A pressure cooker turns the slowest dishes in a Mexican kitchen into weeknight food, but only if you get past the first few uses. Too many Instant Pots make rice, then hard-boiled eggs, then go back in the cupboard. A good book fixes that: it shows you what the pot is actually good at and how to get flavor out of a sealed cooker, which is less obvious than it sounds.
Instant Pot books range from huge reference volumes to single-cuisine collections, and plenty of what you will find on Amazon is anonymous, look-alike filler. This guide picks eight books from named authors and established publishers, one of them written around Mexican cooking, and for each sets out what the publisher, the listing and any named reviewer say it contains.
Julia’s earns a commission on purchases made through links on this page, at no cost to you. Recommendations are based on what a restaurant kitchen looks for in a cookbook, publisher information and published reviews, which we name.
Quick verdict: the best Instant Pot cookbook for your kitchen
For most cooks, the best instant pot cookbook is Jeffrey Eisner’s The Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook: 100 recipes with more than 750 photographs, according to its publisher, which suits new owners best of all. If you want restaurant favorites at home, choose Instant Pot Bible: Copycat Recipes by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, with 175 recipes its publisher says were tested on every model. If you want Mexican food from your pot, choose Deborah Schneider’s The Essential Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook.
The other five cover global flavor, Indian cooking, Mediterranean meals, vegan cooking and comfort food. If you still need the pot, see our guide to the best pressure cooker.
Five Instant Pot books side by side
Five of the eight, one for each kind of cook, with the details each publisher or listing gives. All eight are described in full below.
| Cookbook | Best for | Recipes | Length | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Most cooks, especially new owners | 100 | 272 pages, paperback | View on Amazon | |
Instant Pot Bible: Copycat Recipes, Bruce Weinstein and Mark ScarbroughBest for restaurant favorites
|
Takeout favorites at home | 175 | 320 pages, paperback | View on Amazon |
The Essential Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook, Deborah SchneiderBest for Mexican cooking
|
Mexican food at home | 75 | 192 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
Milk Street Fast and Slow, Christopher KimballBest for global flavor
|
Cooks who want bold food | 150 | 304 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
Madhur Jaffrey’s Instantly Indian CookbookBest for Indian cooking
|
Indian classics | More than 70, plus 13 bonus | 192 pages, hardcover | View on Amazon |
Cover images from Amazon. Page counts and formats are for the editions linked; other editions differ.
Our picks for the best instant pot cookbook, book by book
These eight cover first-time cooks, restaurant favorites, Mexican food and five other ways of eating. For each we give what the publisher, the Amazon listing and any published review say. We have not cooked our way through these books; where we describe a strength, we say whose view it is, and where a pick rests only on the publisher’s details, we say that too.
1. The Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook, Jeffrey Eisner – A Photo for Every Stage
A lot of Instant Pots sit in the box because the steam, the sealing ring and the valve are intimidating at first. Jeffrey Eisner’s book is designed for exactly that cook. Voracious describes 100 recipes with more than 750 photographs guiding you through every step, and bills it as “the easiest-to-follow Instant Pot cookbook ever.”
The publisher also says the recipes avoid hard-to-find ingredients and fussy techniques, which is what a nervous beginner wants from a first book. Seeing what the pot should look like at each stage answers the question most recipes skip: is this right? That is the real value of step photos, and no other book on this list goes as far with them.
The publisher’s page quotes WRIC calling it the “best Instant Pot cookbook,” though we would treat that as a blurb, not a review. We did not find a fuller named review, so this pick rests on the publisher’s and author’s details. A lighter edition and other step-by-step titles from Eisner are also in print if the format suits you.
Why we like it
- More than 750 photographs, per Voracious
- 100 recipes
- No hard-to-find ingredients, per the publisher
- Built for people new to the pot
Key specifications
| Author | Jeffrey Eisner |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Voracious (Little, Brown) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Pages | 272 |
| Format | Trade paperback |
| Recipes | 100 |
| Focus | Step-by-step photos of every recipe |
| Best for | Most cooks, especially new owners |
Why we recommend it
This is the book we would hand most Instant Pot owners, and if your pot is new or still frightens you a little, start here. A hundred recipes you can follow by sight will build more confidence than three hundred you only read.
