November 5, 2018

Winner, Winner, Instant Pot Dinner: Making Your Instant Pot Work for You

If you have spent any time perusing Pinterest or looked for recipes on the Internet, you have no doubt seen mention of the infamous Instant Pot. I spent a year or two waiting for the excitement and novelty of the appliance to settle before I made any moves towards purchasing it. I am not a fan of having to store numerous kitchen appliances that get minimal use (I am looking at you, Salad Shooter). If I were completely honest, the idea of a pressure cooker scared me a bit after hearing some horror stories from my grandma and pressure cooker mishaps from  old school, stovetop pressure cookers.

A couple of months ago, I caved when I saw a great deal on one I had my eye on. Two days later, it was on my doorstep courtesy of Amazon. I have begun to dabble with some of the basics and moved on to actual recipes and I have to say, I am in love. I can completely see what all the hype is about and am loving the speed, convenience and hands off cooking that it affords.

I bought the 8 Qt 10-in-1 Instant Pot – I love the larger size for our family (Instant Pot says it’s for families 6+).  Here’s a 6 Qt (great for families 4-6) and a 3 Qt (for 2-3 people and smaller servings).

8 Qt Instant Pot – via Amazon

While I love using my favorite food blogs and Pinterest for recipe inspiration, I also love having an actual cookbook in my hands. The majority of my meal planning, cooking and baking comes from cookbooks instead of the Internet. You can see some of my favorites here and here. I am going to share some of both with you- some cookbooks that have piqued my interest as well as some recipes that are available on the Internet. You can always use your favorite local bookseller, Amazon or your local library to check out any of these books.

Instant Pot Cookbooks:

Skinnytaste One and Done

This Old Gal’s Pressure Cooker Cookbook

The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook

Easy-Freeze Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Cookbook 

Internet Instant Pot Recipes:

I have made most of these for our family and they have all been winners. Most recipes include options for both Instant Pot and slow cooker.

12 Healthy Freezer Meals – Pinch of Yum

12 Favorite Instant Pot Soup Recipes – Pinch of Yum

Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot – Margin Making Mom

Rotisserie Chicken – Smashed Peas and Carrots

Instant Pot Apple Sauce – Living Well, Spending Less

Black Bean Chili – Gimme Some Oven

Brown Rice in the Instant Pot – Rebooted Mom

Tender Greek Pork – Mel’s Kitchen

Instant Pot Smokey Honey Chicken – Mel’s Kitchen

Pressure Cooker Gooey Caramel – Kitschen Cat

Pressure Cooker Quinoa – Pass the Plants

Pressure Cooker Pure Vanilla Extract – Tidbits

Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes – Add a Pinch

Check out my Pinterest board for all sorts of Instant Pot recipes.  I am always adding recipes!

I am always looking for more inspiration so feel free to share your personal favorite Instant Pot cookbooks and links to your family’s favorite recipes in the comments.

Curious how I menu plan?  Here are a couple posts for you:

Simple Menu Planning Tips to Make Meal Times Easier

What’s On My Cookbook Stack

How do I clean my Instant Pot?  I have a post on that for you here!

Don’t miss the FLASH SALE on the 2018 Ultimate Homemaking Bundle – it’s goes through tomorrow (Tuesday, November 6th)!