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March 30, 2020

7 Pantry Instant Pot Recipes

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Stock your freezer, spice cupboard and pantry with a few items and you can make these 7 different pantry Instant Pot recipes.

Pin this for later!

Pantry Instant Pot Recipes

I grew up with 6 siblings, all sisters. During a number of years when we were younger my mom would plan a monthly grocery shopping trip. She would only hit the grocery store once a month! She would plan all her meals and use the items that go bad quickly first and then the foods that lasted longer would be used later in the month. She was very resourceful and we did grow up on quite a few canned goods and powdered milk (which my kids probably wouldn’t touch!).

Until recently I have gone to the grocery store 2 times a week (sometimes more!). Now that we are hunkering down and trying to visit the grocery store as little as possible it’s good to plan meals out a bit more and think about what foods will last longer.

I’ve made a list of items that I always try to keep in my pantry, freezer and spice cupboard. When I have these items I can make so many different recipes! What items do you have in your pantry that are must haves?

Pantry Staples:

  • Tomato sauce, diced and crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, fire roasted tomatoes
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • Potatoes
  • Beef broth and chicken broth or Better Than Bouillon Beef and Chicken Base
  • Pasta
  • Rice
  • Quinoa
  • Dried beans and canned beans
  • Lentils
  • Barley
  • Salsa or picante sauce
  • Worcestershire
  • Soy Sauce
  • Oils (olive, canola, sesame)
  • Vinegar (white, apple cider, red wine, rice, balsamic)
  • Salad dressings
  • Green chilies
  • Bread crumbs
  • Sugar (white and brown)
  • Honey and molasses
  • Flour and cornstarch
  • BBQ sauce

Spice Cupboard:

  • Taco seasoning
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Pepper
  • Salt/Kosher salt
  • Cumin
  • Chili powder
  • Basil
  • Oregano
  • Parsley
  • Bay leaf
  • Italian seasoning
  • Smoked paprika
  • Thyme
  • Ranch dressing mix

Freezer Staples:

  • Corn
  • Vegetables
  • Meats: chicken, ground beef or turkey, sausage (ground and smoked rope sausage)
  • Fresh ginger (I buy a root and then wrap it up in plastic and freeze it. Each time a recipe calls for ginger I grate some off)
  • Lime juice and lemon juice (I buy a big bag of limes and squeeze out all the juice. Then I freeze in ice cube trays or my egg bites mold. Whenever a recipe calls for fresh lime juice I have it on hand)
  • Grated cheddar (I buy the huge 5 pound cheese block from Costco and then grate it all up and freeze it in Ziploc bags)
  • Grated parmesan (I buy a big bag of grated parmesan at Costco and throw it in the freezer)
  • Butter

Once your pantry, freezer and spice cupboard are stocked you can make these tasty Instant Pot dinners!

1. Instant Pot Cheesy Beef Burrito Bowls

All the cheesy, delicious innards of a beef burrito made in one pot, your Instant Pot.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
  • Taco seasoning
  • Beef broth (or chicken broth)
  • Rice
  • Rotel (or use a can of diced tomatoes and a can of diced green chilies)
  • Can black beans
  • Frozen corn or canned corn
  • Grated cheese of your choice
Instant Pot Cheesy Beef Burrito Bowls Recipe
beef burrito bowls in a white bowl with sour cream on top

2. Instant Pot 2-Ingredient Balsamic Chicken

With literally only 2 ingredients and the fact that it’s made in the Instant Pot, this recipe couldn’t be easier to make. This balsamic chicken tastes great on salads, over rice or with a baked potato.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts or bone-in chicken
  • Balsamic salad dressing (or any other thin salad dressing that is thin and not cream based)
Instant Pot Balsamic Chicken Recipe
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken Recipe
Slow Cooker 2-Ingredient Balsamic Chicken--tender, moist bites of shredded chicken flavored with a light balsamic dressing. With literally only 2 ingredients and the fact that it's made in the crockpot, this recipe couldn't be easier to make. This balsamic chicken tastes great on salads, over rice or with a baked potato.

3. Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa and Black Beans

A fast and easy meatless meal or an amazing side dish. 

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Quinoa
  • Can of black beans
  • Salsa or picante sauce
  • Bay leaf
  • Cumin
  • Salt
  • Garlic powder
  • Lime juice (optional)
Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa and Black Beans
Slow Cooker Mexican Quinoa and Black Beans Recipe
Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa and Black Beans--flavorful quinoa with salsa, black beans and sliced avocado. A fast and easy meatless meal or an amazing side dish.

Instant Pot Porcupine Meatballs

Uncooked rice is mixed with ground beef to make a meatball that looks like it has porcupine quills.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Crushed tomatoes
  • Butter
  • Onion powder
  • Garlic powder
  • Kosher salt
  • Lean ground beef
  • Egg
  • Long grain white rice
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Black pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Bread crumbs
Instant Pot Porcupine Meatballs Recipe
Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs Recipe
Instant Pot Porcupine Meatballs--a fun twist on a traditional meatball recipe. Uncooked rice is mixed with ground beef to make a meatball that looks like it has porcupine quills. My version is made quickly in the Instant Pot and served with an amazingly easy homemade marinara sauce.

