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Milk Street Recipes

How to Convert Instant Pot Recipes for a Stovetop Pressure Cooker

Asked Oct 22, 2019 by Chris T.

I'm planning on trying the Spicy South African Beef Stew With Olives recipe and I'd like to use my stovetop pressure cooker since I don't have an Instant Pot. So far all the pressure cooker recipes that I've made are for a stovetop pressure cooker and I've read that they have to be adjusted for an Instant Pot because the stovetop pressure cooker uses a higher pressure than most Instant Pots. How should I adjust this (and other Instant Pot recipes) for the stove top pressure cooker?

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COMMENTS

  • Chris T.

    October 22, 2019

    Thank you, Lynn!

  • Teresa P.

    May 4, 2020

    I want to make cider-braised lentils in the new Fast and Slow cookbook. Directions say to add lentils, cider, and two cups water. Water is not mentioned in the ingredients list. Is it three cups cider + two cups water, or one cup cider +two cups water?

    Teresa

    • Lynn ClarkMilk Street Staff

      May 4, 2020

      Hi Teresa - you should add 3 cups of cider and 2 cups of water. We don't list water in our ingredient lists since everyone has water available. Best, Lynn C.

  • ann B.

    May 6, 2020

    I've made three of the recipes so far, and they've been very good. However, when I made the Austrian beef goulash, I felt the meat interior tasted a little flat. I think if I increase the salt, the result should be better. Will it?

    BTW, the goulash recipe was the first time I ever used the flour thickening method cited at the end of the recipe and the no browning meat method. The result surprised me with nuanced flavours and a silky sauce that tasted almost creamy, but had no cream. I really liked the recipe. I have always used green pepper in my goulash, but the dill was a huge surprise in the nicest way. I also was very surprised by the Crimini Miso pasta recipe. I have never used my IP for pasta before and it was a delicious recipe to serve vegetarians with lots of meaty flavour but no meat. Loved it.

    In my personal opinion, if you add water to a recipe, include water in the ingredients. Many times, I run over the ingredients to make sure I've included everything. If I misread the text, the ingredients list straightens me out.

    • Lynn ClarkMilk Street Staff

      May 6, 2020

      Hi Ann - I'm glad you've liked what you've made so far. For the Austrian goulash I think the meat isn't seasoned because their is a fair amount of salt in the low-sodium beef broth that is added to the pressure cooker. However, if you feel like the meat could use more seasoning, feel free to season the meat with salt and pepper before adding it to the pot.

      I will pass your thoughts about water in the ingredient list to the editorial department. I actually agree with you!

      Best,

      Lynn C.

  • Dawn C.

    April 20, 2021

    Just love the flavors of recipes we have tried in Milk Street Fast and Slow but a couple of the recipes have had problems with being overdone. The Butter Chicken after 3 hours was partly in shreds and the Cauliflower was mush in 12 minutes. I wondered about the times but trusted the cookbook. Boneless and skinless chicken cut up should be done in a an hour I would say and the cauliflower in about 5 or 6 minutes. Please tell me if my thinking or execution is incorrect.

    Thank you.

    Dawn Clark

    • Lynn ClarkMilk Street Staff

      April 20, 2021

      Hi Dawn - I'm so sorry you had issues with a couple of the recipes from Fast & Slow. It sounds like you made the Butter Chicken using the slow cooking instructions, is that correct? I double-checked the recipe and it does specify using the "Low" setting when slow cooking so I just wanted to make sure you used the correct setting on your Instant Pot. If you are pressure cooking the chicken only takes 10 minutes. For the cauliflower, I do know it's really important to ensure the size of the head of cauliflower is between 2 and 2 1/2 pounds. If it's underweight the cauliflower will definitely be overcooked. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

How to Convert Instant Pot Recipes for a Stovetop Pressure Cooker | Milk Street Q&A