Skip it if you are already comfortable with the machine. Experienced cooks will find step photos slow and will get more from a larger or more ambitious book.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Photos of every step
- Simple ingredients
- Friendly to new cooks
Cons
- Only 100 recipes
- Little for experienced users
2. Instant Pot Bible: Copycat Recipes, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough – Restaurant Favorites in the Pot
Weinstein and Scarbrough wrote the original Instant Pot Bible, and this book from the same series has a narrower idea: remaking restaurant favorites at home. Its publisher, Voracious, describes 175 original recipes meant to taste like the real thing.
Voracious also says the recipes have all been tested to work with every model of Instant Pot. That wording names models rather than sizes, so read each recipe’s notes if you own a 3-quart Mini or an 8-quart.
We did not find a full independent review to read, so this pick rests on the publisher’s details. We have not cooked from it and cannot say how close any dish comes to the original.
Why we like it
- 175 recipes, per Voracious
- Tested to work with every model, per the publisher
- Built around restaurant favorites
- From the authors of the original Instant Pot Bible
Key specifications
| Author | Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Voracious (Little, Brown) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Pages | 320 |
| Format | Trade paperback |
| Recipes | 175 |
| Focus | Restaurant-style copycat recipes |
| Best for | Owners who miss takeout favorites |
Why we recommend it
If you already use your pot and would rather make restaurant dishes at home than order them, this is the book built for that.
Skip it if you want a general reference or a teaching book. It is built around one idea and does not walk you through each step the way the Eisner book does.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Tested across models, per the publisher
- Clear theme
- Named, experienced authors
Cons
- Narrow theme
- No full independent review found
3. The Essential Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook, Deborah Schneider – Posole and Carnitas Under Pressure
This is the book we would point a Mexican home cook to first. So much of the cooking in this kitchen is slow by nature: pinto beans, pork for carnitas, hominy and pork for posole, stock for soup. A pressure cooker is the home cook’s shortcut through those hours, and a book written by a Mexican-food chef knows which dishes survive the shortcut.
Penguin Random House lists 75 recipes for soups, tacos, burritos, tamales, beans, salsas and desserts, with dishes including posole, steak fajitas, carnitas tacos, enchiladas and flan. Tamales in a pressure cooker are a useful trick in themselves, since steaming a batch on the stove ties up a burner for hours. For background on those dishes, see our explainers on pozole and menudo and tamales.
Deborah Schneider is executive chef and partner of SOL Cocina in Newport Beach, California, according to her publisher, Ten Speed Press, which describes her as a James Beard Award nominee and chef-owner of six Mexican restaurants, and quotes Bon Appétit calling her “the reigning queen of San Diego chefs.” We found no review of this particular book in our search, so this pick rests on the publisher’s and author’s details. Her background is the reason it sits this high.
Why we like it
- 75 Mexican recipes, per Penguin Random House
- Covers soups, tacos, tamales, beans, salsas and desserts
- Written by a Mexican restaurant chef
- Hardcover
Key specifications
| Author | Deborah Schneider |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Ten Speed Press |
| Year | 2018 |
| Pages | 192 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | 75 |
| Focus | Mexican recipes for the electric pressure cooker |
| Best for | Fans of Mexican home cooking |
Why we recommend it
If the food you want from your pot is posole, carnitas and a proper pot of beans, this is the obvious choice. It is the only book here written around Mexican cooking from start to finish.
Skip it if you want to learn the machine. The focus is on one cuisine, so pair it with a general reference if you are new to pressure cooking.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Mexican cooking throughout
- Chef author with restaurant experience
- Hardcover
Cons
- No named review found
- One cuisine only
4. Milk Street Fast and Slow, Christopher Kimball – Fast or Slow, Your Choice
Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street team approaches the Instant Pot from a useful angle: the same dish can be cooked two ways. Voracious describes 150 recipes, each flexible enough to run on the pressure setting when you are in a hurry or on the slow setting when you are away for the day. For a household with an unpredictable week, that is more practical than a list of speed recipes.
