7 Quick Instant Pot Recipes to Save Time In The Kitchen - Crafting a Family Dinner (2024)

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One of the best ways to save time after a long day at work or a long day with the kids is to toss healthy ingredients in your Instant Pot for your family dinner. Add a bagof salad and you are free to spend time with thekids not standing over the stove.

It is so easy to stop and get fast food but we all know that is not a good option. Once and a while it is a time saver but for your family’s health not to mention their weight fast food is not the answer.

Let’s make a commitment to feeding our families and ourselves fresh non-processed foods that help our bodies, give us energy, and help our little ones grow strong and healthy. But who has the time or wants to spend an hour in the kitchen standing over the stove cooking after a long day.

The answer is using that new Instant Pot Electric Pressure cooker you have not taken out of the box or have been dreaming of.

If you need to buy an Instant Pot you can find all the options by jumping over here.

I have for you 7 of my Instant Pot Recipies that are family-friendly, use simple easy-to-find ingredients, require manualchopping, and can be found at budget-friendly prices.

How To Make Easy Weeknight Meals For Busy Moms

  • Use your Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker to make your main dish for weeknightmeals.
  • Any veggie chopping can be done the night before to have in the refrigeratorwhen you are ready to start dinner.
  • Keep your Chicken or Beef frozen. One of the best features of an Instant Pot is you can toss in all the ingredientswith frozen foods, it just takes a little longer for your meal to get under pressure, but the dish turns out the same.
  • Make sure you have at least 1/2 cup of a light liquid (Water, Broth, Wine, or Beer) as you will need this for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. If you do not have water to make steam in your pressure cooker it will not cook.
  • I always check my ring to make sure it is in the lid correctly. I also run the ring underwater before I put the lid on the pot, you do not have to do this, but I find that the lid goes on easierwhen it is wet.
  • Use the Saute function on the Instant Pot to brown your chicken or beef before you cook your dish if you want the meat to look like it came out of the oven. (but not necessary). Hit cancelafter Sauteand then program for pressure cooking.

Check Out These Budget Friendly Instant Pots

7 Quick Instant Pot Recipes to Save Time In The Kitchen - Crafting a Family Dinner (2)

7 Family Friendly Instant Pot Dinners

1) Instant Pot Cream Of Mushroom Soup Chicken and Rice Dinner

You can have the classic 50’s Cream of Mushroom Soup Chicken & Rice casseroledinner without the worry of getting it wrong. I use to make my mother’s casserole and it was eitherunderdone, with crunch hard rice, or overdone. Now when you make the chicken and cream of mushroom soup in the Instant Pot the chicken is perfect. I make the rice separate and the dish is perfect. This is a family favoritein our home and it will be in your home too.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

2) Easy Instant Pot Barbecue Chicken Quick Family Dinner

The guys in our home love this recipe, it is so quick and simple. You use whatever your family’s favorite barbecue sauce and you will have a delicious chicken barbecuesandwich in minutes.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

One of the favorite Italian dishes at an Italian restaurant is Chicken Marsala. If you love mushrooms and the rich flavor of Marsala wine, you can make this dish at home quickly & easily in the Instant Pot. If you thought Chicken Marsala was complicated and time-consuming you will be able to make this dish every week in no time.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

Classic homemade Mac & Cheese is quick & easy and on the table in minutes with your Instant Pot. When the family is hungry for dinner your Instant Pot Mac & Cheese is the quickest dinner you can make.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

5) Veggie Crumbles Tomato Pasta Sauce

Using your Instant Pot you can have a filling dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes total. We love to make this dish when we go on our beach vacations. And yes I take my Instant Pot on vacation (lol).

GET THE RECIPE HERE

Everyone loves chicken & rice dishes and with a little taco flavor, is an easy family friendly weekly dinner.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

7) Easy Instant Pot Salisbury Steak

Do you remember the TV Dinners from the ’50s & ’60s, Salisbury Steak was a big hit back them. Using ground beef or hamburger patties, you can have dinner ready for the family in no time without standing over a simmering frying pan.

GET THE RECIPE HERE

7 Quick Instant Pot Recipes to Save Time In The Kitchen - Crafting a Family Dinner (2024)

FAQs

What can you not make in an Instant Pot? ›

In fact, there are a handful of foods that just shouldn't be pressure-cooked. Among them are dairy and fried foods, as well as burgers and steaks.

What should I make first in my new Instant Pot? ›

When it comes to breaking your Instant Pot in, it's a good idea to start with some basic foods and simple meals you're already familiar with, then slowly expand your Instant Pot repertoire from there. Try making staples like eggs, sweet potatoes, rice, or lentils using just the pressure cooker function.

How do you cook so everything is ready at the same time? ›

Dinner Timing: How to make sure everything is ready at the same...
  1. GET A GREAT TIMER. There's no reason to mentally keep track of the cooking time for every pot on the stove! ...
  2. MISE EN PLACE. ...
  3. MEAL PREP IN ADVANCE. ...
  4. EMBRACE ONE POT MEALS. ...
  5. REPURPOSE YOUR LEFTOVERS. ...
  6. WORK BACKWARDS. ...
  7. BE PATIENT.
Aug 3, 2017

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.

What should never be cooked in a pressure cooker? ›

Foods containing dairy, like milk, cream, or yogurt, should not be pressure-cooked. The high heat and pressure can cause dairy products to curdle or separate, ruining the texture, taste and flavour of the dish. Cooking fried foods is a strict no no, when it comes to pressure cookers.

Why shouldn't potatoes be cooked in a pressure cooker? ›

Mostly we boil potatoes in a pressure cooker, but like rice, potatoes also contain a lot of starch. This is the reason why boiling or cooking in this pressure cooker is not considered good for health. If you still plan to use cooker for the same, add a lot of water and wash them thoroughly post cooking.

How to save time when cooking? ›

Consider these nine time-saving kitchen hacks, and say goodbye to kitchen stress and hello to more quality time at the table!
  1. Prepare staple items (chicken, rice, beans, etc.) once a week. ...
  2. Freeze it. If you're going to make a meal, make a double recipe. ...
  3. Improve your cooking skills. ...
  4. Keep a list of “go-to-meals.”
Oct 12, 2023

How to make a cooking time plan? ›

The time may be split into 10 or 15 minute blocks to help you organise your tasks. It helps to start at the time the food has to be served and work backwards e.g. If the food has to be ready to serve at 1.00p.m and it takes 35 minutes in the oven the latest time it can go into the oven is 12.15.

How do you cook different things at the same time? ›

USE AN AVERAGE TEMPERATURE

You can bake several dishes at once by setting your oven to the average temperature called for across recipes. If, for instance, one dish requires a temperature of 350℉ and another needs to bake at 400℉, set the temperature to 375℉ and keep a close eye on food as it cooks.

Can you cook multiple things in the oven at once? ›

Can you cook 2 or more dishes in the oven at once? Yes. Most people fret when it comes to cooking two dishes at once, but it's your oven's job to keep the internal temperature set to what you selected. It may have to work a little harder when two or more cold dishes are inserted but trust that it will do its job.

How do you adjust cooking times for multiple items? ›

It's simple. Use the oven set point for the most delicate item or for the one with the lowest temp. And expect the other item to take longer than normal. Also put the more delicate / lower temp dish on the lower shelf as well.

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