Weeknight Instant Pot Dinner Recipes—looking for tasty, healthy-ish, fast dinner ideas for those busy weeknights? I got you covered. Here are 31 different Instant Pot recipes to help you plan your menu and make your life just a little less hectic.

Weeknight Instant Pot Dinner Recipes
In the 365 Days of Instant Pot Recipes Facebook group Beth asks, “I am looking for good, easy, healthy dinner recipes for weeknights. I work long hours and I am spending way too much time in my kitchen when I get home. What are your favorites?”
First off I want to tell Beth, I hear ya! I can imagine that after a long day at the office and then commuting home on a busy freeway the last thing that you want to do is spend an hour making dinner. But on the other hand you probably don’t want to throw a Lean Cuisine into the microwave every night either. Dinner should be nourishing and delicious. It should be a positive part of the day.
Beth, today I’m hoping that I help you out by giving you some good weeknight Instant Pot dinner recipes after a long day at work. These dinners are fairly healthy and don’t take a lot of effort or time.
Instant Pot Egg Roll Bowls
- This recipe is inspired by chinese egg rolls but itโs given a fresher spin. It’s a flavorful, healthy-ish, semi-homemade dinner that can be made so fast.
- All in one meal
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 39 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 4 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Mango Salsa Chicken
- With only 4 ingredients this chicken is perfect when you have no time but need to get dinner on the table now.
- Itโs perfect over rice, on tortillas or over riced cauliflower.
- Hands on time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 45 minutes (10 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 15 minutes pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Greek Spaghetti
- Spaghetti with a Greek flare. It has lemon, feta, cucumber, yogurt, tomatoes and more.
- All in one pot meal
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 34 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 4 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)

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.
- Serve as a main meatless dish or add chicken to make it more hearty.
- Hands on time: 5 minutes
- Total time: 47 minutes (5 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 22 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Garlic Herb Pork Chops and Green Beans
- This one pot meal can be made in minutes. The pork chops and green beans are full of rich buttery herb flavors.
- Serve as is for a low-carb meal or serve with your favorite starch (potatoes, rice or noodles).
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 31 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 1 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Brown Rice Pilaf with Chicken Sausage
- A quick, easy and healthy meal of seasoned brown rice with carrots, peas and chicken sausage.
- Serve with a side of broccoli
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 22 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Chicken Barley Soup
- A healthy but filling soup. This is a forgiving soup that allows you to use cooked chicken or turkey or raw chicken breasts or thighs.
- Serve with crusty bread, rolls or breadsticks.
- Hands on time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 60 minutes (20 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 18 minutes pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Madras Lentils with Ground Beef
- Lentils, red beans and spices simmered in a creamy tomato sauce.
- Serve like a chili or over rice.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 35 minutes (15 minute prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 10 minutes pressure cooking time)

Instant Pot Creamy Dill Chicken
- Chicken with garlic, lemon pepper, dill, and lemon juice encoated in creamy yogurt.
- Serve the chicken wrapped in a warm pita with diced cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.
- Hands on time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 45 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 15 minutes pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Southwest Shredded Chicken Bowls
- A stew that is bursting with flavor but not too spicy. It has tender shredded chicken, pinto beans, fire roasted tomatoes, green chiles and taco seasoning.
- Serve this stew over rice or plain.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 45 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 15 minutes pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Garlic Mushroom Chicken
- A creamy sauce is spooned over mushrooms, tender bites of chicken (and optional broccoli). A delicious dump and go recipe that you can make with frozen chicken.
- Serve plain or over rice, pasta or garlic toast.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 45 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 12 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minutes NPR)

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!
- Serve chicken over rice, on tortillas, wrapped up in lettuce or plain.
- Hands on time: 25 minutes
- Total time: 44 minutes (10 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 4 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minutes NPR, 10 minute reduction time)

Instant Pot Cabbage Roll Soup
- A fast and way to enjoy all the flavors of cabbage rolls. This soup will be your familyโs new favorite!
- Serve with bread or rolls and a side salad of raw vegetables.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 39 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 4 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minutes NPR)

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Pork
- A 5-ingredient recipe for the tastiest and easiest pork lettuce wraps ever!
- Serve rolled up in lettuce leaves or over salad.
- Hands on time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 30 minutes (10 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 5 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minutes NPR)

Instant Pot Green and White Soup
- A nourishing and tasty soup with white and green beans, barley, lemon, spinach and chunks of chicken. An easy dump and go Instant Pot recipe!
- Serve with a slice of fresh bread or a warm roll.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 52 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 22 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minutes NPR)

Instant Pot Spanish Rice with Beef
- A super fast and easy recipe for rice with ground beef, tomatoes, green peppers and spices.
- Serve with a side salad.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 35 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 5 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minutes NPR)

Instant Pot 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.
- Serve with a side salad.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 33 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 3 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minutes NPR)

