5 Easy Instant Pot Recipes

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5 Easy Instant Pot Recipes from Des Moines Moms BlogI shared about my love for my Instant Pot in a previous post. Since then, I’ve been asked numerous times about what my favorite recipes are. They aren’t anything fancy, but these instant pot recipes help us get through the week without fast food or processed meals! 

I have instituted a weekly “cooking day” in our home and most often, it’s on Sunday.

I always had good intentions of preparing healthy meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day. However, if I’m honest, it rarely happens. Life gets busy going from lessons to practices and helping with homework.

My job as a doula revolves around laboring women–so I never really know when I will be home to cook. This is one of many reasons I LOVE my Instant Pot! I can prepare and cook most of our meals on Sundays that will last us for lunches and dinners throughout the week.

Please remember that I am not a professional chef or recipe blogger, so I’m sure I’m missing some steps here. However, you’ll get the general idea! As long as you make sure there’s a cup of water or broth, it will be nearly impossible to mess these up. There are also TONS of recipes and Facebook groups dedicated to Instant Pot Cooking.

Here are a few of our favorite instant pot recipes

Taco Meat (other bulk meat)

We love taco meat. Often I will make 3 to 4 pounds of this at a time, but will use ground chicken or turkey with the ground beef. It tastes great and saves money! You can also skip the seasonings and just cook up a bunch of ground beef, turkey, or chicken. Just be sure you add one cup of liquid to the pot before you close the lid!

5 Easy Instant Pot Recipes from Des Moines Moms Blog

2 pounds ground beef, raw

14.5 oz tomato sauce

1 small onion, diced

1 cup broth

1 T cumin

½ T chili powder

Salt & pepper sprinkled in

Other seasonings like garlic & paprika (usually about ½ tsp of each)

Directions

Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot and press the “Meat” setting. If you don’t have a meat setting, find your instruction book for ground meat (usually around 30-40 minutes). At this time, you can let it stay in the keep warm setting until you’re ready to use it, or you can do a “quick release” with the steam valve to open the lid.

You can freeze the meat once it has cooled or store it in the refrigerator for tacos, salads, enchiladas, etc. It’s also really good on eggs!

Breakfast Hash

My husband is allergic to eggs and also tries to avoid grains. That makes breakfast near impossible! One of his favorites is this breakfast creation.

5 Easy Instant Pot Recipes from Des Moines Moms Blog

2 pounds breakfast meat like sausage, bacon, etc.

4 large sweet potatoes, peel and cut into large chunks

1 cup water (to bring the cooker to pressure)

Seasonings: basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper

Directions

Place the meat inside the instant pot in a steamer basket, close the lid,  and press the “meat” setting. Once it is done cooking, do a quick release. Then add the sweet potato chunks and seasonings. Close the lid and set for 12 minutes. Do a quick release again, and breakfast is done for the week!

Roasts (beef and pork)

These are some of my favorite meals to make! You can skip the saute step, but if I have time, I will always brown the roast before I start the cooking process. To do this step, heat the cooker using the “saute” button. When it’s hot, I add a little coconut oil and then let the roast get nicely browned on the outside. Once it’s cooked, you can add BBQ sauce and have pulled beef/pork sandwiches, or add some salsa for tacos, or just eat it as is!

 

5 Easy Instant Pot Recipes from Des Moines Moms Blog

Roast of ANY size (as long as it fits in the pot!)

1 cup of broth or water

Optional: 1 tsp liquid smoke, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary, thyme, etc.

Directions

Place roast and water in the pot, close the lid, and manually set it for 99 minutes. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t take the full 99 minutes. However, every time I set it manually for 99 minutes, the meat FALLS APART because it is so moist.

Pasta bake

This is a favorite of ours! Since the noodles are cooked with the sauce, they are SO flavorful. 

5 Easy Instant Pot Recipes from Des Moines Moms Blog

1 pound ground beef, cooked (you can do this first and then add the following ingredients)

1 package of noodles

1 large jar of spaghetti sauce

2 large jars of water (I just fill the same jars with water and dump them in). **You want the liquid to slightly cover all of the ingredients

Optional: Vegetables, garlic, onion, mushrooms, etc.

Directions

Set the manual timer for 12 minutes and do a “quick release”. If the pasta isn’t done or there is extra liquid, I just hit the saute button and let it cook down a bit. (I know, super scientific!)

Hard Boiled Eggs

My kids do so much better when they have protein at breakfast. However, I don’t love cooking eggs during the week. I will make 12 hard boiled eggs in the instant pot each Sunday, and those are usually gone in a couple of days from breakfasts and sometimes in my lunch salad. They are also so much easier to peel when they are pressure cooked!

5 Easy Instant Pot Recipes from Des Moines Moms Blog

I swear by the 6-6-6 method.

Directions

Place however many eggs you’d like in the Instant Pot. I set them in a steamer basket or use the provided stand. I add one cup of water and close the lid.

Set the manual timer for 6 minutes.

Keep them in the pot for an additional 6 minutes after the timer goes off (I have to set another timer).

Place them in an ice bath for 6 minutes. DONE!

As long as I have meat in the freezer, I know I’ll be able to get a fast, healthy meal on the table. Our sides are typically raw or steamed veggies, fresh fruit, or rice. EASY PEASY! 

Now that you know some of my favorite recipes, leave me some of YOUR favorites in the comments! I’m always up for trying new things!

instant pot recipes

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