Quicker Than Quick!

April 10, 2024

“Let’s take as long as possible to get dinner on the table”….said no one! If you’re like me, you’re always seeking ways to shorten the time it takes to make dinner. I have lots of helpful strategies… like making sure I have a plan, shopping for the ingredients I will need and prepping the ingredients ahead of time. I really like use my air fryer or instant pot to speed up the actual cooking time.

So imagine my delight when I found out DinnerTime has added Instant Pot and Air Fryer to cooking equipment available in my Profiles. Just open one of your Profiles and scroll to the section titled Skill Level. Click on (or off) the cooking equipment you have available. The next time you spin a Meal Plan, you may see recipes using these time-saving appliances. You can also search for “air fryer” or” instant pot” recipes in your DinnerTime Recipe Box. I love that DinnerTime is always looking for ways to make my life easier!

If you haven’t yet cooked with an air fryer or an instant pot, you will be delighted with the results. Both shorten the cooking time and often have healthier results. Let’s get into each piece of equipment and the pros and cons of each.

Air-Fryer

Just like the name suggests, an air fryer cooks hot and quickly by circling air around the food. It’s similar to a convection oven, only more intense and faster.

Pros:

Time Saving: They heat up super fast. Typically, most air fryers can preheat to 400°F in five minutes or less, while gas ovens can take up to 13 minutes, and electric ovens between 17 and 19 minutes. My teenage son loves it because he can make a basket of wings in no time!
Versatile: Make everything from yummy crispy fries to moist and tender salmon. I’ve even cooked a whole chicken in my air fryer.
Cost Saving: Heats up so fast and cooks quicker. Plus, you may be more likely to reheat foods since the air fryer can bring your leftovers back to their original crispiness. Yum!
Calorie Cutting: Use less oil. It reduces calories by 70% to 80% and has a lot less fat than traditional methods of frying. Achieve delicious results with little to no oil. Sometimes just a spray of your favorite cooking oil is all you need.
Speeds Clean Up: Use liners that are easy to toss or clean. Traditional fryers or other methods require more oil…to spill and clean. Most air fryer baskets can go right into your dishwasher.

Cons:

Can overcook foods so watch your time. Since air fryers heat up very quickly, and retain their hot temperature longer, this often speeds up the cooking process. Conversely, if you don’t pre-heat, your food may be undercooked. Be sure to read your manufacturer’s guidelines for the appropriate settings.
Smaller capacity of an air fryer means you may not be able to feed more than four at a time. I often will do two batches of fries for our family. They cook so quickly that it works for us.
Must “shake” the basket at least once during cooking so that the air has an opportunity to circulate evenly. I don’t find this a problem, and I like to check on the progress of the food anyway.
Space-grabber by taking up valuable real estate in my kitchen. We use this appliance often enough that it makes sense to leave it on the counter. There are some newer models that incorporate a toaster-oven with the air fryer capabilities so you can get two functions in one machine.

Instant Pot

Instant pots cook fast, super hot and with high pressure resulting in tender and tasty results.

Pros:

Multi-Use: Pressure cooking, slow cooking, rice cooking, steaming, warming and sautéing. Wow!
Quicker Than Quick: Dishes that usually take all day to cook are done in a fraction of the time, such as tough cuts of meat, beef brisket, pork shoulder plus soups, stews. Rice and beans are finished faster too. In general, using an instant pot can reduce your cooking time by about two thirds. The steam and energy is trapped inside, whereas with regular pots a lot of the energy escapes.
Easy Clean Up: No overflowing pots on the stovetop. Because the top locks down there won’t be spills, plus you won’t need to constantly be stirring or flipping and messing up the area around the instant pot.
Environmentally Friendly: Uses less energy than a traditional stove top and oven. Converts into lower energy bills!
Healthier: Nutrients are better retained. The shorter cooking times and controlled temperatures help preserve vitamins and minerals that are otherwise lost in longer cooking processes.

Cons:

Collectively cooking means everything must be cooked for the same amount of time. It takes practice to figure out what you want to make in your instant pot. Some folks use it to make perfect rice, others like to make the entire meal in one pot like a stew.
Don’t over-cook. A few extra minutes can make a big difference. Consult your manufacturer’s instructions. Mine came with a How-to booklet that was helpful.
Space-grabber on your countertop.

To Get Started:

Both appliances are wonderful ways to make tasty meals, faster and healthier. Here are some fun ideas to get in the swing of using these great tools.

Borrow an air fryer or an instant pot from a friend so you can try one out. Also, ask for tips.
Share favorite recipes. He makes your recipe and you make his… and then compare notes.
Hold an “Air Fryer” pot-luck night. Everyone brings their air fryer and makes a different dish to compare and share. (I’m dying to try these Air Fryer Bacon Avocado Fries!)
Learn a new recipe you want to share with DinnerTime? Send us the recipe atYou can email us at recipes@dinnertime.com with a photo or a scan or the URL of your recipe. We will enter them into the DinnerTime database and add them to your Favorites in your Recipe Box.