Foolproof Instant Pot Peach Cobbler + CrispLid

In our family everyone has a story about my husband's tenacity. When he wants something done, or a problem solved, he leaves no stone unturned in his quest - no matter how long it takes. I'm more go-with-the-flow. Well, until I tried to make this Instant Pot Peach Cobbler. It took me 7 times to get it perfect. Big, huge sigh.

First, a little background. I've been wanting to make more desserts in my pressure cooker. But my biggest complaint has always been the difficulty in getting a browned crust on anything. Riding to the rescue, Mealthy recently sent me their new CrispLid, designed to solve this problem. I had to see if it worked.

This time of year, I yearn for juicy fruit cobblers topped with buttery patches of dough. You know the kind. Maybe your grandmother made them for you too. They're perfect for dessert or, as I like to say, dessert for breakfast. So, when I visited my local Farmers' market, huge cloth bags swinging from my shoulder, and spied piles of plump peaches, I knew what I would make: an Instant Pot Peach Cobbler. And frankly, I thought this would be sooooo easy. After all, the internet is full of Instant Pot Peach Cobbler recipes I thought I could use for inspiration.

As Julia Roberts famously said in Pretty Woman, Big Mistake. I had 2 big problems with many recipes I found:

1. Lots of home cooks were commenting with complaints that the recipes didn't work. Uh-oh.
2. Many recipes took an easy route for the cobble topping: cake mix + butter. While I seriously love easy, using cake mix isn't how I roll. I like to control the amount of sugar in my recipes, thank you very much, and because I live at over 7000 feet, I need to know how much baking soda or baking powder is included in a mix.

So, my challenge was to create an easy cobbler dessert cooked in the pressure cooker that worked every time without using a cake mix.

Game-Changing CrispLid by Mealthy

First of all, I couldn't have done it without Mealthy's new CrispLid. It worked like a champ. The CrispLid fits onto any 6 - 8 quart electric pressure cooker, such as the Instant Pot, turning it into an oven, allowing you to crisp or broil the top of a dish as a finishing touch.

But it's so much more that that.

It also converts your electric pressure cooker into an air-fryer!!

Next week, I'm using the CrispLid to make air-fried falafel in my Instant Pot!! I can't wait!! Carnivorous Maximus is a little less excited over the falafel, shocking everyone I'm sure, so I'm also trying chicken. He loves chicken with a crispy crust. But that's all for next week.

Why You Need the CrispLid

It fits on top of any 6- and 8-quart electric pressure cookers, such as the Instant Pot.

It's easy to set up, choose a temperature and set the timer.

You can watch the food crisping up or air-frying to prevent overdoing it. Seriously, this was one of my favorite features. When I finish something off like a cobbler or a potato gratin under the oven broiler, I keep having to pull it out to check the crust. Major pain.

It eliminates the need for purchasing an air-fryer - I'll be testing this out this week. And it's less expensive than most air-fryers on the market. This means you save $$$ and have less clutter in the kitchen and pantry!

Easy clean-up. This is my husband's favorite feature....

A fry basket, raised trivet, stainless steel tongs, a heat resistant mat, a recipe book, and of course the CrispLid are all included in the box you receive when you order it. GREAT value for the money.

You can purchase it directly from Mealthy on their website or through Amazon by clicking on the below linked photo. The price, as of this writing, is $59.95 using either site.

8 Tips for Making Cobblers in the Instant Pot

It took me 7 attempts to get this Instant Pot Peach Cobbler to "perfect and foolproof", with lessons along the way. It's embarrassing - I'm mean, I went to culinary school for professional training, have taught cooking classes, and wrote a freaking cookbook! But, hey, if you've already got it all figured out, congrats! You can skip right to the below recipe. If not, then here are my top tips for making cobblers in an electric pressure cookers, such as the Instant Pot.

