Instant Pot

Broccoli Potato Soup

January 16, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 21 Comments

Soup has a way of making you feel better. It doesn’t matter what kind of soup it is, but homemade is the best. This Plant-Based Broccoli Potato Soup is one of my all time favorites!

I never loved soup until we transitioned to a plant-based diet. After that, I couldn’t get enough soup.

I think one of the reasons was that although tasty, a lot of soups contained meat and dairy and were not refreshing. They were greasy, heavy or gave me a stomach ache. This never happens with plant-based soups.

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If you take a look at the ingredients you’ll see why! There is no dairy yet the soup is total comfort food.

I recommend this soup to anyone who is new to cooking because it’s so easy. You basically just cut up veggies. Having a decent knife and cutting board is important but that is all. If you have an Instant Pot you can use it, but it’s really easy to make on the stove. (This recipe was updated and Instant Pot instructions were added.)

Speaking of Instant Pot, I love mine! Here are 10 reasons I decided to buy and Instant Pot!

If you don’t have an Instant Pot, a big soup pot will work perfectly. Plus, you’ll enjoy the glorious smell of it simmering on your stove.

Broccoli Potato Soup

This simple soup is best for people who don't want to be overwhelmed with strong flavors. The veggies bring the flavor!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 pounds potatoes + enough water to cover potatoes
1/2 a onion, diced
1 stick celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 crown of broccoli, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 cup plant milk

Instructions

Scrub and chop potatoes. Place them in a pan of water and bring to a boil. You can also use vegetable broth for a heartier flavor.
Add diced onion, carrot and the bay leaf (you will remove the bay leaf before serving).
Once carrots and potatoes are almost tender add broccoli and spices.
Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
The soup is ready to eat as is. For a more savory soup add 1/4 cup of plant milk and 1 Tbsp of nutritional yeast.

Notes

If you'd like strong flavors. I recommend adding my Dry Veggie Broth Mix or more spices like garlic, onion, and nutritional yeast.

Instant Pot Instructions

If you are making this Broccoli Potato Soup in the Instant Pot, you’ll add all the ingredients to your pot. Then you will close and seal the lid. Cook on manual for 10 minutes, with a natural pressure release. If you have an newer Instant Pot, it won’t say manual, there will be a button that says Pressure Cook.

When possible, I will allow my pot to sit undisturbed so the flavors have a chance to blend together. This will also give the pot time to naturally release pressure.

Another great thing about this soup is that it is very inexpensive to make. We almost always have the ingredients on hand so it’s a no brainer.

Yield: 4+

Instant Pot Broccoli Potato Soup

Instant Pot Broccoli Potato Soup is an easy and delicious soup your family will love. This soup is big on veggies!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 pounds potatoes + enough water or veggie broth to cover potatoes
1/2 a onion, diced
1 stick celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 crown of broccoli, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (more if desired)
1/4 cup plant milk

Instructions

Chop veggies and add them to your Instant Pot.
Cover with water or veggie broth, then add spices.
Close and seal the lid. Cook on Manual (Pressure Cook) for 10 minutes. The pot may take 20-30 minutes to come to pressure before cooking begins.
Once done cooking, allow pressure to release naturally. This may take 15 minutes or so. Carefully open the pot.
Remove the bay leaf. Add salt or other spices if desired.

Notes

This soup has a mild flavor. It's perfect for kids who don't like "spicy" foods but enjoy veggies. For a richer flavor, add my Dry Veggie Broth Mix or more nutritional yeast.

If you like this, check out my Crock Pot Potato Soup too!

Photos by Melodee Fiske.

Instant Pot Oatmeal

January 13, 2016 by Holly Yzquierdo 139 Comments

My love affair with my Instant Pot isn’t confined to dinner. No, my morning rendezvous with my Instant Pot are a common occurrence.

Instant Pot Oatmeal Recipe that is plant-based, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free oats

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I love steel cut oats (I usually buy these that are gluten-free) but the standard 10-20 minutes of stove top cooking most packages recommend seemed to take me longer. Instead, I use my Instant Pot!

I got the idea from Jill Nussinow on her blog The Veggie Queen. I tell people, she isn’t only the Veggie Queen she is queen of pressure cooking. Her blog mentions the instructions for using a regular pressure cooker but it’s easily adapted for Instant Pot Cooking. By the way, her book, Vegan Under Pressure is great!

Instant Pot Oatmeal

If this is your first time cooking with the Instant Pot it is important to note that it takes a while for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure. That means once you start it, it may take 15 minutes for more before it starts cooking. This is normal. After it’s done cooking, it takes time for the pressure to drop.

It’s still easier than cooking it on the stove because you have to watch your pot and stir regularly. With the Instant Pot, you can walk away and come back to perfect oatmeal. You may want to start it when you wake up, then come back to it after you’ve gotten ready.

