The Instant Pot Bible: The Only Book You Need for Every Model of Instant Pot

by Bruce Weinstein, Mark Scarbrough

This complete and authorized guide to your Instant Pot has more than 350 recipes for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and even desserts -- for every size and model of Instant Pot.

More than five million people worldwide use Instant Pots to get food onto their table fast. But only The Instant Pot Bible has everything you need to revolutionize the way you cook with your favorite machine. Every one of the 350+ recipes gives ingredients and timings for all sizes and models of Instant Pot, including the Instant Pot MAX, which cooks even more quickly. And you get exciting new recipes that utilize the MAX's unique Sous Vide setting.

The Instant Pot Bible is the most comprehensive Instant Pot book ever published, with recipes for everything from hearty breakfasts to healthy sides, from centerpiece stews and roasts to decadent desserts. Bestselling authors and pressure-cooking experts Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough offer customized directions and timings for perfect results every time. And many recipes can also use the slow-cook setting to let the machine cook while you do other things.

These innovative "road map" recipes for classics such as vegetable soups, chilis, pasta casseroles, oatmeal, and more let you customize flavors and ingredients to make each of your family members' favorites. Need dinner in an instant? No problem-more than 175 recipes come together in just a few minutes or just a few steps. Not to mention vegan and vegetarian, keto-friendly, and gluten-free options galore.

The Instant Pot changed the way you cook. The Instant Pot Bible helps you make the most of it.

For the complete guide to cooking meals in your Instant Pot with ingredients straight out of your freezer, don't miss their latest From Freezer to Instant Pot .

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

496 pages, Paperback

Published October 2, 2018

About the author

Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough are QVC favorites with five sell-out appearances. They've appeared on everything from the Today show to corporate-sponsored events, making ice cream, gelati, sherberts, and sorbets. They're also experts on the desserts that pair with these frozen treats, having written bestselling brownie and cookie books and all-purpose cookbooks with desserts aplenty and countless features for Fine Cooking, Eating Well, and The Washington Post. Their cooking podcast, Cooking with Bruce and Mark, is available on iTunes. They've written numerous cookbooks, including A la Mode and The Turbo Blender Dessert Revolution (11/1/16). They live in Connecticut.

Reviews

[Woman Reading (is away exploring) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ☆ rounded up

I read cookbooks for new ideas and for education. The Instant Pot Bible: More than 350 Recipes and Strategies: The Only Book You Need for Every Model of Instant Pot satisfied more of the latter than the former. And no, it won't be the only cookbook I'll ever need for my pressure cooker. I was only moderately interested in (as opposed to excited by) half of the recipes. Part of my response was due to their indulgent use of butter. Case in point was their recipe for a creamy vegetable soup which included an entire stick of butter. My arteries are hardening at the suggestion, but others who subscribe to Julia Child's philosophy of butter may find this book more appealing. The authors' reliance upon butter was their work-around for the fact that milk products curdle when under pressure.

In this authorized Instant Pot guide, the two authors wrote their recipes so that even the owners of the Instant Pot Max could follow them. The Max version is distinctive for operating at a higher level of psi and for offering a sous vide feature. (But it turns out that my Duo Gourmet model also has a sous vide mode 👍). I haven't come across any other Instant Pot cookbooks so far that have included the sous vide method.

This is a hefty book with 350+ recipes arranged in the following 12 chapters:
▪︎ Breakfast and Brunch
▪︎ Soups, Stocks, and Infusions
▪︎ Chilis, Sloppy Joes, Pasta Sauces, and Ragùs
▪︎ Pasta Casseroles
▪︎ All Things Pulled
▪︎ All Things Curried
▪︎ All Things Steamed and Cooked with the Sous Vide Method
▪︎ Shorter Braises and Stews (Fewer Than 20 Minutes Under Pressure)
▪︎ Longer Braises and Stews (More Than 20 Minutes Under Pressure)
▪︎ Rice and Grains
▪︎ More Sides
▪︎ Desserts

This wasn't the most intuitive way (to me at any rate) of organizing recipes especially the middle chapters. But okay, they had a lot of recipes for many meat and poultry options. In terms of the actual recipes, I was more inspired by Milk Street Fast and Slow: Instant Pot Cooking at the Speed You Need than this book.

