7 Quick Instant Pot Recipes to Save Time In The Kitchen - Crafting a Family Dinner (2024)

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One of the best ways to save time after a long day at work or a long day with the kids is to toss healthy ingredients in your Instant Pot for your family dinner. Add a bagof salad and you are free to spend time with thekids not standing over the stove.

It is so easy to stop and get fast food but we all know that is not a good option. Once and a while it is a time saver but for your family’s health not to mention their weight fast food is not the answer.

Let’s make a commitment to feeding our families and ourselves fresh non-processed foods that help our bodies, give us energy, and help our little ones grow strong and healthy. But who has the time or wants to spend an hour in the kitchen standing over the stove cooking after a long day.

The answer is using that new Instant Pot Electric Pressure cooker you have not taken out of the box or have been dreaming of.

If you need to buy an Instant Pot you can find all the options by jumping over here.

I have for you 7 of my Instant Pot Recipies that are family-friendly, use simple easy-to-find ingredients, require manualchopping, and can be found at budget-friendly prices.

How To Make Easy Weeknight Meals For Busy Moms

  • Use your Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker to make your main dish for weeknightmeals.
  • Any veggie chopping can be done the night before to have in the refrigeratorwhen you are ready to start dinner.
  • Keep your Chicken or Beef frozen. One of the best features of an Instant Pot is you can toss in all the ingredientswith frozen foods, it just takes a little longer for your meal to get under pressure, but the dish turns out the same.
  • Make sure you have at least 1/2 cup of a light liquid (Water, Broth, Wine, or Beer) as you will need this for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. If you do not have water to make steam in your pressure cooker it will not cook.
  • I always check my ring to make sure it is in the lid correctly. I also run the ring underwater before I put the lid on the pot, you do not have to do this, but I find that the lid goes on easierwhen it is wet.
  • Use the Saute function on the Instant Pot to brown your chicken or beef before you cook your dish if you want the meat to look like it came out of the oven. (but not necessary). Hit cancelafter Sauteand then program for pressure cooking.

Check Out These Budget Friendly Instant Pots

7 Quick Instant Pot Recipes to Save Time In The Kitchen - Crafting a Family Dinner (2)

7 Family Friendly Instant Pot Dinners

1) Instant Pot Cream Of Mushroom Soup Chicken and Rice Dinner

You can have the classic 50’s Cream of Mushroom Soup Chicken & Rice casseroledinner without the worry of getting it wrong. I use to make my mother’s casserole and it was eitherunderdone, with crunch hard rice, or overdone. Now when you make the chicken and cream of mushroom soup in the Instant Pot the chicken is perfect. I make the rice separate and the dish is perfect. This is a family favoritein our home and it will be in your home too.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

2) Easy Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Quick Family Dinner

The guys in our home love this recipe, it is so quick and simple. You use whatever your family’s favorite barbecue sauce and you will have a delicious chicken barbecuesandwich in minutes.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

One of the favorite Italian dishes at an Italian restaurant is Chicken Marsala. If you love mushrooms and the rich flavor of Marsala wine, you can make this dish at home quickly & easily in the Instant Pot. If you thought Chicken Marsala was complicated and time-consuming you will be able to make this dish every week in no time.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

Classic homemade Mac & Cheese is quick & easy and on the table in minutes with your Instant Pot. When the family is hungry for dinner your Instant Pot Mac & Cheese is the quickest dinner you can make.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

5) Veggie Crumbles Tomato Pasta Sauce

Using your Instant Pot you can have a filling dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes total. We love to make this dish when we go on our beach vacations. And yes I take my Instant Pot on vacation (lol).