• Follow a PIP method, which stands for Pot In Pot. This means don't add the fruit right to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. There may not be enough liquid, causing the pressure cooker to either give a burn warning, shut down, or never come to pressure. You must use a separate pot for making the cobbler, placed inside the electric pressure cooker.
• Be sure to add at least 1 cup water to the the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker, set the trivet on the bottom, and the cobbler on top of the trivet.
• If you like your fruit juices to thicken up a bit, feel free to add a little corn starch. The amount will depend upon how much thickening you prefer, and the size of the cobbler. Do not ever do this when adding fruit to the inner pot of the Instant Pot as the fruit will stick to the bottom and be nearly impossible to remove.
• Electric pressure cookers provide a moist cooking environment. Therefore, the pan containing the cobbler must be covered, unless you love watery, soggy crust. I recommend first covering it with a paper towel, followed by 2 tightly crimped wrappings of foil, before cooking in the Instant Pot.
• Since you're covering the cobbler, the dough should be at least ½" below the rim of your baking dish to give it room to expand (1 inch is even better for larger baking pans).
• Create foil slings if using multiple individual ramekins, to keep them stable when removing from the Instant Pot.
• Use the CrispLid by Mealthy for a gentle browning of the crust (this is a MUST).
• Allow the cobbler to cool for 10 minutes before serving to allow the crust to continue to firm up.

What Kind of Baking Pan Can I Use in My Instant Pot?

If a container does well in the oven, it should be fine for your electric pressure cooker, including oven-safe glass, ceramic, silicone, and metal. The container should not touch the inside wall of the cooker, and the lid must be able to close and seal.

For this recipe, I tried a metal cake pan, a large ceramic dish, both of which did fine, and individual ramekins. The ramekins worked by far the best. They're 8-ounce porcelain soufflé dishes, which is a refined type of ceramic. Mine are 3.5 inches in diameter at the top of the ramekin, and 3" in diameter at the bottom. They're 2.5 inches high. Most 8-ounce ramekins are 4 inches in diameter, which only allows for 3 ramekins to fit into a 6-quart Instant Pot.

Note: If you're working with an 8-quart electric pressure cooker, the 4-inch diameter ramekins are a perfect fit.

Why were individual ramekins the most successful? The crust texture was more even using these individual ramekins. And for bonus points, it was a perfect way to cook up a yummy fruit dessert for 2, and not have a large cobbler in the refrigerator calling my name for days. Assuming it would last that long. Which it wouldn't.

Which Electric Pressure Cooker Did I Use?

I have one of the early Instant Pots, which has a 6-quart capacity.

More Cobblers

For an easy cobbler baked in the oven that you can use for any summer fruit, check out this Easy Cherry Cobbler, that uses canned cherry pie filling. It also includes directions for using fresh cherries.

Cobblers don't have to be all about seasonal fruit. They can also feature an ingredient that becomes the star of the dish, such as this Pecan Cobbler.

More Peaches

When peaches are in season here, I want to use them every way I can. Fresh peaches are great roasted when making peach frozen yogurt. Or slice up some fresh peaches (no need to peel them) and pile them on top of a cake when making a peach cake or its cousin, nectarine cake.

If you're interested in other cobbler-ish desserts, check out my Strawberry-Blueberry Hibiscus Crumble which incorporates Hibiscus Tea in the berry filling, these individual Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisps (pictured below), my little Spiced Quinoa and Apple Crumble Bites, or this Cherry Cobbler + Coconut Biscuit Topping that's spiked with a little brandy.

And if you want to try another dessert in the Instant Pot, you must try this Crustless Key Lime Cheesecake.

For some other ideas with peaches or nectarines (which are really just peaches without the fuzz), check these out:

Grilled Peaches with Ginger a la Mode

Peach Panzanella Bread Salad

Blueberry Bars with Peaches, Lemon and Coconut

If you make any of these dishes, I'd love to see how they turned out! Just post a photo to Instagram and tag me using @wimpyvegetarian! You can also use the #wimpyvegetarian!

Disclosures:

1. Affiliate links are included in this post. This means I receive a few pennies when you click on the links, and a few more if you purchase the product. There is no additional cost to you when you purchase the products.
2. I received a free CrispLid product package from Mealthy to review. All opinions are my own.