Easy Recipes for the Electric Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot
A huge collection of the BEST easy to make recipes for the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, Crockpot Express, Power Pressure Cooker XL, or any other brand of electric pressure cooker!
Many of you got a beautiful, brand-new electric pressure cooker for Christmas, and you’re wondering what to cook first!
Today I’m highlighting a few of my favorite easy recipes for the Instant Pot, Power Pressure Cooker XL, or any brand of electric pressure cooker that are super easy and super delicious.
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First Pressure Cooker Recipes a Beginner Should Try
If you want to slowly get into pressure cooking, here are a few recipes that will get you more comfortable with your machine.
- Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot White Rice. This is possibly the most simple recipe you can make in the pressure cooker. It’s like the water test, but you get rice when it’s done. 🙂
- Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Pulled BBQ Chicken. There’s a reason I selected this easy barbecue chicken recipe for my Make Your First Meal post. Just a few simple ingredients in the pot, add some sandwich rolls, and you have an easy dinner on the table!
- Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot Bow Tie Pasta. Make your meat sauce and your pasta at the same time in one pot.
45 Easy Electric Pressure Cooker Recipes for Instant Pot or ANY Brand
Use the below links to skip ahead to a specific category:
Easy Pressure Cooker Soup Recipes
The pressure cooker and soups are a perfect match. With many of these recipes, you just throw the ingredients into the pressure cooker and come back to a fabulous soup!
Easy Pressure Cooker Chicken Recipes
Chicken is one of my favorites to cook in the pressure cooker because it comes together quickly and you can cook diced chicken from frozen with no change to the cook time.
Use an instant-read thermometer to verify each chicken breast is at least 165°F in the thickest part of the breast after cooking.
Easy Pressure Cooker Beef Recipes
Large cuts of meats that would cook all day long in the slow cooker are done in less than 90 minutes in the pressure cooker. Enjoy tender, juicy beef without having to cook all day.
Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Recipes
Don’t settle for dry, tough pork. Cooking pork in a pressure cooker using steam helps your meat to turn out perfect each time.
Easy and Quick Pressure Cooker Recipes
By cutting the meat into small pieces before cooking, you can have a great-tasting meal on the table quickly.
Easy Pressure Cooker Rice Recipes
When you have a pressure cooker you don’t need a rice cooker! The pressure cooker makes perfect rice every time. Here’s a couple of my favorite, easy-to-make rice recipes.
Easy Pressure Cooker Potato Recipes
Cook your potatoes without worrying about keeping an eye out so they don’t boil over. Simply add your potatoes to the pot and focus on getting the rest of your dinner on the table.
- Creamy Pressure Cooker Mashed Potatoes
- Quick Pressure Cooker Potato Salad (you cook the eggs and the potatoes at the same time!)
- Instant Pot Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin
- Pressure Cooker Garlic Parmesan Red Potatoes
Easy Pressure Cooker Dessert Recipes
Desserts are my favorite part of the meal, and I have some fantastic dessert recipes for the pressure cooker. (I even made a book full of cheesecake, cake, pie, and other dessert recipes!)
Easy Pressure Cooker Breakfast Recipes
Your pressure cooker makes it easy to get a hot breakfast on the table even on a weekday.
How to Make These Easy Recipes in Any Brand of Electric Pressure Cooker
All of my recipes are written to work in ANY brand of electric pressure cooker, including
- Instant Pot (all models Duo, Ultra, Max, Nova, Evo, etc.)
- Power Pressure Cooker XL
- Power Quick Pot
- Ninja Foodi
- Mealthy MultiPot
- Crockpot Express
- Breville Fast Slow Pro
- Farberware
- Power Cooker
- Cooks Essentials
- Nuwave
- Cosori
It’s impossible to list all the brands. If you have a question about a specific brand, check out my Electric Pressure Cooker Facebook Group. We have over 10,000 members, and odds are someone else will have your machine!)
>> That’s it! You’ve completed the Getting Started Guide!
Now that you’re more comfortable using your pressure cooker, try adapting your favorite recipes for the pressure cooker.
