Instant Pot ‘Pot in Pot’ (PIP) is a cooking method that allows you take pressure cooking to the next level. The Pot in Pot cooking technique allows you to pressure cook cheesecakes, desserts, and other foods that don’t contain liquid. Pot in Pot also allows you to cook dishes that tend to scorch, and to make multiple dishes at the same time.
Once you get the hang of the Instant Pot and you’re able to successfully make straight-forward recipes, you start to ask what else this wonderful gadget can do. For instance, maybe you’ve heard the term ‘Pot in Pot’ and wondered what it is. Pot in Pot cooking (also referred to as PIP) is a really useful Instant Pot (pressure cooker) technique.
I’ll give you a summary of why you’d want to use this technique and walk you through the steps to combine two recipes that you can cook together. By the way, if you’ve made my Instant Pot Shrimp and Grits recipe, then you’ve already used the Pot in Pot technique!
Note: If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, please read the Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Quick Start Guide or the Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Quick Start Guide.
What is Pot in Pot Pressure Cooking?
The 
Pot in Pot has many uses and I’ll outline them in the sections below, but in its simplest form, here’s how you can cook something using the Pot in Pot cooking technique:
- Add 1 cup water to the bottom of the
inner pot.
- Place a
metal trivet or steamer rack in the water
- Put food in an
oven-proof container. This container does not REQUIRE liquid
- Place the container on the steam rack and close the Instant Pot lid
- Pressure cook the food and do a Natural Pressure Release (NPR) or Quick Release (QR)
Note: The quantity of food you can cook in a Pot in Pot container will be less than what you can cook directly in the inner pot. You might need to adjust recipe quantities.
What Accessories are Used for Pot in Pot Cooking?
1. Essential Instant Pot Accessories
- Oven-safe container made of
stainless steel,
silicone, or
porcelain/ceramic. The container shouldn’t touch the walls of the inner pot and should allow the Instant Pot lid to be closed easily.
2. Optional Instant Pot Accessories
Multi-tiered stackable containers to cook different foods in the separate containers
Flat wire rack to separate and stack multiple
glass or metal containers if not using the
Silicone gloves to handle the hot dishes
- If you don’t have a
steam rack with handles to lift the container out, you can make an aluminum foil sling to remove your container from the Instant Pot. Some models of Instant Pot are shipped with the rack that has handles.
Aluminum foil to cover the container and prevent condensation from dripping in.
What are the different uses of Pot in Pot Cooking?
1. Recipes that don’t require liquid
Dishes that would normally be baked in the oven can be made in the Instant Pot. This includes casseroles and desserts, and since they don’t have enough liquid to bring the Instant Pot to pressure, the Pot in Pot technique works great. Here are some examples with links to Pot in Pot recipes from different blogs:
2. Prevent scorching from heavy and dense sauces
I’ve used the Pot in Pot method to salvage a meal when I get the dreaded ‘Burn’ error and food is scorched on the bottom of the inner pot. I empty out the contents of the Instant Pot, clean out the inner pot, and use Pot in Pot to finish up the cooking.
If you’re using canned tomato sauces or purchased sauces with ingredients like corn starch or tapioca starch, you can have problems with scorching. This keeps the Instant Pot from reaching pressure. Or you may have a recipe with a thick gravy. Pot in Pot cooking is a great way to cook with these types of foods without having to thin the sauce with water or broth.
Another example is oatmeal. Oatmeal cooked directly in the inner pot can be difficult to cook properly and it can also be pretty messy. Pot in Pot works really well for oatmeal.
3. Recipes that require a bain marie
A bain marie (pronounced ‘bahn ma-ree’) is a water-bath cooking technique used for delicate desserts that are baked in the oven, and serves to slow down cooking by using steam to evenly cook the dish. These recipes are perfect for the Instant Pot!
4. Reheat foods without using the microwave or stovetop
Do you heat up leftovers in the microwave? At our house, by the time five people heat up their food, the first person’s food is already cold!
A great solution is to reheat food in the Instant Pot, using the Pot in Pot method. Just store the leftovers in the fridge in oven-safe containers, and reheat in the Instant Pot using the Pot in Pot technique. Note: going directly from the freezer to the pressure cooker can cause a glass bowl to crack.
