My Favorite Instant Pot Recipes

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Did you get an Instant Pot for Christmas? Judging by my Facebook feed, it was a popular gift this year!

I keep seeing posts asking for favorite or tried-and-true Instant Pot recipes. Typically I will just link my Instant Pot Pinterest board in reply, or my post from last year about how much I love my Instant Pot, but I have pinned or linked a lot of recipes, and some of them I haven’t tried.

Both can be intimidating to wade through for a beginner. Now that I’ve had my Instant Pot for over a year, I decided to create a post with my favorite tried-and-true IP recipes.

Pork:

Pressure Cooker Boneless Thick-Cut Pork Chops with Oniony Mashed Potatoes and Pork Gravy – This is a family favorite. It’s a bit involved for a weeknight, but I’ll usually make it for Sunday night supper. I can usually find thick-cut boneless pork chops on sale, and my littler kids will only eat half a pork chop each so it works for our large family. The gravy is SO good, especially if you use homemade chicken or turkey broth!

Beef:

Fall-Apart Pressure Cooker Pot Roast – This is my favorite pot roast recipe because it is so simple. There are quite a few more out there that involve cooking potatoes and veggies at the same time to make it a one-pot meal, but I will typically make microwave steamer bag of veggies as a side dish and maybe add some dinner rolls or a loaf of French bread on the side.

Chicken:

Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo – At first, I couldn’t believe that making chicken Alfredo in the IP could be this simple, but it really is. I advise breaking the noodles up into small pieces before putting them in the IP, and make sure you have them covered by as much liquid as possible. If you use a bag of pre-cooked frozen diced chicken (like this one, for example), this meal comes together REALLY fast (add about a minute on to the cooking time if you do this). It’s one of my favorite busy-weeknight meals, and my kids love it too. You can add a bag of frozen broccoli to the pot, or make a microwave steamer bag of veggies as a quick side dish.

Dessert:

Instant Pot 6 inch New York Cheesecake – I bought a 6″ metal springform pan just so I could try this recipe, and it did not disappoint! It only makes about 4 servings, but the cheesecake is so creamy and delicious.

Meatless:

The Best-Ever Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese – this really is amazing mac and cheese, and best of all it is just as quick (if not quicker) than the stovetop variety! It’s not for the calorie-conscious, but it’s so fabulously creamy and indulgent that you’ll never get the boxed variety again. I use 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese instead of half-mozzarella and half-cheddar, but I imagine any cheese combo would work just as well. I also just throw in a 12- or 16-oz box of pasta, usually rotini noodles, and I’ll use the whole-wheat or veggie variety to pretend it’s a bit healthier.

One day I was at the end of my rope in terms of dinner prep, so I threw this together and also fried up a can of Spam to go with it. My kids went berserk (in a good way) and told me I was an amazing cook who should work at a fancy restaurant.

Usually, though, I’ll add a can of tuna to this (especially during Fridays in Lent) and also serve a microwave steamer bag of green peas on the side.

Life-Changing Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes – what I like about this recipe is that it’s a make-ahead recipe. You can make these potatoes hours beforehand and keep them on warm until you’re ready to serve. I did this for Christmas dinner and they were delicious. If you need your IP for another dish, you can also transfer these potatoes to a slow cooker on warm and they keep just as well.

Misc:

I love using my IP to make bone broth. I usually set it for 90 minutes and then do a 90-minute natural pressure release, and it turns out wonderfully.

I recently used my IP to make homemade vanilla extract, which turned out really well. I bought the vanilla beans on Amazon and used a mid-range bottle of 80-proof vodka (on sale for $17.99 at my local grocery store). It may not be cost-effective if you don’t use vanilla that much, but it has come in handy for holiday baking already.

Also, I highly recommend getting a steamer basket for your IP. I have this one and it works great to strain my broth or steam veggies.

What are your favorite Instant Pot recipes? Let me know in the comments!