Before long you’ll be wondering how you ever cooked without your pressure cooker, and whipping up more sophisticated desserts like my Nutella Rolo Cheesecake.
The Getting Started Guide Series
- Introduction: How to Use Your Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker
- Pressure Cooker Parts Reference Guide
- Choosing a Pressure Release Method
- Water Test Run for the Instant Pot / Electric Pressure Cooker
- Make Your First Meal in Your Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot
- Easy Recipes to Make in Your New Instant Pot / Electric Pressure Cooker
Other How To Guides
- How to Know Which Instant Pot Button You Should Use?
- How to Get a Pan Out of the Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot
- How to Use the Pot-in-Pot Method in Your Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot
- How to Convert a Recipe to a Pressure Cooker Recipe
- How to Pressure Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts
- How to Cook Pasta in the Instant Pot / Electric Pressure Cooker
- How to Make Perfect Pressure Cooker Cheesecake
- How to Make Eggs in the Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker
Get More Pressure Cooking Today Recipes
Here at Pressure Cooking Today, we believe in making real food with fresh and familiar ingredients.
🥘 Browse my collection of the best pressure cooker recipes here on my website (some of my most popular recipes include Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli and Instant Pot
💬 Follow Pressure Cooking Today on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates. Or join my Electric Pressure Cooker Facebook Group to connect with other pressure cooking fans.
✉️ Or you can join my free email list! You’ll get just one email a week with my latest recipes.
🥧 If you’re interested in more than just pressure cooker recipes, I share my other adventures in the kitchen over at Barbara Bakes. You’ll find some amazing breakfasts and breads, along with the best dessert recipes! Check it out today!
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Good morning. Last night I used your recipe for corn beef and the time indicated 90 minuses but at 60 minutes the broth and bottom of the pot was burned into a thick black mess. Is there a typo on the time? Should it be more like 30 minutes? It is my first time using an electric pressure cooker and I am using the 8 Qt Chefman oval electric pressure cooker I just got yesterday.
Hi Norma – no, corned beef releases a lot of liquid as it cooks, so it sounds like your pressure cooker was not functioning properly. Did you see steam coming out around the sides of the lid or the steam release valve as it was cooking? For some reason, you lost all the liquid and you need to troubleshoot to see what’s going wrong before you cook anything else. I recommend you do a water tst https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/instant-pot-water-test/ and make sure you’re getting a good seal.
I need a cookbook—Iam a 62 year old man — with NO cooking skills ” I need a cookbook for Farberware 7 in 1 pressure cooker—-Where do i Buy one Please
Hi Rick – my cookbook works with any electric pressure cooker. In addition to the delicious recipes, it’s got a great guide in the front of the cookbook that will get you off to a great start. https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Pressure-Cooker-Cookbook-Foolproof/dp/1558328963/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1510177838&sr=8-1&keywords=barbara+schieving Have fun!
This post should be very helpful, especially for new pressure cooker owners which, as of Christmas or other holiday celebrations, should be huge in number.
I especially like that Barbara is sharing a few of HER FAVORITE recipes. I’ve made a number of Barbara’s recipes and I must say, I’ve never had one I didn’t like. In fact, when I’m looking for a recipe for a particular dish, I typically check to see if Barbara has a recipe for that dish.
Thanks so much Sigrid! Wish you a wonderful New Year!
What a great post, Barbara, thanks! Bookmarking for later, ‘what can I make for dinner tonight?’ 😂 Love looking through your recipes, but before you know it, an hour or more has gone by & still haven’t started cooking. Lots of stuff to quickly pick out & get to cooking fast here!
So nice – thanks Jan!
What’s the best way to cook 4 leg quarters in my ten quart crockpot pressure cooker?
Hi Noah – I haven’t done leg quarters, but for chicken legs, I like to pressure cook them for 4 minutes on high pressure, do a 10-minute natural release and then finish them with some barbecue sauce on the grill until the sauce gets caramelized and sticky. I assume this method would work great for leg quarters as well. The chicken leg recipe is on page 131 of my cookbook. https://amzn.to/2YqPCok
Can I brown ground meat in the elechomes electric pressure cooker? I want to do sloppy joes.
