It’s baffling, but there are some folks out there who receive instant pots as gifts but never take them out of the box. If they only knew just how many amazing and easy Instant Pot recipes they can make, often for far less time than other cooking appliances.
Pressure cookers have been around for a long time, but it was the stovetop pressure cooker that most cooks were accustomed to seeing. The Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker that can be used to cook several different foods with different methods. For many families, it’s been a game changer.
Instant pot or easy pressure cooker recipes are cooked as the device creates heat under a very tight seal, making the temperature inside much hotter than boiling since the steam has nowhere to escape.
Some folks also refer to these recipes as pressure cooker recipes or instapot recipes, although the official name of the pot is Instant Pot.
The funny thing is that Instapot has become such a common term that folks might think you were referring to an off-brand if you called it by its true name!
Once again, you can make all types of recipes, such as Instant Pot recipes for beginners and instant pot meals that are a bit more advanced.
Below, we’ve put together a collection of 54 of the best Instant Pot recipes for all levels, sure to make your life much easier.
This recipe is one of those handy “dump and go” recipes you can make where you add all your ingredients like salsa, corn, beans, and seasoned chicken and just let the instant pot do the work.
Now, this recipe for butter chicken might be what you could call a more “advanced” Instant Pot recipe, only because you have a couple of steps involved as opposed to “dump and go.”
However, here’s the deal.
Five minutes to prep and 25 minutes to cook. After that, you’ve got the most savory, flavorful butter chicken you’ve ever dined on.
This recipe for chicken soup made from scratch creates a very savory soup with delicious strips of juicy white meat chicken, carrots, celery, fresh herbs, and spices.
Now, you can use other types of raw chicken. However, the difference in flavor really comes through when you cook a whole chicken in your chicken broth.
Chicken and dumplings are a favorite meal in our household; with its tender chicken, doughy clumps of biscuit, and savory broth, it’s not a meal that wastes away in the fridge.
Why cook slowly in a slow cooker when you can save tons of time using an Instant Pot? Well, some might say, “slow cooked gives you more flavor,” well, folks, that’s just nonsense.
For example, this Instapot Beef Brisket takes 55 to 60 minutes, two to three pounds of brisket, and 105 to 110 minutes for 6 to 7 pounds. In a slow cooker? About ten hours for the same quality.
Sweet potatoes are a healthy alternative to white potatoes that’s gained popularity over the years. And now you can make your own “baked” sweet potato in your Instant Pot.
These deliciously sweet and fluffy potatoes come out just perfect and make for a great meal or side dish with your favorite toppings.
Growing up near New Orleans, red beans and rice was a staple dish in our family, and now you can make this great traditional Cajun meal within minutes in your Instant Pot.
Forget about spending hours stirring beans. This recipe includes veggies, sausage, beans, and seasoning, all made within minutes in your Instant Pot!
Another fantastic healthy alternative to white pasta is spaghetti squash, which really adds a delicious sweet flavor to any dish.
And with your Instant Pot, you can create loads of this delicious veggie pasta in minutes. All you need is a squash that weighs at least two pounds, a bit of water, and a sharp knife.
When done, cut your squash open and shred with a fork.
Tender and juicy pork shoulder meat rubbed in mouth-tingling spices and slathered in savory, smoky BBQ sauce are what country ribs are all about.
Best of all, this crazy-delicious meal that costs nearly 20 bucks at a restaurant can be made at home in your Instant Pot for a fraction of the cost and time!
Traditional meatloaf recipes are about as unique and different as fingerprints. Nearly everyone has their own version of this dish.
However, we must say that hands down, this Instant Pot Recipe is the easiest and best fasting meatloaf we’ve ever cooked or eaten. And unlike the oven, your Instant Pot cooks this dish in 40 minutes.
Your Instant Pot is truly a complete cooking machine that’s not only great for making dinner dishes like roasted chicken and pasta. Still, it can also make savory desserts like this recipe for homemade applesauce.
You might have already guessed it, but this is another one of those fantastic “dump and go” recipes that take only 29 minutes to make sweet and delicious homemade applesauce!
Corn on the cob is one of the most popular side dishes at any family BBQ, and while we all love that grilled flavor, sometimes we just want a quick and easy way to enjoy this dish.
That’s where your Instant Pot comes in. You can enjoy the most tender, juicy, and flavorful corn on the cob in just three minutes.
Mac and cheese in an Instant Pot is a dish we wouldn’t mind eating every other night.
Seriously, everything just comes out so rich, creamy, and cheesy, and you just dump the noodles, water, salt, butter, cheddar cheese, and milk in, and deliciousness comes out in 10 minutes!
This Instant Pot pressure cooker pulled pork recipe delivers some of the most tender, savory, spiced pulled pork you’ll ever taste!
