I’ve had my Instant Pot for a year, and I’m much more comfortable with pressure cooking now. Below I share everything I’ve cooked during that first year — the easy wins, the missteps, and the favorites. Here are the first 25 recipes I made with my Instant Pot.
It’s been one year since I received my Instant Pot as a Christmas gift (thanks, Mom!). After using it multiple times each week, pressure cooking feels intuitive. Sometimes I don’t even follow a recipe — I like to experiment. Below are my early Instant Pot trials and what I learned from each.
I still joke about being an Instant Pot professional, but mostly I’m just more confident and adventurous in the kitchen.
What Instant Pot model do you have?
There are many models available, and I use the Instant Pot Duo Plus 6-qt (9-in-1). It’s an older model but still reliable. Note that accessories and methods I mention were tested with this size, so they may fit differently in smaller Instant Pot models.
What are your favorite Instant Pot accessories?
Accessories make a big difference depending on how you like to cook. Here are the tools I use most often and why:
Instant Pot tempered glass lid: Great for yogurt or when you want to cover food without sealing the pressure lid. It’s useful for finishing dips or keeping dishes warm on the “Keep Warm” setting.
Higher stainless steel trivet: The stock trivet works for many tasks, but when I want to cook something in the bottom and another dish above it (pot-in-pot), a taller trivet is essential. It makes it possible to cook a main dish and rice or sides simultaneously.
7-inch silicone loaf pan: I use a silicone loaf pan for pot-in-pot cooking because its shape is easy to lift out. Metal bowls sometimes leave no room to grab, so the silicone pan saves hassle and doubles for baking.
12-inch silicone tongs: Longer tongs are helpful for stirring or reaching into the pot during sautéing without putting your hands too close to the heat.
The First 25 Recipes I Made With My Instant Pot
#1 BBQ Chicken & Quartered Potatoes
My first tries were a bit rough. I made BBQ chicken with quartered potatoes as an easy starter, but the potatoes turned mushy (likely cut too small) and the chicken was only okay. It was a learning experience and motivated me to try more recipes.
#2 Cheesy Meaty Shells
This one won us over. It’s a one-pot comfort meal that would normally take multiple pans but came together in the Instant Pot. Browning the meat using Sauté before pressure cooking is one of my favorite Instant Pot techniques. The dish tasted great and sparked my enthusiasm for more savory meals.
#3 Plain Quinoa
I used to cook quinoa in a rice cooker, but switched to the Instant Pot and tested different ratios and small tweaks like adding coconut oil. Practicing with small batches of quinoa helped me learn how pressure and timing work, building my confidence.
#4 Buffalo Chicken Meatballs & Quinoa
After mastering quinoa, I combined it with meatballs. I browned the meatballs on Sauté, then pressure cooked them with the quinoa. This taught me the pot-in-pot and multi-component benefits of the Instant Pot — cooking a protein and grain together saves time and cleanup.
#5 Homemade Chicken Broth
Making stock is much easier in the Instant Pot. Instead of hovering over the stove for hours, I pressure cook bones and aromatics for a couple of hours and leave the house while it works. It’s faster, energy efficient, and yields great flavor.
#6 Rice (Brown & White)
Although the Instant Pot has a rice button, I prefer following a trusted rice guide for consistent results. I’ve used methods that produced reliable white and brown rice every time.
#7 Steel Cut Oats
Steel cut oats are one of the best Instant Pot discoveries: they cook faster and require less hands-on time than stovetop simmering. My usual method is a short pressure cook followed by a natural release, which gives creamy oats with minimal effort.
#8 Steamed Broccoli
You can pressure cook vegetables with a zero-minute cook time — perfect for quick steamed broccoli. It’s a great shortcut when you want tender florets without turning on the oven.
#9 Chocolate Lava Cake
This indulgent dessert is decadent and rich — not an everyday treat, but fantastic for special occasions. The Instant Pot makes a perfectly gooey center with minimal fuss.
