Most people buy a multi cooker for the obvious things, stews, curries, a proper batch of rice on a weeknight. What tends to surprise people is everything else it can do once you know how to use it. Here are five recipes that go well beyond the usual, each one built around a preset already sitting on the control panel.
Q-Chef was built to offer a full set of traditional cooking functions, Sauté, Slow Cook, Simmer and more, alongside its full range of pressure cooking presets, such as Meat/Stew, Poultry and Soup, with a dedicated Steaming Rack and accessories included as standard. It's the difference between a pressure cooker that does one thing well and one that quietly covers a full afternoon of cooking, from a savoury lunch through to dessert, without a single extra gadget on the counter.
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Why Q-Chef Works Well For These Recipes (And Many More)
Q-Chef is a good companion in the kitchen because it doesn't ask you to choose between quick and slow. It moves easily between a fast sear and hours of patient, unattended cooking, all from the same pot, which means it earns its place on the counter rather than sitting in a cupboard waiting for the right occasion. The five recipes below aren't the reason most people buy one, but they're a good measure of just how much it's built to do.
1. Overnight Yogurt
The Q-Chef comes with a Yogurt setting. It uses gentle, sustained low heat to ferment milk into something considerably better than most shop-bought versions.
Ingredients
- 1.5 litres full or semi-skimmed milk
- 2 tbsp plain yogurt with live cultures (as a starter)
- Fruit or compote, to serve (optional)
Method
- Add the milk to the inner pot and heat briefly if following a boil method, or use straight from the fridge for a no-boil method.
- Once the milk is at the right starting temperature (check a conventional yogurt recipe for specifics, since this varies by method), whisk in the starter yogurt.
- Lock the lid and select the Yogurt preset on Low temperature.
- Leave it to incubate for 6 to 12 hours depending on how thick and tangy you want the result.
- Once finished, decant and chill. Stir through fruit or compote to serve.
2. Perfectly Boiled Eggs
Not something you'd necessarily associate with a pressure cooker, but cooking eggs this way is one of the most repeated "why didn't I know this sooner" discoveries among home cooks
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 400ml water
Method
- Place the Steaming Rack in the pot with the water underneath.
- Arrange the eggs on top of the rack.
- Lock the lid and select the Steam preset on High pressure for 7 minutes.
- Use a quick pressure release once done, then transfer the eggs straight into a cold water bath.
- Peel once cooled. The shells should come away cleanly rather than stubbornly.
3. Delightful Cheesecake
The Dessert preset exists for exactly this kind of result.
Ingredients
- 250g digestive biscuits, crushed
- 75g butter, melted
- 500g cream cheese
- 150g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 400ml water (for steaming)
Method
- Mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter and press into the base of a small, oven-safe tin that fits inside the inner pot.
- Beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla together until smooth, then pour over the biscuit base.
- Cover the tin loosely with foil.
- Place it on the Steaming Rack with the water beneath.
- Select the Dessert preset on Low pressure and let the sealed, steamy environment do the work, a famously even, crack-free finish that an oven's dry heat struggles to match.
- Use a natural steam release afterwards, which helps prevent the cheesecake sinking as it cools. Chill fully before serving.
4. Fudgy Brownies
The same Dessert preset handles brownies just as well, and the steaming method works in their favour.
Ingredients
- 150g dark chocolate, chopped
- 125g butter
- 200g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 75g plain flour
- 30g cocoa powder
- 400ml water (for steaming)
Method
- Melt the chocolate and butter together, then stir in the sugar and eggs.
- Fold in the flour and cocoa powder until just combined.
- Pour the batter into a lined tin that fits inside the pot.
- Cover the tin and place it on the Steaming Rack, with the water beneath.
- Select the Dessert preset on Low pressure, the same setting used for the cheesecake.
- Let it steam through fully, rather than checking or opening the lid partway.
- Cool before slicing. The result should be denser and fudgier than an oven bake, since the whole tin cooks evenly rather than the edges finishing before the centre.
5. Homemade Granola
The one recipe on this list that doesn't use pressure at all, and a good reminder that a multi cooker earns its name for a reason.
Ingredients
- 300g rolled oats
- 100g mixed nuts, roughly chopped
- 50g seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, or a mix)
- 3 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Method
- Leave the lid off entirely.
- Select the Sauté preset.
- Add the oats, nuts, seeds, honey, oil and cinnamon, stirring to coat evenly.
- Stir every few minutes until evenly golden, keeping an eye on it throughout rather than leaving it unattended.
- Cool completely before storing, so it crisps up properly rather than turning soft.
An Appliance Worth The Counter Space
Five recipes won't change how you cook every day. But the first time you lift a proper cheesecake out of a pot you bought for stew, something shifts, quietly, the way good design tends to. That's the real case for a multi cooker, not the big, obvious wins, but the small ones that keep revealing themselves months in.
Ready to see what else it can do? Shop the QOVO Multi Pressure Cooker
FAQs About Pressure Cooker Recipes with Q-Chef
How do I use a pressure cooker for something other than savoury cooking?
The same core principle applies, seal the lid, choose the right preset, and let pressure and heat do the work. For desserts and eggs specifically, the difference is using the Steaming Rack to keep food out of the water itself, so it cooks through steam rather than boiling directly.
Can I make yogurt without a dedicated yogurt setting?
Not as reliably. A dedicated Yogurt preset holds a very specific low, steady temperature for many hours, which is difficult to replicate manually without regularly checking and adjusting.
Why do pressure cooker cheesecakes come out so evenly?
The sealed, moist environment cooks far more gently and consistently than an oven's dry heat, which is why pressure cooker cheesecakes rarely crack or brown unevenly on top.
Do I need any special equipment for these recipes?
Just the Steaming Rack, which is included, for the eggs and both desserts. The yogurt and granola need nothing beyond the inner pot itself.
Can I make a bigger batch of any of these?
Yes, within the pot's fill lines. Cheesecake and brownie tins should still leave clearance around the edges for steam to circulate, so it's worth checking the tin fits comfortably on the rack before starting.
