Fantastic Instapot Recipes for Beginners (2024)

If you have been anywhere in the last couple of years, you’ve probably run into someone who has been ranting and raving about this new kitchen wonder called the InstaPot or Instant Pot and all the delicious Instapot recipes that they are making with it. In fact, there are a whole bunch of Instapot recipes created specifically for cooking in an electric pressure cooker, and they really are amazing.

After using one myself for the last few years, there’s little wonder why so many people are raving about this awesome kitchen tool that can pay for itself time and time again! A kitchen appliance that makes dinner quick, delicious and budget-friendly is every home cook’s best friend! And the reason why they’re so popular, no doubt.

InstaPot Recipes for Beginners

Before we get into the recipes …

The best way to learn something is to jump in and try it. Yes, it comes with a bit of fear sometimes, but once you jump in, it gets easier with each step. So you can click on the link below and get 6 Instapot Recipes and a color-coded grocery list for free! Yes, free!

Basic InstaPot Recipes You Will Make Often

If you are just getting started, I recommend trying something really easy to get your feet wet. Here are four easy things that I think qualify as great Instapot recipes for those just getting started.

1. InstaPot Yogurt for Beginners.If you love yogurt, you’ll absolutely love how easy and delicious yogurt in the instant pot is to make. Plus you can save a lot of money this way! This guide gives you the step-by-step break down of a super easy method for making your own yogurt. Note, you’ll need the instant pot with the yogurt function on it to make this.
2. ThisCOMPLETE Instant Pot Rice Cooking Guideis my “tell-all” on how to make every kind of rice with Instapotrecipes included. It’s so easy to make perfect rice every time. You’ll love it!
3. Highly nutritious and easy bone broth in the Instapotis a wonderful way to use vegetable scraps and bones from your chicken or beef to create a highly nutritious and delicious broth. It freezes well, too!
4. Instapot hard-boiled eggsare one thing I am so hooked on. No more fussing over the stove and they magically peel SO much easier than the stove top hard boiled eggs!

Best Chicken InstaPot Recipes

I think I wrote somewhere once that my family ate enough chicken that we might just start clucking eventually. We still love chicken and these four Instapot recipes are a great way to get dinner on the table this week.

1. Chicken Fajitas in the InstaPot is a pressure cooker spin on our most popular recipe post ever! These fajitas are moist, flavorful and so easy. It makes them a perfect go-to for crazy-busy weeknights. Warm up tortillas and you’re good to go!
2. We love a good chicken dish, and this Lemon Garlic Chicken never disappoints. It isn’t complicated, but the flavors are complex enough for it to feel a little special, which I love!
3. Insta Pot Butter Chicken is really mouth watering. So tender and juicy and the pressure seems to make the flavors even better than slow cooking!
4. Pressure Cooker (InstaPot) Mediterranean Chicken is another favorite of ours.Great choice for any busy day! Plus the leftovers are great.

Best Pork & Beef InstaPot Recipes

Proteins like pork and beef can sometimes take a lot of time and care to get “right”. But these Instapot recipes make it a little less intense to get some of those fantastic meals made without quite as much babysitting in the kitchen.

1. It’s no secret I’m a huge Tex-Mex fan. Pork Carnitasin the Instapot is just one of the awesome recipes I love to make. Super juicy and again, SO EASY!
2. Ham and Bean Soup in the Instapottakes one of my favorite comforting recipes and makes it even easier by putting it into an instant pot to pressure cook. Fantastic flavors!
3. Chili is a staple for a lot of us. (and you can top baked potatoes, make loaded dogs, and so many other things with it)Award Winning Chili in the Instapotis a great recipe that is easy to follow and produces some very satisfying flavors.
4. I’m a huge fan of comfort food and this Instapot Beef Stewdefinitely fits the bill. The beef is super tender, and it makes eating this an absolute delight.

Family Friendly Pasta Instapot Recipes

Okay, what family doesn’t go crazy for pasta? I know mine loves little better than a bowl of pasta, especially if there’s cheese involved. So we love these fantastic pasta dishes. Plus, many of them are basically one-pot dinners, which is even better!

