Instant Pot Cook Times
Having the Instant Pot cook times for many popular pressure cooker recipes makes it easy to adapt your own recipes and experiment with your Instant Pot. We've included a list of the Insant Pot cooking times for the most popular pressure cooker foods in Fahrenheit.
And be sure to download the free copy of the Instant Pot cook times chart PDF to use for easy reference when you're cooking!
Pressure Cooker Cooking Tips
Having a list of Instant Pot cook times is a terrific starting point for experimenting with your pressure cooker and getting your favorite recipes just right. Here's a handful of Instant Pot best practices to get your foods cooked perfectly!
- When you're cooking meat, all of the Instant Pot cook times use High Pressure.
- When cooking seafood, the food is very delicate and should be cooked on Low Pressure.
- On average, you'll do a Natural Release of 10 minutes after cooking meats. For seafood dishes and vegetables, you'll immediately do a Quick Release of the pressure.
- Let meat rest for 5-10 mins before serving. This helps to distribute the juices within the meat.
- If the food isn't all the way cooked after it "should" be done per the recipe instructions, simply cook it under pressure for a couple+ more minutes. It'll come back up to pressure very quickly.
- At least 1 cup of liquid should be added to the pot to help the pot come to pressure. You can use the trivet and set the food on top of the trivet if you don't want it to directly cook in the liquid.
- All of the Instant Pot cooking times listed below and on our Instant Pot Cooking Times printable PDF are to be considered estimates! Things can vary slightly.
Instant Pot Meat Cook Times
The list includes some of the most popular Instant Pot meat cook times. Whether you want the pressure cooker cooking time for steak, chicken, pork, or fish, the list includes many of your favorites.
Use the list as a starting Instant Pot cooking guide, some pressure cookers and cuts of meat could vary slightly, you might need to adjust the cooking time a touch based on your model of pressure cooker and your personal preference on meat doneness.
After you cook a new recipe for the first time, it'll help you learn what works best for your model and personal preference, make note of any adjustments you'd make for the pressure cook cooking time and you'll master it going forward.
Internal Meat Temperature
Here are the USDA general guidelines for the internal temperature for various types of meats. Listed are the temperatures in both Fahrenheit and Celsius for popular cuts of meats like chicken breasts, pork chops, steaks, or fish. Ground meats or stuffed meats should get cooked between medium and medium-well.
- Chicken 165F/75C
- Beef 130F/55C medium-rare, 140F/60C medium, 150F/65C medium-well
- Pork 145F/63C medium-rare, 160F/60C medium
- Fish 145F/63C
COOKING TIP- Be sure to let your meat rest for 5+ minutes before cutting into it or serving. The rest time helps to distribute the juices within the meat and you'll lose less of the valuable juice when you slice into it.
Meat Instant Pot Cook Times
BEEF
- Beef Broth 2 Hours NR 1 Hr+
- Beef Meatballs, 1.5 lb / 7 Mins NR 5 Mins
- Beef Stew 2 lb / 35 Mins NR 10 Mins
- Beef Oxtail, 1-2 lb / 44 mins NR
- Short Ribs 2.5 lb / 45 mins NR 10 Mins
- Beef Roast 3 lb. / 45 Mins NR
- Veal Cubes 1.5 lb / 40 Mins, NR 10 Mins
CHICKEN
- Chicken Breast, boneless 6-8 oz each / 5 Mins NR
- Chicken Breast bone-in 10 Mins NR 10 Mins
- Chicken, cut up with bone 10 Mins NR 10 Mins
- Chicken Broth 45 Mins NR30+
- Chicken Bone Broth 120 mins NR 30 Mins
- Chicken Thighs, boneless 8 Mins NR 5 Mins
- Whole Chicken8 Mins/pound, NR 10 Mins
LAMB
- Lamb Chops 2lb / 15 Mins NR 10
- Lamb Cubes 1 lb / 12 Mins NR 10 Mins
- Lamb Shanks 3-4 / 36 Mins NR 15 Mins
- Lamb Stew 1.5 lb / 45 Mins NR 10 Mins
PORK
- Baby Back Ribs 1 rack / 30 Mins 10 NR Mins
- Country Ribs, boneless 3 lb / 45 Mins NR 15 Mins
- Pork Chops, bone-in 2 lb / 15 Mins NR 10 Mins
- Pork Tenderloin 2 small / 15 Mins NR5
- Pulled Pork 3 lb butt roast / 30 mins NR 10 Mins
- Sausages, raw / 6 Mins NR 10 Mins
TURKEY
- Turkey Breast, bone-in 7 lb / 35 Mins NR
- Turkey Breast, boneless 4 lb / 24 Mins NR 10 Mins
- Turkey Leg 2 legs / 18-20 Mins NR 10 Mins
Instant Pot Seafood Cook Times
Cooking fish and other types of seafood in a pressure cooker means that you can prepare perfectly moist seafood dishes super FAST!
