If you didn’t catch my Instagram story a couple weeks ago, you missed a very important announcements: I GOT AN INSTANT POT!
Okay, maybe that fact isn’t that important, but it’s definitely super exciting for me! A few other bloggers I keep up with (like Retro Housewife Goes Green and Life with Dee) have been loving their Instant Pots – and their readers seem to equally love the recipes they share using it.
I had to get in on the action!
What is an Instant Pot?!
If you don’t know what an Instant Pot is, it is a “pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, saute/browning, yogurt maker, steamer & warmer” all in one. You can even bake cakes in it. CAKES! I bought my 6 quart Instant Pot on Amazon. It also comes with a little cook book. I managed to buy mine when it was on sale – so keep an eye out for the good deals!
Definitely make sure to read the instructions thoroughly before using it!
Instant Pot Vegetable Stock Recipe
The very first Instant Pot recipe I’m sharing with you is for vegetable stock. It’s incredibly easy to make, and I prefer it over my Veggie Stock recipe that uses the stove. The Instant Pot seems to extract the flavors better, in less time. Since the Instant Pot also functions as a warmer, you don’t need to stand over it. You can store the veggie stock away when you have the time to.
You’ll notice that in my photos, I didn’t use onion this time when I made it, but I did include it in the recipe below. That’s the beauty of stock though – you can make it with what you have or what you don’t have! I will just add a little extra onion powder when I make soup with this stock. You can also make stock with veggies that I didn’t put in the ingredients list, like herbs, leaks, carrot greens, tomatoes, ginger, etc. It’s totally customizable to your preferences or what you have on hand.
To strain your stock, I recommend using a fine mesh strainer to get out all the little bits of vegetables.
Ingredients
- 4-5 carrots
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 onion
- 3-4 stalks of celery
Instructions
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Roughly slice/chop your veggies.
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Add the vegetables and 10 cups of water to your Instant Pot.
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Set the Instant Pot on manual mode for 30 minutes. Make sure the vent is sealed.
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Once the 30 minutes are up, the Instant Pot will automatically go to "warm" mode and begin to naturally de-pressurize. I recommend letting it naturally de-pressurize as opposed to opening the vent because the hot stock liquid may spurt out. It should naturally de-pressurize within an hour, mine took about 40 minutes.
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Let the stock cool and then strain using a fine mesh strainer.
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Store the stock. I prefer to store it in mason jars in the freezers. Make sure to leave a couple of inches of space at the top of your jars so they don't break when the stock expands as it freezes.
Really deep flavor in this recipe. I did add a little herb de provence and some left over parsley I had in the fridge but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I am new at using an instant pot and this was the first broth I made with it and, bonus, it used up all my leftover veggies!