On the plus side, the two authors had included about two dozen "road map" recipes or templates, which I appreciated because many recipes would otherwise vary with a change of seasoning. To my surprise, I learned that pasta dishes are possible to prepare with the Instant Pot.

I rounded up my 3.5 star rating primarily because of the sheer number of ideas, their "road map" recipes, and the inclusion of sous vide.

[Clarice Brackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST INSTANT POT COOKBOOK THERE IS!

I have bought at least 25 cookbooks for my Instant Pot. A few of them had some good recipes but only a few I would make. Some of the books were terrible, with incorrect cooking times and other mistakes. Then today I found this fantastic book. The recipes are mostly easy, instructions are clear and easy to follow. I probably bookmarked at least one hundred that I want to make. I am so happy! This is the book you need if you have an Instant Pot. Don't miss out on this one.

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“ I didn’t think that could be done in an instant pot!” I found myself saying that often as I flip through the pages of this book, looking at recipes to try for dinner. This is the type of book that should have come with the instant pot instead of the rather sorry manual that does come with it. This book goes beyond being just a collection of recipes because each page is brimming with tips, tricks, and techniques to make the instant pot work more effectively. The authors teach why things work, not just telling us to do things in a certain way. I have only owned my instant pot for around 10 days, and I already feel like I understand how to cook things in it so much better after reading this book. I will be trying a lot of recipes in the weeks to come as well as having enjoyed the ones I’ve already tried. The split pea soup with ham was absolutely delicious! If you own or are considering buying an instant pot, any model, I believe this book would be very helpful to you. I’m looking forward to reading some of the authors’ other titles as well.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book to make just about anything in an instant pot. I made the no-drain mashed potatoes which seemed to be a bust at first - but oddly they turned into the best-mashed potatoes a few minutes after completion. It has tons of crazy never-heard-of-before recipes too. Very few photos, but the variety makes up for it.

[Rosey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will use this book quite a bit. I think the road map recipes are often how i cook

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent collection but not a knockout. You probably need a book like this if you own an electric pressure cooker but it doesn't have to be this one.

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since we have used the instant pot as a way to shorten cooking time during the weekdays, this review is limited to savoury recipes found in The Instant Pot Bible. Savoury recipes such as for chili, soup, brisket or pasta recipes have been solid, and there is a spectrum of recipes that range from the basic "road map" recipe to more complicated recipes that come with a longer ingredient list. It is very much a no-nonsense cookbook, reminiscent to The Joy of Cooking. There are some photo sections sprinkled throughout the book but you'll have to imagine what it looks like, for the most part. The only recipe we've had an issue with is the Cajun-inspired sausage and Israeli couscous casserole recipe. The pressure cooker has never gone off, but the couscous is cooked. It is very strange. Otherwise, all the recipes work. May update this if we try out the sweet sections.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

IP Man

Love making goodies in the instant pot.

This was a great resource to optimize your instant pot and learn all the features whilst making some delicious dishes at the same time!

Would recommend!

4.6/5

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has about 25 recipes out of over 300 I would be willing to try for us. Some won’t work because we don’t have the right Instant Pot, some I’m not willing to buy that many new ingredients for one or two recipes. I was so excited about this cookbook since they wrote the other one that is my favorite. 🤨

[Pixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. While at first there seemed to be a lot of recipes I wouldn't have come up with myself, I ended up cooking a lot of them, even my first (awesome!) instant pot cheesecake (with no foil on top, there was more than a little water, had to dump rather than dab it off). First time also for steel-cut oats, "roasted chicken breast," and for noodles in the pressure cooker (chicken paprikash), all winners. Not that other cookbooks don't have recipes for oats, pasta, etc., but these recipes are pleasingly straightforward and can then be customized according to your time, taste, and available ingredients.
The recipes are specific to instant pots, although I'm sure there was a note somewhere about how to adapt times for regular electric pressure cookers.
Is it, like the cover says, the only instant pot book you'll need? No. Is it one you'll want? Probably. I definitely do.

