How to Sauté in Instant Pot (and how to use the other function buttons)
The Instant Pot Sauté feature on the Instant Pot is awesome. I use this feature daily. It's probably the feature I use most on the instant pot.
You may not be aware that Instant Pots have many more uses besides just pressure cooking. You can use your instant pot as a sauté pan, for proofing dough, making yogurt, making rice, steaming veggies, etc.
I usually use the sauté feature as a first step when preparing soups, stews and casseroles in the instant pot. I turn it on to heat up the pot and sauté my onions and garlic first in most Instant Pot Recipes. I also use it to sear meat in recipes that have searing meat as a first step like beef stew. I also use this feature a lot when we are camping or staying in a hotel that doesn’t have a kitchen. It’s easy to make a quick meal and easy to clean up. If I'm making tacos or taco in a bag, I cook the ground beef on the sauté function in the electric pressure cooker. If I'm making fajitas I sauté the peppers, onions and garlic in the pot when camping. Then I don't need to clean up a frying pan or skillet. I just clean up the inner pot once we are done eating.
How and When and Why to use Sauté mode?
How?
To start the sauté mode in your Instant Pot just press the "sauté" button on the front of your pot. Your pot will begin to heat up. If your using sauté mode after cooking then you can press the cancel button at the completion of cooking and then press the "sauté" button to heat up the pot again. You might be using the sauté mode after cooking to add cream to a dish or to thicken a sauce directly in the pot. You can also use the sauté mode to reheat something in the pot. I often use a silicone lid or tempered glass lid to store what I cooked in the instant pot in the refrigerator. To reheat the left overs I put the inner pot back in the instant pot and press the sauté function to warm it up. Most dishes thicken when cooled down so make sure to stir frequently when heating up in the pot and it’s ok if you have to add a bit of additional water or stock during reheating.
When?
When should you use the saute function? Most recipes will tell you when to use the Instant Pot saute function. It's commonly used as a first step in recipes where some vegetables need to be sauteed or meat needs to be seared before cooking. It's also commonly used after cooking a dish when it is time for thickening sauces. If your recipe calls for sautéing onions and garlic as a first step you would do this right in your pot using the saute function.
Why?
Sautéing will pull the flavors out of what you are sautéing. It helps add flavor to the oil or butter that you are using to saute it in. If you are using no oil, then it will still pull the juices and flavors out of the onions and garlic for your dish. Sautéing will also carmelize your veggies especially onions which can important in some dishes. We use the sauté function in our Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe and our Instant Pot Minestrone Soup and our Aldi Carnitas Recipe.
Is it really necessary to sauté when using an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker?
It’s not really necessary in all cases. This step could probably be safely skipped for some soups and stews. It does help speed up cooking time if you are making a short cook meal such as dishes using pasta that is cooked in the pot. I recommend always following the recipes directions, but this is a pretty safe experiment you could do with your favorite recipes to see how much of a difference it makes.
Using the Instant Pot Sauté Function After Cooking.
Saute functions are also important to finish food once the pressure cook cycle is complete. You can use the saute function to heat up the pot when thickening sauces after pressure cooking.
Thickening Sauces
The amount of liquid required for pressure cooking and the relatively low evaporateability mean sauces may get runnier after being heated up. In this case thickener is required. It is advisable to add thickener at the conclusion of cooking to reduce the chance that the you will get the burn error in the pot. You can make a roux to thicken dishes with flour or cornstarch. Start by making a cornstarch slurry with cornstarch and water or a flour slurry with flour and water. Add the roux to the pot and whisk while it heats up. The liquid will thicken as the temperature rises.
Browning or Searing meat with the sauté function
The Instant Pot Saute function is useful to brown meat and to sear meats prior to cooking. This will bring out additional flavor into the dish and ensure that the meat remains moist.
Do you need to deglaze the Instant Pot after using the Sauté function?
It's always good practice to deglaze the pot before beginning your pressure cooking cycle. Deglazing is when you remove the browned bits of food stuck to the bottom of the pot. You can do this by adding some cooking liquid (chicken stock, beef stock, wine, water) to the pot and scraping the bottom of the pot as the liquid heats up. This will add flavor to your dish and that liquid can remain in the pot. If you don't deglaze the pot and add enough cooking liquid prior to pressure cooking, then you can get the burn error in your pot. The burn error often happens when there is not enough liquid in the pot for cooking and the pot has dried out. If this happens you should turn your pot off, release the pressure, open the pot, add access the situation. Usually the pot warns you before your dish is ruined and you can just add more cooking liquid to the pot and restart the cooking process. If it's too bad and much of your dish has been burned to the bottom of the pot you may want to move the salvageable ingredients to another pot and restart. That said, I have never had to scrap an entire dish due to a burn error. It's usually just a matter of adding additional liquid to the pot.
