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Instant Pot cooking times

Instant Pot cooking times

0:00
15 min
Add for coming · up to pressure
10 min
Natural release · where noted
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Minutes at high pressure for rice, beans, potatoes, chicken and beef, plus which ones need a natural release.

Cook to temperature, not to timeThese are minutes at pressure only. A cooker needs roughly 10 to 15 minutes to get there first, and a natural release adds another 10 or more, so a "3 minute" rice is closer to 25 minutes of real time. Quick release is fine for vegetables and disastrous for grains and pulses, which spit starchy foam through the valve.

Minutes at high pressure, not counting the time the cooker takes to come up to pressure.

More pressure times

Common questions

Why is the real time so much longer than the number?

Because the number only counts the minutes at pressure. Before that the cooker has to heat its contents until enough steam builds, which takes 10 to 15 minutes for a full pot and longer if everything went in cold. Afterwards, a natural release can take another 10 to 20. A three minute rice is a twenty five minute job.

When do I use natural release rather than quick release?

Natural release for anything starchy or foamy, so all grains, pulses and beans, and for large cuts of meat that benefit from the extra resting time. Quick release for vegetables, fish and anything that would overcook while the pressure drifted down. Releasing rice quickly sprays starchy water out of the valve.

Does a pressure cooker cook hotter than boiling?

Yes, and that is the whole point. At standard high pressure water boils at about 120 °C rather than 100, and that extra 20 degrees is what cuts a two hour stew to thirty five minutes. It is also why a pressure cooker is the answer at high altitude, where an open pan cannot reach 100 °C at all.

Do these times work for any brand?

Broadly. Instant Pot, Ninja and stovetop pressure cookers all operate near the same pressure, so the minutes at pressure are close. What differs is how quickly each model gets there and releases, which changes total time rather than cook time.

Egg times come from the thermal-diffusion equation for a spherical egg published by Charles D. H. Williams (University of Exeter), calibrated so a large fridge-cold egg at sea level matches the times cooks actually use. Size, starting temperature and altitude then follow from the physics. Treat the result as a very good starting point, not a guarantee, because pans, hobs and eggs all vary.