High-quality seafood doesn't need much seasoning to taste amazing. Often just a touch of olive oil, salt, and pepper is all that you need. And besides bringing the pressure cooker to temperature, fish and seafood take literally 1-2 mins of cooking time under pressure!
NOTE: Cooking fish and other types of seafood are very delicate, for all types of dishes whether it be cod, salmon, shrimp, or lobster, be sure to cook the recipes on Low Pressure.
Seafood Pressure Cooker Times
- Fish Fillet 1-2 lb / 1-2 Mins QR
- Lobster 2 tails / 2 Mins QR
- Scallops 1-2 Mins QR
- Shrimp raw / 1-2 Mins QR
- Mussels 1-2 Mins QR
Instant Pot Vegetable Cook Times
Cooking vegetables in an Instant Pot makes for quick and easy vegetables instead of using your microwave or keeping an eye on a boiling/steaming pot of water.
The Instant Pot cooking times for vegetables gives a range and could vary based on personal preference. We suggest starting with the lowest pressure cook time listed the first time you go to make a certain vegetable.
Most vegetables get cooked on High Pressure but some that are delicate like broccoli, seem to cook best on Low Pressure. Again, this is a personal preference based on whether you prefer a little crunch or want the veggies really soft.
All air fryer veggies do a Quick Release of the pressure since they cook so rapidly.
- Artichokes, whole 9-11 mins fresh, 12 mins frozen
- Asparagus 1 min fresh, 1-2 mins frozen
- Beans, green or yellow 1 min fresh, 1-2 mins frozen
- Beets, small 11-13 mins fresh, 13-15 mins frozen
- Beets, large 20-25 mins fresh, 25-30 mins frozen
- Broccoli1 min fresh, 1 min frozen
- Brussel Sprouts 1 min fresh, 2-3 mins frozen
- Cabbage Wedges 1 min fresh, 3-4 mins frozen
- Carrots, whole or large chunks 3-5 mins fresh, 6-7 mins frozen
- Cauliflower florets 1 min fresh, 1-2 mins frozen
- Corn kernels 1 min fresh, 2 mins frozen
- Corn on the Cob 1 min fresh, 4-6 mins frozen
- Eggplant, sliced 3 mins fresh, 4 mins frozen
- Greens, chopped 4-5 mins fresh, 5-6 mins frozen
- Mixed Vegetables 1 min fresh, 3-4 mins frozen
- Okra 2-3 mins fresh, 3-4 mins frozen
- Onions, sliced 2-3 mins fresh, 3-4 mins frozen
- Peas, in the pod 1-2 mins fresh, 2-3 mins frozen
- Peas, shelled 1-2 mins fresh, 3-4 mins frozen
- Potatoes, cubed 1 min fresh, 1-2 mins frozen
- Potatoes, large whole 5-8 mins fresh, frozen N/A
- Asparagus 1 min fresh, 1-2 mins frozen
- Spinach 1 min fresh, 1 min frozen
- Squash, Acorn slices 3-4 mins fresh, 4-6 mins frozen
- Squash, butternut halves 7 mins, frozen N/A
- Sweet Peppers sliced or chunks 1 min fresh, 1 min frozen
- Sweet Potato, cubes 1 min fresh, 4-6 mins frozen
- Sweet Potato, large whole 5-8 min fresh, frozen N/A
- Tomatoes, quartered 1 min fresh, 1 min frozen
Instant Pot Cooking Charts
We created an Instant Pot quick reference guide to make it even easier for our readers to pressure various main dish recipes like chicken, pork, beef, or vegetables.
A free Instant Pot cooking PDF is available here as a thank you for signing up for our weekly Instant Pot and recipe email list.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Teriyaki Instant Pot Chicken Drumsticks
- White Chicken Chili (Instant Pot Recipe)
- 30 Instapot Recipes for Beginners
- Mexican Chicken Instant Pot Recipe
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