20 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes to Make for Dinner | foodiecrush.com (2024)

The Instant Pot is the hot, do-it-all appliance on every foodie’s radar right now. It makes cooking fast or slow, but always easy. Today we’re sharing more weekly meal prep inspiration, with this list of healthy Instant Pot recipes to make for dinner.

Healthy Instant Pot Recipes

Happy New Year, friends! Did Santa baby bring you everything you wanted, including a shiny new Instant Pot? These puppies have been selling in droves, especially over the holidays. And since healthy Instant Pot recipes have been flooding the Internet lately, we couldn’t help but wrangle up some of our favorite looking dishes at the moment.

January is all about balance and fresh slates, and trying to redeem ourselves from all of the cookies and melted brie we’ve stuffed our face with this last month. It’s also about planning and prepping so we can stay on track with our diets and budgets, which is precisely where these two things come in handy: easy, healthy instant pot recipes, and The Nourished Planner.

We’re excited to bring you our latest installment of our Meal Prep Series where we share 20 recipes you can plan and prep ahead of time for a head start on your week—and show Monday-Friday who’s boss.

First we answered the begging question, where’s the beef: 20 Recipes You Can Make with a Pound of Ground Beef (It’s What’s for Dinner), and then we brought you 20 Recipes You Can Make with a Can of Beans. And now, it’s time to flip the switch on dinner with the Instant Pot.

FREE Meal Plans Delivered Straight to Your Inbox

If you’re stumped on ideas of what to make for dinner for the week, sign up foryour FREE weekly meal plan and prep list herefrom my other biz, the Nourished Planner where you’ll receive an e-mail with FREE dinner ideas and a prep list each week in your inbox.

And,download this free printable weekly meal planner/to-do listto fill in, tape to the fridge, take to the grocery store, or use for reference next year when you can’t remember what the heck were your faverecipes from this one.

You get the idea. Now get cooking!

20 Easy, Healthy Dinner Ideas

This hearty soup-stew hybridis flavored with curry and coconut, with a nice kick from some jalapeño, and a rich creaminess from some peanut butter from Pinch of Yum.

Pho is our best friend when we’ve got the sniffles, but it’s also one of those rare soups you could eat any day of the year. This one is legit, yet instead of taking practically all day to cook, it comes together in under an hour from Platings and Pairings.

Two surprising ingredients make these classic meatballs sing (plus, there’s no browning required), and Italian grandmothers everywhere would be rejoicing over the fact that these are made easy in the Instant Pot from A Calculated Whisk.

Next to chicken noodle soup, chicken and rice is the quintessential comfort food. You’d never know this version was dairy and gluten-free, and it’s also ready in under 30 minutes, thanks to the Instant Pot! From A Saucy Kitchen.

These super authentic, brothy beans are filling and packed with flavor, and they can be eaten like a soup from Skinnytaste.

A homemade, healthier take on this Chinese takeout favorite, and it can be on your table in less than 30 minutes from Two Peas and Their Pod.

Who doesn’t want curry in a hurry, especially on a crazy weeknight? This vegan dish is healthy, teeming with awesome flavor, and is ready in just 20 minutes from Food Faith Fitness.

Chili is a comfort food staple that gets us through these better cold months, and this chicken and bean chili recipe couldn’t be simpler or quicker

Got leftover carnitas? Think outside the tortilla and make soup! This easy, 5-ingredient recipe is on the money from Gimme Some Oven.

Butter chicken is quite possibly our favorite Indian dish, but like its name suggests, it often is laden with butter, and thus cruel on the waistline. That’s why this healthy recipe makeover has our attention (that, and the fact that it takes less than 30 minutes!) from Carmy.

Sausage and kale bring extra heartiness to this comforting lentil soup from Platings and Pairings.

Tortellini gets a healthy boost with kale, veggies, a bit of turkey sausage and plenty of herbed flavor for an Instant Pot slow cooked dinner at your fingertips from FoodieCrush.

A panoply of aromatic Middle Eastern spices make this lamb and chickpea stew a comforting treat on a chilly night.

Instant Pot mac and cheese is an absolute game changer, especially when it’s lightened-up with cauliflower (which you don’t even taste), whole wheat pasta, and reduced-fat cream cheese in this healthy (but super creamy) makeover from Well Plated.

Tahini lends extra creaminess and a wonderful zest to this beautiful white bean soup that takes just 10 minutes of prep from Heartbeat Kitchen.

You’ve heard of everything but the kitchen sink cookies, but have you heard of everything but the kitchen sink soup? This rice-based one is a brilliant way to use up leftovers from Cotter Crunch.

Who needs Chipotle when you can make tastier, healthier burrito bowls at home, and in the Instant Pot?

This colorful and creamy vegetarian lentil soup is loaded up with good-for-you ingredients, and is wonderfully filling from Peas and Crayons.

Add your favorite veggies and protein (or whatever you have on hand) to these easy, sweet and sticky chili garlic noodles from Pinch of Yum.

