Have kids? Making dinner can be a challenge. Especially when you throw a picky kid into the mix. Here are 25 Kids’ Most Requested Instant Pot Dinners. Kids love these dinners so much they will be asking for seconds!
Have kids? Use an Instant Pot!
Why using an Instant Pot and/or a slow cooker is a good idea if you have kids that you’re feeding every night:
- Having kids can be fun but it can also be exhausting at times. The slow cooker and Instant Pot can help! Throw a few things in the pot and set it and forget it. Come back to a homemade meal that took minimal energy.
- If you have kids that are in a lot of activities you will be dropping off and picking up kids and be in your car a lot. Usually these activities are around dinnertime. This makes it hard to prepare a meal on the stove top. By making a meal in the Instant Pot or slow cooker you can prepare things ahead of time, throw them in the pot and walk away. You can let the pot switch to warm automatically after it is done cooking and not worry about it while you’re away from the home.
- If you have older kids that are in and out you can serve your dinner in shifts. It’s easy to keep the dinner warm in the slow cooker or instant pot by using the warm setting. Everyone can have a hot meal whether they eat it at 5 pm or 8 pm.
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25 Kids’ Most Requested Instant Pot Dinners
Pizza Joes
Sloppy joes with a pepperoni pizza twist. An easy dump and go recipe. The meat can be prepared early and kept warm until it’s time to eat.
Hot Pockets
Bread pockets with a filling of marinara sauce, cheese and pepperonis. They can be frozen for an easy lunch or snack. Use the yogurt function on your Instant Pot to quickly raise the bread dough.
Chicken and Gravy
An almost embarrassingly easy recipe for a good old fashioned dinner. Serve the chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, toast or biscuits.
Meatloaf Bites
Use your silicone egg bites mold to make the cutest, tastiest mini meatloaves ever. This recipe can be made with ground beef, turkey or chicken. You can even make baked potatoes at the same time in the same pot!
Dump and Go Meatball Lasagna
A perfect dinner on those nights when you need dinner fast! This 8 ingredient pasta dish is faster than picking up pizza and it will be gobbled up in no time.
Chicken Gyros
The soft pita bread is a kid favorite along with chicken, for picky kids leave out the tzatziki and tomatoes.
Macaroni and Cheese
Mac and cheese has been a kid favorite for a long time! This version is extra cheesy!
Creamy Chicken
The easiest cheater recipe out there. Chicken, cream cheese, cream of chicken soup and an Italian dressing mix packet are combined to make a delicious chicken dinner with hardly any work. We like to serve ours over rice but mashed potatoes or noodles would also be good.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Fast and easy to make. We love making this recipe on a cold day or when we have a sick one in the house.
Creamy Sloppy Joes
Homemade sloppy joe sauce and ground beef are simmered and then cream cheese is stirred in as a twist to make the best sloppy joes of your life. Serve the meaty sauce on toasted buns or even slider rolls for an easy weeknight dinner. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to serve a crowd.
White Chicken Chili
Most kids aren’t a fan of regular chili because it can be too spicy. This version is mild and so creamy and delicious.
Alfredo Salsa Pasta
The easiest recipe ever. With just four ingredients and your pressure cooker this is a perfect meal to make when you’re busy but still want to put dinner on the table! Kids and adults alike love this creamy penne pasta and will be asking for seconds.
Bacon BBQ Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes
The best flavored meatloaf ever is cooked at the same time and in the same pressure cooker as your mashed potatoes. Add a tossed salad and you have a complete meal ready to go in just a few minutes.
Cheeseburger Soup
Creamy and cheesy soup that is made so fast in your electric pressure cooker. Serve it with diced up dill pickle and tomatoes to get that authentic cheeseburger taste. Add crumbled bacon for bacon cheeseburger soup!
Ravioli
Ravioli is cooked in a marinara sauce with Italian sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and spinach for a super fast and easy one pot meal.
Cheeseburger Pasta
All the amazing flavors from cheeseburgers in a one pot pasta dish. Your whole family will love this dinner!
Pepperoni Pizza Meatloaf
A meatloaf made quickly in your electric pressure cooker that is inspired by pepperoni pizza! Mozzarella and diced pepperoni are combined with lean ground beef to make a flavorful combination that kids and adults both love.
Million Dollar Spaghetti
Spaghetti but a whole lot better. A ground beef sauce is served with spaghetti noodles and then cream cheese is stirred in for an ultimate creamy dinner. Kids and adults love this spaghetti!
Bacon Cheddar Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken, potatoes, veggies, cheese and bacon served with a creamy sauce over biscuits. An easy way to make chicken pot pie with a fun bacon cheddar twist! You can also make this recipe in the slow cooker.
Fried Rice
Easy recipe for fried rice made quickly in your Instant Pot. Just like what you’d order at Panda Express!
Open Faced Pizza Sandwich
The most amazing pizza dip is generously spooned over garlic bread and popped into your mouth. Make the dip in your Instant Pot, slow cooker or oven.
Fry Bread Tacos
A beefy chili is ladled over fry bread and topped with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and all your favorite taco fixings.
Italian Chicken Pasta
Creamy, saucy chicken and pasta that has lots of flavor with just a few easy ingredients.
Cheesy Ham Chowder
A creamy, comforting soup that is chock full of ham, potatoes, carrots and corn. A perfect dinner for a fall or winter evening.
Shells and Cheese
Creamy cheesy pasta shells (or macaroni) with slices of smoked sausage. An easy and delicious dinner that is kid-friendly and adults love it too!
*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.
Well, I missed the sale….did your book come out?
Nope not yet! Will come out later in the fall.
What do you mean for kids? I love all of that stuff! (I did eat an awful lot of Sloppy Joes while in the Navy, though.)
That is the best part! These recipes are good for kids and adults! Win!
Karen,
thanks for all of your help, this list is perfect as school just started back! Curious, do you have an Amazon promotional code that gets you credit when we purchase accessories? TIA
Thank you Matt. If I link to something on amazon in the post I will get credit for it if you purchase through the link.
You are a lifesaver! We recently got custody of 2 of our grandkids who were only eating fast food. If they are at all. We are teaching them time at the dinner table is vital for families to grow closer. It has been an experience for all!
The instant pot is my favorite appliance ever!
I am about to try one of these tonight.
Thank you for the great menus, one less thing for me to do. Big hugs.
Wow! Good luck with the challenges ahead. I’m glad that I could be of some help to you 🙂
I have tried a few of your recipes and it’s made a big difference to my daily cooking, using my slow cooker for the first time a few months ago and with your ideas and wonderful recipes, it’s changed the way I cook, I have more time to spend going with my husband on his walks knowing we come home to a great meal, I thank you so very much. I have copied every single email recipe you have sent so I can go back to my favorite meals anytime I want.
Wow this is so nice to hear Margaret. Keep up the walks! That is one of my husband and I’s favorite things to do together 🙂