Best Crockpot/Instant Pot Recipes For Winter!

Welcome to the new year mamas!  Whether you are making resolutions, goals or just trying to stay on top of everyday, the InstantPot and Crockpot can be your best friends this month in preparing delicious meals for your family. 

Here’s a round-up of some tried and true recipes for those amazing appliances that meet various dietary needs.

Whole 30

I know there’s a lot of you out there doing a Whole 30 this month and with what may be some big diet changes for some of you, there’s no need to sacrifice on flavor.  One of my favorite resources for Whole 30 recipes is Nom Nom Paleo.  Her recipes never disappoint and the ones for the InstantPot and slow cooker are especially easy and delicious!

Instant Pot Kalua Pig   – this is a family favorite of ours because the pork can be used in so many ways!  Prepare it with the cabbage for a complete Whole 30 meal or use it as the base of other meals.  Our favs are tacos, quesadillas or crisping it in a skillet and topping with an over-easy egg!  You can’t go wrong!  Bonus – this can also be made in a slow cooker and is just as good, it just takes a *little* longer.

Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs  – another favorite of ours from Nom Nom.  This recipe takes a little more work and ingredients but it’s also one that you can use to impress dinner guests!  So if you are hosting friends over this month and want to stick to your plan, you don’t have to sacrifice, make this and everyone will be begging for your recipe!  It can also be done in a pressure cooker, however, I’ve found I liked it better in the slow cooker.

 

Veggie-friendly

Whether you are practicing Meatless Mondays, are a vegan or vegetarian or simply looking for tasty ways to incorporate more veggies into your family’s meal rotation, these recipes will leave you full and not missing a thing!  In January we’re sure to have some cold days where a warm bowl of soup is what you want and is such a great way to get a veggie packed meal.

Ridiculously Easy Lentil Soup by Fat Free Vegan – I know I had you at “Easy” right?  Yep, as a busy mom, I love seeing that word in a recipe title!  Another win for the pressure cooker!  Stove top instructions are included too and I’m betting you could convert this to a slow cooker option as well.

Vegan Chili by Sometimes Sweet – Another easy winner packed full of flavor!  This chili recipe is for the slow cooker and would be so good on a cold and rainy day.  It does require a little bit of prep work and is one of those 5-6 hour cookers, so maybe an option for the weekend if you work a full day outside the home, or if you stay at home or work from home, just get it going around lunch and dinner will be cooking while you go about the rest of your day!

 

Williams Sonoma Instant Pot Starters

Ok, so these are your even quicker options!  We just discovered these starter sauces over the holiday break and our very first meal was a huge hit!  My two year old just kept saying “more chicken” and she sticks her nose up at most everything right now.  I can’t wait to try some of the other sauces.  We also got several meals out of this one sauce so the price tag became a lot cheaper when I considered that.

Instant Pot Creamy Dijon and Shallot Sauce – I served this with some rice and steamed broccoli!

 

Game day favorites

Now just for fun and since the Super Bowl is coming up surely you will need some game day recipes! 

Buffalo Chicken Dip – I am not a buffalo sauce fan typically but I discovered buffalo chicken dip a few years ago at a Super Bowl party and fell in love!  You can make it a tad healthier by eating with with veggies, or just dig in with a good chip or hearty cracker.

Cheese Chili Fondue (my family recipe) – this is a super easy recipe that’s been in my family forever and while my husband likes to argue that it’s Queso with meat, I will always argue!  He also doesn’t think it qualifies as a meal and maybe it’s not but I can guaranty you that once a year I’ve convinced him to allow me to make this as our dinner!  Enjoy! 

 

Ingredients:

2 lb ground hamburger

½ onion, diced

1 block (32 oz) Velveeta (or American cheese slices w/o the wrapper)

1 can Rotel w/diced chiles

2 tsp Chili powder

4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

S&P (If using Velveeta, omit the salt)

Directions:

Use the saute function on the Instant Pot and brown the hamburger meat and cook the onion.  Drain off the fat.  Cube cheese and add to pot along with remaining ingredients.  Switch the function to slow cook on LOW for 4-6 hours.  Serve with corn chips, Fritos scoops are my preference!

 

Welcome to 2019 and happy cooking!

Please share your favorite crock pot or instapot recipes for winter in the comments!

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