Stock your freezer, spice cupboard and pantry with a few items and you can make these 7 different pantry Instant Pot recipes.
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
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)
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 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 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 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 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
More pantry/freezer/spice cupboard friendly recipes…
Instant Pot Ranch Chicken Taco Rice
Instant Pot Sausage Lentil Rice Soup
Instant Pot Rigatoni and Sausage
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.
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!
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!
Great looking recipes this week. Will try the Beans and Quinoa and Goulash!
Thank you so much!
You’re welcome Mary!!
This website has been so helpful to me. I use mostly the IPOT recipies, but truly everything is well done Thank You!
Thank you so much Cynthia. I’m glad I could be of service to you!
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.
I love this idea! I have some limes and I’m going to try it out. Thank you.
Just curious, would this work for lime wedges to serve with Mexican (Corona) beer?
Lol Pamela