Yield: 3 servings

Instant Pot Oatmeal

Steel Cut Oats have never been easier than this Instant Pot recipes. Your family will love this recipe that can be customized to each persons preference. See video for ideas!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes

Additional Time 20 minutes

Total Time 28 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups water
optional spices (cinnamon shown)
toppings of your choice (apples shown)

Instructions

Dump oats into the Instant Pot followed by the water.
Close the lid and close the vent.
Press manual and use the arrow buttons to go down to 3 minutes.
After the oats finish cooling, press the off button or unplug the Instant Pot so the pressure will release naturally.
After the pressure releases, open the lid and give the oatmeal a good stir. It will probably have extra liquid, this will absorb as it cools.
Add cinnamon or other additions and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Top oatmeal with fresh fruit of your choice, apples are shown.

Notes

Tops with your favorite fruit, nuts or seeds for an incredible meal. You can sweeten with maple syrup.

Need more? Double the oats and water, cook for the same amount of time.

Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

April 2, 2015 by Holly Yzquierdo 83 Comments

I’ve been promising this recipe for a while but keep putting it off. Today I’m going to share my Instant Pot version of my Mexican Rice and Bean Casserole, a.k.a. Mexican Casserole. It uses dry beans so you don’t have to cook anything ahead of time.

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If you’ve tried the Crock Pot version, the Stove or Oven version you know that this is really good and really easy. Some people don’t like the texture of the rice when cooked in the Crock Pot. The Instant Pot Mexican Casserole comes out perfect every time; if you have a pressure cooker I challenge you to make this.

Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

If your family is just starting to try plant-based living, this recipe is for you! You can enjoy it in a bowl topped with your favorite ingredients, wrapped in a tortilla, or with chips.

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 cup uncooked dry beans (if you have trouble with beans not cooking enough, try soaking them first)
5 cups water
1 6 oz can of tomato paste (or 1 8 oz can tomato sauce with slightly less water)
1 tsp garlic
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp sea salt (optional)

Do

Dump all of the ingredients into your pressure cooker and stir once or twice.
Close the lid and cook on manual for 28 minutes.
Once done, allow the pressure to come down and open carefully. If you are in a hurry you can do a quick release.

Serve

This meal can be eaten alone or served with tortillas or chips and salsa. It travels well and we often take it in our lunches.

This photo shows what it looks like right out of the pressure cooker! It’s quite a bit darker than the Crock Pot and Stove Top versions.

Instant Pot Cooking Info

If you are new to the Instant Pot or pressure cookers, in general, it’s important to know that it takes time for them to come up to pressure and time for the pressure to come down when they are finished cooking. This will take about 45 minutes to an hour even though it only “cooks” for 28 minutes.

Note: If using beans other than black beans make sure you are cooking this long enough. The rice takes 28 minutes to cook but some beans may take longer. Consult the Instant Pot cooking guides and cook it as long as necessary.

I’ve had feedback from some that their black beans are not soft enough after cooking. Most people do not have a problem. If this is the case for you, make sure you are using beans that are not old. Beans that have been in your pantry for a year will take longer to cook than fresh beans. (This is why I stopped buying giant bags of beans in bulk.)

Also, hard water could make the beans cook more slowly.

If your beans could be older or if you have hard water, I recommend soaking the beans in warm water before cooking.

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Potato Kale Soup

February 5, 2015 by Holly Yzquierdo 29 Comments

If you want to typically turn your nose up at kale then this is the soup for you. This Potato Kale Soup is easy and delicious. Using frozen, chopped kale is part of the secret that makes it so good (and easy).

I’m including instructions for making this soup on the stove, in the Crock Pot AND in the Instant Pot!

Potato Kale Soup

Ingredients

3 lbs of potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces (peeling is optional)
3 carrots, sliced
3 ribs celery, sliced
1 10 oz bag of frozen kale
1/3 cup dry veggie broth mix (or bullion) (you can add more if needed)
Enough water to “just” cover everything

Note: This soup can be made on the stove, in the Crock Pot or in the Instant Pot.

Do

1. Place all of the veggies into the pot. Sprinkle in Dry Veggie Broth Mix or use your favorite broth or bullion.

2. Cover with water and give it a good stir.

3. Cook covered.

Stove Top version: Cook over medium heat for about 30 minute. The time will vary depending on how large the veggies are.

Crock Pot version: Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours.

Instant Pot version: Press the Manual or Pressure Cook button, for 10 minutes on high pressure. Then allow the soup to natural release for another 5 minutes and the release the remainder of the pressure.

Serve

This would be great as a starter leading up to a meal but we usually just eat it on it’s own. If you are a baker I recommend making a nice crusty bread to go with it.

This may be the easiest soup you’ll ever make. There is only one measurement involved and a little cutting. Everyone in my family loved it. This is my favorite way to eat kale.

If you aren’t sure what an Instant Pot is be sure to check out 10 Reasons I Bought an Instant Pot!

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Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

January 15, 2015 by Holly Yzquierdo 52 Comments

I love vegan tacos and I love my Instant Pot! Naturally, Instant Pot Lentil Tacos would be one of my favorite family friendly vegan recipes.

It started in 2014, I would get emails asking if I could create recipes to use in the Instant Pot. My response was always, “sorry, I don’t have an Instant Pot but if you buy me one I’ll make recipes for you.” No one took me up on the offer so eventually I bought one myself. If you aren’t familiar with the Instant Pot it is an electric pressure cooker.

