Looking for the best Instant Pot recipes around? We’ve got you covered! Here at A Couple Cooks we’ve been using our pressure cooker for years. While at first we were dubious on its merits, consider us true converts. It doesn’t cook things instantly, but it’s most often easier to put together (and sometimes quicker too!). To us, best Instant Pot recipes combine great flavors and healthy ingredients to make meals fast and easy. They’re also recipes that have been made and loved by our readers! So every single recipe below is a fan favorite: we’ve included a little testimonial for each recipe. From chili to oatmeal to tacos to apple crisp: there’s really no end to what you can do with a pressure cooker.
And now…our best Instant Pot recipes!
What Instant Pot to buy?
Here at A Couple Cooks we use an Instant Pot brand pressure cooker: the Instant Pot 6 Qt Multi-Use Programmable Pressure Cooker. Note that we can’t speak to how other brands of pressure cookers work. For example, the Instant Pot Mini can perform differently than a 6 quart size. Reader feedback: “This recipe is SO easy. This will definitely be a staple for years to come for me!” Reader feedback: “Made this tonight for my friends and I. So delicious! All my friends loved it as well and got seconds. Thank you!” Reader feedback: “This could easily go into regular rotation at our house!” Reader feedback: “Oh my! This recipe was so delicious and easy.” Reader feedback: “WOW what a great soup! Sooooo tasty and is now on my top 10 list of favorite recipes.” Reader feedback: “Oh my, I scraped the bowl clean on this one! The flavor was awesome and it was so easy, it was exactly what I needed." Reader feedback: “This has become a staple in our house. As someone who would turn my nose up as a kid to the idea of split pea soup, this has won me over!” Reader feedback: “OMG. This was my first Instant Pot recipe and the whole family loved it. We used it as a filler in burritos. Delicious.” Reader Feedback: “The best potato soup ever. It’s done so quick and it’s so easy. I make this every single week now.” Reader feedback: “One of the few items I’ve attempted in my new IP and I must say, best oatmeal I’ve ever had. My teen asked for seconds.” Reader feedback: “This is SERIOUSLY the BEST refried beans recipe I’ve ever had! I just have to cook these to enjoy regularly.” Reader feedback: “This is a super easy recipe and surprisingly packed with flavor! It also took barely any time to prepare and was so healthy, I think this is going to become a staple recipe!” Reader feedback: “We all thought it was yummy, flavorful and we would love to have it again. I will put it in the Instant Pot rotation!” Reader feedback: “The family liked it! Will make it again for sure!” Also try: Instant Pot Black Beans or Easy Instant Pot Pinto Beans Reader feedback: “Super simple and much cheaper than canned. No packaging and Earth friendly too!” Reader feedback: “It was easy and quick and even though it was made in the Instant Pot rather than the oven it made my kitchen smell amazing. The apples came out perfectly tender!"
“Hidden” cook time with a pressure cooker
What to know about cook time with an Instant Pot? The cook time for Instant Pot recipes can look deceptively short. Sweet potatoes cook for 16 minutes, and apple crisp cooks in 2 minutes, and broccoli in 0 minutes! But there are two hidden cook times to be aware of:
“Preheat” time: When you press “Start”, the Instant Pot requires about time for “preheating” or coming up to pressure. The exact time varies depending on how much food is in the pressure cooker. It varies between 5 minutes and up to 20 minutes.Natural release time: Some recipes call for a “cool down” process to release the pressure in the pot. A Quick Release means that the steam in the pot is released immediately and you can remove the lid. But some recipes call for a Natural Release, where you wait with the cover on for the pressure to naturally release from the pot.
Once you take into account these additional times, you can accurately estimate the time needed to cook using a pressure cooker! All our Instant Pot recipes have the preheat time (and Natural Release, if applicable) clearly marked. We want to help you understand how long the pressure cooker recipe will actually take to make.
How to clean the Instant Pot sealing ring
Your Instant Pot or pressure cooker comes with a plastic sealing ring on the inside of the lid. The sealing ring can sometimes pick up odors from the cooking. Here are a few tips on caring for the sealing ring:
Make sure to remove the sealing ring and fully clean it after cooking.Store the Instant Pot with the lid upside down so the sealing ring is exposed to air, instead of with the lid closed onto the pot. This allows the sealing ring to air out between uses.To remove the odor from an Instant Pot sealing ring, soak it in vinegar for a few hours.
Tip: Buy multiple sealing rings
If you use your Instant Pot often, here’s a tip. Consider purchasing two sealing rings! It’s especially important if you plan to make both savory and sweet recipes back to back. We have 2 Instant Pot sealing rings and use one for savory recipes and one for sweet recipes.
More Instant Pot recipes
Want more? We’ve got ’em. Here are more collections of recipes with a pressure cooker:
25+ Healthy Instant Pot RecipesEasy Pressure Cooker Recipes25+ Vegetarian Instant Pot Recipes20 Best Vegan Instant Pot RecipesInstant Pot Soup Recipes15 Favorite Instant Pot Uses
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