Pressure Cooker Times
A Guide to Pressure Cooker Cooking Times
When using a pressure cooker knowing the right pressure cooker times for different food types is essential. It’s important to get the pressure cooker timing just right because cooking for too short a time will force you to go back and re-do the cooking process.
Cooking for too long can mean that you end up with mushy overcooked food or a good equivalent of baby food!
To make things easier for you I’ve compiled a list of foodstuffs that are generally in most peoples’ diets and you are likely to want to cook in your pressure cooker with their pressure cooker cooking times.
Take note that these are averages and that you’ll still need to make adjustments for size, amount of portions and density.
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Pressure Cooker Times for Meat
The weight of the meat given below is on average 1,4kg and it was cooked using the natural release method. Use a minimum of a half cup of water or stock for shorter cooking times and up to 2 cups for longer cooking times.
Meat | Cooking time | Beef (cubed) | 10 to 15 minutes | Liver | 5 minutes | Kidney | 8 to 10 minutes | Pot roast, Rump, Brisket | 35 to 40 minutes | Steak | 20 to 25 minutes | Chicken (cubed) | 5 minutes | Drumsticks, thighs, breasts | 5 to 10 minutes | Chicken (whole) | 12 to 25 minutes | Cornish Hen (whole) | 8 to 10 minutes | Pork ribs | 15 minutes | Pork roast | 40 to 45 minutes | Turkey drumsticks | 12 minutes |
Pressure Cooker Times for Grains
One cup or 250ml of grains was use with the amount indicated with the natural release method. Only add salt when the grains are done to prevent it becoming tough.
Grains | Water | Cooking time | Barley | 4 cups | 15 to 20 minutes | Couscous | 2 cups | 2 – 3 minutes | Oats (steel cut) | 1 2/3 cups | 11 minutes | White rice | 1 1/2 cups | 5 to 6 minutes | Brown rice | 1 1/2 cups | 12 to 15 minutes | Wheat berries | 3 cups | 30 minutes |
Pressure Cooker Times for Vegetables
When using frozen vegetables remember to add an additional 1 -2 minutes cooking time.
Vegetable | Cooking time | Artichoke | 4 – 11 minutes | Asparagus | 1 to 2 minutes | Beans (whole, green) | 2 to 3 minutes | Beet (whole) | small 12 min, large 20 min | Broccoli (whole) | 2 minutes | Brussel Sprouts (whole) | 4 minutes | Cabbage (quarterd) | 3 to 4 minutes | Carrots (sliced) | 1 minutes | Cauliflower | 2 to 3 minutes | Corn on the cob | 3 minutes | Onions (whole, med. size) | 2 to 3 minutes | Peas (whole, in the pod) | 1 minutes | Potatoes (whole) | small 5 min, large 10 min | Pumpkin (sliced) | 3 to 4 minutes | Spinach | 1 minutes | Squash | sliced 4 min, halved 7 min) | Sweet potato (sliced) | 5 minutes | Tomatoes (whole) | 3 minutes | Zucchini (sliced) | 2 minutes |
Pressure Cooker Timing for Legumes
The times below relate to pre-soaking and using the natural release method eg.pull the pressure cooker from the heat after the specified cooking time to cool down and release steam naturally.
Legumes | Cooking time | Adzuki, Lima, Pinto | 2 to 3 minutes | Red Kidney, White Soy, Romano | 5 to 8 minutes | Black, Haricot, Pigeon peas | 2 to 6 minutes | Chickpeas | 9 to 14 minutes | Black Soy | 16 to 18 minutes | Peas (dried) | 4 to 6 minutes |
Pressure Cooker Times for Seafood
Put your seafood in an oiled basket on a trivet with about a ¾ cup of water. Use the quick release method to prevent it from overcooking.
Seafood | Cooking time | Fish (whole) | 5 to 6 minutes | Lobster | 2 to 3 minutes | Mussels | 2 to 3 minutes | Prawns | 1 to 2 minutes |
The pressure cooker times are averages and meant to only give you an indication of the amount of time applicable for different dishes. You need to be especially careful with seafood to make sure it is not overcooked.
Go to the High Pressure Cooker page to see all our info on pressure cookers.
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