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March 30, 2021

7 Dirt Cheap Instant Pot Dinners for Busy Moms

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7 Dirt Cheap Instant Pot Dinners for Busy Moms and Dads–try all these quick and easy Instant Pot weeknight dinners on a budget. These weeknight dinners are perfect for feeding your family for cheap.

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7 Dirt Cheap Instant Pot Dinners for Busy Moms and Dads--try all these quick and easy Instant Pot weeknight dinners on a budget. These weeknight dinners are perfect for feeding your family for cheap.

7 Dirt Cheap Instant Pot Dinners for Busy Moms

If you’re looking to eat well but on the cheap try these 7 dirt cheap Instant Pot dinners for busy mom and dads. Try shopping the sales for any meats that you want to use. I love looking through my Smith’s (Kroger) ad for bone-in chicken, ground beef, boneless skinless chicken breasts, etc. Stock up when they go on a good sale!

For fast and easy sides to go with your cheap dinners grab a bag of steamtable frozen veggies. I like to get mine at Smith’s when they are on sale 10 for $10. You throw them in the microwave for 5 minutes and they are ready to go!

#1: Chicken “Spareribs”

Inexpensive chicken thighs coated in a zippy sparerib-style sauce made easy with your electric pressure cooker.

Instant Pot/Slow Cooker Chicken Spareribs
7 Dirt Cheap Dinners for Busy Moms and Dads--try all these quick and easy Instant Pot weeknight dinners on a budget. These weeknight dinners are perfect for feeding your family for cheap.
chicken spare ribs

Make it a meal! Serve this chicken and sauce over any type of rice. I like to make brown rice in my Instant Pot.

#2: Salsa Lime Chicken

Perfectly shreddable and flavorful chicken that you can serve in burritos, enchiladas, tacos, salads or quesadillas. Dinner canโ€™t get easier than this!

Instant Pot Salsa Lime Chicken
Slow Cooker Salsa Lime Chicken
7 Dirt Cheap Dinners for Busy Moms and Dads--try all these quick and easy Instant Pot weeknight dinners on a budget. These weeknight dinners are perfect for feeding your family for cheap.

Make it a meal! Roll up the chicken in a flour or corn tortilla. Optional topping ideas are shredded lettuce, beans, cheese, salsa, cilantro.

#3: Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli Sausage Casserole

Fresh broccoli, melty cheese, smoked sausage, a homemade creamy sauce and rice make this casserole the quintessential comfort food. An easy Instant Pot recipe with no browning or sautรฉing steps.

Instant Pot Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
7 Dirt Cheap Dinners for Busy Moms and Dads--try all these quick and easy Instant Pot weeknight dinners on a budget. These weeknight dinners are perfect for feeding your family for cheap.

Make it a meal! Serve with a side green salad or a side of fruit.

#4: Creamy Sloppy Joes

Get your ground beef on sale or use ground turkey to make this an actual 5 dollar meal. These are my favorite sloppy joes ever.

Instant Pot Creamy Sloppy Joes
Slow Cooker Creamy Sloppy Joes
7 Dirt Cheap Dinners for Busy Moms and Dads--try all these quick and easy Instant Pot weeknight dinners on a budget. These weeknight dinners are perfect for feeding your family for cheap.

Make it a meal! Serve the sloppy joe meat on buns and add some veggies on the sideโ€“steamed veggies, salad or corn on the cob. 

#5: Tuna Casserole

A twist on good old fashioned tuna casserole. Flavors from Momโ€™s tuna casserole but made easier, faster and without cream of soups.

Instant Pot Tuna Casserole
7 Dirt Cheap Dinners for Busy Moms and Dads--try all these quick and easy Instant Pot weeknight dinners on a budget. These weeknight dinners are perfect for feeding your family for cheap.

Make it a meal! To make this tuna casserole less expensive leave out the cornflakes and the mushrooms. Serve the tuna casserole with a can of fruit or veggies.

#6: Bacon Cheddar Egg Casserole

Hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, cheddar and spinach are all combined to make a scrumptious breakfast for dinner.

Instant Pot Bacon Cheddar Egg Casserole
Instant Pot Bacon Cheddar Egg Casserole--hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, cheddar and spinach are all combined to make a scrumptious breakfast casserole that is perfect for a weekend breakfast or even breakfast for dinner.ย 

Make it a meal! Serve this as breakfast for dinner with a side of pancakes.