Hi Barbara – you should be able to use the meat setting with the lid off to brown and saute. It looks similar to the PPC XL https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/how-to-use-the-power-pressure-cooker-xl/
Can you make bread in the ambiano pressure cooker?
Hi Brenda – I’m not familiar with the Ambiano pressure cooker. I haven’t tried making bread in the pressure cooker, but have seen people make dense brown bread in a can. Others have used the warm setting to rise bread dough.
I would like to know how to cook Frozen Meats like Pork Shoulder Steaks or Pork Chops in my Spt Electric Pressure Cooker…… Please Help Thanks
Hi Kateella – for meats that aren’t very thick like chicken breasts and pork chops, you don’t have to add any extra cook time. For thicker meats, you’ll want to add about 5 minutes per pound for frozen meats.
I’m with the lady who got a 2 qt pressure cooker. I, too, desperately need easy recipes for a 2 qt cooker. Open to any help!
I don’t currently have any recipes for the 2 quart, but many of the recipes can be divided in half and made without changing the cook time. Just be sure you use enough liquid to come to pressure – generally 1 cup, 1/2 cup with recipes like chicken that will release liquid as they come to pressure. Keep a notebook and pretty soon you’ll have lots of recipes ready to go.
Have you had any success finding recipes for the 2 qt?
Kateela & S J: my first pressure cooker was a Cosori 2 qt & was my only cooker for a long time. Barbara’s recipes usually halve perfectly, same cook times. The only thing you need to watch out for is not exceeding your max fill, or half fill for beans, pastas, frothy foods & make sure you use your model’s minimum recommended liquid. If half recipe is too much for your pot, just reduce everything a bit more, keeping ingredient/liquid ratios the same. (Online cooking calculators are great or some apps allow you to scale recipes ½, ¼, etc. I use recipe app called ‘Paprika’ on my tablet, add Barbara’s recipe to the app, then use the app to calculate the reductions by selecting ½, ¼ recipe, etc, app does calculations for you.) As Barbara recommends, keep notes so you can tweak a recipe if need be – very seldom necessary with her recipes though. Once Instant Pot released the 3-qt, I cook mainly in 2 of those, use the 2-qt now mostly for sides or rice. For meats, like a roast, I just have the meat department cut it in half or thirds for me, then wrap & freeze. You can also bring your pot with you when grocery shopping until you are able to eyeball what fits 😉 One of those frozen Cornish hens from Walmart fit perfectly – whole or cut up (plus, cute). Again, you can totally cook any of Barbara’s recipes in a 2-qt – never had a fail yet & had no idea what I was doing when I first started. Then once you get the hang of it, super easy to halve most any 6-qt recipe down to 2-qt. Hope this helps & have fun!
Great advice – thanks so much Jan!!
I am looking for a receipt for chicken tangine made in an instapot. Thanks
I haven’t tried it, but I did find this recipe online http://www.biggirlssmallkitchen.com/2017/04/instantpot-pressure-cooker-chicken-tagine-recipe.html that looks great.
How do you use the steamer function with this cooker??
Hi Donna – which pressure cooker do you have? Most pressure cookers the steam function is a pressure cooking function. https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/instant-pot-duo-and-smartcooker/
I JUST RECEIVED THE INSTANT POT ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER. IT DOES NOT TELL HOW TO DETERMIN THE TIME TO COOK IF YOU HAVE A SMALLER SIZE ROAST. IS THERE A GUIDE FOR PORK AND BEEF THAT WILL TELL YOU HOW LONG TO COOK A 2# WHEN THE RECIPE CALLS FOR A 4# ROAST.
Generally I would cut the recipe time in half if the roast is half as thick as the recipe specifies.
Awesome website!!! Thank you!
Hi Barbara I have Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Can you recommend a receipt of a bread
and a kind of sponge cakes.
Which mode I need to use? Do I need a water?
In instruction I did not find which mode can give me the highest temperature.