P.S. Goodreads' year end report of the books I logged this year said this book was the least read by Goodreads members. Come on, folks, it's a treasure!

[TrudyKJP · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many good recipes in this book... and the best part for me, as the owner of the 3qt. model.... is that there are recipe conversions. Almost all the recipes for instant pot are designed for the 6qt. model and it is nice to know how to convert the cook times and liquid amounts to come up with optimal results.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings it all together for an Instant Pot user

I have been a regular library reader of Instant Pot cookbooks since my Christmas gift arrived and I like this one the best so far. The authors tell you what to do and what not to do to get the best results from your Instant Pot. Do read all the chapter intros to get the most out of this book of recipes.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! Everything I have cooked has been amazing! I also love that it tells you how and why. It also gives you some great ‘Roadmap’ recipes with several variations to make it your own. I use this book almost daily!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

There may be great recipes in here but I HATE recipe books that don’t have pictures of every recipe right next to it. I want to know what it’s going to look like. Visuals are just as important as ingredients.

[Kerry Olohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good recipe ideas and the Pho is outstanding!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book likes its butter. So much butter! Creamy veg soup, stick of butter...I thought baking was bad. lol Probably because milk isn't really a thing you should be putting in a pressure cooker.

Anyhow, Instant Pot bible is a pretty hefty book toting in at 350 recipes and numerous pages of tips and tricks for using your insta-pot. I will confess, I didn't read most of the strategies. I more gave them a cursory lookover on my way to the desired recipes. Not my first rodeo, but definitely a handy section for newbies.

I will say that the formatting was very clean, if somewhat plain. Each recipe gets it's own page, regardless of whether or not it only takes up half a page or a full page. To me it almost looks like a more traditional cookbook. You know, like the few you might have inherited from a family member. Not a terrible thing, just dated looking. There are a couple of sections within the book that are feature pages of full color pictures of dishes though. It does try to off set the older feel to this book I just kind of wish every recipe had a picture attached to it on the actually recipe page.

As for the recipes themselves...they were okay, in my opinion. Maybe it's because I have read quite a few insta-pot cookbooks, but I didn't find any of the recipes overly new and exciting. Considering there are 350 recipes, the fact that I maybe put in a tab to try 10 or so of them was a little disappointing to me. While I did know you could make cheesecake in a instant pot, thanks to the internet, until this book I believe I have never seen a recipe in a book for it until this one. So that's something! As some other people stated, I also had a fair bit of leftover water when I tried the cheesecake. While I don't eat cheesecake because it's so dense it makes me feel ill, I did feed it to people who do and they told me it is a passable cheesecake...so I guess that's good? lol

Book has some interesting 'roadmap' recipes for people to try. Kind of a mix and match situation to better suit your personal tastes.

Conclusion

I think if you are still fairly new to the instant pot journey, this book will definitely give you a lot of recipes to try out and a good idea of what your insta-pot is capable of for sure. I'm sure you can cut down on the butter. lol

If you are someone who needs to see pictures of things in order to have them appeal to you, just know there are not a lot of pictures considering how many recipes are in this book.

All in all, it wasn't bad. Would recommend this one to someone who is starting their 'insta-pot journey' as the authors take time to explain the why/how of things and even give you some "roadmap" recipes.

