The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook for Your Instant Pot: 80 Easy and Delicious Plant-Based Recipes That You Can Make in Half the Time

I'm a cookbook collector though hardly an excellent or skilled chef, I like to read cookbooks for fun, even more than I like to actually cook (if that makes any sense). So I made the Black Chickpea Curry (with normal chickpeas, though) and it was delicious - and easy as pie to follow. I also made the cardamom pear oats, which was also easy. I'm an IP newbie, so I chose easy. The other recipes look delicious and extremely creative, and there are also staples/ingredients: broths, ricotta cheese, cauliflower sour cream, a bunch of sauces (mole sauce!) and "not-raw" Almond milk. It's as though Kathy isn't thinking of giving you a big list of Vegan dishes, but she's empowering you to create amazing Vegan meals. There is breakfast, dessert, one-pot dishes, as well as some fancy stuff like Jackfruit Tinga, Seitan sausage, pumpkin tamales?! Yum. There is also a section on layering - which I'm currently intimidated by, but I'll get there eventually. The photography is really well done, and the directions are clear and orderly.
However, this is MUCH MORE than a cookbook and this is why it's worth it for me. Kathy goes into all the things you need to know about the IP in a way, frankly, that is much more logical and understandable than most vegan recipes I've found online, and she explains things about the IP better than IP handbook itself in places ("What do all those buttons do!").

There is an IP troubleshooting section, and "Ninja Instant Pot tricks" section and also thoughts on special diet considerations. She breaks down the IP lingo and acronyms in a simple and straightforward way for beginners, but the recipes themselves vary from easy to quite sophisticated. There are some handy extras on the recipes themselves - the recipes are in American measurements but also have the metric equivalents (handy for some of you) and it gives the nutrition information for those of us watching our calorie/carb and protein intakes.

BEST PART: there are pages and pages of what I'll call "reference material" that formerly you'd likely have to google for, making this more than a cookbook but more like a manual - a Bean and Lentil Cooking Chart, a Whole Grains Cooking Chart, and a Vegetable Cooking Chart. I needed these things.

Extras I appreciates in a cookbook with a good "user experience" - an appendix of recipes by course, a list of handy IP accessories, recommended Facebook groups, reading, and other cookbooks, and a very thorough and comprehensive index so it's quick and easy to look stuff up. These are details that mean a lot to me, the internet is filled with recipes, but I really appreciate actual instruction and resources to best use the IP as a Vegan.
This is likely a book I will leave in the kitchen for regular use, rather than put on the back shelf - I'll use to to make sure my cooking times and cooking processes are correct, and also to inspire ideas. It's more than delicious recipes, it's a practical manual.

Although I already own two vegan pressure cooker books ([[ASIN:0544464028 Vegan Under Pressure: Perfect Vegan Meals Made Quick and Easy in Your Pressure Cooker]] and [[ASIN:1592336442 Vegan Pressure Cooking: Delicious Beans, Grains, and One-Pot Meals in Minutes]], both of which I also recommend), I pre-ordered this new cookbook back in November for two reasons: because I've been using my Instant Pot multiple times a week since getting it eight months ago and because I own two of Kathy Hester's vegan slow-cooker books and really like them.

As of today, there is no "Look Inside" feature yet, so here is an overview of the main chapters:

* Introduction: Everything You Need to Know about Your IP

* Five Recipes to Start You Out -- includes recipes for beans, a pear-cardamom oatmeal, a jackfruit ragu, a one-pot pasta, and a zucchini-lemon snack cake; I like how Hester starts us off by introducing basic recipes so we can get comfortable with the IP

* Quick and Easy Homemade Staples -- includes recipes for soy yogurt (which is so easy to make in your 7-in-1 IP!), vegan ricotta (which sounds amazing; it doesn't use the IP, but is used in a few recipes), and various stocks and spice blends (which don't use the IP, but which are also used in a few recipes)

* Beans and Lentils that Cook in Half the Time -- includes recipes for soups, curries, and even black bean-quinoa burgers