Hi Vera – here’s more information about which button to use https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/instant-pot-duo-and-smartcooker/. Here’s a recipe for a cake https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/pressure-cooker-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bundt-cake/. There’s a couple more in my cookbook. http://amzn.to/2BlOQNT Have fun!
Looking forward to many exciting recipes.
Thanks Jan – have fun!
I am trying to cook scalloped potatoes and thick cut browned porkchops together in pressure pot I don’t know how long or which setting to use. I don’t want mushy potatoes. It’s 6 sliced potatoes and 6 porkchops
Hi Karol – for best results, you’ll want to do them separately. Here’s my scalloped potato recipe https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/cheesy-potatoes-au-gratin/ and my favorite pork chop recipe https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/easy-pork-chops-in-mushroom-gravy/
I have 4 chicken legs (drums only) I want to cook w/BBQ sauce in my 7-in-1 Farberware pressure cooker. But cannot find a recipe for this
Hi Kristina – you can cook them just like these wings https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/pressure-cooker-bbq-wings/ Enjoy!
This is the recipe that came with my Farberware pressure cooker for BBQ’d chicken.
! small onion diced, 2 TBL of butter, 8 pieces of chicken with skin removed, 1 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, 1/2 cup of water, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. Select setting SEAR-ROAST, leaving the lid off heat the butter until it is melted, then add onion. Cook until they are soft. Stirring often. Press the STOP button to turn the machines heating element off. Mix the garlic powder, salt and pepper together and rub all over the chicken pieces. Place the chicken into the pressure cooker. Mix the BBQ sauce and water together and pour over chicken. Lock lid on cooker and select chicken setting.
I have just bought a electric pressure cooker. I have looked all over but recipes all appear too exotic for me.
Hi Margaret – what recipes are you looking for?
I just ordered a 2 quart pressure cooker. I am cooking for one so I don’t need large quantities. Do you have some tips for downsizing recipes to fit a small pot?
Hi Jeri – I don’t have any experience using a 2 quart pressure cooker. But a couple of things to be aware of. You’ll still need to use enough liquid to bring it to pressure, about 1/2 cup. Your time to come to pressure will be shorter, so you may have to increase the cook time to compensate. Have fun! Let me know how it goes.
Hi Barbara,
Great site!! You have some wonderful recipes. I also want to compliment your layout… the recipes are easy to find, understand, and especially print (1 page, not the whole site lol). Thank you and keep up the great work.
God Bless,
Lori
Thanks! That’s so nice Lori 🙂 Have fun!
I just received a stovetop pressure cooker for Christmas. Yay!
Never cooked with one but am excited to try it.
I noticed your potato salad recipe and had a question–you obviously use an electric pc–you said to set for 4 minutes for cooking eggs/potatoes.
What does that translate to with stovetop? Once steam starts to escape, then time 4 minutes and do quick release?
Yay! How exciting. You’ll want to wait until your stovetop pressure cooker comes to high pressure and then start timing. The electrics don’t start counting down the time until they’ve reached pressure. Have fun!
Where can I find accessories for my XL Pressure cooker, such as steamer baskets and springform pans, trivets, etc.?
Hi Joy – here’s some of my favorites from Amazon https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/best-pressure-cooker-accessories/
Santa is evidently bringing me a Farberware 7-1-programmable electric pressure cooker. I had my heart set on an Instant pot. I am most concerned with the non-stick pot as opposed to the stainless steel. is it worth making an exchange or will it be OK. i also notice the majority of recipes, tips, and instructions online are for the instant pot and that concerns me. Barely a mention of Farberware pots.
Hi Nana – I’ve never used the Farberware, but most of the pressure cooker work similarly so recipes and tips should all work with it. If you’re not opposed to the non-stick pot for health reasons (I’m not) and you don’t want to upset Santa, then I wouldn’t exchange. Instead, you may find you need two pressure cookers – one to cook the main dish and one to cook the side dish – then buy yourself that Instant Pot you want 🙂
Nana, I recently joined some pressure cooking groups. saw your 15 month old post. Hope you love your pressure cooker. Did you see the different ways to clean your non-stick pot, without scrubbing.You can watch videos on YouTube.Just put in your brand of PC. There is plenty of websites for pressure cooking. I have 3 pressure cooker, have been pressure cooking over 15 years.