You can stack
5. Steam vegetables, seafood, and other delicate foods
I like to pressure cook delicate vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, peas, etc) or seafood on low pressure. However, your Instant Pot model may not have the low-pressure option, or you may be using a recipe that calls for high pressure.
Cooking these delicate foods directly in the inner pot, even in a steamer basket, can cause them to overcook. Cooking them in a separate container using PIP helps to slow down the cooking process. I’ve found that using a glass container versus metal, and covering the container with a double layer of foil or a lid, also slows down cooking.
6. Quick cleanup, easy storage for smaller quantities of food
I love the fact that the Instant Pot makes cleanup really easy – only one pot to clean! If you have a smaller quantity of food to cook, you can make cleanup even easier. Use the Pot in Pot method to cook your food, and serve and store it in the same container.
I do this all the time with Instant Pot Rice. I use a
7. Cook multiple dishes together
For me, cooking a whole meal altogether is the most exciting use of Pot in Pot. This method of cooking is very common in Indian kitchens and it’s something I’ve grown up with.
This
Although the stackable containers are a handy accessory, you can cook multiple dishes without them. You can just stack
Here are some important factors when cooking two different recipes together. Both recipes should have the same:
- Approximate cooking time.
- Pressure level (i.e. low or high pressure).
- Pressure release method i.e. quick release (QR) or natural pressure release (NPR).
You can use the Pot in Pot cooking method to combine many different types of recipes. The Instant Pot recipe book that came with your Instant Pot has cooking times for different foods. I use the timings as a general guideline for which foods I can pressure cook together, using Pot in Pot.
Possible combinations for Pot in Pot Cooking
- Quinoa and rice
- Chicken thighs and collard greens
- Fish fillet and green beans
- Kidney beans (soaked) and brown rice
- Ground beef and basmati rice
- Basmati rice and dal (Indian lentil curry)
- Thai Green Curry and Jasmine Rice
- Chili and Cornbread
What do you do when the pressure cooking times for the two recipes are different?
As I mentioned above, the recipes you cook together using Pot in Pot should have about the same cooking time. So how can you solve the problem of different cooking times?
- Partly cook the longer-cooking item, do a quick release of pressure, and add in the second item and continue cooking both items. e.g. if item A has a cook time of 15 minutes and item B has a cook time of 10 minutes, you’ll pressure cook item A for 5 minutes, quick release (QR), open the lid and add in the container for item B (on a rack or stacked), close the lid and pressure cook both for 10 minutes.
- Tightly cover the container of the faster-cooking item with a double layer of aluminum foil. The foil slows down the cooking of the contents.
- Cut the slower-cooking item (e.g. meat) into small pieces so that it takes less time to cook.
- Cook the faster-cooking item in a glass, ceramic or silicone container versus stainless steel because that will slow down the cooking time a little bit.
Example: How to cook Instant Pot Thai Red Curry and Instant Pot Jasmine Rice together
Let’s walk through the process of figuring out how to cook two different recipes at the same time. First, take a look at the two individual recipes I’m going to show you how to combine and cook together:
Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken
If you were cooking both dishes separately, you’d cook the Thai red curry, empty out the contents into a serving dish, clean the inner pot, and then cook the rice. I’m going to show you how you can save time and cleanup by using the Pot in Pot method of cooking multiple items together.
The recipe states that you need to cook Jasmine rice for 4 minutes. That’s perfect because that’s how long the chicken in the Thai red curry needs to cook for.
But there’s a problem. Remember how I mentioned that they both need to have the same method of pressure release? You’ll notice is that the Instant Pot Thai chicken curry recipe calls for quick release of pressure (QR), while the rice calls for 10 minute natural pressure release (NPR). If you cook the two dishes together and do a quick release, the rice won’t be cooked properly. So the only other choice is to do a natural release. Chicken thighs do well with natural release, so problem solved.
Step by Step Instructions
So here’s a summary of how you’ll cook the curry and rice together. Please read the individual recipes for details:
- Prepare the Thai red curry up until the pressure cooking step.
- Prepare the Jasmine rice up until the pressure cooking step.
- Place a
- Place the rice container on the steam rack.
- Pressure cook both items for 4 minutes and do a natural pressure release (NPR) for 10 minutes, and then quick release (QR) any remaining pressure.
- Once the pressure has released, open the lid.
- Remove the rice using
- Remove the steam rack.
- Continue with the Thai red curry recipe by adding vegetables and cooking the curry in ‘Saute’ mode.
