs. IMO every recipe should have a photo. It seemed like less than half had accompanying pictures. That said, I plan on making over half of the recipes in the book. Like in Dinner: Changing the Game: A Cookbook, Clark brings together a range of foods and cuisines to give the home cook a versatile collection of recipes that might actually make it to the table. The recipes range from easy work night fare to a bit more complex company dishes.

I’ve been looking for some new recipes to spark up our dinners and I love my Instant Pot so this book came to me at just the right time.

[Eavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too fussy. I've made a couple of recipes from this book, and neither was worth the effort.

Tonight's example: The coq au vin took two different grocery stores, three hours, and many steps for a mediocre finish. Somehow this recipe manages to involve both a separate pan *and* the sauté function of the Instant Pot (never something I want to do for long, since there's no temperature control). You put the chicken in, you take it out, you put it back in, you take it back out. You scrape a thick layer of browned bits off the bottom and fervently hope they won't set off the burn notice. You separate 8oz of mushrooms and 3 oz pancetta into two different steps each. And at the end of the ordeal the book is covered in grease splatters from all the IP sautéing.

Never again. It took me like two years to try a second recipe from this book, and it was just as annoying as the first, so I'm over it! I just don't have the time for this.

[Darcie K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought "the incident" had banished pressure cookers from my life forever, yet even I succumbed to Instant Pot fever in October, lured by promises of safety features that would certainly prevent chicken and dumplings from exploding in the kitchen when a seventh grader is at home alone. (Just to pull a hypothetical situation out of nowhere.)
I really like my Instant Pot - I give it credit for the best chicken curry I've ever made. I also really like the guidance Melissa Clark gives for using an Instant Pot. However, I first read her guide on nytimes.com and got the aforementioned recipe from that source as well. This cookbook has the recipe, along with a whole bunch of stuff I'd never make.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I don't have the Instant Pot, I do have a 3 in 1 cooker ,and I have made the Maple-Chile Glazed Sweet Potatoes (great) Butternut Squash with Tahini and Pomegranate Seeds (almost makes me like squash instead of grudgingly eating it because it's good for me and abundant) Barbecue Chicken (amazing with mac n cheese) and Japanese Beef Curry (a little too sweet for my taste and has mushrooms which for some reason I added even though I don't like them). People keep putting the library's copies on hold because it's a great cookbook, so I'll keep having to check it out to make more. I really want to try the duck confit.

[Jennifer T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for everyday meals

I guess the phrase “modern recipes” should have been my clue that this cookbook is not for those looking for regular, everyday recipes. If you’re looking for lots of ethnic recipes then give this a try. If you’re looking for more regular every day recipes then look elsewhere. The photography is excellent, the recipes seem doable enough for a home cook but I’m not sure about anyone else but I don’t need a recipe for duck confit. Not all of the recipes are quite so fancy though. I will be trying the recipe for cheesecake and beef barley soup as well as the Indian shrimp.