I’ve never been a stranger to cooking and I’ve always enjoyed cooking my own meals. Sure, I eat vegan chips and snacks when I’m in a rush, but I far prefer cooking. Before reading Jill Nussinow’s Vegan Under Pressure, though, I had never used a pressure cooker.
Vegan Under Pressure is basically a giant how-to manual on vegan pressure cooking. In her book, Jill (aka, “The Veggie Queen,” as she’s known on her blog) shows you everything you need to know about pressure cooking.
Then, she gives you tons of amazing vegan recipes that you can make using a pressure cooker.
From delicious plant-based breakfasts to dinner and dessert, Vegan Under Pressure has proven to be one of the most-used cookbooks on my shelf. So, without further ado, here is my complete Vegan Under Pressure review!
Vegan Under Pressure: Review Summary
Rating: 10/10
Topic: Vegan cookbook centered around pressure cooking.
Summary:
Many readers know author Jill Nussinow from her online blog, The Veggie Queen, where she frequently posts delicious vegan recipes and promotes plant-based eating tips. She also has a small YouTube channel that you can view here as well.
Jill is best known for her delicious vegan recipes that can be quickly and easily made with a pressure cooker. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, trust me – you’ll want one after reading the introduction of Vegan Under Pressure.
Jill starts her book off by giving her readers a crash course in pressure cooking. She explains how pressure cookers work, the different types of pressure cookers, and why pressure cooking is great when it comes to plant-based eating.
After pressure cooking 101, the rest of the book reads just like a good cookbook should! There are tons of amazing plant-based recipes.
From “Bejeweled Black Rice Salad” to “Vegetable Chickpea Pie,” and “Artichokes In Minutes,” Jill finds creative recipes that will revolutionize the way you eat vegetables.
She doesn’t just stop at savory, though. Jill also includes a number of incredible vegan desserts. So far, the best dessert I’ve tried from her book has been the “Straightforward Cashew Lemon Cheesecake,” made with vegan cheese.
If you’ve been looking to get more creative in the kitchen and you’re not opposed to learning how to use a pressure cooker, then Vegan Under Pressure is definitely worth checking out.
What I Like About Vegan Under Pressure:
- Includes thorough instructions on how to use a pressure cooker.
- Offers good advice for buying a good pressure cooker.
- Delicious, savory plant-based recipes.
- Plenty of sweet plant-based desserts.
What I Don’t Like About Vegan Under Pressure:
- Every recipe requires a pressure cooker, which many people don’t have.
Vegan Under Pressure: In-Depth Review
By now, you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Vegan Under Pressure. If you’re still interested, then it’s time to give my full, unadulterated Vegan Under Pressure review.
In this section, I’ll show you a bit more about the author and go over some of the main points that she makes in her best-selling cookbook.
Who Is “The Veggie Queen?”
Jill Nussinow is better known by her online persona, “The Veggie Queen.” She runs an online blog under the same name and also has a YouTube channel with a growing following.
Her blog and video content is primarily focused on eating whole foods, plant-based cooking, and nutrition.
Unlike many of the self-taught vegan bloggers out there, Jill has had over thirty years of experience in her niche.
She’s a registered dietician and has been teaching nutrition at Sonoma’s Santa Rosa Junior College since 1985. She’s also traveled and given lectures around the country.
Vegan Under Pressure isn’t her first book. In 2005, she received widespread acclaim for her vegan cookbook, The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get Royal Treatment.
After the book’s success, she adopted the name and has used it as her moniker ever since.
Jill also moonlights as a freelance writer, contributing to health, nutrition, and vegan-centric blogs. She writes most of the content on her website as well!
If you’d like to learn more about The Veggie Queen, check out her intro here:
Main Points
As you can see, Jill is a pretty straightforward, down-to-earth nutritionist. That’s part of what attracted me to her blog and eventually her book, Vegan Under Pressure.
If I can look and feel as good as she does when I’m her age, I’ll count myself a truly lucky gal! It just goes to show that a lifetime of eating a healthy, plant-based diet can keep your energy high and your face beautiful.
Now that you know a little bit more about what to expect, here are some of the main points that I got out of her book.
1) Pressure Cooking Basics
To be 100% honest, I’ve always been afraid of using a pressure cooker. I remember my grandmother used to have one and it would always make me nervous.
