Recently my Instagram feed has been full of stories of people finally pulling out their instant pots only to ask their online friends “what now?” Not to worry. This week I’m sharing an entire week of instant pot recipes. Honestly, this has probably been my number one requested post since I started Dinner with the Duffys over a year ago, but I wasn’t convinced there was enough recipe variety for a weeks worth of meals. After tons of digging, I finally found six instant pot recipes that won’t leave you feeling like you’ve eaten the same thing, night after night.
Aside from not knowing what to cook inside the instant pot, most people are at a loss for how to operate their new appliance. For one, there are lots of buttons – pressure cook, rice, yogurt, slow cook, poultry – too many to list. But guess what? The only difference in most of the preset buttons is the cook time. For example, the poultry setting will cook for a specific time, regardless of whether it’s actually cooking poultry because your instant pot doesn’t have the power to sense what is inside of it. Just think of all of these “feature buttons” as timers. The only buttons you really need to worry about are manual/pressure cook, sauté, slow cook and keep warm. Anytime a recipe calls for you to cook on high pressure, you select “pressure cook” and use the +/- buttons to set the cook time. That’s it. The other features are pretty self explanatory. You should note – when the set time has been reached, the instant pot will automatically switch to “keep warm.”
And then there’s the actual sealing/venting pressure part which can be a little worrisome. The number one thing you need to remember, when using the pressure cook function, is you must turn the knob to sealed after closing the lid. In order for pressure to build in the pot, the knob must be sealed. Once the necessary cook time has been reached, carefully turn the knob to venting and allow the steam to escape the pot. That’s it. I promise, once you do it a time or two you will get the hang of it and wonder why it took a quarantine for you to pull this baby out!!
Sunday, March 29th // Instant Pot Ribs // Only way I will cook ribs y’all. You absolutely can not over cook ribs this way and they are fall off the bone tender in only 25 minutes!!
Monday, March 30th // Instant Pot Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs // One of my favorite @skinnytaste instant pot recipes. If you aren’t in the mood for making meatballs, just purchase pre-made ones from the store. I’m going to put Regan and Ava on the meatball making – tune in to Instagram for a live video around 4!!
Tuesday, March 31st // Honey Balsamic Instant Pot Chicken // This recipe requires a little hands on time “pre” instant pot cooking but I promise it’s worth it. Not your ordinary bland chicken and a side dish!! Serve with rice or pasta and asparagus.
Wednesday, April 1st // Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice // I love red beans and rice but never thought to make this dish in the instant pot! Super family friendly but go easy on the Cajun seasoning for the littles.
Thursday, April 2nd // Stewed Chicken with Corn // Chicken drumsticks, corn, tomatoes and some simple spices make this one a weeknight staple! You can use frozen corn but make sure to let it thaw before cooking!
Friday, April 3rd // Instant Pot Pork Carnitas // Let’s end this week with a dish we can eat off of all weekend. Use this yummy pork on flatbread, inside tacos or eat it as is. You will not be disappointed!
This Week You Will Need
[…] I shared a few instant pot recipes along with a quick instant pot tutorial. You can check it out here. I’m going to try and post a video tutorial later today on Instagram so make sure you pop […]