The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook: Wholesome, Indulgent Plant-Based Recipes

Just weeks before COVID shut everything down I bought my first house and started demolishing the kitchen for a remodel. I’d gotten myself an Instant Pot a couple months earlier but hadn’t ever really used it. Now, in June 2021 I still don’t have a range or oven in my kitchen, but I’ve become an Instant Pot pro thanks to Nisha Vora! Both my diet and my boyfriend’s are quite restricted due to several allergies that include avoiding dairy, gluten, soy, cane sugar, hemp, and sesame. However, I can eat almost all of Nisha Vora’s recipes with minimal substitutions. These recipes don’t skimp on taste but the ingredients to get there can cost a pretty penny. Also, one has to be very cautious when considering the salt recommended in the recipes – I love salt but was unable to eat one dish because the recipe called for too much salt and I unthinkingly added it all. With all that said, this is currently my favorite cookbook. I feel like my culinary horizons have expanded and I’ve come across many new pleasant flavor combinations. And I LOVE being able to just follow a recipe and eat the food without having to make so many substitutions because of my allergies. Finally, the instant pot cook time charts at the beginning are fantastic! Below are my individual reviews of dishes I’ve made so far: p.79 Savory Turmeric Breakfast Quinoa – Satisfying: would be better with either more vegetables or 1/2-1/3 less quinoa. Made without tamari, pepper, or sesame seeds. p.103 Coconut-Millet Porridge – Won’t make again. Extremely bland but has good texture. Either needs salt or something sweet. Was able to eat a serving by adding applesauce and maple syrup. Definitely better than oatmeal so oatmeal lovers may like this and know how to season to their tastes. To be fair, I didn’t eat it with the recommended toppings which could have made a difference (chocolate, pistachios, berry compote). p.123 Classic Creamy Polenta – Not worth making. Got burn notice. Should cook polenta enough that it just barely thickens before starting to cook it under pressure. Probably best to do pot-in-pot though. Stir quickly at beginning to avoid lumps. I’ll just have my boyfriend make his greasy oven-baked version in the future though. p.125 Rosemary and Garlic White Beans – Actually pretty good. I’m not a fan of oregano so didn’t think I’d like these but found them satisfying. Omitted salt and added to taste at serving. p.129 Frijoles (Mexican-Style Pinto Beans) – Great flavor! Liked them so much I’ve made them twice. But prepare to suffer if you don’t have Beano. Beans possibly needed more cook time since didn’t have intestinal trouble with sufficiently cooked/reheated leftovers. p.139 Wild Rice Salad with Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette – Life changing. This is the perfect blend of all my favorite things. It’s what I imagine pesto salad might taste like if it were a dessert. I love tons of dressing so the next time I make this I’ll double the vinaigrette but most people would probably like as is. I’d been planning to cook more recipes out of the book before writing my review, but this was so amazing I had to get the review written immediately after eating it. p.144 Spaghetti Squash Pasta Puttanesca – Worth making again even though I do’t really like oregano. This is better as leftovers because the flavors have a change to meld. DON’T add extra salt!!! p.149 Lemony Asparagus with Gremolata – Not bad and I’d eat again. Prefer my own dressing. Asparagus was way under cooked, had to saute it for another 3-5 minutes. Put the garlic and lemon zest in the dressing and used less parsley since I’m not a huge parsley fan. p.183 Miso Mushroom Risotto – Was tasty until I added the miso then became unbearably salty. I could feel my tongue burning from all the salt. Had to throw most of it away. p.195 Chickpea Vegetable Biryani – So many flavors happening I couldn’t really tell if I liked it. Probably won’t make again, but I loved the fried raisins! p.199 Tex-Mex Brown Rice and Lentils – Good! An excellent freezer meal. In anticipation of adding vegan cheese I omitted all the salt and ended up with a perfectly balanced dish. Increased cook time for rice. Also, tomatoes should be added last after everything else is stirred in. If they rest on top they won’t cause a burn notice. p.229 Creamy Dreamy Cauliflower Soup – Absolutely fantastic! The lemon, nutmeg, and caper combination really makes this. Seemed slightly watery, but I did use a small cauliflower. Not a super filling dish, but is so unique and delicious it’d be worth having as part of a meal with something else. p.231 Red Lentil Almond Curry – Got burn notice and slightly scorched this. Can’t tell if I didn’t like it because of the extra unintentional smoky flavor or what...probably won’t make again, but this recipe had rave reviews from other people. p.257 Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup) – Fantastic and Flavorful broth! This is the best pho I’ve ever had. And while the shiitaki’s make it expensive I tried it with regular mushrooms and it didn’t have the same je ne sais quoi. Still yummy with regular crimini mushrooms, but I’ll be making it with shiitaki’s every time I make it in the future. One of my favorites. Instead of tofu I just added crimini mushrooms after the broth was done and strained. p.267 White Bean and Broccoli Soup – Will not make again; suitable for a different palate but the wine flavor doesn’t work for me. The “Love and Lemons” blog Vegan Broccoli Soup recipe is much better. However, I feel like this recipe has a lot of depth in both flavor and texture. The almond crumble was really yummy and a nice texture counterbalance to the blended soup. p.275 Easy Sweet Potato Dal – Delicious and filling! Would definitely make again. This was the first recipe I made from the book so I didn’t take a lot of notes, but the lemon juice really perks this dish up. It’s like eating warm spicy comforting sunshine. I may edit this review as I make more dishes. Even with the dishes I didn’t like this book has enough showstoppers that you should buy it. I’ve already given it a couple friends as a gift. Pictures are: Easy Sweet Potato Dal, Chickpea Vegetable Biryani with Raita, Creamy Dreamy Cauliflower Soup, and Miso Mushroom Risotto

