Our Pick of the Best Pressure Cooker Cookbooks on the Market

You just bought a new pressure cooker (congrats!). Now what? If you’re like most people, you grew up with mom cooking the old fashioned way – with a pot and a pan. How do you even begin to adjust your favorite recipes to cook in a pressure cooker? A good cookbook.

Great Food Fast : Bob Warden’s Ultimate Pressure Cooker Recipes	Our favorite for 2020
The Instant Pot® Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook: Easy Recipes for Fast & Healthy Meals	A very close runner-up
Pressure Cooker Perfection: 100 Foolproof Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook	A great book

There are dozens of pressure cooker cookbooks on the market today. Which one do you choose? Before we share our top cookbook picks, here are some things to keep in mind when comparing them:

• Pressure Cooker Type: Are the recipes designed for electric or stove-top pressure cookers? Some have adaptations for both. One book we’re going to review has excellent recipes, but they call for a stove-top cooker. Be sure to find out what type of cooker the recipes use, so you can choose a book that you can actually use.
• Types of Recipes: What types of recipes are included? Some books focus on dinners, others on desserts, and others on everything. Choose a book that includes all the recipe types you could want.
• Ingredients Used: What type of ingredients are used in the recipes? Some books have incredibly simple recipes that may even use pre-prepared items to speed up cooking even further. Others call for fresh ingredients or items that are harder to find. Make sure you have an understanding of what types of ingredients are used, so you can choose a book that matches your cooking style.
• Reviews: Check out the reviews for the book before buying. Recipes often sound – maybe even look – great, but may taste terrible. See what other people are saying about the food and its flavor.

The Top Pressure Cooker Recipe Book Reviews for 2020

Great Food Fast by Bob Warden – Who says great food has to take hours to cook? Bob Warden’s Great Food Fast includes more than 120 pressure cooker recipes inspired by users. The book also includes five of Bob’s signature recipes, which he revamped to make even better.

From macaroni and cheese to pork chops and pot roast, this book includes recipes for some of your favorite meals and comfort foods.

If you’re a busy family and always on the go, this is the ideal cookbook for you. The recipes in this cookbook use simple, easy-to-find ingredients (some pre-prepared) to get dinner on the table in less than an hour.

The Instant Pot Cookbook by Laurel Randolph – From one of the most famous pressure cooker manufacturers – Instant Pot – this cookbook includes healthy, simple and easy recipes that even the kids will love.

From hearty breakfasts to delicious stews and desserts, you’ll find a recipe you’re sure to love. The book even includes gluten-free, vegetarian and Paleo-friendly options.

The Instant Pot Cookbook has more than 100 recipes and uses fresh, healthy ingredients. All recipes include pressure levels, prep times and cooking times, so you know exactly what to expect.

If you love variety and prefer to cook with healthy, fresh ingredients, this cookbook is the right choice for you.

America’s Test Kitchen’s Pressure Cooker Perfection – Written by the famed America’s Test Kitchen, Pressure Cooker Perfection includes 100 recipes. And because this is America’s Test Kitchen, you know these recipes were tested and tried over and over again.

In fact, they ran hundreds of tests on 15 pressure cookers when creating this book to find out what works best over a variety of cookers.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, you’ll find that these recipes are easy to follow and taste delicious.

But it’s important to note that the recipes in Pressure Cooker Perfection are designed for stovetop pressure cookers. With that said, many people have successfully cooked dishes in this book with an electric model using a few minor tweaks.

The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough – “Great Big” is a fitting title for this book, which contains a staggering 500 recipes. You’ll find recipes for grains, soups, breakfasts, vegetables and even desserts.

The great thing about this book is that it includes both stove-top and electric pressure cooker recipes.

Every recipe includes instructions for each type of pressure cooker as well as the appropriate pressure setting and cooking time. The book takes all the guesswork out of cooking with a pressure cooker.

With hundreds of recipes to choose from, this cookbook is a great resource for people who use their pressure cookers often. And these delicious recipes cook up 70% faster than with conventional cooking methods.

The Best Pressure Cooker Recipes on the Planet by Debra Murray – Debra Murray’s book title may sound like a bold claim (the best recipes on the planet), but she may be on to something. Each and every one of her recipes is quick, easy, triple-tested and family-approved.

If you have kids, the words “family-approved” are magic to your ears. And there are more than 200 recipes in this book. From dinner to dessert, you can cook just about any meal in your pressure cooker with this book as your guide.

This book includes gorgeous full-color photos and uses fresh ingredients for healthy meals. Most recipes make enough for 6-8 servings, so this book is ideal for larger families.

Buyer’s Guide – How to Choose the Right  Pressure Cooker Cookbook for You

Now that you have your new pressure cooker, you’re ready to dive right in and start cooking. We’ve shared some great cookbooks to help you find one that suits your cooking style and tastes. Which one do you choose?

Earlier we discussed important things to consider when comparing books. Here are a few other things to keep in mind when choosing a pressure cooker cookbook:

• Number of Recipes: How many recipes are included in the book? Some have a dozen, while others have hundreds. If you like to cook at home, you may want a book with a lot of recipes. Most of the ones on our list have at least a hundred recipes, which should be more than sufficient for most families.
• Author: Who wrote the book? Is the author a famous chef or well-known guest cook? The quality of the recipes will largely depend on who’s creating them. Opt for a book from someone who knows what they’re doing (like America’s Test Kitchen, for example) and has a proven track record in the industry.
• Quality of Instructions: Are the recipe’s instructions well-written? Are the recipes easy to follow and include all of the information you need (pressure settings, cook time, etc.)? Opt for a book that has easy-to-follow recipes and clear instructions.
• Photos: Does the cookbook have photos? While not the most important factor, it does help to be able to see what the recipe looks like. Some books have more photos than others, so keep this in mind if you’re a visual person who prefers to see the recipe before trying it.
• Price: Finally, keep in mind the cost of the cookbook. Most pressure cooker cookbooks are highly affordable, but it’s still important to set a budget. Choose a cookbook that has the recipes you want and comes at a price you can afford.