[Sandra The Old Woman in a Van · Rating 1 out of 5]

I count cookbooks here if I read them all the way through (perhaps not every recipe in detail, but a look see and evaluation of every recipe. I also need to cook from them. In this case I cooked 4, intentionally choosing from a range of categories. First came custard as i had the ingredients on hand and i like custard. Total fail. My custard overflowed even though I only filled the dishes 75%or so full - stick with 50% if you try. Second I tried seafood newburg. The seafood was excellent as I bought really good shrimp and scallops. However, these are cooked at the end in the hot noodles and sauce mix cooked in the pot. The sauce was too liquid for me - it barely coated the noodles and most was just left on the plate/bowl. This dish neede dtobe eaten like a soup which it should not be IMO. Third was the pizza caserole because I love pizza and casseroles. The sauce was good; but too meaty for my tastes. Great flavor but I would halve the sausage and pepperoni to get more sauce. The pizza dough “dumplings” were a disaster. I cooked per the directions on the slow cook mode but the dough was totally raw - totally - at the end of the time recommended. I set the pot on Pressure cook and cooked for the 25 min recommended for the slow-cook, and the balls cooked. But...they were just not tasty. So I tossed the balls and saved the sauce. We made English muffin pizzas and pizza omelets with the sauce. Making lemonaide out of this lemon worked, but I am not making this again. Finally, on the 4th try, I had a winner. The beef barly soup cooked easily and was delicious. Everyone gobbled it down and there were no left overs. So, I will stick with foods I predict will do well withpressure cooking: risotto, beans, and meat that needs long cooking. I will try the cheesecake and some other moist cake recipes, hard boil batches of eggs, and work on more soups. I may try the lasagna or a lasagna casserole, but will be pleasantly suprized if it measures upto oven baked. I am, though, on the verge of deciding the Instant Pot purchase was a good decision. I am able to donate 3 appliances and clear out space for the Instant Pot plus other stuff. Gone are my rice cooker, slow cooker and counter top pressure cooker. I have a second IP cook book and will see if it is better. Stay tuned.

[Furiosalizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was an Instant Pot and pressure-cooking newbie, this book was a lifesaver. It doesn't tell you everything you need to know (for example, I have failed several times to make the vanilla custard recipe result in something other than vanilla-flavored scrambled eggs, and am convinced that said recipe is a trap), but it will set you on the right path, for the most part. I particularly love the mock shepherd's pie and the chicken tikka masala.

I don't think this cookbook is necessarily a must-have for Instant Pot users, but I got it from the library and quickly decided I needed my own copy. I use it several times a month.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extensive cookbook with lots of information specific to the Instant Pot brand of appliance, which is helpful to me as this is the type that came into my life this fall and I am looking at cookbooks trying to learn how to make use of it. This book has a very broad range of recipes and is very approachable as the ingredients are familiar and the number of ingredients for each recipe is not huge. This would be a good reference after you get started with the multicooker and want more recipes.

[Karen Bellmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tihis the best instant pot cook book on the market. Unbelievable selection of recipes, wiith the basics fully explained plus your opportunity to make a recipe your own. Every type of recipe you can imagine, all written in great detaIl. Highly recommended

[Ron Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite book!

I love this book because they explain every recipe in great detail. This book gives you the techniques and confidence to make awesome meals! Definitely something for everyone to enjoy!

[Diane Duchene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have both the digital edition and the paperback edition. I thought it would be easier to flip around with an actual book. BUT the main print is in a very fine, light colored font. I can barely read it. The ingredients list are in a nice bold readable font.

[Ellen Spes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Difficult to understand.

[Tilden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well laid out. Comprehensive. I'm a vegetarian. There are a lot of meat dishes in the cookbook which I cannot use. Not sure if I would buy this book.

[bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Instapot cookbook (besides Ready or Not by Paleo Nom Nom).

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good sounding recipes 😋

[Aileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed the tips and copied down some of the recipes for later use. Seems like they know what they are talking about, so excited to try some! Thanks!

[Jo Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A large cookbook with a lot of detail on dishes.

[Peary Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

best instapot cookbook I have found and I have looked at and thrown away many ...get this one

[Carol G. Nye · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE BEST all around IP cookbook! Their recipe for Toasted Steel Cut Oatmeal is worth buying the book. Next I want to try the Banana Carmel oatmeal recipe! I am having so much fun with this cook book!