Get dinner on the table in just 30 minutes with these carb-friendly 5-ingredient salsa chicken taco lettuce wraps from Platings and Pairings.

Even More Quick and Healthy Dinner Ideas

Need even more Instant Pot meal prep inspo? Here are a few more healthy Instant Pot recipes we’re loving:

  • How to Cook Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
  • Beef Stew with Butternut Squash (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)
  • Instant Pot Orange Chicken Lettuce Wraps
  • Baby Back Ribs in the Instant Pot

This recipe round-up was curated and written by FoodieCrush contributor Hayley Putnam ofSeven Day Weekend.
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20 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes to Make for Dinner | foodiecrush.com (2024)

FAQs

Can you cook a meal in an Instant Pot? ›

Instant Pot is a pressure cooker -- and then some. It also sautés, slow cooks, makes rice and steams veggies and poultry. It's an all-in-one device, so you can, for instance, brown a chicken and cook it all in the same pot. In most cases, Instant Pot meals are ready to serve in less than an hour.

How do you cook multiple things in an Instant Pot? ›

If you're not familiar with pot-in-pot cooking, it's a method where you cook one part of your meal on the bottom of the Instant Pot (I own this 6 quart model), in the large stainless steel insert, while another part of your meal, like a side dish, cooks in a separate bowl placed on a trivet.

Can you put smaller pot in Instant Pot? ›

The PIP method allows you to cook food in a smaller pot inside the Instant Pot's inner pot (liner). It's a very useful and helpful technique for a variety of practical applications. It saves time, makes it more convenient to cook or clean, and offers more possibilities on what you can cook.

Is Instapot worth it? ›

Yes, the Instant Pot is widely considered an effective and versatile pressure cooker. Many users find it worth the price due to its convenience, time-saving features, and ability to perform various cooking functions in one appliance.

What Cannot be cooked in a pressure cooker? ›

Here are six things you should always avoid cooking in a pressure cooker.
  1. Dairy products. Foods containing dairy, like milk, cream, or yogurt, should not be pressure-cooked. ...
  2. Fried foods. Cooking fried foods is a strict no no, when it comes to pressure cookers. ...
  3. Quick cooking vegetables. ...
  4. Cakes and bakes. ...
  5. Eggs in the shell.
Jul 23, 2023

What to avoid when using pressure cooker? ›

Pressure Cooker Don'ts:
  1. Don't open the pressure cooker while cooking. ...
  2. Don't release the pressure before it's time. ...
  3. Don't overfill the pressure cooker. ...
  4. Don't add thickeners. ...
  5. Don't give up after one bad experience.
Oct 5, 2018

What is the best meat to cook in a pressure cooker? ›

You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.

Can I put a glass bowl in a pressure cooker? ›

Oven-tempered glass and metal bowls or pans can be used in a pressure cooker. Beautiful desserts and side dishes can be prepared in a pressure cooker by using individual molds, glass custard cups, metal bowls, pans, soufflé dishes, and springform pans, all of which must be oven safe.

Can I put Pyrex bowl in Instant Pot? ›

6 Answers. That is commonly done, and yes, any pyrex is fine for it although metal has an advantage in that it wouldn't require extra time. Anytime you use glass, pyrex, ceramic or any other heat absorbent material for "pot in pot" cooking, add ~5 minutes to the time under pressure.

How full is too full for Instant Pot? ›

Also, an overly-full Instant Pot can lead to a clogged pressure release knob, because food and liquid can get sucked up inside. To stay on the safe side, don't fill your pot over that two-thirds line, and stay below half full for foods that expand while cooking, such as beans and lentils.

What dishes are safe for Instant Pot? ›

Instant pot-safe bowls can be made of stainless steel, glass, ceramic, silicone, aluminum, bamboo, or copper. But one thing to keep in mind is that heat is transferred differently in different containers depending on factors such as material, size, and thickness.

What foods can you can in a pressure cooker? ›

With a pressure canner, you can safely make canned ground beef, canned black beans, canned chicken stock, chicken and gravy in a jar, chili and more. The problem with the pressure cooker is there is no way to test the accuracy of the pressure your food is cooking at.

What do you cook in a pressure cooker for beginners? ›

Robin Shreeves joins Laurel Randolph in compiling this list.
  1. Pressure Cooker Chicken Stock. ...
  2. Instant Pot Easy-Peel Hard Boiled Eggs. ...
  3. Instant Pot Chicken. ...
  4. Instant Pot Oatmeal with Apples and Cinnamon. ...
  5. Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken Taco Meat. ...
  6. Instant Pot Mushroom Risotto. ...
  7. Fast, No-Soak Instant Pot Beans. ...
  8. Instant Pot Rice.

When would you use a pressure cooker? ›

Pressure cooking means traditionally slow-cooked meals, like velvety casseroles, homely stews, and warming goulashes, don't have to be reserved for the weekend. You can easily prepare a high-flavour meal under 30 minutes that tastes like it's been gently bubbling away on an Aga stovetop for the entire day.

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