The Best Instant Pot Recipes

i’ve been cooking nearly every meal with my Instant Pot since mid-December 2016. i keep a list of all the recipes i’ve made, sorted into three sections: Keepers, Meh, and Never again.

Here is the best of that list! Bookmark this post, because i’ll keep updating it for you.

Keepers

Instant Pot Red-Headed Stepchild Chili

i’m never enamored by “Best of” lists that only contain recipes from the author’s own website, but this is a different case! This recipe combines the ingredients from two of my favourite recipes, along with a cooking technique from a third site, to form the best chili i’ve ever made (and continue to make every Sunday night!) This is the Voltron of Instant Pot chili.

It’s a good weekend project. Up to an hour to prep, and up to an hour to cook… but the results are great, and the yield is massive. Make it on a Sunday like i do to fill in your meal gaps for the rest of the week.

Instant Pot Beef Stew

This is one of the best things we’ve ever made in the Instant Pot. We’ve served it to guests on multiple occasions as a testament to the Pot’s powers.

Salsa Verde Chicken

The ratio of effort-to-deliciousness doesn’t get any better than this. Dump chicken, salsa, and two spoons of spice into the pot and walk away. When you come back, shred your delicious chicken. We like to eat it in corn tortilla tacos with a bit of avocado, cheese, and sour cream.

“BUT WAIT!” you say. “Doesn’t shredding meat take forever?” Yeah, it does. i had been using the two-fork method for a long time, until i saw heavenly image float past on my Facebook feed. They were THESE:

i freaked out and messaged my wife who (unbeknownst to me) had already bought me a pair for my stocking at Christmas, and was really excited to see me open them. She said “Well you know, Christmas is coming up…” and i said “FUCK THAT – i JUST ORDERED TWO PAIRS.”

So i ruined Christmas. BUT… they are every bit as awesome as i imagined, and they DESTROY meat like the two-fork method never could. Now, my meat shredding takes moments instead of being a slog. i highly recommend these things. If you click the link and buy a pair, i’ll even earn a few affiliate pennies.

Better Than Take-Out Beef & Broccoli

This tasted exactly how i expected it to taste (which, in a word, was good!)

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

It’s high-calorie, sure, but it’s amazing comfort food that’s a cinch to make. i skip the green onion garnish, and often the bacon (i don’t find bacon all that great on day two), but the buttery toasted panko is vital.

Pressure Cooker Indian Butter Chicken

If it doesn’t taste quite right, add some salt when serving. Then it’ll taste quite right.

UPDATE: The brand of coconut milk and the amount of tomato paste you use really affects the thickness of this recipe. It calls for a “small” can of paste (i can only assume 156.5ml/5.5 fl oz?) The second time i made this, my results were really runny with only one can, but by adding a second can, i thickened it up perfectly.

Carne Guisada

i’ve never had this dish before, so i don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like… but i do quite like what it does taste like: a mildly spicy beef stew. The serrano peppers aren’t easy to find in my neck of the woods, but i’ve read that you can substitute jalapenos. i served this stew over some basmati rice, but i think it would make a really great taco filling. This recipe yielded exactly enough to feed my family of four. i’ll probably double it next time because i’ll want leftovers.