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Dinner in an Instant by Melissa Clark Review: A Flavor-Forward Weeknight Pressure Cooker Guide
Melissa Clark's *Dinner in an Instant* delivers 75 all-new recipes designed to prove that pressure cooker, multicooker, and Instant Pot cooking need not mean trading flavor for convenience — a practical, well-organized cookbook from one of food journalism's most recognizable voices. This review assesses the book's content, structure, and published reception; it does not represent a kitchen test.
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Best for
Home cooks who own a pressure cooker, multicooker, or Instant Pot and want bold, globally influenced weeknight recipes — from Coconut Curry Chicken to wild-mushroom risotto — without sacrificing the quality they'd expect from a longer, more labor-intensive cook.
Worth it if
Worth it if you want a focused, flavor-forward appliance cookbook from a trusted voice whose 75 all-new recipes come annotated with dietary info and multi-setting instructions, whether you're new to the machine or a returning Clark reader.
Skip if
Skip it if you're after a comprehensive, technique-deep pressure cooker reference or prefer minimal, neutral seasoning — at 75 purposely curated recipes, it's a tightly scoped collection rather than an encyclopedic guide.
What readers & critics say
Bookendsandbeginnings.com relays The Boston Globe's verdict that the recipes are "as reliable as they are appealing," while barnesandnoble.com carries a HuffPost note that the book "incorporates everything people loved about Dinner, but is geared toward using our favorite easy cooking appliances."
Sources: Bookends & Beginnings, Barnes & Noble4.4from 1,392 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
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Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot brings Melissa Clark's signature flavor-forward sensibility — think gochujang, harissa, and preserved lemons — to countertop appliance cooking across 75 entirely new recipes, making a compelling case that the Instant Pot need not mean settling for bland convenience food. Published critics including The Boston Globe and Lauren Iannotti of Rachael Ray Every Day praise the recipes for their clarity and reliability, and the book's introductory equipment guide makes it especially well-suited to new appliance owners. The key caveat is scope and palate fit: at 75 recipes, the collection is curated rather than encyclopedic, and Clark's consistently bold, globally influenced seasoning will delight adventurous cooks while feeling assertive to those who prefer minimalist flavors.
- Is it worth reading?
- For home cooks who own a pressure cooker, multicooker, or Instant Pot and want weeknight-practical recipes that don't sacrifice flavor, Dinner in an Instant earns strong endorsements from published sources. The Boston Globe called the recipes "as reliable as they are appealing," and Lauren Iannotti of Rachael Ray Every Day noted they are "clearer than the guide that came with my machine" — a meaningful endorsement for anyone frustrated by appliance documentation. The caveat is fit: the collection's 75-recipe scope is deliberately curated rather than exhaustive, and Clark's assertive, globally influenced seasoning is a feature for adventurous cooks but may feel like too much for readers who prefer simpler, more neutral flavors.
- Who should read this?
- Dinner in an Instant is designed for home cooks who own a pressure cooker, multicooker, or Instant Pot and want weeknight-practical recipes that don't trade flavor for convenience. The publisher specifically positions it as ideal for someone new to or newly receiving a multicooker, given the introductory equipment guide and per-recipe appliance annotations. It equally rewards Clark's existing readership — followers of her New York Times "A Good Appetite" column or readers of her cookbook Dinner — who want the same bold, globally influenced sensibility routed through a time-saving appliance.
- Similar books
- Readers who enjoy Dinner in an Instant may want to explore several related titles. Molly Baz's Cook This Book: Techniques That Teach shares Clark's emphasis on building confident, flavor-forward home cooking with clear instruction. Samin Nosrat's Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking offers a complementary deep-dive into the underlying principles that make everyday cooking taste better — a natural pairing for Clark's ingredient-forward philosophy. For a different appliance angle, The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide by Sam Milner and Dom Milner covers countertop cooking in a similarly practical, recipe-driven format. J. Kenji López-Alt's The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science provides the encyclopedic technique depth that Dinner in an Instant deliberately sets aside, making it a strong companion volume for cooks who want more exhaustive coverage.
- About Melissa Clark
- Melissa Clark is an American food writer, cookbook author, and New York Times columnist.
- How bold are the flavors?
- Clark's flavor profile in Dinner in an Instant is consistently assertive and globally influenced — recipes draw on ingredients like gochujang, harissa, preserved lemons, garlic, and ginger, distinguishing the book from more cautious appliance cookbooks that tone down seasoning in the name of broad appeal. This approach is one of the book's most praised qualities among published sources, with HuffPost noting it incorporates "everything people loved about Dinner." Readers who prefer neutral or minimalist cooking should be aware that bold seasoning is a through-line across all eight chapter sections, not limited to a few standout dishes.
- Are recipes labeled for dietary needs?
- Yes — each recipe in Dinner in an Instant is annotated with dietary information and notes indicating which appliance setting best suits it. Recipes also include instructions for cooking on multiple settings, meaning the book does not strand owners of just one type of machine. This level of annotation was specifically highlighted by Lauren Iannotti of Rachael Ray Every Day, who called the recipes "clearer than the guide that came with my machine."