GET THE RECIPE HERE

Everyone loves chicken & rice dishes and with a little taco flavor, is an easy family friendly weekly dinner.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

7) Easy Instant Pot Salisbury Steak

Do you remember the TV Dinners from the ’50s & ’60s, Salisbury Steak was a big hit back them. Using ground beef or hamburger patties, you can have dinner ready for the family in no time without standing over a simmering frying pan.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

7 Quick Instant Pot Recipes to Save Time In The Kitchen - Crafting a Family Dinner (2024)

FAQs

What foods should not be cooked in an Instant Pot? ›

6 Things You Should Never Cook in an Instant Pot
  1. Creamy Sauces. If there's one food group you should avoid in the Instant Pot, it's dairy. ...
  2. Fried Chicken. The best fried chicken is crisp on the outside, juicy on the inside and perfectly golden brown. ...
  3. Cookies. ...
  4. Burgers. ...
  5. Pie. ...
  6. Steak.

What's the first thing I should cook in my Instant Pot? ›

When it comes to breaking your Instant Pot in, it's a good idea to start with some basic foods and simple meals you're already familiar with, then slowly expand your Instant Pot repertoire from there. Try making staples like eggs, sweet potatoes, rice, or lentils using just the pressure cooker function.

Does Instant Pot save cooking time? ›

“I don't see them as a gadget, but just as a saucepan with a specially adapted lid,” says the author of Modern Pressure Cooking. “You can use them for everything you would a normal saucepan, and much more besides, plus you're also cutting down 70-75% of the cooking time.”

What should you never put in a pressure cooker? ›

Foods containing dairy, like milk, cream, or yogurt, should not be pressure-cooked. The high heat and pressure can cause dairy products to curdle or separate, ruining the texture, taste and flavour of the dish. Cooking fried foods is a strict no no, when it comes to pressure cookers.

Why shouldn't potatoes be cooked in a pressure cooker? ›

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

What is the 5 5 5 method for Instant Pot? ›

The 5-5-5 method involves the following: 5-minute cook time. 5-minute natural pressure release. 5-minute ice bath.

What are the disadvantages of an Instant Pot? ›

Con– The Instant Pot uses steam under pressure to cook food and not everything is meant to be cooked in the Instant Pot. I attempted a crustless quiche which turned out well but it was too wet and moist to my liking and I prefer to cook it in the oven with dry heat.

What is the average life of an Instant Pot? ›

The average lifespan of an Instant Pot ranges from 2-5 years, but it can last longer depending on how often it's used and how well-maintained it is. So it's safe to say Instant Pots aren't commonly being replaced, and may even be a one-time purchase.

Why did Instant Pot go out of business? ›

“In particular, tightening of credit terms and higher interest rates impacted our liquidity levels and made our capital structure unsustainable,” Mr. Gadbois said. Instant Brands said in a statement on Wednesday that the new financing would allow the company to continue paying workers, vendors and suppliers.

Can bacteria survive Instant Pot? ›

The pressure cookers used can inactivate up to 1010 CFU/mL bacteria and 107 CFU/mL fungi. The ultimate test for a sterilization device uses the most heat-resistant organisms, commonly Geobacillus stearothermophilus endospores. If the hardiest of microorganisms is killed, than all other microbes should die as well.

Can an Instant Pot go bad? ›

The lifespan of your pressure cooker is going to vary based on its brand and usage. If you're using your pressure cooker on a daily basis and investing in regular maintenance, it may last you up to five years. On average, though, most pressure cookers perform well for up to three years.

Is there anything you can't make in an Instant Pot? ›

In fact, there are a handful of foods that just shouldn't be pressure-cooked. Among them are dairy and fried foods, as well as burgers and steaks. These foods are not Instant-Pot-friendly for a multitude of reasons.

What is Instant Pot not good for? ›

In general, seafood such as fish, oysters, shrimp, muscles and clams are just too delicate for pressure cooking and slow cooking modes. They are foods that are meant to be cooked quickly at just the right temperature, which is hard to do with an Instant Pot.

Why don t chefs use Instant Pot? ›

They are most commonly used in industrial settings to quickly prepare meat or stocks. However, in most scenarios, Elite Chefs avoid using pressure cookers because they provide less control over the final dish. Chefs often prefer slow cooking techniques that accentuate and pull out the flavors of the food.

Why shouldn't we cook food in a pressure cooker? ›

According to a study conducted by the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, pressure cooking reduces the lectin content from food. Lectin is a harmful chemical that reduces the nutritional value of food by hindering the absorption of minerals.

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