This book has a real review behind it. Publishers Weekly called it a “sharp collection” and said home cooks whose regular rotation includes Instant Pot fare “will appreciate this useful and wide-ranging volume.” The reviewer also made a fair point that not every recipe saves time, citing a puttanesca pasta that takes 45 minutes. The publisher’s page quotes The Atlantic saying that Kimball is “an obsessive tester.”
Milk Street’s reputation is built on bolder flavors from around the world, which suits a pressure cooker well, because long-cooked food can turn muddy without bright finishing touches. A separate title, Milk Street Instant Pot, is also in print; we chose this one because Amazon itself was selling it new when we checked.
Why we like it
- 150 recipes, per Voracious
- Each dish can run fast or slow
- Named review from Publishers Weekly
- Hardcover
Key specifications
| Author | Christopher Kimball |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Voracious (Little, Brown) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Pages | 304 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | 150 |
| Focus | Instant Pot recipes on either the fast or slow setting |
| Best for | Experienced cooks who want more flavor |
Why we recommend it
If you already know your pot and want food with more personality, this is the most interesting general book here, and the one with the strongest independent backing.
Skip it if speed is the whole point. As Publishers Weekly noted, not every recipe here is a time saver.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Named trade review
- Flexible timing
- Wide range of flavors
Cons
- Not all recipes are quick
- Less hand-holding for new users
5. Madhur Jaffrey’s Instantly Indian Cookbook – Indian Classics for the Pot
Indian home cooking has a lot in common with Mexican: dried beans and lentils, long-simmered meat, and spice pastes that need time. Madhur Jaffrey is one of the best-known writers in this field. Penguin Random House says she has written many cookbooks, seven of which won James Beard Awards, and that she is in the Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.
Knopf describes more than 70 classic and new Indian recipes for the Instant Pot, plus 13 bonus recipes for chutneys, salads and relishes that need no special equipment, and a pantry guide to spices and special ingredients, including her garam masala blend.
Publishers Weekly praised it as a “winning collection of recipes,” with one honest warning: the recipes are “more labor-intensive than Instant Pot users may expect,” and readers should not confuse “instant” with quick and easy. That is a useful reminder for the whole category. The pot saves simmering time, but real flavor still takes prep.
Why we like it
- More than 70 recipes plus 13 bonus side recipes, per Knopf
- Pantry guide to spices, including her garam masala
- From an author with seven James Beard Awards, per the publisher
- Named review from Publishers Weekly
Key specifications
| Author | Madhur Jaffrey |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Knopf |
| Year | 2019 |
| Pages | 192 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | More than 70, plus 13 bonus recipes |
| Focus | Classic and new Indian dishes |
| Best for | Cooks who like layered spice |
Why we recommend it
If you want Indian food from your Instant Pot and do not mind some prep, this is the book, from a writer with a long and decorated record.
Skip it if you want dump-and-go dinners. Publishers Weekly warned the recipes take more work than Instant Pot users may expect.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Celebrated author
- Named trade review
- Useful pantry guide
Cons
- More prep than most Instant Pot books
- Spice shopping likely
6. Mediterranean Instant Pot, America’s Test Kitchen – Vegetables, Grains and Beans First
The Instant Pot is usually sold on meat: pot roast, pulled pork, ribs. America’s Test Kitchen’s book pushes in another direction. ATK’s shop describes 95 Instant Pot-authorized recipes that use more vegetables, grains, beans and seafood and draw on the cuisines of the Mediterranean, with most going beyond soups and stews to full meals with a main and a side.
Each recipe includes nutritional information, ATK says, and the recipes are described as taking about an hour or less. Dishes named in listings include chicken tagine, lamb meatballs with couscous and gigante bean soup. ATK quotes U.S. News and World Report on the shop page: “Modern convenience meets healthy, old-world flavor.” We did not find a full review, so that quote and the publisher’s description are what this pick rests on, along with ATK’s long record of recipe development.