* You may have to clean the bottom of outside of the Pyrex dish, due to splatter.
I hope this article has made you more comfortable using Pot in Pot cooking. If you found it helpful, please leave a comment and/or share on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you!
You might also like to try:
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| 16 Reasons why Your Instant Pot is not Sealing | Instant Pot Ultra Beginner’s Manual | Quick Start Guide | 17 Instant Pot Tips and FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) |
Seattle2k
Chicken curry and rice would be faster without the instant pot. Start the rice, prepare ingredients for curry. Sweat onions and garlic in wok, turn up heat to high, cook chicken 2 minutes, add curry paste and coconut milk, bring just to boiling. done. This will save you the 10 minute NPR stage, and your food will have better flavor
Paint the Kitchen Red
I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree – I find my Instant Pot curry recipes to be as good as the stovetop version 🙂 I also have readers who like to cook recipes like Thai curry but don’t have access to a stove. Since my blog is an Instant Pot site, I try to make sure I give people delicious recipes that can be made in the Instant Pot.
Arthur
Love using the PIp method with the IP do you have a general rule of thumb for the time difference in using just the PIp And using just the regular pot since I know the pot in a pot takes longer or is it all trial and error bunch
Paint the Kitchen Red
Arthur, I really don’t change the cooking time and have no issues with my food being undercooked. I would try the same timings and see how the recipe works for you. You can always pressure cook it for another minute or two if needed, and also adjust next time you make it. Thanks for your question.
Ed
What a fantastic tutorial!
This is so much appreciated…
Paint the Kitchen Red
Ed, you’re so welcome – happy PIP cooking!
donnaQ
Thanks, I am really happy to see these tips. I am making Louisiana style red beans and rice in my Instapot. This technique saves me from taking out my red beans and putting them in a “serving dish” as you stated—to get cold and then to rewarm them as best I can (which is silly because I have hot rice getting cold while I microwave or reheat the beans). The major tip here is you need to be aware of quick release versus natural release, and I never see many recipes for QR. But I will look for that and make sure to harmonize accordingly.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hey donna, I’m glad you’ve discovered PIP cooking; it’s very useful for many situations!
Donna
Hi, Neena,
I don’t use my Instapot as often as I could because I have to,store it in the garage (tiny kitchen). However we both love Thai, so I will definitely be trying this dish (although I first need to get a high rack…)
Donna
Paint the Kitchen Red
I’m glad to hear that you’ll try the Thai dishes together via PIP!
Kari
Thanks for all the great info. I understand that the inside receptacle should not rest against the inside of the IP. my question is, what if it just fits? That is, I’d say there is approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of a cm of space surrounding my 9″ springform pan , while it sits inside the 8quart IP ultra. I want to make sure that’s sufficient space for steam to pass and not ruin the IP or cause any issues. Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Kari, I’ve not ever had that tight a fit but I would think that as long as there’s some space around the bowl, there’s room for steam to escape.
steven douglas
How does, if at all, covering a pot with P-i-P cooking? I’ve heard different things. I’ve seen Indian food cooked in stainless steel containers stacked 3 high so at least two were covered. I’ve heard since pressure is used, covering doesn’t matter but you’ve posted something that seems contrary. 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red
Steven, covering is optional (as long as the container is not sealed shut tight). I cover to prevent condensation from dripping into drier dishes like cheesecake, or to do tiered/stacked pans like Indian rice and dal. If you’ll tell me which section caused your confusion, I can try and change the wording on the article 🙂
veronica crump
I used 2 stainless steel inserts to cook carrots with sugar and butter. I put 3 cups of water in IP . then placed the two inserts with the carrots inside the IP. Insert were closed. The I pressure cooked for high pressure 10 minutes with quick release . carrots were still raw and butter an sugar slight melted . what happened?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Veronica – I’m assuming your inserts were on a rack? It sounds like your Instant Pot didn’t even heat up, let alone come to pressure especially since the butter didn’t even melt completely. I would try it again, and this time as a baseline test, don’t cover the insert. Make sure your float valve pops up. Let me know how it goes!
Georgie
Thank you so much for this abundance of information! So very well written! You are awesome!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Awww thank you, Georgie! I’m glad you found it useful.
