When I initially took on this ‘Instant Pot Recipes’ assignment, I honestly had never even heard of such a gadget. I didn’t know it was a thing. I thought maybe they were recipes that took less time to cook in a crockpot or quick stovetop solutions. No clue. (For the record, I do cook, just as not as often I’d like since returning to work from maternity leave.)
Enter the Instant Pot. A simple Google search unlocked the mystery. I found it on Amazon Prime, opted to purchase the $79 version that still seemed to have all the fancy features of the $99 edition, and got to bookmarking recipes.
There’s so much online that buying the accompanying cookbook seemed unnecessary. I quickly realized that instead I would spend money on an extra inner pot that would make cooking entrees and side dishes that much faster.
The first night, my husband was grilling out. So I made us a couple of baked potatoes as a side dish. They’ve never been so easy. Just placed the steamer rack in the bottom of the pot, poured in a cup of water then added similar-sized potatoes. I put two whole potatoes in, closed the lid and turned the vent lever to “sealed.” Press the “Manual” button and knock the time down to 10 minutes. Once they’re done, the recipe I followed instructed to just let the pressure valve release on its own, which took about 20 minutes. Open the lid and they’re ready to eat (with the toppings of your choosing). Potato perfection.
The baked potato was the beginner’s recipe I needed to venture to try chicken soup from scratch, carnitas and Irish beef stew – giving me confidence that I can work a full day and still have a warm meal to serve in the evenings without much fuss. I’ve also made a slew of acorn squash to put chicken salad in (a favorite to take to work)!
Here are a few other recipes I bookmarked to try or make again for quick meals in the instant pot:
Breakfast
Entrees
- Carnitas
- Lemon Garlic Chicken
- BBQ Pulled Pork
- Chicken Soup
Used whole chicken instead because that’s what I had. Made when we were all sick. Super easy and hit the spot. - Cauliflower Potato Soup (w/ bacon)
- Irish Beef Stew and Mashed Potatoes
Side dishes
- Broccoli with garlic
- Spaghetti squash
Add meatballs and tomato sauce to make a meal - Acorn squash
Stop short of mashing it and add in some cold chicken salad to the warm cooked squash. Makes for a perfect lunch.
- Sweet potato
- Baked potato
Dessert
- Rice Pudding
- Applesauce
- This site has some amazing-looking desserts I look forward to trying, including these chocolate zucchini bites
*www.pressurecookrecipes.com is a great resource. Offers recipes for beginners, one-pot meals and helpful cooking tips.
