Easy Instant Pot Recipes for Beginners

Published: May 29, 2024 by Kathleen · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See full disclosure

These 16 easy Instant Pot recipes for beginners are delicious and will help you get more comfortable with using your Instant Pot. From chicken thighs for dinner to cheesecake for dessert, I've tested each recipe at least 3 times each so they are tried and true and will work for you the first time you make them.

Six images of food made in the Instant Pot pressure cooker.

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I'm all about providing you with helpful shortcut recipes so you can make meals easier and quicker. One of my favorite ways to do that is by using the Instant Pot multifunction cooker that includes pressure cooking.

If you're unfamiliar with the Instant Pot, don't worry, I have you covered with my Instant Pot guide for beginners. It teaches you everything you need to know before you get cooking!

1. Chicken Bacon Ranch Alfredo

Creamy, delicious, and easy to make, everything you need for this chicken pasta dinner is all made right in the Instant Pot. You'll have a delicious dinner on the table in no time without all the extra cleanup.

linguine past bacon on a fork in white bowl

Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Alfredo

A shortcut Chicken Bacon Ranch Alfredo pasta recipe made in the Instant Pot. It doesn't use the package of Ranch dressing mix, so no MSG! Creamy Alfredo sauce swirled around linguine or fettuccine with tender chicken breasts and a generous helping of bacon! Everything is done right in the Instant Pot saving you time and fewer dishes to wash. Fry the bacon and add all the other ingredients including the pasta!

2. Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

You can use fresh or frozen black eyes peas to make this Southern favorite. Turn it into a main dish by adding rice or use it as a side and serve it with your favorite pork chops or ham dish. It's one of my favorite dump and go Instant Pot recipes!

Square white bowl of black eyed peas with torn corn bread in background.

Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas are an easy Southern-style side dish cooked in an Instant Pot. Start with dried black eyed peas for this quick and easy recipe with no-soak and soaked cooking times. Add ham, ham hock or bacon for smokey flavor.

3. Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

The Instant Pot makes it extremely easy to make hard boiled eggs. One of the best things about making hard boiled eggs in the Instant Pot is that the shells peel right off without any hard work.

Eggs inside an Instant Pot

How to Make Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs (Easy Peel Every Time)

Here's how to make easy Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs with step by step directions using the 5-5-5 time method. Hands down the quickest, no-fail way to make hard boiled (hard cooked) eggs that easy-peel every single time.

4. Homemade Pumpkin Puree

The Instant Pot is a great way to make your homemade pumpkin puree easily and efficiently. It's one of the best easy Instant Pot recipes for beginners. No need to peel or even cut the pumpkin before cooking! Use the puree for your baked desserts or can it so you can use it next year.

pumpkin beside an Instant Pot

How to Cook a Whole Pumpkin in an Instant Pot| Homemade Puree

It's easy to cook a whole pumpkin in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker! I'll show you step-by-step ... no mixer or blender needed.

5. Easy Instant Pot Boiled Peanuts

These Boiled Peanuts are an Instant Pot vegan recipe perfect to serve on game day or enjoy them as a snack throughout the day. You can make them plain or spicy depending on your preference.

peanuts in the shell cracked open on a blue tin plate

Easy Instant Pot Boiled Peanuts

Instant Pot Boiled Peanuts couldn't be easier or quicker. Boiled peanuts are one of those Southern salty snack favorites that takes hours to cook so many people avoid making them. If you're are lucky enough to find a roadside hut selling them. The Instant Pot solves that problem and cooks them in about 1 hour.

6. Bone-In Turkey Breast and Gravy

Make the turkey and the turkey gravy right in the Instant Pot. No need for the oven or stovetop pans with this easy beginner-friendly Instant Pot recipe!

Slices of turkey breast with skin on overlapping each other on a white plate and garnished with fresh sage and gravy poured over the turkey slices

Instant Pot Bone-In Turkey Breast and Gravy

All the flavor of roasted turkey in a fraction of the time with my Instant Pot Bone-In Turkey Breast and Gravy recipe.

7. Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Chicken and sausage jambalaya is a delicious weeknight dinner that you can have on the dinner table in no time. It's also a family favorite for winter when craving a Cajun-style dinner and New Year's Day celebrations.

chicken sausage jambalaya with green onions in white bowl

Instant Pot Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

This shortcut Instant Pot Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya is only 5 ingredients and bursting with flavor! Try this Cajun one-dish meal for New Years Day or on a cold winter's night with cornbread and a tall glass of sweet tea.

8. Instant Pot White Bean Chicken Chili

This White bBean Chicken Chili is one of those "cheap and easy" Instant Pot recipes because it's made with dried beans and frozen chicken you probably already havein your pantry and freezer.

white bean chicken chili in white bowl on red placemat with stack of bowls in background

Instant Pot White Bean Chicken Chili

This Instant Pot White Bean Chicken Chili starts with dried beans and frozen chicken breasts! No soaking the beans ahead of time. Just dump and go for this easy soup recipe.