Instant Pot Mom’s Goulash

Not an authentic version of “goulash” but what my mom would call goulash when I was growing up! Whatever you call it, it tastes amazing.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Lean ground beef or ground turkey
  • Onion
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • Oregano
  • Italian seasoning
  • Garlic
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Beef broth or better than bouillon
  • Bay leaf
  • Pasta
  • Tomato sauce
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Grated cheese
Instant Pot Mom’s Goulash
Instant Pot Old-Fashioned Goulash is an old family favorite recipe. Ground beef or turkey is browned and then simmered with a tomato-based sauce and macaroni noodles and then topped with grated cheddar. The perfect weeknight dinner to feed a family. Make it quickly in your electric pressure cooker.

Instant Pot Lo Mein

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Chicken broth
  • Spaghetti
  • Boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • Soy sauce
  • Garlic
  • Brown sugar
  • Chili garlic sauce or sriracha
  • Ginger
  • Sesame oil
  • Bag of frozen stir fry vegetables
Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein
Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein--an easy make-at-home version of your favorite Chinese takeout meal. Spaghetti, bites of chicken and lots of veggies are pulled together with a savory asian sauce.

Instant Pot Honey Lime Salsa Verde Chicken

Green salsa, honey, lime, and plenty of seasonings will have you licking your plate! This chicken is perfect with rice, on tortillas, wrapped up in lettuce or plain.

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Chicken breasts
  • Olive oil
  • Chili powder
  • Kosher salt
  • Onion powder
  • Garlic powder
  • Smoked paprika
  • Cumin
  • Pepper
  • Salsa verde
  • Honey
  • Lime juice
Instant Pot Honey Lime Salsa Verde Chicken
Slow Cooker Honey Lime Salsa Verde Chicken
Instant Pot Honey Lime Salsa Verde Chicken--chicken tenders infused with lots of bright flavors. Green salsa, honey, lime, and plenty of seasonings will have you licking your plate! This chicken is perfect with rice, on tortillas, wrapped up in lettuce or plain.

More pantry/freezer/spice cupboard friendly recipes…

Instant Pot Pork and Beans

Instant Pot Pioneer Pasta

Instant Pot Ranch Chicken Taco Rice

Instant Pot Sausage Lentil Rice Soup

Instant Pot Tuna Casserole

Instant Pot Rigatoni and Sausage

Instant Pot Baked Potatoes

Want more tried and true Instant Pot recipes?

Receive FREE daily Instant Pot recipes and tips in your email box. Sign up by filling out the gray form below. Other ways to follow: join the 365 Days of Instant Pot Recipes Facebook group and subscribe to my YouTube channel where I share Instant Pot stuff with you weekly.

*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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12 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Collections, Instant Pot

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Comments

  1. Linda Garcia says

    May 7, 2020 at 6:43 pm

    When my kids were young both my husband and I had a job that paid once a month. Therefore, I went to the grocery store once a month. One secret to once a month shopping is to “shop for the pantry”. For all the standard stuff you have in your spice cupboard and condiments in the fridge, you have an unopened bottle or jar in the pantry. When the one in the fridge or cupboard is gone, you get the one out of the pantry. The kicker here is that you have to place this item on your grocery list. I have a long notepad attached to the fridge with a magnetic clip. When I was doing this back then, I only purchased what was on my list and my standard things that I knew we would need during the month. I bought 8 loaves of bread, 4 packages of tortillas, 5 dozen eggs, etc…. My kids knew I would only get what was on the list. If the miracle whip did not get on the list and we ran out, oh well. It was an important lesson. They were religious about the list. They wanted to have their food during the month and that only happened if it was on the list. Same with shampoo or deodorant etc.
    It takes time to get this system down, but we did this for years!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      May 11, 2020 at 3:06 pm

      Sounds like a great system! And really we can survive with a lot of things we think we “need” can’t we? I bet you spent so much less money only going to the store once a month too!

      Reply
      • Gale Caswell says

        October 7, 2022 at 10:25 am

        The other key is to check out all the sale ads and buy what you need that is on sale. When I was younger, my husband was an enlisted man in the Navy and believe me, enlisted pay does not go far when raising 3 kids! Not only did I shop at the base commissary, I also shopped the local grocery stores when things that I needed were on sale and at better prices than the commissary. Now that I am a senior living on a small fixed income, I still shop the sale ads, especially for meat, and I eat well. And I now live in the Twin Cities metro area where grocery stores are not close together so I just plan ahead to get what I need at the best possible prices. Yes, I can still make a penny scream!

        Reply
        • Karen says

          October 7, 2022 at 12:59 pm

          I love that Gale!

          Reply
  2. Mary says

    March 31, 2020 at 7:52 am

    Great looking recipes this week. Will try the Beans and Quinoa and Goulash!
    Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 31, 2020 at 3:38 pm

      You’re welcome Mary!!

      Reply
  3. Cynthia Wilcoxson says

    March 30, 2020 at 3:08 pm

    This website has been so helpful to me. I use mostly the IPOT recipies, but truly everything is well done Thank You!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 31, 2020 at 3:48 pm

      Thank you so much Cynthia. I’m glad I could be of service to you!

      Reply
  4. Mary-lyn says

    March 30, 2020 at 2:11 pm

    Thanks for this list of ingredients and meal ideas. Another way to have lemon and lime juice for your recipes is to cut the fresh fruit in half and store in the freezer in Ziploc bags. Microwave for 15 seconds and squeeze — because the peel softens they are very easy to squeeze.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 30, 2020 at 2:29 pm

      I love this idea! I have some limes and I’m going to try it out. Thank you.

      Reply
    • Pamela Emmett says

      March 30, 2020 at 6:27 pm

      Just curious, would this work for lime wedges to serve with Mexican (Corona) beer?

      Reply
      • Karen says

        March 31, 2020 at 3:46 pm

        Lol Pamela

        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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