The following content is pulled from the Instant Pot Duo User Manual. To see the full guide and description of all buttons on your instant pot view the Instant Pot Duo User Manual.
Instant Pot Function Buttons
Instant Pot Porridge Setting (Porridge Button)
The Instant Pot's Porridge setting is suitable for cooking oatmeal using old-fashioned oats and steel-cut oats, rice porridge and congee dishes with grains expanding as they cook. The Instant Pot manual suggests to use the button as follows:
These are the published Porridge Settings for the Instant Pot Duo
Instant Pot Soup Setting (Soup/Broth Button)
SOUP/BROTH – This buttonbBrings soups to a slow simmer, and results in a clear broth. For meatless soups, use the Less mode; for soups with meat, use the Normal mode; for soups that requires longer cook times, such as rich bone broth, use the More mode.
The Instant Pot Guide suggests using the Soup/Broth Button as follows:
Instant Pot Steam Setting (Steam Button)
The Instant Pot Steam Button is excellent for steaming vegetables, fish, seafood and tofu.
These are the published settings for the Instant Pot Steam Button on the Instant Pot Duo Models:
Make sure to use a Trivet when steaming in the instant pot. Our article on How to Use the Instant Pot Trivet will explain in detail the different options you have for steaming food in the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Rice Setting (Rice Button)
This button can be used to cook all kinds of rice in th Instant Pot. The great thing about the Rice button on the Instant Pot Duo Model is that it will automatically adjust the cooking time depending on the volume of rice in the pot.
These are the published settings fro the Instant Pot Rice Button on the Instant Pot Duo Models:
How to Adjust the Temperature of Sauté Mode?
You can sauté at different heat levels on your instant pot. The values below do seem to be backwards however so I will be testing this with my Instant Pot and I will update this article to reflect the results if they are off from the manual below.
The following shows the different Sauté settings as documented on the Instant Brand web site:
What foods should not be cooked in a Pressure Cooker?
It is not recommended to place cream in the instant pot. You can still make a cream sauce in the pot but the cream should be added at the end of the pressure cooking cycle. It is also not recommended to put cheese in the pot during the pressure cooking cycle. Shredded cheese, cream cheese and parmesan cheese should also be added after the pressure cook cycle is complete.
I find it difficult to create a crispy chicken skin in the instant pot as well. I usually broil a whole chicken or chicken thighs with skin for a few minutes after the pressure cook cycle has completed to crisp up the skin.
Common Instant Pot Saute Questions
Do you close lid when sautéing in Instant Pot?
No, Sauté in your instant pot with the instant pot lid OFF the pot.
What lid do you use to sauté on Instant Pot?
Do not use the pressure cooking lid when you are sautéing with your Instant Pot. If you need to place a lid on while you Sautee then use a tempered glass
Should I Sauté with Lid On?
No, the saute function is intended to be used without the lid. You will sauté just like you would on the stove.
Some of our Recipes that have a Saute Step:
Butternut Squash and Sausage Soup in the Instant Pot
Chicken Tortilla Soup Instant Pot
What should I consider when shopping for an Instant Pot?
There are two main factors to consider when shopping for a Pressure Cooker. First you will want to consider the size of the pressure cooker and second the brand. I mention to consider the size first because the Instant Brand that makes all the Instant Pot models has discontinued their largest Instant Pot Size. They no longer offer a 10 quart model. They still carry the mini 3 quart Instant Pot Model, the 6 quart Instant Pot Duo and the 8 quart Instant Pot models. You can find some larger sizes of pressure cookers however from other brands. Check out our article Instant Pot 10 Quart to get more information on the larger digital pressure cooker models available from other brands. The largest model of digital pressure cooker that we have found readily available is the MegaChef 12 Quart Digital Pressure Cooker. this model shown below is great for large families, those who cook for larger gatherings and holidays often and also for restaurants.
For a full overview of all the latest Instant Pot models and all the associated Instant Pot Sizes see our article titled “Instant Pot Sizes”
MegaChef 12 Quart Digital Pressure Cooker
The Mega chef 12 Qt. Digital Pressure Cooker has 15 Presets. This pressure cooker is very versatile and includes a slow cooker function for up to 9.5 hours. It also includes a yogurt function as well as pre-set buttons for your common pressure cooking options.
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