#10 Homemade Greek Yogurt
After a few batches, I stopped referencing the instructions and now make yogurt from memory. Homemade Greek yogurt tastes fresher, reduces packaging waste, and is often more economical than store-bought versions.
#11 Whey Bread (proofing the dough)
After making yogurt, I discovered the strained whey can be repurposed and that the Instant Pot’s yogurt setting creates a great warm environment for proofing bread dough. It’s an easy hack for better rise without extra equipment.
#12 Wild Rice Soup
Wild rice usually takes a long time to cook, so the Instant Pot makes this hearty soup approachable. It produced a rich, comforting soup that became an instant favorite in our rotation.
#13 Jalapeno Popper Chicken Soup
I experimented with more soups and landed on a jalapeno popper–style chicken soup. It’s zesty, cozy, and full of tender chicken. A great example of a flavorful, weeknight Instant Pot dinner.
#14 Black Beans
Cooking dry beans in the Instant Pot works well, though it can produce more than you need if your household doesn’t eat beans often. The texture is excellent, but canned beans remain a convenient shortcut for smaller households.
#15 Salsa Chicken
Salsa chicken became one of our go-to dinners. It’s simple: chicken, salt, garlic powder, and salsa. Pressure cooking makes the chicken tender and shreddable with almost no effort.
#16 Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are now my domain because the Instant Pot takes the guesswork out of boiling. Potatoes come out consistently tender and mash easily without watching the stove.
#17 Spaghetti Squash
Squash that usually roasts for 40–50 minutes can be done in about 20 minutes in the Instant Pot, including time to come to pressure. It’s faster, uses less energy, and is a great time-saver.
#18 Beef & Broccoli
Beef and broccoli is a family favorite. Sautéing then pressure cooking delivers tender beef and perfectly cooked broccoli for an easy weeknight meal.
#19 Egg Roll in a Bowl
This veggie-forward, skillet-style dish works beautifully in the Instant Pot and has stayed in our meal rotation. It’s quick, satisfying, and great for Whole30 or clean-eating weeks.
#20 BBQ Chicken Meal Prep
Combining pineapple, peppers, and chicken with BBQ sauce makes a flavorful meal-prep bowl. Early on I hadn’t mastered pot-in-pot, so rice was cooked separately. Still, it made great leftovers and packed well for lunches.
#21 Instant Pot Gumbo
Gumbo was well worth the wait. We loved it and enjoyed the leftovers. If you’re comfortable with the Sauté function, gumbo is a rewarding recipe to try in the Instant Pot.
#22 Tandoori Chicken
This tandoori-style chicken is highly flavorful, dairy-free, and requires minimal chopping. It’s versatile and pairs well with rice cooked pot-in-pot for an easy, complete meal.
#23 Honey Garlic Chicken & Rice
This is where I finally nailed pot-in-pot cooking. Using a tall trivet and a silicone loaf pan, I cooked chicken thighs and rice at the same time. It worked beautifully and became one of my favorite Instant Pot meals.
#24 Lasagna
Lasagna in the Instant Pot was a success. I finished mine in the oven for a browned top, but it can be done entirely in the pot. Using compatible accessories made layering and steaming easy.
#25 Hard-Boiled Eggs
Hard-boiled eggs are now a breeze. I make them often because they peel easily and require no stove time. My preferred timing is 5 minutes on high pressure with 5 minutes natural release, then cool in cold water. For soft-boiled eggs, I do 2 minutes on high pressure with a 5-minute natural release, then cool in cold water.
Thanks for reading about the first 25 recipes I made with my Instant Pot. I’m excited to try 25 more. If you’re new to pressure cooking, these recipes offer a mix of basics and show how versatile the Instant Pot can be. A few things I’d like to try next include vanilla extract, chicken tikka masala, lazy lasagna, caprese chicken thighs, and classic cheesecake — all great ways to keep exploring the appliance.