I’ve been slowly adapting my recipes to work in the Instant Pot and today I’m going to share my Lentil Taco’s recipe. You can use the original recipe if you are looking for a stove top version.

Taco Tuesday

We don’t necessarily eat Taco Tuesday each week but we enjoy tacos any day of the week. One of the things I love about this recipe is the leftover lentil taco filling can be turned into burritos, Taco Salads, put on nachos or baked potatoes.

You can use these in place or any taco filling. Yes, that means Street Tacos too!

Lentil Tacos in the Instant Pot

Ingredients

2 cups dry brown lentils
4 cups water
4 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp each of salt, garlic powder, chili powder and onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Do

Dump all of the ingredients into our Instant Pot and give it a little stir to mix everything evenly.
Close the lid, make sure you move the pressure release to the sealed position.
Press the Manual button and use the arrows to get to 15.
Once it is done turn the Instant Pot off and release the pressure.
Carefully open the lid and give it a stir. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Serve

These are great in crunchy or soft tacos, as part of a burrito or taco salad. If you don’t have an Instant Pot don’t worry you can use the stove top recipe, it’s just as easy and just as delicious. For a little variety try my Quinoa-Lentil Tacos! They are a family favorite!

Lentil Tacos in the Instant Pot

This incredibly east and delicious Instant Pot Lentil Tacos recipe is perfect for people eating a plant-based diet.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Taco Ingredients

2 cups dry brown lentils
4 cups water
4 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Optional Toppings

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Jalapeno
Cilantro
Salsa
Avocado

Tortillas

Choose your favorite tortillas.

Instructions

Dump all of the taco ingredients (not the toppings) into your Instant Pot and give it a little stir to mix everything evenly.
Close the lid, make sure you move the pressure release to the sealed position.
Press the Manual button and use the arrows to get to 15.
Once it is done turn the Instant Pot off and release the pressure.
Carefully open the lid and give it a stir. Let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Notes

These lentil tacos leftovers should be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator. They will be good for about 5 days.

You can add your favorite toppings. We like to set up a taco bar for everyone to make their own.

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Taco Night Side Dishes

Of course if you are making tacos you might want to have a full meal! My favorite sides to have with tacos are:

Mexican Rice
Oil-free Refried Beans (Instant Pot version)
Oil-Free Refried Beans (using cooked or canned beans)
Oil-free Refried Black Beans
Avocados or Guacamole
Salsa
Corn

What are your taco night must haves?

Simple Veggie Soup in the Instant Pot

December 12, 2014 by Holly Yzquierdo 11 Comments

I want to start by telling you that this soup can be made on the stove or in the Crock Pot as well. For those of you with an Instant Pot you can cook this soup much more quickly.

This Simple Veggie Soup (in the Instant Pot) is so easy and delicious. You can add different ingredients if you prefer but this is made with basic veggie staples that we always have on hand. You know me, I like to keep it simple.

There are a few variations on this recipe. To make this soup heartier you can add Great Northern beans. It will cook more quickly if you soak the beans ahead of time. The soup is delicious with or without beans.

I added all of the ingredients to the Instant Pot in the morning and set the timer to come on 4 hours later so it would be ready in the afternoon. This will allow the beans to soak for a while if you are using them

Simple Veggie Soup in the Instant Pot

Ingredients

1/2 an onion, diced
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1 large carrots, sliced (this equaled 1 cup of carrots for me)
5 red potatoes, quartered (I didn’t peel them)
3 liters of water (12 cups)
1 cup dry Great Northern beans (optional)
bullion or dry broth mix (read the label to figure out the appropriate amount)

Do

Put all of the ingredients into the Instant Pot and close the lid.
Press the SOUP button, then if using the timer press the TIMER button.
Use the + or – buttons to select the appropriate number of hours you’d like the Instant Pot to delay cooking. (The time will be the delayed time before the Instant Pot starts.) Remember that it takes time for the Instant Pot to heat up and cool down, especially when cooking soup so you need to take that time into consideration.
Once the Soup is done the Instant Pot will keep it warm until you press CANCEL. Allow the steam to release naturally or use the quick release.

Serve

We eat this soup as is with maybe a sprinkle of salt. It’s perfect if you’ve been fighting a cold or are just in the mood for warm veggies.

Notes

If you are cooking it immediately you do not need to select the TIMER button.

If you are using dry beans they need to be soaked OR you may need to increase the cooking time, check the cooking time chart to be sure.

If you are making this in the Crock Pot just cook it all day or for about 6 hours.

If you are using beans and cooking this on the stove it will take about 90 minutes to cook soaked beans, if the beans haven’t been soaked it will take longer. I recommend you cook the beans first then add them to the soup.

The soup will take about 30 minutes without beans or with previously cooked beans.

Do you ever just make a simple soup? What are your “must” have ingredients?

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Broccoli Potato Soup

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Instant Pot Oatmeal

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Instant Pot Mexican Casserole

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Potato Kale Soup

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If you aren’t sure what an Instant Pot is be sure to check out 10 Reasons I Bought an Instant Pot!

Taco Tuesday

Lentil Tacos in the Instant Pot

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Tortillas

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