A typical vegan diet lends itself well to the pressure cooking method. With the basis of most vegan diets grains and pulses, such as rice, barley, beans, and lentils, it could take as much as several hours to cook on the stove. Luckily, if you have an Instant Pot, you can cook these foods in as little as 20 minutes. Pressure cooked vegetables are also superior. With less water used in the contained cooking process, nutrients are locked in for more flavorful, vibrant veg. If you're looking to start your vegan pressure cooking journey, then check out our selection of specialist cookbooks to inspire you.
Easy to follow
This is the debut cookbook from the popular "Rainbow Plant Life" blogger Nisha Vora. As the name of the blog might suggest, this book contains colorful, healthy, and delicious vegan recipes explicitly tailored for the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Along with advice on how to get the most out of your machine, there are more than 90 recipes, including inspiration for tasty breakfasts, guides to creating hearty, healthy mains, and decadent desserts, including our favorite — Double Fudge Chocolate Cake.
Inventive and approachable
With a focus on the time-saving abilities of an Instant Pot pressure cooker, Kathy Hester offers a clever line in layered vegan entrees and sides, such as herbed French lentils with beets and pink rice, all of which are cooked together. There are also more traditional one-pot recipes with a focus on beans and lentils — ingredients that cook in half the time in a pressure cooker. There's also a basics section in which Hester shows you how to save time and money on homemade staples.
Globally diverse and flavorful
Described as an ideal first cookbook for vegans who've just invested in a new Instant Pot, "Veggie Queen" Nussinow takes you through the pressure cooker basics, including how to use the appliance safely and effectively. As far as recipes go, this collection is extensive, with over 150 different meals, dishes, staples, and sides. Nussinow takes inspiration from world cuisine and adds flavor with herbs and spices, rather than salt and oil, so if you're more adventurous with your flavors and techniques, you should get a lot out of this book.
Easy, down to earth recipes
This comprehensive cookbook begins by teaching you all about the vegan diet and philosophy, goes on to explain in useful detail all about the Instant Pot and its features and functionality. Then it offers up no less than 600 vegan Instant Pot recipes. With a focus on veganism for health reasons, all the recipes have nutritional information, prep time, cook time, and the number of servings. Obviously, you can pick and choose recipes that take your fancy, but there is also a handy 21-day meal plan included.
Not your grandma's pressure cooking
Fields promises you filling, nutritious meals in under an hour and with little mess or cleaning up. With a guide to which pressure cooker will best suit you, this book will take you from beginner to pressure cookin' winner and offers some handy cooking time charts. There are sections on beans and grains, soups and stew, one-pot meals, sides, sauces and dips, and desserts. If you're stuck in a rut, Fields should inspire you with some really interesting ingredients, such as jackfruit, miso, Anasazi beans, amaranth, and farro.
Easy to follow and well written
From certified dietitian and weight loss expert Alec Norton comes this collection of over 70 creative vegan recipes with options for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and desserts. The "creative" claim is not just a boast; there are recipes for out-there options that really work, such as coconut rice pudding (for breakfast!), kimchi pasta, lasagna soup, garlic pumpkin seeds, and vegan monkey bread. With clear, easy to follow instructions from Norton, there are also photographs of most of the recipes so you can really get excited about what you're about to create.
Recipe for success
We recommend all these titles for anyone looking to cook vegan food in an Instant Pot, and with the Kindle edition prices very reasonable, you may be able to afford more than one. If you do just buy one though, our overall staff pick, The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook (opens in new tab) is a really great all-round option that is officially authorized by Instant Pot.
Busy home cooks might want to consider Kathy Hester's The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot (opens in new tab). With a focus on saving time, it has some useful meal ideas that can be cooked all at the same time using a tiered pressure cooking system.
If you've been pressure cooking vegan food for some time already, Vegan Pressure Cooking (opens in new tab) is worthy of consideration as it offers some exciting flavor and ingredient combinations that should challenge even experienced vegan cooks.
Amy-Mae has been writing about consumer technology since before the iPhone was even a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye. She started out in magazine publishing with the UK lads' mag 'Boy's Toys' then moved online with startup Pocket-lint.com as the first full-time member of staff, helping grow the site to one of the UK's largest gadget sites. Amy-Mae then moved to Mashable when it only had a staff of around 10 people. After working her way up to a senior role there, Amy-Mae left in 2014 to have her daughter. Since then Amy-Mae has continued to contribute to Mashable and The Daily Dot, keeping up-to-date with the latest consumer technology and social media trends. For iMore.com, Amy-Mae gets to her explore her love of home cooking, concentrating on all things kitchen tech.