We looked first for ATK’s Multicooker Perfection, the title many readers will know, but the print edition was not in stock when we checked. This is the ATK book that is. A related title, Healthy and Delicious Instant Pot, showed a used copy as its lead offer.
Why we like it
- 95 recipes, per ATK
- Most are full meals with a main and a side
- Nutritional information for each recipe
- Authorized by Instant Pot
Key specifications
| Author | America’s Test Kitchen |
|---|---|
| Publisher | America’s Test Kitchen |
| Year | 2019 |
| Pages | 192 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | 95 |
| Focus | Mediterranean-style Instant Pot meals |
| Best for | Cooks who want more vegetables and beans |
Why we recommend it
If you want the precise, tested style of an ATK recipe and more vegetables and beans on the table, this is the best fit here.
Skip it if you mainly want big braises and meat dishes. The point of this book is to move away from them.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Full meals, not just stews
- Nutritional information
- Trusted test kitchen name
Cons
- Smaller collection
- No named full review found
7. The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook, Nisha Vora – Plant-Based Meals, Machine Basics Included
Beans, lentils and whole grains are the natural food of a pressure cooker, so a vegan Instant Pot book has a stronger case than most. Nisha Vora is the creator of the Rainbow Plant Life blog, Instagram account and YouTube channel, and a former lawyer who left the law to work in food, according to Penguin Random House.
Avery describes this as a vegan cookbook authorized by Instant Pot, with more than 90 recipes and an introduction to the machine and its functions. That second part matters: a new owner gets some teaching along with the recipes. At 320 pages in hardcover, it ties the Copycat book as the longest on our list.
We searched for an independent review from a major outlet and did not find one; what turned up was publisher endorsements and reader comments. So the pick rests on the publisher’s details and the author’s established following. For a Mexican kitchen, a book like this is mostly about beans and grains, and our guide to charro beans and refried beans shows where they fit.
Why we like it
- More than 90 vegan recipes, per Avery
- Includes an introduction to the Instant Pot
- Authorized by Instant Pot
- Hardcover
Key specifications
| Author | Nisha Vora |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Avery |
| Year | 2019 |
| Pages | 320 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Recipes | More than 90 |
| Focus | Vegan pressure cooking |
| Best for | Vegan and plant-curious cooks |
Why we recommend it
If your kitchen is vegan or you are cooking more beans and grains, this book is the most complete plant-based option on the list.
Skip it if you eat meat and only want an occasional meatless night. A general book with a vegetable chapter will serve you better.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Fully vegan
- Teaches the machine as well
- Hardcover
Cons
- No major-outlet review found
- Limited use for meat eaters
8. The Simple Comforts Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook, Jeffrey Eisner – Comfort Food With a Photo for Every Step
If comfort food is the reason you bought the pot, this is Jeffrey Eisner’s book on the subject. Eisner created the Pressure Luck Cooking recipe video blog, and his publisher, Voracious, calls him a #1 bestselling author. He also wrote The Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook, our top pick, so if you like that format, this is the same idea with cozier food.
The publisher promises color photos of every step in each recipe, with variations from keto to vegan, and a chapter of recipes that use seven ingredients or fewer. It does not give a total recipe count on the page we read, so we won’t guess one.
We searched for a review and did not find one we could read, so this pick rests on the publisher’s details and on Eisner’s record. Think of it as a good second book to go with a larger reference.
Why we like it
- Photos of every step, per the publisher
- Variations from keto to vegan
- A chapter of seven-ingredient recipes
- From the author of our top pick
Key specifications
| Author | Jeffrey Eisner |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Voracious (Little, Brown) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Pages | 288 |
| Format | Paperback |
| Recipes | Not stated by the publisher page |
| Focus | Comfort food for the Instant Pot |
| Best for | Cooks who want classics with lots of pictures |
Why we recommend it
If you want cozy, familiar food and like being shown each step, this is a good fit.
Skip it if you already own Eisner’s first book and want a new voice; Milk Street or Jaffrey will take you further afield.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Heavily illustrated, per the publisher
- Variations for different diets
- Short-ingredient chapter
Cons
- No named review found
- Second Eisner book on this list
- Recipe count not stated
How to choose a pressure cooker cookbook
Four questions sort these books out quickly. Start with your machine and your experience, then go to what you want to eat.