* Fun and Delicious Ways to Add in More Whole Grains -- includes recipes for a sushi bowl, two kinds of tamales, and cornbread, amongst others

* Eat Your Vegetables: Easy and Elegant Plant-Based Fare -- includes recipes for veggie side dishes and also some soups, dumplings, and taco fillings

* Fast and Comfortable One-Pot Meals -- includes some more soups and stews, a ricotta penne pie, various congees, and even steamed buns

* Cook It All at the Same Time -- includes recipes where you can cook several parts of your meal in one IP, with recipes for lentils, a tempeh bowl, a burrito bowl, a mushroom curry, and more

* Decadent and Healthy Desserts -- includes recipes for a tres-leches-type dessert, a pudding, a chocolate tofu cheesecake, and others

As you can see, Hester focuses on whole foods, and she has a wide variety of recipes that is sure to please any palette. The opening chapter is also a really nice overview of the IP that goes over how it works and what to expect when you use it. She also provides nutritional information for each recipe, as well as indications of whether or not the recipe is gluten-free.

My copy just arrived this morning, but I've already made the Pear Cardamom Steel-Cut Oats (which were so delicious and perfect on a cold January morning!) and Mushroom Potato Taco Filling (which we're having for dinner tonight). Both were super tasty.

As far as presentation goes, pretty much every recipe is accompanied by a full-page, full-color photo, which I really appreciate since photos always inspire me to try recipes out. I also love how Page Street (the publisher) does flat binding, so that the book stays open when you lay it out flat.

Also, if you're on Facebook, be sure to check out the vegan Facebook groups that Hester lists on the resources page in the back. I've been a member of one since I bought my IP last April, and the members (among whom are cookbook authors like Hester herself, Jill Nussinow, and JL Fields) are incredibly helpful, especially when you first start using your IP and have zillions of questions (or maybe that was just me ;-) ).

One of the joys of an Instant Pot is that, unlike a crockpot, it keeps the ingredients whole and doesn't make them mushy. I also love that I can get dinner started and just walk away, without having to monitor and stir a cooking pot of ingredients. On weekends, I'll also often start our dinner as early as 3:00, knowing that the recipe can sit until we're ready to eat.

I'm pleased that I added Kathy Hester's new cookbook to my library, and know I'll get much use out of it in the years to come!

It's actually a great and beautiful cookbook BUT I was disappointed because I hate cooking and that's why I bought an instant pot. I want to dump healthy ingredients in the pot before work and come home to a ready cooked meal 4-10 hours later. O can always add a salad to my cooked meal on the side if I have time to do more.
Her recipies do involve the instabt pot but also a lot of cooking and ingredients along with it. So, you may be sautaing, or baking, etc...in ADDITION to using the instant pot in pretty much every recipie. Awrsome if you love cooking or have the time...a nightmare of you don't.
I wanted 1. SIMPLE, 2. Few ingredients per recipie, 3. Variety of whole grain and bean options
And what I saw was 1. Complex (for me anyway) 2. Many ingredients per recipie, 3. Not a lot of whole grain or dry bean choices of recipies.
I apologize to the author for the low review... I just think you should make it SUPER CLEAR on your Amazon explaination what exactly your cookbook is offering and what it isn't. You did a lovely job on it though. They look like great recipies, beautiful pics, good variety of types of meals.

Along with my instant pot purchase I wanted to buy a vegan cookbook to help me get started. It was overwhelming to see that there were dozens to select from, and fortunately for me I selected Kathy Hester's. My family eats a strict vegan diet with no added oil. I was very excited to see that all of her recipes have either no added oil, or they have simple no-added-oil options. Also, Kathy's primary focus is on whole foods, not heavily processed meat substitutes.