Summarize this book
Is it worth reading?
Who should read this?
About Melissa Clark
How bold are the flavors?
Are recipes labeled for dietary needs?
Summarize this book
Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot is a hardcover cookbook by Melissa Clark, published by Clarkson Potter in October 2017. Its 75 entirely new recipes — organized into chapters covering Yogurt, Cheese & Eggs; Meats; Seafood; Grains & Pasta; Beans; Soups; Vegetables; and Desserts — aim to prove that pressure cooker cooking can deliver the same bold, globally influenced flavors Clark is known for from her New York Times column and earlier cookbook Dinner. Representative dishes include Coconut Curry Chicken, a wild-mushroom risotto, and a Leek & Artichoke Frittata, and the book opens with a practical equipment guide for less experienced appliance users.
Follow up
How is the book organized?
Are these recipes from her other books?
Does it explain how to use the appliance?
Synthesized from verified book data & published reviews · How we review
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Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
Skip if you want a comprehensive, encyclopedic pressure cooker reference or prefer simple, neutral flavor profiles over bold, globally influenced seasoning.
Our Review
A focused, flavor-driven cookbook that makes a strong case for the Instant Pot without asking cooks to settle for less on the plate.
What the Book Is and What It Contains
Interior page showing a stir-fried vegetable dish with peppers and greens, demonstrating flavorful pressure cooker recipes.
Dinner in an Instant: 75 Modern Recipes for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot is a hardcover cookbook published by Clarkson Potter in October 2017. Its 75 recipes are organized into chapter-by-chapter sections covering Yogurt, Cheese & Eggs; Meats; Seafood; Grains & Pasta; Beans; Soups; Vegetables; and Desserts — a structure that makes the book navigable whether a cook is hunting for a weeknight protein or a hands-off side. Representative dishes named in the publisher's materials include a Leek & Artichoke Frittata, Coconut Curry Chicken, and a wild-mushroom risotto, illustrating Clark's stated ambition: bring her signature arsenal of bold flavors — garlic, ginger, preserved lemons, gochujang, harissa — to countertop appliance cooking without softening them. The book opens with an introductory section explaining Clark's rationale for writing it and a practical guide to understanding the electric pressure cooker, giving less experienced users a foundation before any recipe begins.
Melissa Clark's Place in Food Writing
Clark is a staff writer for critical coverage, where she writes the long-running column "A Good Appetite" and hosts a complementary weekly video series — a platform that has made her, in the publisher's own description, a generational authority on raising the quality of everyday home cooking without adding complication. Dinner in an Instant followed her earlier cookbook Dinner*, and publisher materials note that all 75 recipes here are entirely new — not reprints or adaptations from prior work. That continuity of brand matters: readers already familiar with Clark's flavor-forward, practicality-first approach know what the book is oriented toward, and first-time readers get a clear statement of intent from the outset.
Strengths: Instruction, Annotation, and Accessibility
The book's most consistently praised quality across published sources is the clarity and usefulness of Clark's instruction. Lauren Iannotti, editor in chief of Rachael Ray Every Day, is quoted by the publisher stating that the recipes are "clearer than the guide that came with my machine" — a pointed endorsement for anyone who found their appliance's own documentation frustrating. Each recipe is annotated with dietary information and notes indicating which appliance setting best suits it; recipes also include instructions for cooking on multiple settings, so the book does not strand owners of one type of machine. The Boston Globe is quoted in publisher materials calling the recipes "as reliable as they are appealing," and HuffPost described the book as incorporating "everything people loved about Dinner" while being squarely oriented toward easy cooking appliances. PureWow called it simply "a much-needed book."
Scope and Genuine Limitations
The book's strength — a tight focus on 75 recipes for one category of appliance — is also the natural boundary of its usefulness. Cooks looking for an encyclopedic pressure cooker reference covering technique in depth, or those hoping to expand into highly specialized appliance functions beyond slow cooker, pressure cooker, and standard Instant Pot settings, will find the collection purposely curated rather than exhaustive. The flavor profile Clark favors — bold, globally influenced, ingredient-forward — runs consistently through the chapters; readers who prefer simpler, more neutral cooking may find the seasoning approach assertive. These are matters of scope and taste rather than flaws, but they are worth naming for a buyer trying to match the book to their kitchen habits.
Who This Book Is For
Dinner in an Instant is designed for home cooks who own a pressure cooker, multicooker, or Instant Pot and want recipes that are practical for weeknight use without sacrificing the kind of flavor typically associated with longer, more labor-intensive cooking. The publisher specifically positions it as "what you give" someone who is new to or newly receiving a multicooker — a reasonable framing, given the introductory equipment guide and the recipe-level annotations. Equally, the cookbook is built to reward Clark's existing readership: those who follow her New York Times column and have cooked from Dinner will find the same sensibility here, now routed through an appliance that compresses time without compressing taste.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
melissaclark.net
- Further reading
- 3
Melissa Clark, Wikipedia
- 4
cooking.nytimes.com
- 5
- 6
penguinrandomhouse.com
- 7
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