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    Home » Recipes » Ramblings

    High Altitude Pressure Cooking Adustments

    Published: Oct 3, 2019 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 11 Comments

    High Altitude Pressure Cooking Adjustment Chart

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    My question...do you know how long I would cook Instant Pot Pinto Beans at an altitude of 5000 ft?

    Commenter Rhonda V

    The rule of thumb for high altitude pressure cooking, Instant Pot or otherwise: For every 1,000 feet above 2,000-foot elevation, increase cooking time by 5 percent. In metric, that's 5% for every 300 meters above 600 meters.

    Pressure Cooking Adjustment By Altitude

    AltitudeIncrease %Multiply Cooking
    Time By
    3000 ft / 900 m 5%1.05
    4000 ft / 1200 m10%1.10
    5000 ft / 1500 m15%1.15
    6000 ft / 1800 m20%1.20
    7000 ft / 2100 m25%1.25

    Pressure Cook America

    High Altitude Pressure Cooking Graphic, based on WPA Federal Art Project "See America - Welcome to Montana" by M. Weitzman
    Apologies to the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project and M. Weitzman

    Because I’m a habitual map looker, I stumbled across this list of the cities in the United States by elevation. Here are the cities with a population over 100,000 by elevation (according to Wikipedia):

    CityStateAltitudePopulationIncrease %
    CO SpringsCO6035 feet / 1839 m465,10120%
    CentennialCO5830 ft / 1777 m110,25015%
    LakewoodCO5518 ft / 1682 m154,39315%
    AuroraCO5403 ft / 1647 m361,71015%
    WestminsterCO5384 ft / 1641 m113,47915%
    ThorntonCO5351 ft / 1631 m136,70315%
    ArvadaCO5344 ft / 1662 m117,45315%
    BoulderCO5328 ft / 1624 m107,12515%
    AlbuquerqueNM5312 ft / 1619.1 m558,54515%
    DenverCO5278 ft / 1609 m716,49215%
    Fort CollinsCO5003 ft / 1525 m164,20715%
    PuebloCO4692 ft / 1430 m111,12710%
    GreeleyCO4675 ft / 1425 m105,44810%
    ProvoUT4551 ft / 1387 m117,33510%
    RenoNV4505.6 ft / 1373 m248,85310%
    West JordanUT4373 ft / 1333 m113,90510%
    West Valley CityUT4304 ft / 1312 m136,17010%
    Salt Lake CityUT4226 ft / 1288 m200,54410%
    Las CrucesNM3900 ft / 1200 m101,759 5%
    El PasoTX3740 ft / 1140 m683,577 5%
    AmarilloTX3605 ft / 1099 m199,248 5%

    What do you think?

    Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

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    Comments

    1. Kimberly Wagner says

      February 20, 2024 at 12:55 pm

      Recently dx with a rare immune disorder, I have to cook everything quickly, fresh, and from scratch then batch freeze anything I don’t eat immediately while the rest is in an ice bath. The IP is a preferred cooking method, but it’s been rough for this foodie! Beans have always been a staple, even now, but I’ve yet to find an IP recipe that yields beans that are intact, tender, and in a thick broth. I’m at nearly 6,000 ft (nice “WPA” poster, btw). Adding cooking time per altitude charts results in overcooked foods of all kinds, so I don’t modify. Wondering if the extra time it takes to get to pressure before cook time starts is a factor? I’m eager to try your Pinto Bean recipe! The baking soda, cooking time w quick release, and post-sauté may be game changers! And no, my beans are not old!

      Reply
      • Craig says

        May 07, 2024 at 7:51 pm

        The IP Utra has an adjustment for altitude. This may help.

        Reply
    2. Matt says

      December 17, 2022 at 11:27 am

      Flagstaff - 7,000 feet 25% more time - will give it a try! Thanks

      Reply
    3. MELA Mcginnis says

      June 27, 2022 at 1:05 pm

      I live at 8,240 feet in the Andes mountains. When I moved here 7 years ago I noticed that using all my old times from the states, things weren’t getting done. I found this formula and started adding 30% to all my cooking times. Now it’s perfect!

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        June 27, 2022 at 1:18 pm

        Glad it helped!

        Reply
    4. Greg says

      March 12, 2022 at 11:22 am

      So at elevation the only PC adjustment is time, but no need to adjust water amount?

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        March 14, 2022 at 5:04 pm

        Correct.

        Reply
    5. Dave Whittaker says

      October 04, 2019 at 11:29 pm

      I live outside of Denver at about 6,300 ft above sea level and have a ski house over 9,k ft above sea level. I have never adjusted any of your pressure cooker recipes, or those from any other site.

      Reply
      • Steven says

        October 12, 2019 at 1:41 pm

        I have the same experience - I've lived in both Virginia and Denver, and the only adjustments I ever make to pressure cooker recipes are when the original called for a 15psi stovetop PC. But I can pour boiling water right onto coffee grounds without waiting for it to cool to 205 first 🙂

        Great site BTW - as a fellow dad cooking dinner and instant pot aficionado, I respect and appreciate the effort you've put into this. Tip of the hat to you sir and thanks for the recipes!

        Reply
    6. San says

      October 04, 2019 at 3:15 am

      In your first paragraph you say "2,000-foot", Everything else is 3 000.

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        October 05, 2019 at 8:23 am

        Fixed - thanks

        Reply

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    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner!

    I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

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