Baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, pasta, yogurt, steamed veggies, lots of rice dishes, pulled pork, chicken, venison, Thanksgiving turkey breast when it’s just the 3 of us

It’s extremely helpful when I forget to thaw meat for dinner (which is more often than not)

There is a trick to the pasta, but it saves me from panic dashing into the kitchen when the pot boils over because I forgot to check it

I cook most of our meals in it. We even have 2 so I can cook the meat separately since I’m vegetarian

But wait! There’s more! (not really, I just know I sound like an infomercial)

It's great for making chili, since 7 minutes of pressure cooking replaces an hour of simmering, It can make quick rice based meals with the addition of a handful of ingredients like a rice cooker can, and replaces a slow cooker for any meals that require it.

It also can make yogurt, though I haven't tried that yet myself.

The game changer is stock. Keep a bag of vegetable waste (and bones if you’re doing that) in the freezer. Fill to the max line then add cold water to that line as well. Add peppercorns, mustard seeds, whatever and 30 minutes gets you as good as the best store bought for ~free. An hour gets you restaurant style and 1:30 gets you basically rich, dark soup base. I used to roast bones and vegetable bits before boiling to get more color but that’s not required with the instant pot and you also aren’t running a big ol pot on the stove for hours.

Most people don’t make their own stock because it takes so long and is heavily tied to frugality. When you’re getting basically a kitchen defining ingredient for free at the press of a button the calculus changes and also anyone you give food to will be genuinely amazed.

The yoghurt function is good. I don’t eat enough yoghurt to use it but you’re getting homemade for basically the cost of milk.

Mashed potatoes are fast too.