Instant Pot Electric Cooker Pot-in-Pot (PIP) Cooking Tips & Tricks

Want to cook multiple recipes at once?
Pot in Pot’ (PIP) is a cooking method that allows cooking to the next level. The Pot in Pot cooking technique allows to cook multiple recipes at once!
Initially, PIP method was used for the food that would stick to the bottom of the pot, and to prevent that, small pot is placed inside the big pot with little water. Then came stackable steaming/cooking pot and the whole cooking concept became popular. Today, stackable pots are used to cook multiple recipes together at once.
I grew up seeing my mother cooking multiple recipes at once in her tall aluminum container with pots stacked inside the container. My father is a farmer and my mother is a housewife. She cooked for about 10-12 people almost every single day, 3 times a day! And during the harvesting season, workers on the farm also need to be fed so the PIP method was very helpful back then.
I followed the same footsteps of my mother and kept the tradition alive. Most of the time, I use pressure cooker PIP method but one can use big pot containers to follow the same method. So quick and convenient.
Now, few question may pop on your mind. For example what to cook together and how long to cook?
When cooking more than one thing while using the Pot-in-Pot method, you’ll determine your time based on what you’re cooking on the trivet. For example, if you’re making rice and chicken – you’ll cook for the amount of time the chicken will need since the chicken will be in a separate bowl on the trivet, and the rice in the bottom.
The next question you might have is what kind of pots can be used for PIP method?
Determining what type of “pot” to use in your pot really depends on what you’re cooking. If you’re making a cheesecake it might make more sense to use a springform pan, whereas if you’re making Beans & Legumes, it might make more sense to use steel pots. It ultimately won’t make or break your meal either way! Just make sure it’s oven safe!
I cook a lot and I prefer to invest in the right utensils that can save me time and energy.
Watch the video below to cook multiple food at once using PIP method.

And who wouldn’t love to cook Indian food with ease! I prepare my Thali meals using pip method.
Below is the video to get ideas on how one can prepare thali meal that includes multiple food items, in electric or Instant pot cooker using pip cooking. Indian cooking is elaborate and lot of us become reluctant to prepare, specially when tired after a long day, now you can set your cooker to work for you.

My favorite combinations to cook all the time are
Beans & Legumes like Kidney and Chickpea, Black Beans and Black Eyed Peas, White Cannelloni beans and Pinto Beans together and refrigerate or freeze them for later use in salads and soups.
Lentils with Rice
Grains that takes the same amount of time like traditional oat and Barley, Quinoa with Rolled oats and so on.
The possibilities are endless so I wish you happy PIP cooking!