#7: Mexican Black Beans And Rice

The easiest and tastiest rice ever! Brown rice is cooked in flavorful salsa with garlic salt, a bay leaf and cumin. Canned black beans make this recipe very convenient. And my favorite part is a squeeze of lime juice and a dollop of sour cream on top.

Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans and Rice
Slow Cooker Mexican Black Beans and Rice
Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans and Rice--the easiest and tastiest rice ever! Brown rice is cooked in flavorful salsa with garlic salt, a bay leaf and cumin. Canned black beans make this recipe very convenient. And my favorite part is a squeeze of lime juice and a dollop of sour cream on top. Make this as a meal or as a side dish.

Make it a meal! Add a couple chicken thighs or chicken breasts into the pot or serve with rotisserie chicken.

Want more tried and true Instant Pot recipes?

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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15 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Collections, Instant Pot

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Comments

  1. Clint says

    April 23, 2021 at 3:25 pm

    Recipes look great but could you maybe change it from “busy moms” to maybe “busy parents”? Less sexist that way. Just saying because my wife cannot boil water without destroying the pot. Dads cook, too, ya know.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 23, 2021 at 4:35 pm

      Yes for sure Clint ๐Ÿ™Œ

      Reply
    • Darlene says

      July 23, 2021 at 11:56 am

      why not busy people that way everyone is included

      Reply
    • Bev says

      September 3, 2021 at 7:48 pm

      Very true Clint!! Excellent point Clint!!

      Reply
  2. Allie says

    April 4, 2021 at 8:48 am

    I don’t understand why it would not be useful for human consumption!! Tell you what i would not give it to my doggie if i thought for a moment it would harm her. Any stainless steel is ok for eating from. So give it a try, Allie

    Reply
  3. Allie Penaluna says

    March 30, 2021 at 5:35 pm

    Hey Karen, Allie here. Seen talks about pot in pot and my thoughts, i’d share my idea. Was in a Dollar store some time back and spied a stainless steel doggie bowl. I bought it (after all what’s a dollar) and when I got home I dropped it inside my instant pot and wha’La!!! A perfect fit. I made a long sling outta folded up aluminum foil. I’ve used it (for example) to make corn bread in. Cheap, sturdy, machine wash, non-breakable. Just passing along a great idea, Allie

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 1, 2021 at 1:11 pm

      I’ve seen those bowls too and thought the same thing! I don’t know if they are safe for human use so I didn’t purchase.

      Reply
      • Cecile Lowrey says

        April 1, 2021 at 7:25 pm

        We use those for pot pies. They are fairly good quality stainless steel and we havenโ€™t had any flaking or peeling or adverse things happen using them.

        Reply
        • Karen says

          April 3, 2021 at 4:59 pm

          Good to know! Thanks!

          Reply
    • Lois Zell says

      April 10, 2021 at 6:53 am

      How ingenious you are! Stainless steel is stainless steel. Safe.

      Reply
  4. Pam Deblanc says

    March 30, 2021 at 3:11 pm

    What is your never fail recipe?

    Reply
  5. Sharon says

    March 30, 2021 at 2:32 pm

    Hello Karen

    Firstly I want to thank you for your delicous recipes. I really didn’t think I would use my Instant Pot as much as I do and it is because of all the recipes I receive from you. Some of your recipes require a pot that fits inside the instant pot. Do you have a link to that and also the steamer tray?

    Sharon

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 1, 2021 at 1:16 pm

      Sure!
      These items are great:
      Avokado steamer basket: https://amzn.to/2LXMsmQ
      OXO sling: https://amzn.to/2STGtEX
      Fat daddios pan: 7 inch by 3 inch http://amzn.to/2EH7OR8

      Reply
  6. Pam Deblanc says

    March 30, 2021 at 1:30 pm

    Has anyone tried doing La. Crawfish in the Instant Pot? Any suggestions or recipes?

    Reply
    • Rosie says

      March 30, 2021 at 3:03 pm

      I have not tried that, mainly because crawfish only need to cook 20-30 minutes at most.Although I do use and really like my instant pot, Iโ€™m a traditionalist when it comes to crawfish etouffe. I donโ€™t deviate rom my never-fail recipe. 1

      Reply

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Welcome!

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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