9. Grilled Reuben Sandwiches (with Instant Pot Corned Beef)

You'll love this "better than a restaurant" corned beef Reuben sandwich. It's loaded with corned beef, sauerkraut, melty cheese, and a tangy dressing that makes the Reuben sandwich complete.

$How to make homemade Reuben Sandwiches in the Instant Pot that will rival a Jewish deli-in a fraction of the time! Close up of reuben sandwich$

Grilled Reuben Sandwiches (with Instant Pot Corned Beef)

Homemade Grilled Reuben Sandwiches made with Instant Pot Corned Beef. Layers of Swiss cheese and sauerkraut for St. Patricks Day!

10. Instant Pot Collard Greens and Navy Beans

It's easy to make these Southern beans and greens in the Instant Pot and it takes a fraction of the time than it would if you were to make it the traditional way.

$Collard Greens and Navy Beans are cooked in a fraction of the typical time when cooked in the Instant Pot. Served in a white bowl on a blue and white striped placemat$

Instant Pot Collard Greens and Navy Beans

This iconic Southern dish is known for taking hours to slowly cook the ham hock, collard greens, and dried beans on the stovetop. With the Instant Pot, you don't even have to soak the dried beans and they just cook 30 minutes-now that's a shortcut! And you dont smell it cooking!

11. Instant Pot Collard Greens

Collard greens with ham hock is a classic vegetable side dish that we like to enjoy during the holidays and winter months. See how easy it is to make collard greens in the instant pot.

Blue rimmed bowl filled with collard greens and shredded ham hock

Instant Pot Collard Greens

Instant Pot Collard Greens is a classic Southern vegetable side dish. When cooked in a pressure cooker, it cooks in a fraction of the time it takes to cook on the stovetop. Buy prewashed, cut collards or wash and cut your own.

12. Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Served on a bed of rice, these teriyaki chicken thighs are a quick and easy dinner you can make with the Instant Pot. The best part about this time-saving recipe is that you only need 5 ingredients!

Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Thighs is so easy, impressive and yummy! Served over rice in a pottery bowl and garnish with green onions

Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

This 5 ingredient recipe counting water) will be one of the easiest Instant Pot recipes you’ll find-and one of the yummiest! Serve it with rice because it’s saucy!

13. Instant Pot Bacon Jam

One of my favorite jam recipes for the holidays is this bacon jam. I use the jam in some of my appetizers for parties and gatherings. I also give jars of it to friends and family as gifts. The Instant Pot makes it a breeze to make.

Crostini topped with cream cheese and instant pot bacon jam on a wooden serving board with Instant Pot in background

Instant Pot Bacon Jam

Instant Pot Bacon jam is a sweet/savory condiment made with bacon, onions, garlic, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and paprika spice. Delicious served with cheese or charcuterie boards.

14. Instant Pot Fresh Green Beans with Bacon

Traditionally Southern-style green beans with bacon are made on the stovetop, but you can easily make them in the Instant Pot without losing that signature flavor. Plus, it will save you a ton of time because the Instant Pot is doing all the hard work for you.

white bowl with hole for handle full of green beans and bacon on checkered wooden cutting board

Instant Pot Fresh Green Beans with Bacon

Instant Pot Fresh Green Beans with Bacon cooks in 6 minutes and tastes like Grandma used to make them down South.

15. Instant Pot Bone-In Pepper Jelly Ham

Add a little bit of a kick to your ham dish with a flavorful pepper jelly that's made with jalapeno peppers. Spread the jam on the bone-in ham, cook in the Instant Pot, and you'll have a delicious ham dinner ready in no time.

bone in ham with slices cut on the ham. jar of jelly

Instant Pot Pepper Jelly Bone-In Ham

For a Keto diet-friendly version, omit the pepper jelly and use only apple cider vinegar in the inner pot to steam the ham.

16. Instant Pot Chocolate-Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake

Who can resist the delicious flavor of chocolate and peanut butter swirled into a creamy cheesecake dessert? Although you need to have a 6-inch springform pan, my step by step pictures make this decadent dessert simple to make.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake from GritsAndGouda.com

Instant Pot Chocolate-Peanut Butter Swirl Cheesecake

This is the BEST Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake made in an Instant Pot! I added the swirl of peanut butter in the middle and on top to gild the lily! The Instant Pot’s steamy environment is perfect to make a cheesecake that never cracks! Not heating the oven (and your kitchen) for over an hour is a bonus!

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For more Southern shortcut recipes visit my recipe index at GritsAndGouda.com.

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