Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes – using pot-in-pot cooking. This technique lets you make two distinct dishes in your Instant Pot at the same time. It is especially handy for weeknight dinners.
One of my favorite pot-in-pot recipes is Instant Pot meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The potatoes are boiled in the bottom of the Instant Pot, while the meatloaf is cooked in a cake pan set atop the Instant Pot’s trivet. With pot-in-pot cooking, you can have this homemade comfort food dinner of meatloaf and mashed potatoes in under an hour.
What Is Pot-In-Pot Cooking?
Pot-in-pot cooking is a simple way to create layers in your Instant Pot. You’ll use a trivet (the one that came with your Instant Pot is best) to elevate a pan over another dish cooking in the Instant Pot at the same time. Cake pans or disposable aluminum pans work best for pot-in-pot cooking.
Instant Pot Meatloaf Pot-in-Pot
The most important step in pot-in-pot cooking is to make sure that when you set your pan inside The Instant Pot, there is enough room around it for steam to move freely and help build pressure. A six-inch cake pan works very well because it easily slides in and out of the Instant Pot.
It’s also helpful to create a sling for your pan, which makes it easier to remove the Instant Pot Meatloaf. You can make a simple aluminum foil for single use.
Pot-in-Pot (PIP) cooking is a clever technique used with the Instant Pot that allows you to cook food in a separate container placed on a trivet inside the Instant Pot’s inner pot (liner). Here’s what you need to know about it:
- Cook Multiple Dishes Simultaneously:
- With PIP, you can cook more than one dish at the same time in a single Instant Pot. Instead of cooking all ingredients directly in the inner pot, you stack separate layers of food and cook them together. It’s like creating a whole new level of “One Pot Meal.”
- Pressure Steaming:
- Instead of cooking food directly in liquid, you can use steam to cook food using the PIP technique. This is especially useful for delicate foods. Recipes that use PIP pressure steaming include:
- Instant Pot Lasagna
- Steamed Buns
- Instant Pot Bread
- Instant Pot Egg Bites
- Instant Pot Stuffing
- Bain-Marie (Water Bath) Cooking:
- PIP can mimic the bain-marie method by using moist heat cooking. It cooks food gently with uniform heat and more moisture. Recipes traditionally using the bain-marie method but adapted for the Instant Pot include:
- Instant Pot Cheesecake
- Instant Pot Flan
- Instant Pot HK Egg Custard
- Instant Pot Lava Cake
- Instant Pot Creme Brulee
In summary, PIP cooking expands the possibilities of what you can create in your Instant Pot, whether it’s combining flavors, preserving delicate textures, or cooking multiple dishes together! 🍲👩🍳
Instant Pot Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- 6″ cake pan
- Aluminum foil
Materials
For the Meatloaf
- 2 lbs. ground beef & Pork Sausage one pound each
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tbsp dried mustard or some jar mustard
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 onion diced
- 1 egg
- Salt & Pepper to taste
For Meatloaf Glaze
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
For Mashed Potatoes
- 2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes peeled and quartered
- 2 cups water
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 4 tbsp butter
Instructions
- In a large bowl add the ground beef, breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, onion, egg, spices, and salt & Pepper.
- Use your hands to combine.
- Shape into a loaf, inside of a 6-inch round cake pan; set aside.
- Combine the potatoes, water, and salt in the Instant Pot
- Place a trivet over the potatoes.
- Create a sling for the meatloaf pan by folding a 12-inch long piece of aluminum foil lengthwise into a 3-inch wide strip.
- Place the meatloaf pan in the center of the strip and then fold up the sides, so you have handles on each side.
- Lower the meatloaf pan into the Instant Pot and place on top of the trivet.
- Seal the Instant Pot and set the pressure on HIGH for 35 minutes.
- While the meatloaf cooks, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400°F.
- Stir the ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard together in a small bowl to make the glaze.
- When cooking is over, let the Instant Pot naturally release for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, manually release any remaining pressure.
- Open the Instant Pot and use the foil sling to carefully remove the meatloaf.
- Carefully drain off the fat and juices around the meatloaf.
- Brush the meatloaf with the glaze and bake for 8 mins at 400 degrees
- Drain water from potatoes and return to Instant Pot
- With the meatloaf in the oven, add the half-and-half and butter to the potatoes and mash to the desired consistency.
- Slice the meatloaf and serve with the mashed potatoes.
Great Instant Pot Recipe for comfort food
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