I’d come home from school and this gigantic steaming pot would be shaking on the stovetop, looking like it was ready to explode. Needless to say, I kept my distance.
After reading Jill’s explanation of pressure cookers, though, I felt a lot more comfortable with them. I took her advice and purchased an Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker from Amazon. The new electric pressure cookers are way easier to use than my grandma’s ancient stovetop pot.
Jill provides some great tips on using and maintaining your pressure cooker and also explains how it works.
The whole idea of a pressure cooker is that it cooks your food with 274-degree steam, which is hotter than boiling water (which registers at 215 degrees). The higher temperature means that your food cooks faster and isn’t soggy!
With an electric pressure cooker, you just put your ingredients in the cooker, press a button, and wait for the food to be ready. Jill really emphasizes the ease of pressure cooking.
As long as you prepare your ingredients the right way, everything else is a complete breeze.
2) Oil Isn’t Always Necessary In Cooking
Many of Jill’s recipes in Vegan Under Pressure call for added cooking oil. One of the things I really appreciate about her recipes, though, is that she always tells you when the oil isn’t necessary or can be substituted with something else.
If the oil is necessary for the flavor, she’ll be sure to mention that. If not, though, she’ll clearly state that vegetable oil isn’t required. This is great for those who are trying to watch their calories, cholesterol, or fat intake.
3) Tons Of Delicious, Healthy Vegan Recipes
I thought I knew a lot about cooking healthy vegan meals until I read Vegan Under Pressure. She has so many delicious recipes that use plant-based ingredients in ways that I would have never considered.
For instance, I would have never thought of making Thai curry with broccoli and mushrooms!
Since she’s a nutritionist, almost all of the meals in her cookbook are very well-balanced as well. This means you’ll be getting plenty of vitamins and minerals along with a healthy macronutrient ratio with each meal.
4) Homemade Vegan Desserts
When most people think of vegan desserts, they tend to think of vegan soft serve or vegan cookies. While delicious, many of these vegan desserts are made with artificial ingredients or contain lots of added sugar.
Jill shows you how to make some delicious homemade vegan desserts with all-natural ingredients. Before this book, I had no idea that you could make dessert with a pressure cooker!
My Other Favorite Vegan Cookbook – VBQ: Vegan BBQ
Jill’s pressure cooker recipes are perfect for the winter when I prefer to stay indoors. Once the warm season comes around, though, I really enjoy cranking up the grill and making some barbecue.
VBQ―The Ultimate Vegan Barbecue Cookbook (link)
Just because you’re vegan doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy the delicious savory flavor of barbeque!
In VBQ – The Ultimate Vegan BBQ Cookbook, you’ll be able to handpick from over 80 different recipes, ranging from seared veggies and skewers to smoking hot veggie burgers.
One thing that I’ve been doing recently is picking a vegan BBQ recipe for the grill and then using one of Jill’s pressure cooker recipes for a healthy, well-balanced side dish.
Vegan Under Pressure Review: What Others Are Saying
If you couldn’t tell already, I’m a big fan of this particular vegan cookbook. I’m not the only one, though.
On Amazon, Vegan Under Pressure has just under 1,000 ratings and an average rating of 4.5/5 stars. 86% of the reviews are 4 or 5-star reviews, with a few not-so-great reviews mixed in.
The good reviews all mention her creativity and clear, concise instructions when cooking with a pressure cooker.
Most of the bad reviews are centered around the printing of the book. There are several reviews from seniors who mention that the book’s font is too small and that the contrast isn’t great, which can make reading difficult for those who don’t have great eyesight.
The Verdict: Should You Read Vegan Under Pressure?
Vegan Under Pressure is all about cooking with a pressure cooker. So, if you already have one or you’re not opposed to getting one, then this is an excellent vegan cookbook.
However, if you have no interest in pressure cooking, then you may want to try the VBQ – Vegan BBQ cookbook I mentioned above instead.
As far as the recipes and quality of the food go, though, Vegan Under Pressure has creative, easy, A-grade recipes.
If you’re a self-proclaimed vegan home chef and you enjoy the savory flavor of plant-based BBQ, then you’ve got to check out this list of the best vegan BBQ sauces next!