I just received my Farberware Pressure Cooker as my birthday gift. I just made a roast and veggies for supper using their recipe booklet that was included.. Turned out well. My question is….I see a ton of recipes on Insta Pot sites but will it make a difference in the outcome if I am using a Farberware Pressure cooker? And how does anyone know-how long to actually cook items? I have been cooking for 40 plus years but I feel like I am in my 1st home economics class lol
Hi Vicky – sounds like you’re off to a good start. No, most electric pressure cooker cook the same, so you shouldn’t have to make any changes. When you start out it’s probably best to find a similar recipe and use the cook time in the recipe and just change up the ingredients you’d like to use. Here’s a post with lots of good information that should help. https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/how-to-convert-a-recipe-into-a-pressure-cooker-recipe/
I am waiting for for an electruc Cuisanart PC to come in the mail today even as I write. It’s a gift from my brother and his wife who love theirs. I have been amazed at the time I’ll save but overwhelmed by the thought of where to begin! So I typed in ‘easy recipes for first time electric pc users’ and there you were…thank you! I’m doing Mongolian beef first and I’m finally not scared!
Hi Bonnie – that’s so exciting! The Mongolian Beef recipe is really popular and a great pick for a first recipe. Did you get a chance to watch my video? https://www.pressurecookingtoday.com/video-using-the-cuisinart-pressure-cooker/
I am so grateful for your electric pressure cooker site. I hope with the help of your recipes that I will become comfortable enough with my pressure cooker that I will use it every night.
I need some very basic easy recipes for meats and vegetables. If you could include some diabetic friendly meals, it would really be helpful.
Just ordered my second instant pot. Have one at home and decided we needed another at our winter home. My husband does ALL the cooking with what he calls my new toy. All your recipes have made my life so much easier, thanks
How exciting. I wouldn’t want to be without one at my winter home either. Thanks for letting me know you’re enjoying my recipes.
I just recieved an 8 Quart Power Pressure Cooker XL. Since I have a small family, can I cut the recipes in half?
Just received an electric pressure cooker as a gift. No recipes came with it and minimal instruction. These recipes sound great with clear direction and were easy to print off. Thanks so much. Looking forward to trying several.
I just received an Instant Pot for Christmas and just found your website today, can’t wait to try some of your recipes, they look and sound delicious!!!?
Thanks Nancy – welcome to the world of pressure cooker. So glad you found me.
I have many recipes for pressure cooker if you want them from carne guisada and on from San Antonio Texas best Mexican dishes in the world better than Mexico or California by far much more friendly and easy and fast way better
Happy New Years Barbara! I just wanted to thank you SO much for all of your lovely recipes that I LOVE! You have made my Instant Pot ROCK! I appreciate all the time and effort you put into your site and all the help you offer to us. What I love about your recipes is that they have ALL turned out perfect and delicious just by following your excellent instructions. You make it so easy and enjoyable to cook! I have made a Instant Pot cookbook for myself which is so helpful and almost everyone is from Pressure Cooking Today with all your beautiful photos! My two MOST favorites are your Key Lime Pie and Mongolian Beef so far! Looking forward to more of your wonderful recipes and ideas this coming year! Thank you again and please know how much you are appreciated!
How did I miss “Instant Pot” on FB? I’ve liked it now and looking forward to more inspiration!
I can’t wait till I have an Instant Pot. What a fantastic appliance!
I have been using my Cuisinart electric pressure cooker for making boiled eggs and baked potatoes and the other day I decided to be brave and try something different. I make a chicken and rice casserole in the oven that everybody really likes, so I put all the ingredients in my pressure cooker and set the timer for 18 minutes. I didn’t know how much time, but the one in the oven takes an hour, so I thought if it wasn’t done in 18 minutes, I could just let it cook some more. It was not only done, it was better than making it in the oven!! My husband liked it better and said we can have it more now without heating up the house in the warm weather!! It really was moist and had better flavor, so will be making it this way from now on. Just thought I’d let know I am starting to use it more and want to make beans now. It is a fantastic machine!!