Susan Rosassr
What about a Turkey Breast on bottom then potatoes is there away to do that
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Susan – the turkey breast cooks for much longer than potatoes do. So I’d either do one after the other or release pressure on the turkey breast part-way through cooking, add the potatoes and complete cooking. I hope that helps!
John
You also might try cutting up the turkey into but sized pieces and using large, whole potatoes with the skin on. Just be careful and use a thermometer on the turkey to ensure it’s safely cooked.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Good point, John. Thanks for adding your thoughts.
honda4fun
I really like the way you explain and show PIP methods, especially stacking the trivets. However, after having questions, researching and contacting companies such as Anchor Hocking, Starfrit and Pyrex, no glass is IP safe. Old PYREX is the safest but anything after 1998 is spelled pyrex (no caps) and made differently. Many people say they use glass and haven’t had a problem, but I’d say a chance of one exploding container is one too many. Glass is use at your own risk and the companies mentioned state they will not be held liable if if injury results.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks for sharing – it’s always good to be vigilant.
sara
Hey Kiddo – I am sooooo impressed with your information. I have looked and looked and again looked for easy to understand info on the PIP…..you nailed it in spades. Thanks a bazillion percent!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Sara -you’re welcome! Good luck trying out PIP.
Louanne
Thanks, I’ll try it. Great site 🙂
Louanne
Can you use the pot in pot method for APPLE CRISP?
If so, would the smaller pot (corning ware bowl) need a LID?
There’s 1/2 cup of water in my recipe, but do I still need to put MORE WATER in the BOTTOM of the stainless steel insert pot, below a trivet?
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Louanne – yes, I think you can use the PIP method. You don’t need a lid, but you might want to cover lightly with foil so that condensation doesn’t drip in. Yes, you always need water on the bottom of the inner pot under the trivet. Good luck!
Marcie
Thank you for this article – very helpful! I pinned it :-).
I just got my stackables and used for the first time last night. I tried cooking a 6 ounce salmon filet on the bottom and broccoli on the top. Regular pressure for 2 minutes, natural release. The broccoli was very al dente (perfect for me – so happy!), but so was the salmon which I prefer rare. So if you don’t mind I have a few questions!
I put 2 cups of water in the IP per the instructions for the recipe that came with the stackable (Ekonova) and cut the cooking time down from their recommended 3 minutes to 2.It took 10 minutes to come up to pressure and and additional 10 minutes to cook (the 2) and then NPR. 1) Do you know about what temperature the bottom and top pots are cooking at? Does the bottom pan cook faster? My stackables came with 2 kinds of covers – one solid and one with holes – I wondered when use of each was indicated? Wasn’t sure if the one with holes would make it cook faster as steam gets in???
Thank you so much!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Marcie – I don’t think that the top and bottom containers are cooking at a different rate, but I’m not 100% sure of that. I do know however, covering up the container completely slows down the cooking. So your instinct is right on that. I think you’ll just need to experiment and find out what works for your IP. I keep an IP journal where I write down all the timings that work for me. Regarding the water in the bottom, you might want to experiment with less water and see if you pot comes to pressure and maintains pressure – that would save you some time because it would take less time to come to pressure. Thanks for your question.
Wendy
Oh! An IP journal – I love that. I have found that my IP seems to take longer than most recipes say, and keeping it all together is a great way to try to figure that out!
Paint the Kitchen Red
I use mine all the time – hope it works for you too! And every time I cook something, I mark the changes!
Sue
Great information, I was wanting to try PIP and now you have given me all the answers to questions I had.
Thanks so much!!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Sue – thanks for commenting and you’re so welcome!
Dhanya
Hi Neena,
I would like to use this PIP method in a Pyrex bowl to cook frozen green peas instead of using the microwave. Here are my questions:
1. Will 1 cup be enough to add into the inner pot?
2. What is the water to peas ratio to add into the Pyrex bowl? Does the bowl need to be covered?
3. Should I use the “Steam” function or Pressure cook and what is a good time for 1 cup of peas?
Thank you very much for your help! 🙂
Dhanya
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Dhanya – 1. yes, 1 cup is fine 2. If you’re steaming frozen peas, you don’t even need any water since you’re doing PIP. 3. Steam is the same as pressure cook but only has high pressure I believe. You probably only need to steam for 1 minute, maybe even 0 minutes. If you find that it’s still overcooked, next time do low pressure. Hope that works for you.