I was able to start using my instant pot immediately after receiving it because Kathy has basic instructions at the front of the book. This is followed by "five recipes to start you out". I made Not-Refried Black Beans the first night and it sold me on both the instant pot and Kathy's book. I've since made several other recipes such as Kidney Beans in Curry Sauce, Pear Cardamom Steel-cut Oats, Perfect Kamut, and Fresh Tomato Marinara Sauce, and each one has been very good. Most of the recipes are simple to put together, and most use common ingredients so you don't have to make a special shopping trip. She also has vegetable cooking charts and bean/lentil cooking charts for quick reference. I highly recommend this book.

I ordered this book 3 times. Each time the binding was becoming disconnected. I kept the third version anyway because I love the recipes and the way Kathy Hester presents the instructions. I expect I will be have the book spiral bound at local office supply shop. Publisher has a great cookbook author but should address the binding issue.

This is my No. 1...my go to cookbook --- I Love it!
Why I bought this book: While Kathy Hester uses oils and sugars in some of her recipes, she gives options so that you can make yours oil and/or sugar free. That right there, that's what drew me in...but her recipes rock! That's why I'm writing this review.

The first recipe I tried, Creamy Mushroom Curry with Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf (p.188/189) was oh so delicious and a revelation to me. I'd just gotten my Instant Pot and was stuck on making whole kabocha pumpkins and sweet potatoes -- which was great, but not inspiring. A friend and I decided to experiment with the IP in my kitchen. We chose this recipe and were both blown away by how good it was. We decided to do it again, this time at her house (same recipe) but divided the recipe in two, making one half in my Instant Pot and the other in her old style stove top pressure cooker. (What we found out: the Instant Pot is much easier and requires less water. Either way the recipe was great.) Putting the recipe together was the revelation. I learned how to make more than one dish at the same time by stacking, with the rice on the bottom of the pan under the rack insert, and the curry cooking in a covered pan or oven-proof bowl resting on the rack. Somehow that had never occurred to me before!

Kathy Hester has a way with food, she just knows how to put flavors and textures together. This book has so much in it. You can learn to make your own soy yogurt (it comes out just right), bouillon, steamed buns, sauces, stews, full meals and luscious desserts. I really don't need any other cookbooks, but after this one I couldn't help but get three other Kathy Hester cookbooks and I love them, too!

I highly recommend this book!

This cookbook, which claims to have "easy" recipes, has a few aspects I find challenging. First, almost every recipe I look at calls for at least one ingredient that I have no idea where to find, and proves hard to find, or as of yet impossible for me to find. Jalapeno powder (can't find it yet). Chipotle powder (can't find it yet). Jackfruit. Tomatillos. Poblano peppers. Second, it calls for a lot of prep that is either time consuming or requires serious planning: soaking beans or nuts for 6-8 hours, dicing tomatoes until you have 6 cups worth, recipes that call for another recipe elsewhere in the book to be made first, and so on. Third, many of the dishes are side dishes, so you have to go make something else to make a full meal, and I thought a major point of an Instant Pot was not having to have multiple pots on the stove etc. Many of the dishes in this book would take me an entire day or weekend to hunt down the ingredients, do all the prep work, and then often make two separate dishes to get a complete meal. I don't recall encountering a cookbook quite as frustrating as this one. I guess it's for gourmet foodie folks who already have or know where to get obscure ingredients, and like to spend a lot of time cooking. "Easy" recipes are not to be found in this book, by and large. This book would benefit from a front section listing all the obscure ingredients in the book, and suggesting what types of stores might carry them.

Boring recipes. Need 2 pages for just one spice blend recipe? Ridiculous! Buy 'Vegan under pressure' or 'The Super Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook' instead.

So far the recipes I've tried are excellent (although I did need to adjust the cooking times a bit). Some recipe books have a lot of recipes that are probably great, but when they are printed on thin, flimsy material without good pictures I get turned off and feel less motivated to try the recipes. This one is printed on thick, good-quality glossy paper with tons of pictures. Love it!

I love this book. Great recipes. I have all of Kathy's books. Why? It's because she gives you great instructions, tasty recipes that you can easily tweak to your liking and a ton of information on putting together your vegan meal. If your new to the instant pot and even if you've been cooking with one for a while now, this book is for you. It's a learning experience.