How to Boil Water in an Instant Pot (2 Ways!)
When your electric kettle is broken and the stove is occupied, the best way to boil a pot of water is by using your instant pot! These step-by-step instructions on How to Boil Water in an Instant Pot will also give you tips on what to use the water for!
Servings: 2 + cups of boiled water
Ingredients
- Water
- Instant Pot or electric pressure cooker
Instructions
For 1-2 cups of water
- Prepare your instant pot: First thing, make sure it is clean and has no extra components like the steamer basket inside.
- Add water: Add the water to the bottom of the pot inside the instant pot. You can use either hot or cold water, however, hot tap water will take less time to boil than cold. Be sure to measure so you don't go over 2 cups!
- Select the saute function: Press the sauté button on the bottom left of the instant pot, and make sure it is on high pressure.
- Allow it to boil: You'll know the water is boiling when bubbles start to appear on the surface of the water. This is called a rolling boil. It takes 5-6 minutes to reach a boil.
- Serve: The water is now ready to use!
For more than 2 cups of water
- Prepare your instant pot: Make sure it is clean and has no extra components like the steamer basket inside.
- Add water: Add the desired amount of water to the inner pot of the instant pot. You can use either hot or cold water, however, hot tap water will take less time to boil than cold.
- Seal the lid: Place the lid on top of the instant pot and make sure the float valve on the instant pot lid is set to the "sealed" position as opposed to "venting".
- Turn on the instant pot: All you have to do is press the pressure cook button on the bottom right.
- Set it on high pressure: Make sure your instant pot is set on high pressure to ensure a higher temperature when it's finished. This is the hottest setting on the instant pot. When it's finished, I like to also leave mine on "keep warm" but it's not vital.
- Set the cook time: Adjust the cooking time to 3 minutes and after a few seconds the digital screen will switch to "on". Now it will begin to build pressure until it reaches the higher pressure and temperature, and then it will begin counting down from 3 minutes.
- Quick release: After the 3 minutes are up, switch the valve on the lid to "venting" to release the pressure quickly. We want to be as close to the boiling point of water, and a natural release on the pressure cooker will cool the water too much.
- Serve: After the floating valve has dropped, remove the lid and serve!
Notes
- Caution: Hot water! Yes, this water will be HOT when it's finished boiling so be very careful when handling the instant pot, especially when switching the valve from sealing to venting. I recommend using oven gloves to protect your hands as hot liquids can burn terribly.
- How much water? As much as you need! If you're cooking vegetables or pasta with it, you'll need enough water to submerge the food. Make sure you don't pass the "Max" line on the inside of your instant pot.
- Keep it hot! Have you used the sauté function before? It's so handy for cooking in the instant pot! The best way to retain the heat of the water is to switch the pressure cooker on to saute mode after it's finished venting.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g