We researched the best Instant Pot cookbooks from top authors including Laurel Best instant pot cookbook for beginners, Melissa Clark, and Daniel Shumski. Wine, Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, and This Old House. Julia Warren is Dotdash Meredith’s Director of Product Testing. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.

Thanks to the wide array of recipes and the incredibly helpful cooking tips, The Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook is our top pick. So, you’ve had an Instant Pot for a while now but still don’t know where to begin, or maybe you followed in the footsteps of countless other home cooks and finally bought one. Here, the best Instant Pot cookbooks to get you experimenting in the kitchen in no time. The recipes are helpfully flagged as family-friendly, fast weekday wins, meals that take over 45 minutes, and kid-friendly. The majority of recipes were in the 30 to 45 minute range, so they’re perfect for weeknight dinners. There are over 65 recipes that take less than 45 minutes from start to finish.

Each one has under 12 grams of net carbs per serving with most of them falling below 10 grams. The book touts that most recipes are done in 45 minutes or less, and for the most part, I found that to be true. Melissa Clark, the well-known New York Times food writer, initially bought herself an Instant Pot because she wanted to know what all the fuss was about. She soon found out that this small gadget could revolutionize her dinner repertoire. Our tester was pleased with how easy most of the ingredients were to source, and how there were substitutions suggested for items that were seasonal or tricky to find. Many home cooks have the same feeling when they first look at their Instant Pot’s control panel: intimidation. All those functions and buttons can make you nervous that you might blow up your kitchen if you make the wrong move.

The cookbook is divided into sections based on functions, like pressure cooking, slow cooking, steaming, etc. That said, the recipes are arranged in a manner so that you can build on the techniques you learn. My favorite way to clean the Instant Pot: Throw it in the dishwasher. Much more than just a way to tenderize meat, the Instant Pot is also a great resource for creating delicious, plant-based meals.

The book even has a section devoted to troubleshooting problems with your Instant Pot and a number of handy reference charts that give you cooking times for beans, lentils, grains, and vegetables. I recommend keeping a second silicone ring handy for the lid. Since the ring likes to soak up smells, use one for smelly dishes, like chili. The other can then be for neutral dishes, like rice and yogurt. It may be hard to compete with your local takeout spot, but this cookbook makes it’s easy to create family-friendly Indian meals from scratch. The recipes have an average prep time of just 10 to 15 minutes and keep ingredient lists as short as possible.