I absolutely love love LOVE this cookbook! As soon as I opened my copy, I just had to flip through the WHOLE book while still standing in my apartment mail delivery room! The photos are absolutely beautiful with vibrant colors and artistic plating. The recipes are also creative and so easy to follow! Not to mention the author is so funny and such a good story teller. The author, Nisha Vora, does an amazing job at curating chapter after chapter of enticing vegan food. Oh and most importantly--every recipe I have made from this book has turned out amazing and so delicious!! Coming from someone who is not vegan and who also frequently cooks for a significant other who loves to eat meat, I couldn't recommend this book more. You don't have to be vegan to enjoy these amazing recipes-- they are delicious, flavorful and have added great variety to my meals. Additionally, the author did a great job of explaining how to use the Instant pot. She has great tips and tricks for a novice or expert Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker alike! Who knew you could make such delicious desserts in an IP?? I am so glad that I bought this cookbook, and can't wait to incorporate the dishes into my weekly meal prep.

Excellent book. All the good reviews are spot on. Excellent recipes, beautiful photographs, a nice introduction/explanation to each dish, that makes the cook feel accompanied by the author. Outstanding. Far exceeded my expectations and I’m not vegan. Definitely recommend

It cracks me up to see people complaining that she doesn’t give suggestions for coconut milk creamer replacements.... it’s called Google. I found that a cup of regular coconut milk (which is always in stock in my fridge for smoothies anyways) and 2 tbls of corn starch works just as well. I can always add a little more corn starch if I desire more of a creamy texture. Overall the book is fantastic! It’s made it really easy for me to transition into becoming vegan. The recipes are full of vibration flavor! Your seasoning cabinet is going to be maxed out, but well worth it. I find doing a few of these a week make is easy for me to combine with regular mixed veggies and potatoes/beans/rice thought out the week. I’ve already lost 5 lbs and it’s only been a few weeks 😆 Giving this 4 stars because... There have been several times where she mentions an ingredient in the list section, but fails to mention in the directions when to add while cooking or I’m follow directions and an ingredient is called for when it was not listed in the ingredients list section. It’s not the end of the world, but a bit annoying. I thought I was going crazy. Proof read the recipe from start to finish to make sure you have everything. Also, it’s hard to know when I’m supposed to be using cooked rice or if the rice is supposed during the process... I’ve had to figure out my own way of when do things like that. But other than that, I still look forward to continue using this cook book.

This cookbook is very well written plus the photos are gorgeous. I don’t usually write reviews, but can’t help myself on this one! I love that the author does not assume readers know how to do everything; she takes you step by step through the recipe with thorough explanation plus tips. For example, when I made the Cookies ‘n Cream ‘Cheesecake’, she anticipated that some of us—like me—might forget to soak the cashews over night, so had a fix. By the way, the recipe turned out great. Her explanations for using the Instant Pot are also excellent. I love my Instant Pot and am glad to have these delicious vegan recipes. She has charts up front with times for nearly everything you would want to cook. Those are my go to time charts now. I have not had the book long so have not had a chance to try many but what I have prepared have come out very tasty. I have to say that the garlic mashed potatoes are super and the red cabbage salad as beautiful as her photo as well as delicious. I will caution that if you are off SOFAS, you will need to make adjustments and definitely the Cookies ‘n Cream ‘Cheesecake’ is both high in calories, sugar and oil—but I could not resist trying it. I have also made the simple Dal and the stuffed bell peppers. So far I have not run into any strange ingredients, but she always seems to have options.

My wife and I don’t cook that often because we work a lot. We usually end up relying on takeout and delivery. But this cookbook is changing things for us because the recipes are easy to make yet exciting. The first dish we made was the Indian dal and it was so flavorful, as good as any Indian dish we’ve tried. Very authentic and lots of good spice flavor. We also made the steel cut oatmeal and used the chocolate banana flavor variation in the book. It couldn’t be simpler and is helping us eat a healthy breakfast before work (we usually skip it due to lack of time or pick up something unhealthy, like a pastry or bagel), especially since the recipe makes a large quantity that is great for leftovers. We plan to make the other variations listed in the recipe every week to have variety. We also aren't very experienced cooks, but the instructions are really clear and easy to follow so it's taking out the guesswork we often experience when we find recipes online. We can’t wait to try more recipes from this wonderful new cookbook!