1. Which size and model you own
A recipe written for a 6-quart pot may not fit a 3-quart Mini, and an 8-quart may need more liquid to reach pressure. Voracious says the recipes in Instant Pot Bible: Copycat Recipes were tested to work with every model. With other books, assume a 6-quart recipe unless the book says otherwise, and check the minimum liquid in your own manual. Our guides to the large pressure cooker and Instant Pot accessories cover what fits.
2. How confident you are
If the valve still makes you nervous, buy a book with step photos. Eisner’s is built that way. If you already use your pot weekly, Milk Street and Madhur Jaffrey will teach you more.
3. How much time the recipe really takes
This is where many buyers feel let down. A cook time of 20 minutes usually leaves out the time the pot needs to come to pressure and to release it. Publishers Weekly made the same point about two books on this list: Milk Street’s puttanesca runs 45 minutes, and Jaffrey’s recipes are more work than the word “instant” suggests.
4. The cooking you already love
A cookbook only earns its place if you want to eat what is in it. Choose Schneider for Mexican food, Jaffrey for Indian, ATK for Mediterranean, Vora for vegan and Eisner’s Simple Comforts for comfort food. For more on where a sealed pot fits among other methods, see our guide to Mexican cooking methods.
How we chose these eight Instant Pot books
We searched Amazon’s book listings and kept only print editions in stock when we checked, from named authors or established kitchens at real publishers. We then took the facts from the publishers’ own pages and the Amazon listing, and searched for independent reviews. Publishers Weekly reviewed Milk Street Fast and Slow and Madhur Jaffrey’s Instantly Indian Cookbook; Food & Wine, Epicurious, The Atlantic and U.S. News are quoted through publishers’ pages, and we say so. The other picks rest on publisher and author details. Several well-known titles were out of stock or running low when we checked, including Coco Morante’s The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook, America’s Test Kitchen’s Multicooker Perfection and Melissa Clark’s Comfort in an Instant and Dinner in an Instant. Stock changes often, so they may return. We have not cooked from these books ourselves.
Pressure cooker cookbook questions, answered
What is the best pressure cooker cookbook for beginners?
The Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook, with more than 750 photographs across 100 recipes, according to its publisher. Once you are comfortable, add Milk Street Fast and Slow for range.
Is there a good Mexican Instant Pot cookbook?
Yes. The Essential Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook by chef Deborah Schneider has 75 recipes including posole, carnitas tacos, tamales and flan. For wider Mexican cooking, our guide to the best Mexican cookbooks covers the classics, and our explainer on barbacoa covers a dish that suits long, sealed cooking.
Will Instant Pot recipes work in another brand of multicooker?
Usually, with small adjustments. Electric pressure cookers run at similar pressures, though not identical ones, so check your manual for its pressure level and minimum liquid.
Will these recipes work in a stovetop pressure cooker?
They can be adapted, but these books are written for electric machines, and a stovetop cooker often runs at higher pressure, so times will not match. If you cook on the stove, see our guide to the best stainless steel pressure cooker and follow its maker’s timing chart.
Why do some Instant Pot recipes take so long?
The printed cook time is usually only the time at pressure. Coming to pressure and releasing it add to the total, and browning or preparing a spice base comes first. Publishers Weekly’s review of Jaffrey’s book makes the same point: do not confuse “instant” with quick and easy.
Our final pick for the Instant Pot
Buy The Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook if you want the book most owners will follow with ease, above all if you are new to the pot. Choose Instant Pot Bible: Copycat Recipes for restaurant favorites, Schneider’s The Essential Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook for posole and carnitas, and Milk Street Fast and Slow for bolder food on a flexible schedule. Jaffrey, ATK, Vora and Simple Comforts each do one thing well, so pick the one that matches how you eat. For the cooker itself, see the best pressure cooker.
Related guide: Best pressure cooker cookbook.
And if you would rather someone else watched the pot tonight, see the menu or call to order.