Barbara Schieving
So much great information!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thanks Barbara!
Connie
Thanks for the information can I use the one pot crockpot the same
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Connie – I am not sure of this but I think that anything that can be cooked in the crockpot probably can be cooked with a container within the crockpot (??) So rice wouldn’t work since you can’t slow cook rice (as far as I know!). Good luck!
Lauranne
This is very well written. Even though i have been using my IP for a year now, and have used the pip method quite a lot, i had problems with the pip method for some of the recipes I had made. After reading this, I realized why some of the pip recipes were not cooked fully. I was usings methods that slowed down the cooking without knowing i was! Thank you for sharing all this wonderful information.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Lauranne – thank you for the kind words, and I’m glad that I could help an experienced IP user 🙂
Maureen
I have just purchased a 3 quart Instant Pot and used for first time yesterday. I did a roast that unfortunately did not have much fat on it but other wise it turned out okay. Is there a recipe book (with good instructions) for use with the 3 quart pot.
Paint the Kitchen Red
Hi Maureen, most likely your dish was affected by the cut of meat than any other reason. To adapt recipes for the 3 quart, you should just need to reduce the quantities in equal proportion e.g. halve all ingredients. (The exception is the liquid – you need the minimum amount required to reach pressure. How much depends on what you’re cooking – e.g. if you’re cooking something that’ll release liquid as it cooks (e.g. vegetables), you can get away with less liquid. I’ve used as little as 1/4 to 1/2 cup. The official word is 1 1/2 to 2 cups.) You also would generally cook for the same amount of time as the recipe states. http://www.simplyhappyfoodie.com has some recipes specifically measured for the 3 quart mini. Search for “mini” in her search bar. I don’t know of any recipe books though. If you want to make any of my recipes, I’d be happy to answer any questions you have regarding reducing the recipe!
Maureen
thank you very much, I am looking forward to using it more. I appreciate your assistance and offer.
Dorothy Fletcher
How can I cook a small sirloin tip roast 1 1/2 pounds. How long,
Paint the Kitchen Red
Dorothy, thanks for your question. Sirloin may be too lean for the pressure cooker, and you might end up overcooking it. I’d hate for you to waste your meat. The pressure cooker is best suited for tougher cuts of meat with more marbling, like a crock pot is. That being said, is it pork? You could try to follow this recipe from Pressure Cooking Today, but since your meat is smaller in size, reduce cooking time by 5 minutes. Make sure you do a full Natural Pressure Release (NPR). Good luck.
Ann
I had several successes doing a double batch of PIP rice in a Fat Daddio pan and then my daughter mentioned that she did hers in Pyrex bowls, which I picked up on Black Friday. Both times I have attempted PIP rice in Pyrex, it has failed. It had unabsorbed liquid in the rice and the rice was crunchy. The recipes were the same as I had done before and the amount of rice was the same. Any idea why the Pyrex method isn’t working for me? I’d prefer the Pyrex method so i can throw it in the dishwasher! Thanks for any insight you can provide!
Paint the Kitchen Red
The cooking time for rice can vary based on brand. If you have a time that works directly in the inner pot, you probably want to increase cooking time by a minute. Note that pot in pot can require more cooking time. I use my Pyrex a lot for rice and I cook for 6 minutes for Basmati and 4 minutes for Jasmine in the Pyrex. What times are you using?
Ann
I have successfully used 6 mins and 7 mins for long grain white rice using PIP. Not a huge fan of the texture (or price!) of Basmati and Jasmine. Maybe I’ll just have to get myself the 3 qt Mini for rice! ?
Sandy
This is an excellent article! I’ll be sharing it!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you Sandy! I appreciate that!
Monica
So happy for this post. I just did not get what people were talking about this pot in pot Instapot cooking! And now I don’t feel so silly for not knowing! I really appreciate the step by step detail.
Thank you!
Paint the Kitchen Red
Thank you Monica, glad to help! Curry and rice is a great way to try it out.
Marilyn
How long do you cook anAnge Food cake in a 3 qt IP? Thanks. MH
Paint the Kitchen Red
Marilyn, I’ve not made Angel Food cake in the IP. But here’s a recipe from The Typical Mom Looks like she bakes it for 27 minutes. However since your pot in pot pan will be much smaller, you’ll need to decrease the cooking time. Sorry, but I’m really not sure how long you’d cook it for.