I have 5 vegan Instant Pot cookbooks in my collection, but I always appreciate a fresh spin on things, so I purchased this one. I'm so glad I did! I've been on a cooking-with-Instant Pot bender ever since I started reading the mouthwatering recipes. There are some fun techniques in this book, and the instructions are very clear throughout. There are photographs to accompany most of the recipes, and they are flat out gorgeous. The mushroom broth and miso mushroom risotto recipes could do well in any restaurant...absolutely wonderful, with sublime flavors. I also enjoyed learning how to make polenta using the Instant Pot, and the ratatouille came out great. The broccoli tofu recipe had my eyeballs rolling back in their sockets, it was so tasty, and the double chocolate cake was pretty heavenly as well. The corn chowder, also, amazing. The classic Dal recipe is next on my list. Many of the recipes in this book call for coconut milk as a thickener, which is an ingredient that I use very sparingly due to its high saturated fat content. But it has worked well so far to substitute cashew cream or almond milk. I've also encountered a few problems with the 'burn' error message when the ingredients are too thick, so have had to troubleshoot that a few times. But overall - outstanding cookbook, filled with recipes that are bursting with flavor, many of which use only the 1 pot. I recommend!!

I purchased this book a few months ago because I was looking for new and exciting ways to prepare vegan meals. I was looking for delicious dishes prepared in new ways. I decided to try "just a few recipes" and WOW I was surprised. The flavors were great. And they were easy. And they got me excited to try more of the recipes. I have now made roughly 60% of the recipes in the book, and I have not been disappointed. My favorite so far is the Vegan Queso. My goodness I love to put that on practically everything! Who knew butternut squash and yukon gold potatoes could blend into a silky, smooth queso with so much flavor? Tell you what: I'll never look back. Honestly, this recipe book is probably the best I've had when it comes to vegan food. Please treat yourself to one of these delicious meals.

Incredible book, all the recipes we have tried so far are so tasteful ! Love it !

Good recipes and easy to follow.

Fantastisch mooie uitgave Boeiende recepten

Consistently good and tasty recipes from this amazing cook. Great that she’s inspired with great ingredients that work so well.

Dieses Kochbuch ist jeden Cent wert. Es ist wertig aufgemacht, schönes Layout und tolle Bilder, die direkt Appetit machen. Die Rezepte haben eine kurze Einleitung mit hilfreichen Tipps, wie man sie abwandeln oder welche Zutaten man ersetzen kann, manchmal eine kurze Backstory, aber nicht zu viel Blabla. Vor allem positiv überrascht war ich von der Vielzahl und Vielfalt der Rezepte. Viele Kochbücher, die ich so besitze, enthalten viel zu viel vom Selben und zu viel Kompliziertes, was man sowieso nie machen würde. Nisha Vora hingegen legt den Fokus eindeutig auf Mahlzeiten. Es gibt zwar ein paar Rezepte zu Dips/Aufstrichen und den meiner Meinung nach etwas unnötigen Teil zu Desserts (backen muss man wirklich nicht im Instant Pot, auch wenn es theoretisch vielleicht geht), aber der Großteil sind herzhafte Gerichte, für die man oft tatsächlich nur den Instant Pot/Schnellkochtopf braucht. Naturgemäß sind das viele Suppen, Eintöpfe, Currys, Bowls und Breie, aber keins der Rezepte wirkt lieblos oder langweilig, ganz im Gegenteil. Durch die Inspirationen aus indischer, afrikanischer und arabischer Küche hat jedes Rezept seinen eigenen Twist, der Lust aufs Ausprobieren macht. Ich koche selbst selten streng nach Rezept, aber das Buch gibt wirklich tolle Anregungen. Meine Empfehlung: das Buch ist sehr darauf getrimmt, das Kochen unter Dampf-Druck zu nutzen, aber viele der Rezepte lassen sich auch im regulären Kochprogramm oder mit einem einfachen Kochtopf machen. Die "3 Minuten Kochzeit" bei manchen Gerichten, die so verlockend klingt, ist eher eine Spielerei, da inklusive des Druckaufbaus und -ablassens doch wieder 20 Minuten vergehen. Für Nudeln und Reis lohnt sich das nicht, ich mache da nur bei Vollkorngetreide, getrockneten Hülsenfrüchten und Eintöpfen mit Kartoffeln, da es so tatsächlich schneller geht. Wer etwas mehr Geduld hat, kann diese Gerichte aber auch ohne elektrischen Schnellkochtopf zubereiten. Daher ist dieses Buch für mich wirklich Gold wert, da es einfach ein gutes Kochbuch ist, unabhängig von dem Instant-Pot-Aufhänger. Ich kann es jedem wärmstens empfehlen, der ein schönes Buch mit tollen, internationalen veganen Gerichten zur Hand haben möchte.