20+ Ridiculously Easy Instant Pot Recipes for Busy School Nights - Mama Cheaps® (2024)

Table of Contents

Easy Instant Pot Recipes Instant Pot Dinner Recipes FAQs

This post may contain affiliate links and ads. Read our disclosure policy here.

Raise your hand if you have ever fallen victim to the drive-thru window or some other form of take-out food on a busy school night. C’mon, raise those hands! I won’t judge you. I have most definitely done the same thing. Because it can be so hard to juggle all of the kids’ activities AND get a home-cooked meal on the table for dinner. (Some of us don’t even get the chance to sit down as a family to eat dinner at least one night during the week because we are en route from one activity to another over the dinner hour.)

Easy Instant Pot Recipes

A couple of years ago, I finally gave in to Pinterest pressure (haha is that really a real thing?) and bought myself an Instant Pot. I figured I would use it here and there to speed up meals when I had forgotten to defrost meat in time for dinner. I can tell you with confidence that my Instant Pot has quickly risen to the rank of Kitchen All-Star and gets used at least 2 times a week, bare minimum. We have taken our IP camping and I use it for weekly lunch prep. It’s a really convenient time saving tool (pressure cooker) and cooks up savory meals in a fraction of the time that my slow cooker is capable of. Between the Instant Pot and our air fryer, I am finding it so much easier to get delicious dinner on the table, even when our nights are super busy.

Besides cooking meals, you can even use this multi-function cooker for things like cooking hardboiled eggs and making yogurt!

Did you just get an Instant Pot? Here’s a great starter post:You Just Got An Instant Pot. Now What? Tips for Using Your New Instant Pot.

Did you know you canaccessorize your Instant Pot?

In addition to the dinner ideas you will find below, I now have several other Instant Pot recipe roundups on the blog. Check them out:

37 Easy Easter Instant Pot Recipes (Entrees, Apps, Sides, Dessert Ideas)
Easiest Way to Make Hard Boiled Eggs in the Instant Pot
20 of the Best Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes
21 Must-Try Weight Watchers Instant Pot Recipes
21 Delicious Paleo Instant Pot Recipes
45 of the Greatest Game Day and Tailgating Instant Pot Recipes
21 Decadent Desserts You Can Make in Your Instant Pot
21 Easy Instant Pot Recipes to Make in Your RV
Easy Pressure Cooker Pot Roast Recipe
13 Perfectly PUMPKIN Instant Pot Recipes
12 Totally APPLE Instant Pot Recipes
20 Savory Instant Pot Sides for Your Next BBQ
How to Cook Pork Tenderloin in the Instant Pot
Easy Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Perfect Instant Pot Corn on the Cob
Easy Instant Pot BBQ Chicken Legs
Creamy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

I scoured the interwebs for some really super easy Instant Pot recipes using common ingredients so that you can join me in trying to cut out some of the fast food dinner purchases this year!

Instant Pot Dinner Recipes

1. Instant Pot Pot Roast

2. Instant Pot Buttery Lemon Chicken from Mama Instincts

3. Instant Pot Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes from You Wash I’ll Dry

4. Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas

5. Easy Pulled Pork Instant Pot Recipe from Slick Housewives

6. Instant Pot Buttery Ranch Pork Chops from Eating on a Dime

7. Beef and Broccoli Pressure Cooker Recipe from I Save A to Z

8. Instant Pot Spaghetti

FAQs

Is Instant Pot worth it for students? ›

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 is a one pot wonder? ›

One-pot wonders are a culinary revelation. They are meals that can be made using just a single pot, pan, or skillet. Whether it's a hearty stew, a comforting pasta dish, or a flavorful stir-fry, one-pot wonders allow you to cook an entire meal in one go, maximizing the flavors and minimizing the mess.

View Details ›

Can you make everything in an Instant Pot? ›

The Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker but also a slow cooker, yogurt maker, rice cooker, big sauté pot, steamer, and more. We have the 6-Quart Instant Pot Duo which is what we use for all our Instant Pot recipes. They also make a 3-Quart Instant Pot Mini and a hefty 8-quart Instant Pot.

Find Out More ›

How much does Instant Pot reduce cooking time? ›

Most things cook (at least) 60–70% faster in a pressure cooker than when using any other type of cooking. That doesn't count the prep time of course, or any time the oven, pot, or pressure cooker takes to come to temperature for the food to start real “cooking” though, or “resting” time in the pot for some foods.

Discover More Details ›

Why did Instapot go out of business? ›

“In particular, tightening of credit terms and higher interest rates impacted our liquidity levels and made our capital structure unsustainable,” Mr. Gadbois said. Instant Brands said in a statement on Wednesday that the new financing would allow the company to continue paying workers, vendors and suppliers.

Tell Me More ›

Did Instapot go out of business? ›

The Instant Pot, for its part, is not dead. Cornell Capital has brought in a restructuring crew, and the brand's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing allows it to continue doing business while it seeks relief from its debts.

Show Me More ›

What is the one pot meal trend? ›

This age-old preparation method is found among almost all ethnicities and cultures, and as its name suggests, it needs just one pot or pan. This pot may be a Dutch Oven, casserole dish, tagine, roast pan, skillet, or wok. All your vegetables, protein, and starches are mixed in just one vessel.

Discover More ›

What is a one dish meal? ›

One-dish literally means just one pot. And one cooking dish means very little clean up during and after the meal. Saving time on clean up frees even more time to spend as you wish.

Read The Full Story ›

What is one pot one shot? ›

OPOS, which stands for One Pot One Shot, is a cooking style developed by B Ramakrishnan from Chennai and his mini army of followers (from across the world) on Facebook. It promises a chicken biryani in 6 minutes, a mutton biryani in 12 minutes.

Find Out More ›

Is an air fryer worth it for a student? ›

However, with a few essential pieces of kitchen kit, they'll be set up to make meals that are almost as quick but lots healthier. Air fryers have become a must-have gadget of recent times, and because they're so energy efficient and easy to use, they're an ideal piece of kit for any student kitchen.

View Details ›

What's the big deal about Instant Pots? ›

However, the Instant Pot is more functional than a slow cooker and a rice cooker combined because it can also pressure-cook. The word “instant” in the name gives it away: You can cook things astonishingly fast in a pressure cooker—even notoriously slow-cooking or labor-intensive foods, such as risotto and brisket.

View Details ›