Once your pork’s ready, just whip up some coleslaw and toast a few buns, and you’ll have yourself one humdinger (yes, the word’s making a comeback!) of a meal!
Shredded chicken is used in so many recipes, such as casseroles, and before, it used to be a bit of a pain to bake, boil, or grill the chicken breasts you need.
However, using an Instant Pot, there’s no temperature to watch, no grill to clean, none of the hassles.
Egg bites are one of Starbucks’ most popular breakfast items, and now you can make your own homemade egg bites (that are way better than Starbucks) in your Instant Pot.
Now, you will need a few extra things for this recipe, such as egg bite molds and a blender.
Please, don’t waste your money on that beef stew flavored salt in a can stuff at the grocery store, not when you can make a large batch of savory beef stew in 90 minutes.
The beef in this dish comes out nice and tender like you’ve cooked it for hours.
This recipe for Beef Stroganoff features tender stew meat or chuck roast, sour cream, and soft egg noodles, along with the most savory homemade stroganoff sauce you’ve ever tasted.
This dish serves six people and takes about one hour and ten minutes from start to finish.
When you just want simple, juicy, delicious chicken breast as a part of a meal, salad, or just by itself, you really can’t beat an Instant Pot.
Now, we love the taste of grilled chicken. However, the grill can’t even begin to compete with how tender our Instant Pot makes our birds. It’s not even close, folks.
Another simple Instant Pot dish is this recipe for potatoes. There’s nothing fancy happening here, folks, no special sauce or seasonings – just fluffy and delicious potatoes you can flavor with anything you’d like.
These are perfect for potato salads and other potato dishes as well.
Need to spice up your life, don’t drive to that overpriced chicken restaurant or pay out the nose for slow delivery, instead make your own hot chicken wings with this Instant Pot recipe.
You just use some dry seasonings to flavor your wings, and pressure cook them until they are nice and tender. Then toss them in your hot sauce and broil them to a crisp!
Okay, let’s review. We’ve got savory marinara sauce seasoned with a blend of Italian spices, parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, and delicious sausage, all between layers of oven-ready noodles that cook in about 32 minutes.
This recipe features tender strips of juicy all-white-meat chicken, fluffy rice, and creamy, savory mushroom sauce, all ready to serve in about 40 minutes.
Now, some recipes, such as the one above, call for you to cook your rice separately. However, you don’t need to bother with the stovetop or a “rice cooker,” when you can cook perfectly fluffy and delicious rice in your Instant Pot.
These tips for cooking rice in your instant pot are real game-changers that will save you a lot of time!
One of our favorite simple meals is just a bowl of steaming, seasoned pinto beans and a nice hot piece of cornbread (which we’ll discuss later).
With this recipe for Instant Pot Pinto Beans, you don’t have to bother with laborious preparation like “soaking” to enjoy a delicious pot of beans that’s ready in about 30 to 45 minutes.
Try this with some sweet diced tomatoes. Trust us. You’ll love it.
Folks, we strongly recommend you not disclose to your dinner guests that it only took you 35 minutes to prepare and cook these juicy pork tenderloins in your Instant Pot. They may have you committed.
Forget about dealing with hot stove grease, firing up the grill, or the oven. This Instant Pot recipe lets you enjoy deliciously, juicy, tender, and flavor-packed pork chops in less than 30 minutes!
Those days of spending hours cooking holiday chicken are officially over. With this recipe for mouthwatering juicy whole chicken with crispy brown skin and tender fall-off-the-bone meat, you can have your bird ready for table duty in under 90 minutes.
If you ever opened a can of refried beans and dog food on the same countertop, turn around, and forget which one was which, then this Instant Pot recipe’s especially for you!
You can make retired beans that taste way better in under 90 minutes.
Another dish folks love taking pride in making from scratch is mashed potatoes. While a mix is still faster, making homemade mashed potatoes in your Instant Pot in 20 minutes will make your life a lot easier.
We really loved this Instant Pot recipe for baked potatoes because the skins come out so crispy, while the insides are fluffy. The contrast in textures makes this dish even yummier!
Folks, cooking this mouthwateringly delicious spaghetti recipe in your Instant Pot takes about 30 minutes and almost less effort than it will take to twirl your spaghetti on your fork!
If you’re really into plain yogurt for smoothies, then you’ll love this Instant Pot Yogurt recipe that makes some of the creamiest yogurts ever to grace your spoon.
This Instant Pot recipe for hard-boiled eggs uses the 555 Technique: five minutes of pressure, five minutes of releasing pressure, and five minutes of cold water.
You can also cook delicious chickpeas for recipes, a quick snack, or some yummy hummus in your Instant Pot using this really easy-to-follow recipe. Just remember, soaking overnight has its advantages versus cooking them dry.
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
