My Favorite Instant Pot Recipes

Craig and I don’t typically exchange gifts. We usually go on a trip for our birthdays (we’re a week apart) and for Christmas we usually do the same. Last year, since it was our first Christmas in our new home, we were feeling sentimental and wanted to open gifts (really we just wanted to have gifts under our tree). So, when I opened my gift, an Instant Pot, I was excited and confused. First of all, Craig does the majority (pretty much all) of the cooking. Was he giving this to me so he could use it? We’ll never know. Maybe he was hinting that I should cook a meal every now and again, probably more likely. I hadn’t even really heard (or thought) about the Instant Pot so I had no idea how much I would fall in love with this magical appliance. I was actually a little bit frightened of it at first, so many buttons, can it really cook an entire meal in that one pot? Yes, yes it can, and it will. I quickly discovered how versatile and amazing the Instant Pot is, and the rest is history. I must confess, it’s not really something I use between the months of June-September, winter is long, and for the few months of nice weather we have, I just want to use the grill as much as possible. As soon as the temps drop and we’ve got the fireplace going, it’s Instant Pot season. I’d still consider myself a relative newbie in the Instant Pot world, but to everyone that has asked me if I recommend it, the answer is a resounding yes. This is the model we have, I can’t imagine needing anything bigger. If you are limited on space, I think the smaller size would be fine too, especially if you’re only cooking for one or two people. If you’re new to pressure cooking (aren’t we all?) this is a great guide on how to use an Instant Pot. I have tested almost all of these recipes below (and included some of my own variations on a few). A lot of them include chicken as the protein, but you can easily skip chicken and add more veggies or swap chicken for a different meat in some of them.  I am always in the market to test new recipes (and just discover new food/cooking sites in general) so please share your recommendations in the comments. Happy pressure cooking to all my fellow pot heads!

Recipes

Hearty Chicken Soup – Seriously though, is there anything better than homemade chicken soup? As soon as it gets cold I immediately crave it. This recipe is an easy one to make vegan or dairy free (just add more veggies and swap regular butter for vegan). Craig didn’t really like the farro in this recipe (he’s an egg noodle in chicken soup kinda guy) so I just skipped the farro the second time around and cooked egg noodles separately for him and use rice ramen noodles for me and it was so delicious. We usually make a roast chicken on Sundays, so I love to use the leftover chicken in this soup.

Chicken Pho

Thai Peanut Chicken Ramen – This was pretty quick and easy to make. It didn’t have as much spice as I like, so I added more red curry paste. Next time I think I’d use a little less peanut butter too.

Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thai Red Curry

Sticky Korean Chicken – Haven’t tried this one yet but I bought all the ingredients and can’t wait to make it.

Potato and Cauliflower Curry

Mashed Potatoes – You don’t even need the steamer basket for this one.

Lemon Red Potatoes

Maple Dijon Brussel Sprouts – I realize this is kind of a love or hate food. I love them. Craig hates them. Doesn’t stop me from cooking them and enjoying every last bite.