Eight minutes for something smaller like the red kuri in these photos. So, try ten minutes for a large kabocha that is almost as big across as the pot. The chart doesn’t speak about whole squash, but it does say to cook large pieces of pumpkin for 8-10 minutes. Instant Pot’s own cook time chart says to cook whole sweet potatoes for 5-8 minutes, and a sweet potato takes just as long, or longer to bake than a winter squash. I know this is true because the first four instant pot squash recipes I found all said to pressure cook the squash for 20 minutes. Okay food bloggers, admit it: you’ve been googling other people’s recipes, trying it once just like that in order to take pictures, and calling it done. If it were beef, you’d put stew meat, or short ribs, or oxtail in an instant pot, but certainly not an expensive steak! Jump to Recipe The Problem With Other Instant Pot Squash Recipes So, you’ve got to choose foods-in this case squash-that get a nice boost to texture and flavor from this treatment. You are making steam that is hotter than the boiling point and using pressure to push that hot steam into your food. With an Instant Pot, it’s important to keep in mind that you are essentially stewing or steaming whatever’s in it. You’ve now got a perfectly delicious pumpkin puree, ready for your recipes. Then, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. So, one great thing about the Instant Pot method is that it allows you to cook your squash first and peel and seed it later, once everything is soft.Īs in this photo of a pressure-cooked red kuri squash, the peel and a thin outer layer of attached flesh comes right off with the lightest touch. According to one of my favorite seed catalogs, Fedco Seeds, seminole pumpkin is so hard you’ve got to crack it like a coconut. There’s a variety called ‘seminole pumpkin’ which I’ve never cooked myself. Some winter squashes are hard to peel or cut. Red Kuri squash is easy to peel after cooking in the Instant Pot.

Ip acorn squash