Since an Instant Pot is basically a pressure cooker, Crock Pot, rice cooker, steamer, and more in just one appliance, the meal possibilities are pretty much endless. Instant Pots can help us put together breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Is anyone else crying tears of joy? Plus, since home-cooked meals are literally the click of a button away, then we’re bound to also save money. As we all know, eating at home rather than at restaurants is more economically friendly — and healthier too! We know exactly what’s going in our delicious meal. So do Instant Pots count as a win-win-win then? We vote yes. For some Instant Pot recipe inspiration, here are 50 recipes to always keep in our repertoires. We’ve got recipes for vegans, vegetarians, and meat-lovers alike! More from CafeMom: 15 Tasty Muffin Tin Recipes the Whole Family Will Love Predominantly Paleo More from CafeMom: 10 Crazy Good Crock-Pot Pasta Recipes for Fast & Fabulous Dinners More from CafeMom: 35 Best Burger Toppings to Add Sizzle to a BBQ Cinnamon Applesauce Makes: 4 servings 5 apples, any variety 1 tbsp (8 g) ground cinnamon ½ cup (120 ml) 100% apple juice or cider 3 tbsp (21 g) grass-fed collagen powder Core and seed apples and coarsely chop. If using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot, place apples, ground cinnamon and juice into cooker. Secure the lid and manually select 5 minutes on high pressure. Once complete, quick-release the pressure and when appropriate, remove the lid. When cooked, transfer contents to a blender or use an immersion blender to purée into sauce. Once smooth, add in the grass-fed collagen and stir to combine. Chill and serve. Alternative: If using a slow cooker, place the chopped apples, cinnamon and juice into the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours. Transfer the contents to a blender or use an immersion blender to purée it into sauce. Once smooth, add in the grass-fed collagen and stir to combine. Chill and serve. More from CafeMom: 5 Fantastic Crock-Pot Recipes That Are Faster Than Fast Food Individual Crustless Quiche 1 tbsp (15 ml) ghee, olive oil or lard 1/3 cup (67 g) onion, diced 1/3 cup (22 g) freshly sliced mushrooms 3 pastured eggs ¼ cup (60 ml) dairy-free milk or water ¼ cup (10 g) baby spinach, chopped ¼ tsp onion powder ¼ tsp garlic powder ¼ tsp sea salt Pinch black pepper 1 cup (240 ml) water To begin, heat your ghee or preferred cooking fat by pressing the Sauté button. Toss in your onion and mushrooms and cook them for 5–8 minutes, shifting them regularly, until they are soft and beginning to brown. Remove them from the stainless steel bowl and set them aside. Now in a mixing bowl, whisk together your eggs, dairy-free milk and all of the remaining ingredients, including the sautéed onions and mushrooms. IPstainless steel bowl and place the steaming rack into the bowl. Now lower your uncooked quiche pans onto the steaming rack. If you do not have room for all of them, you can actually stack them on top of each other and they will still cook through. Secure the lid and close off the pressure valve. Press the Manual button and press the “-” button until the time reflects 10 minutes. Allow the cooking cycle to complete, and then quick-release the pressure valve and remove the lid when safe to do so. Carefully remove the mini quiches and serve warm. You can also make them ahead and refrigerate them covered. Alternative: Follow preparation steps above, and then lower the quiche pans into you More from CafeMom: 4 Biggest Mac & Cheese Fails — Fixed! Cowboy Chili Makes: 8 servings 1 lb (450 g) pasture-raised breakfast sausage 1 lb (450 g) grass-fed ground beef 2 onions, diced 29 oz (822 g) diced tomatoes 1½ cups (300 g) carrots, diced ½ tsp pepper 2 tbsp (14 g) chili powder 1 tsp (2 g) garlic powder 1 tsp (2 g) onion powder ½ tsp paprika (regular or smoked) 1 tsp (5 g) sea salt 1 tbsp (15 ml) (or more) gluten-free Worcestershire sauce To serve: Dairy-free sour cream, jalapeño slices and dairy-free cheese Begin by placing your two meats and onion into the basin. Press the Sauté button and cook until the meats are no longer pink, shifting the contents regularly to break them up. This will take around 5 minutes or so. Now add in the remaining ingredients. Give them a quick stir and press the Keep Warm/Cancel button (high pressure, 30 minutes). Now secure the lid, close off the pressure valve and press the Bean/Chili button. Allow the contents to cook and once complete, quick-release the pressure valve. Remove the lid when safe to do so and press Keep Warm/Cancel, and then press the Sauté button. This will help reduce the chili liquid and help thicken it up. Sauté your chili for about 10 minutes, stirring each minute or so. Serve with dairy-free sour cream, jalapeño slices and dairy-free cheese. Alternative: To make in a slow cooker, first sauté the breakfast sausage, beef and onions over high heat for about 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker and combine remaining ingredients. Give it a quick stir, cover and cook on low for 5 hours. More from CafeMom: 15 Fantastic Mom Food Bloggers Everyone Should Be Following Smoky Pecan Brussels Sprouts Makes 4 side dish servings Pressure Cooker Ingredients 2 cups (176 g) small baby Brussels sprouts, as close to the same size as possible ¼ cup (60 ml) water ½ tsp liquid smoke Sauté Ingredients ¼ cup (28 g) chopped pecans 2 tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup Salt, to taste For the pressure cooker, add the Brussels sprouts, water and liquid smoke to your Instant Pot and mix well. Put the lid on and close the pressure valve. Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes. (Note: If you have very large Brussels sprouts, you may need to double the cooking time.) Once the cooking time is up, carefully move the pressure release valve to release the pressure manually. For the sauté, switch to the sauté function and add in the pecans and maple syrup and reduce the liquid as you finish cooking the sprouts. Remove from the heat once tender and add salt to taste. More from CafeMom: 14 Crock-Pot Dinners Kids Can Serve Themselves Salted Date Caramel Tapioca Pudding Makes 6 servings 2 cups (475 ml) unsweetened nondairy milk (plain or vanilla) 1⁄2 cup (76 g) small tapioca pearls 1⁄2 cup (120 g) Date Caramel Filling (page 197) 1 tsp pure vanilla extract Salt, to taste Add the nondairy milk, tapioca and date caramel to your Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Don’t worry if the pudding is thinner than you expect. It will thicken more in the fridge. Stir in the vanilla and salt to taste. Pour into a storage container and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving. Fancy it up and top each portion with vegan chocolate curls or a sprinkle of kosher salt. Date Caramel Filling Makes about 4 cups (940 G) 3 cups (700 ml) water 1 (7-oz [227-g]) package pitted dates 2 tsp (10 ml) pure vanilla extract Add the water and dates to your Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully transfer the dates to your blender. Add the vanilla and cooking water as needed to puree the dates into a paste. Store in the fridge. This is great in coffee, as a dip for apple slices and much more. You will have leftovers to play with if you only make 12 tamales. More from CafeMom: I Made Duggar Food for My Family & Here’s What Happened Creamy Mushroom Curry With Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf Makes 2 servings BasmatiRice Pilaf Ingredients basmatirice 1½ cups (355 ml) water 1 cardamom pod 1 cinnamon stick ½ tsp cumin seeds ¼ tsp ground turmeric ¼ tsp salt Creamy Mushroom Curry Ingredients 1½ cups (108 g) sliced mushrooms 1 cup (128 g) cubed potatoes, cauliflower florets, carrots, sweet potato or combination ½ cup (120 ml) unsweetened nondairy milk ¼ cup (61 g) unsweetened plain vegan yogurt or cashew cream 1 tsp grated ginger ½ tsp minced garlic ½ tsp salt garam masala ¼ tsp ground turmeric ¼ tsp ground coriander 1⁄8 tsp chili powder For the rice pilaf, combine the rice, water, cardamom pod, cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, turmeric and salt in your Instant Pot insert. garam masala, turmeric, coriander and chili powder in it. Cover with foil. If your pan does not fit inside the rack handles, you will need to fashion some handles out of aluminum foil to lower the pan into the cooker. Tear off two pieces of foil about 3 feet (1 m) long, fold each one lengthwise two times. Lay the foil handles out on the counter in a plus sign near your cooker. Place your pan in the center, where the two pieces cross. Pull the handles up and carefully lift the pan into your Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 27 minutes. More from CafeMom: 11 Kid-Friendly Foods That Have Been Linked to Cancer More from CafeMom: 14 Foods Kids Love That Are Secretly Filled With Fake Sugar Bacon-Topped Turkey Meatloaf Makes: 4 servings For the Meatloaf 1 cup (240 ml) water 1 onion, diced and sautéed 1 lb (450 g) pastured ground turkey meat 3 strips cooked crisped bacon, chopped ¼ cup (60 ml) high-quality store-bought ketchup 1 tsp (5 g) garlic sea salt ½ tsp black pepper 1 egg ¼ cup (24 g) cassava flour, arrowroot, almond flour or preferred grain-free flour For the Topping ¼ cup (60 ml) high-quality store-bought ketchup 1 tbsp (15 ml) apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp (15 ml) 100% maple syrup 3 strips cooked crisped bacon, chopped Begin by pouring the cup (240 ml) of water into the stainless steel Instant Pot bowl. Lower in the steamer rack. To assemble the meatloaf, combine all of the remaining meatloaf ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix by hand. Tear off a sheet of foil and form a loaf out of your meat mixture, placing it onto the foil sheet. Wrap up your uncooked meatloaf, securing the foil around the edges. This will help keep your meat insulated and also protect it from breaking apart as it cooks. stovetopfor about 5 minutes or keep it as is. Warming it will help the flavors merge that much better. Once the meatloaf has completed cooking, quick-release the pressure valve and remove the lid once safe to do so. Carefully remove the foil-wrapped meatloaf once it’s cool enough to handle and unwrap it. Spoon the sauce over the top of the meatloaf and sprinkle with the remaining chopped bacon. Slice and serve right away. Note: You may choose to cook your onion and/or bacon in the Instant Pot prior to cooking the meatloaf. You can use the Sauté feature for both options, using a bit of cooking fat for the onion, and sautéing for around 10 minutes. The bacon can be cooked without additional fat on the Sauté feature for about 10 minutes or until desired crispness has been reached. Alternative: You can cook this meatloaf in the slow cooker wrapped. More from CafeMom: 12 Crock-Pot Favorites Perfect for Surviving a Winter Storm