I just got my very first electric pressure cooker & am oh so glad to find your site.
You have answered so many of my unanswered questions. Today I tried my favorite
potato soup. Figured out from you how to saute the onion & bacon..then used
chicken broth, added the potatoes & seriously cooked this only 5 min. Took out half the potatoes
& pureed in my blender with some milk (so NO roux needed to thicken)..added this back in and voile..soup in like 10-15 min.
I am amazed & can’t wait to cook other items..like your cheese cake\..just got my pan on Amazon
& off to buy Meyer lemons tomorrow.
Thank you SO much for your site & ALL your help!!!
Sounds like a great variation. I’m so glad you found me too. Have fun making the cheesecake.
Another question. I have been using my pressure cooker quite a bit this week and wondered if it supposed to have a loud hissing noise and lots of steam? Mine is very quiet and I have heard they are noisy and hiss along while cooking. Didn’t know if mine should be steaming and hissing. Sorry for all the questions, just new to this way of cooking and want to make sure I do it right. Thank you!!
The new electric pressure cookers are very quiet. There will be steam and noise for a short time right before it reaches pressure, but very little noise or steam while it’s cooking, or during a natural pressure release. If you’re having good results you’re doing it just right 🙂
Today I tried hard boiled eggs in my pressure cooker and it actually worked for me! I thought I would open the lid and have eggs that had blown up or something, but they weren’t even cracked. The shell practically fell off and this just may be the only way I do eggs from now on. So easy, so delicious! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes and tips!!
I love how much easier the hard boiled eggs made in the pressure cooker are to peel. So glad you gave it a try.
I bought a steamer basket that is silicone to make the hard boiled eggs, will it work okay in the pressure cooker. I made the “baked” potatoes in the pressure cooker and they turned out real well! Much better than a microwave one, not mushy. They were like out of the oven, but in 15 minutes ( more for natural release) not an hour or more in the oven. By the way, does natural release mean to turn off the cooker and unplug, or leave it on Keep Warm? I turned it off, but wondered if that was right. Thank you!
Yes, it’s fine to use a silicone steamer basket in the pressure cooker. I don’t use the one I have much because it’s harder to get in and out of the pressure cooker than my OXO steamer.
I haven’t tried baked potatoes in the pressure cooker yet. Don’t know why. I’ll have to try it soon. Thanks for the info.
Yes, for a natural release turn off the cooker. You don’t necessarily have to unplug it, but I often do both. It will also natural pressure release on the keep warm setting, it will just take longer.
This was my first time to use a pressure cooker. I made the cheesy chicken broccoli and rice. It had really good flavor, but my rice did not get completely cooked. I was wondering if you have any tips for me.
Thanks
Hi Raylene – super easy fix. If your rice isn’t completely cooked in a dish like the cheesy chicken broccoli casserole, just turn the pressure cooker to simmer or saute, and simmer for a few minutes until the rice is your desired consistency. You can add a little bit of water if your sauce needs a bit more liquid. If you’re not in a hurry, you could also just put the lid back on (with the pressure cooker off) and let the rice steam for several minutes.
Great question. Thanks!
Thank you Barbara-I can’t wait to give some of your recipes a try in my new pressure cooker.
Forgot that I was going to ask where the recipe is for that cheesecake at the top of the page. It looks so good and I didn’t realize I could make a cheesecake in a pressure cooker. Where do you find a pan that will fit in there for one?
Here’s the pan I use: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000237FS0/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Thank you, Ross for the link! I just might order that then. It is the 7″ one, right? I appreciate all you helpful people, since I am new to pressure cooking, I need all the help I can get!
Thank you for these great recipes for the new pressure cooker person. It is a great gift for me today, as I have a new electric one and need directions for any and every thing. I am definitely trying the applesauce later this week.