1. I wasn’t sure how spaghetti would be in the instant pot. ButInstaPot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce is fantastic and you’re sure to love it!
2. Seriously, lasagna is possible in the instant pot and it’s delicious! If you’re looking for something fun for dinner, give Instant Pot Lasagna a try.
3. InstaPot Creamy Shells isan Instapot recipe that’s sure to make the kids really happy. The beef makes it, even more, filling, and a perfect one-pot meal.
4. This is the BEST InstaPot Mac and Cheese. I’m serious. This is probably one of my favorite quick meals in the instant pot. Incredibly creamy and so good!

Amazing Instapot Recipes in the Dessert Category

Everyone loves a good dessert. I won’t claim that dessert in the instant pot is necessarily easier than any other method, but the results can be fantastic and it’s a great way to enjoy a decadent treat without heating up the entire house with the stove and oven, too!

1. Cheesecake in the Instapot couldn’t sound any more delicious. And though I haven’t yet tried out the cheesecake in the Instapot, I’m told that this is the absolute creamiest cheesecake ever. I’m all for that!
2. These little chocolatey delights also known as Instapot Molten Lava Cake are pure delight. Definitely a chocolate lover’s dream!
3. You can use any kind of fruit in this super easy Instant Pot Dump Cake. It also only takes a few ingredients to make, which is a huge win for me!
4. Now, these got my mouth watering. I love apple desserts, and a bowl of these EASY Instant Pot Apple Dumplings is a perfect choice. Just add ice cream!

Why the Instapot Craze?

With the ability to both cook under pressure and slow cook food, this tool has so much potential and can be a huge time and money saver as it can make cooking healthy, delicious food for your family much easier than just on the stove top. I’ve even taken it traveling with me (just like I like to take my slow cookers!) and we’ve eaten well without breaking the budget.

There are literally hundreds of things you can make in the instant pot. From the basics of cooking perfect rice to making easy, creamy homemade yogurt, to making melt in your mouth tender roasts, cooking in the instant pot is a dream. You can even find amazing Instapotrecipes for desserts, like to-die-for cheesecakes and molten lava cakes.

If you want elaborate fancy restaurant kinds of meals or just basic comfort food, you can really do it all in the instant pot. Of course, my all-time favorite comfort food is my creamy mac n cheese in the Instapot. So easy, and SO GOOD.

I love using it to cook up bulk proteins for easy freezer cooking, too. Having the meat pre-cooked up in the Instapot and portioned out in the freezer makes cooking on busy weeknights incredibly easy. I love opening up the freezer and knowing I have options, thanks to my instant pot and a little bit of thinking ahead!

And a few more reasons to love the Instapot ..

Plus, making one pot meals in the Instapot means you can have much less of a mess to clean up after dinner is done! And fewer dishes and clean up time is something I’m wholeheartedly behind.

The ability to quickly and easily create fantastic food for dinner usingInstapot recipes meets a need for many people, so it makes sense that there are so many people talking all about them right now. And with the summer heat coming on strong, not having to turn on the stove to get dinner done is a huge plus for many of us!

Whether you are a recent owner of a brand new instant pot, or maybe you’ve been holding on to this amazing kitchen tool for a while, finding delicious Instapot recipes that are both easy and family friendly can be daunting. I certainly can relate to the feeling of brain overload when it comes to looking for the perfect Instapot dinner to make for my family tonight!

That’s why I decided to collect some of the best instant pot recipes for beginners (and old pros will love these too!) in one place. Now let’s get to the recipes!

More Links and Resources for Easy InstaPot Cooking

• After you get settled in with the basics of cooking Instapot recipes you might find you want to expand a little bit. Here’s my personal pick of the Top Ten Accessories for Instant Pot Cooking.
• Cooking Meats and More in the Instapotgives you everything you need to know about how to cook protein in bulk in the instant pot. Pork, Chicken, Beef and beans are featured in this series with video tutorials so you not only read about how to do it but can actually watch me get it into the instant pot and set it up! (plus dozens of ideas of how to use the meat you’ve been able to bulk cook and freeze up!)
• Of course, the Instapot is not the only pressure cooker on the market. If you haven’t yet bought one of these guys, you may enjoy checking out my honest review of the two big pressure cookers on the market for insight into the features of each one. You can read all about in my post, Instant potvs Cuisinart– an honest review.

There you have it. If you have on of these handy little kitchen appliances, then get one of these Instapot recipes going for dinner tonight. If you haven’t gotten one yet, now is a great time to make that investment.

Now it’s your turn. What are some of your favorite Instapot recipes for beginners–or just recipes that are so easy you make them time and time again?