Keto Instant Pot Recipes: Pressure-Cooker Times for Keto Staples
A pressure cooker turns cheap, fatty cuts into tender keto meals with almost no effort. These are the times that work.
Short answer: Yes. It is ideal for fatty, inexpensive cuts like chicken thighs, pork shoulder and beef chuck, as well as chili, bone broth and hard-boiled eggs, all of which are keto staples.
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Pressure-cooker times
Times are at high pressure. They are for an electric pressure cooker such as an Instant Pot, and do not include the 10–15 minutes it takes to come up to pressure. "Natural release" means leaving it to depressurise on its own for the time shown before releasing the rest.
| Food | Pressure time | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken thighs, bone-in | 12–15 min | 10 min natural | Crisp the skin under the grill after |
| Chicken thighs, boneless | 8–10 min | 5 min natural | Shred for salads and quesadillas |
| Beef chili, no beans | 15 min | 10 min natural | Brown the beef first on Sauté |
| Pork shoulder, in 5 cm chunks | 60–75 min | 15 min natural | Check any barbecue sauce for sugar |
| Beef chuck for stew | 35 min | 15 min natural | Add low-carb vegetables after, then 2 min more |
| Eggs, hard-boiled | 5 min | 5 min natural, then ice bath | Peel easily |
| Cauliflower for mash | 3 min | Quick | Blend with butter and cream cheese |
| Salmon fillets, from fresh | 3–4 min | Quick | On the trivet, over water |
| Bone broth | 120 min | Natural | A good source of sodium for keto flu |
Most pressure cookers need at least 250 ml of liquid to reach pressure. Check your manual.
Thick sauces without flour
- Reduce on Sauté for 5–10 minutes after cooking. This is the simplest fix.
- Stir in cream cheese or heavy cream at the end, off the pressure.
- Xanthan gum: a quarter teaspoon whisked into a hot sauce thickens it with almost no carbs. Too much turns it slimy.
- Blend some of the vegetables like cauliflower or zucchini into the sauce.
Make it a week of meals
Cook one large batch of chicken thighs or chili on Sunday and portion it with a different side each day. This guide pairs well with the meal prep guide. In Ketora, saved recipes can replace any meal in your weekly plan, and the shopping list updates to match.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Instant Pot good for keto?
Yes. It is ideal for fatty, inexpensive cuts like chicken thighs, pork shoulder and beef chuck, as well as chili, bone broth and hard-boiled eggs, all of which are keto staples.
How do you thicken keto sauces in an Instant Pot?
Reduce the sauce on the Sauté setting after pressure cooking, stir in cream cheese or heavy cream, or whisk in a small amount of xanthan gum instead of flour or cornstarch.
This guide is general information for healthy adults, not medical advice. See our medical disclaimer.