If you haven’t discovered the wonders of the Instant Pot yet, you’re missing out!
I bought one over a year ago and it took me a few months to build confidence to use it regularly.
What seemed like an intimidating appliance has now become one of my favorite tools for fast + exceptional foods!
Sure, you might feel like you’re cheating on your Crockpot at first
.
And it’s true that I’ve used my slow cooker a little less since I got hooked on the speed of the instant cooker.
Slow cook mealsstill serve purpose in my life, but I’m grateful to have options!
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Benefits of the Instant Pot
If you haven’t made the jump to the pressure cooker yet, you might be wondering what’s so good about them, anyway
.
I remembered the old days of pressure cooking that practically turned food into boiled porridge if you weren’t careful.
But today’s digital method is much more accurate and produces infused foods with so much flavor, in… An instant (almost).
Just a few of the
things that make the Instant Pot a wonderful machine:
- it produces the most tender cuts of meat (no boiled porridge!)
- Drastically reduces cooking time (compared to stove/oven/slow cooker
- Reduces reliance on microwaves (healthier method)
- Sauté for meals from a pot with cleaning a pot (quickly pre-seal the meats, then switch to the pressure cooking function to finish. Easy!)
)
You can use the
Read below:
•
15 Best Winter Soup Recipes
•
Instant Pot Green Bean Recipe with
Bacon • Pizza Roll Ups- Air Fryer Version
•
Freezer to Oven Meals for Summer •
Healthy
Chicken Sausage
Sausage Dinner
What kind of Instant Pot do you need?
The main thing to consider is the size of your family. For our family of 6, I opted for an 8-quart Instant Pot.
However, the average family can probably easily get by with the 6-quart version.
Although I use and trust the Instant Pot brand, I have also heard very favorable reviews about the Ninja Foodi pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Favorite Foods (Cheap)
Here are some of the best frugal Instant Pot meals I’ve found that are easy to make. You’ll
want to include them in your meal rotation and save time in the kitchen!
1| Instant
Ham and White Bean Soup
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We’ve made this white bean IP recipe over and over again this fall and winter. It is a soup full of flavor and almost like vegetable soup with ham and beans.
The best part: this recipe does NOT require you to soak the dried beans ahead of time! Don’t stress when you forget to do this the night before (as I always do).
We use
leftover ham from Christmas dinners, but using the ham bone would be even better if you want to try it!
2| Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
Since
we started buying 1/2 meat and filling our freezer instead of buying it by the pound, ground beef is a very inexpensive staple in our home!
Tip: Vegetables like carrots and celery can be chopped and frozen ahead of time to make dinners like these even faster.
3|
Instant pot stuffed pepper soup
I’m thinking this would be a great way to use our abundance of summer vegetable garden peppers.
Doesn’t it look delicious?
4| Turkey and chili
Healthy and suitable for children; A delicious twist on classic chili. I also love the idea of serving it over rice.
5| Creamy tomato basil
soup
I
was thrilled to see that this recipe uses diced tomatoes, because it’s one of my pantry essentials that I always stock up on when it’s on sale.
6| Creamy chicken noodle
soup
A hearty comfort meal in a bowl, one of our family’s favorite foods
.
You can also substitute chicken for turkey. Turkey and noodles is the perfect way to use the rest of your leftover Thanksgiving!
7| Shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches
Instant pot BBQ chicken would be great served in our honey wheat buns!
8| Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice
This recipe lasts 30 minutes or less and is simply a bowl of cheesy kindness. It’s a hearty meal on its own or you can also serve it on tortilla chips.
9| Ham
with vegetables
Precooked ham is a dish that saves time and money along with tasty root vegetables.
10| Fried
chicken rice
Fried rice was one of the first dishes I learned how to make as a newlywed on a tight grocery budget! Making at the Instant Pot puts dinner on the table quickly.
11| Chicken gnocchi soup (Olive Garden imitator)
This creamy restaurant-inspired dish can be made at home for a fraction of the restaurant’s price.
12|
Broccoli cheddar soup
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One of my sons orders broccoli cheese soup almost weekly. This version uses simple ingredients including my favorite Better than Buillion and matchstick carrots that make the prep work so easy.
13|
Beef Stroganoff
Beef stroganoffis a classic family meal and goes well with almost any vegetarian salad or even a side dish.
14|
Minestrone Soup
Minestrone Soupis one of my all-time favorites! Butternut squash puts a nice spin on the classic, and another great way to use extra garden vegetables.
15| Stuffed
peppers
When cooking stuffed peppers in the Instant Pot, there is no need to brown the meat ahead of time. One of our favorites!
16|
Chicken stew
A hearty stew with minimal fuss. We almost always have a stash of frozen chicken from Butcherbox for meals like these.
17|
Potato cheese soup <img src="https://www.chickenscratchdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Instant-Pot-Potato-Soup-2-Edit-683×1024.jpg" alt="potato cheese soup with
You can’t go wrong with potato soup in all its melted cheese goodness
.
If you cook batches of bacon ahead of time and freeze, you can take out small amounts at a time for recipes like these and save even more time.
18| Italian
sausage and shells
There are so many layers of flavor in this beautiful dish, and it only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish!
19| Egg Roll in a Bowl
Cabbage is a well-known frugal staple, and this idea is just brilliant! The egg roll chips are also very fun and unique.
20| Philly
Cheese Steak Meatballs
I love making meatball sandwiches when we need a quick dinner; It’s simple and satisfying.
21| Chicken Rice <
Seasoned rice, vegetables and chicken make a hot and tasty dinner in a bowl.
22| Vegetable Chow Mein
chow mein” />If you
really want to save money or eat more plant-based foods, choose a few meatless meals per week like this vegetable chow mein, an instant meal you can prepare in 15 minutes.
23| Black Bean Pasta
Black
beans are a great source of protein. Garnish this pasta with some fresh vegetables to get a complete and colorful dish.
24| Vegetarian
chili
We’re big fans of chili in our house, and this meatless version includes my favorite seasoning (chipotle powder) AND cocoa powder for a rich flavor that you have to try for yourself.
25| Tilapia
with vegetables
Who doesn’t love a dinner that takes 5 minutes to cook? Flaky fish and fresh steamed vegetables create a healthy one-pot treat.
With an Instant Pot, cheap meals don’t have to be boring!
I hope this list inspires you to dust off that Instant Pot you got for Christmas and put it to work! It’s really worth the learning curve.
You can eat right and feed your family satisfying food, and these low-cost instant food ideas prove how easy it can be.
You
may also be interested in:
•
Cheap lunches that kids love
•
20 quick dinners (barely needing a recipe)
•
The BEST instant pot green beans
•
Rosemary pork chops with apples, in the instant pot •
Our favorite dinners from freezer to slow cooker