Instant Pot Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
- Chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots and gravy are all prepared in one pot, your Instant Pot.
- Serve with a side of greens or by itself.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 42 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 12 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minutes NPR)

Instant Pot Chicken Asparagus Potato Dinner
- Moist bites of chicken, cubed potatoes and crisp bites of asparagus are tossed with a seasoning blend of smoked paprika, garlic powder and more to create a well seasoned one pot dinner.
- Serve by itself.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 34 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 4 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minutes for asparagus)

Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken and Lentils
- An easy dump and go recipe. Lentils and chicken are pressure cooked with mild salsa verde and black beans to make a creamy one pot dinner.
- Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream.
- Hands on time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 38 minutes (10 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 13 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)
Instant Pot Mexican Stuffed Peppers
- Bell peppers are stuffed with brown rice, black beans and salsa and cooked perfectly in your pressure cooker.
- Top with a dollop of sour cream.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 36 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 6 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- An easy dump and go soup recipe that you can make in minutes in your electric pressure cooker.
- Top with a dollop of sour cream, cilantro and avocado.
- Hands on time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 40 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 10 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- An incredibly easy and delicious recipe for lettuce wraps.
- Serve chicken rolls up in crisp lettuce leaves.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 39 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 4 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Zucchini Linguine
- Al dente pasta is stirred together with fresh zucchini, tender chicken bites, yogurt, garlic and cheddar.
- Serve by itself or with a side of broccoli.
- Hands on time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 50 minutes (20 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 10 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Tomato Basil Tilapia
- Steamed tilapia is topped with diced tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil, salt and pepper.
- Serve with quinoa or sauteed spinach.
- Hands on time: 10 minutes
- Total time: 24 minutes (10 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 4 minute pressure cooking time)

Instant Pot Cajun Sausage, Potatoes and Green Beans
- A quick and easy one pot meal of cajun-style andouille sausage, quartered red potatoes, fresh green beans and sliced mushrooms.
- Serve by itself.
- Hands on time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 33 minutes (20 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 3 minute pressure cooking time)

Instant Pot Lemon Butter Garlic Salmon with Homestyle Vegetables
- Flaky wild Alaska salmon is steamed on the top of red potatoes and carrots in your electric pressure cooker and drizzled with garlic, fresh lemon juice and butter.
- Serve by itself.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 39 minutes (20 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 4 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Homestyle Chicken and Vegetables
- A true one pot meal that is family friendly, tastes amazing and is so easy to put together.
- Serve by itself.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 35 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 5 minute pressure cooking time, 5 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Ground Turkey Lentil Chili
- This healthy, easy pressure cooker turkey lentil chili is the perfect meal for any night of the week. It fills you up without filling you out while still having tons of flavor.
- Serve with garlic bread.
- Hands on time: 15 minutes
- Total time: 45 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 10 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Pasta Primavera
- A meatless pasta and vegetable dish. Rigatoni pasta is cooked quickly in your pressure cooker along with tomatoes, fresh green beans, carrots, mushrooms, garlic and zucchini.
- Serve by itself.
- Hands on time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 32 minutes (20 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 2 minute pressure cooking time)

Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- A lightened up, easy pressure cooker version of a favorite casserole.
- Serve by itself or with a salad.
- Hands on time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 57 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 22 minute pressure cooking time, 10 minute NPR)

Instant Pot Country Boil with Smoked Sausage
- A one pot meal with tender red potatoes, sweet corn, fresh green beans and smoked sausage.
- Serve by itself
- Hands on time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 26 minutes (15 minutes prep, 10 minutes to come to pressure, 1 minute pressure cooking time)

*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.
I have your cookbook and just love your recipes! I like to use a different one each night but find most are so delicious and delightful I find myself wanting to just make them over and over again.
Last night I made your chow mein recipe (which you sent on your email service) and it was wonderful. As it was meatless I added some fried Spamโwhich made it a complete meal.
I look forward to cooking with you for a long time๐!
Oh thank you so much! I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes Tom!
I just got a good friend an Instant Pot and these recipes are a treasure trove!!
He used to work in the Presto plant in NY city.
Thank you!!!!!!!
Don
You’re welcome!!
First, about me. Like many of your followers, I used to be a crock pot guy,now I’m an Instant Pot guy. As such many of my devices lay dormant. Today I was cleaning my triple crock. You know, one machine, three little crock pots.
Anyway. I have a challenge for you. Help those of us with these devices. Instead of a weeks worth of meals using the 8qt Instant (love mine). How about the three different meals for the week. Or a buffet for a Sunday afternoon.
3 mix and match dinners.
Kitchen warrior! Do you accept the challenge?
That’s a great idea! I have one of those too. I haven’t broken it out in a while!
Wow !!! I honestly never thought of that. Thanks
Thank you for posting these recipes! I usually have most of these ingredients on hand, and these are super easy to make with little prep time. This really added value to my instapot compared to many recipes I have looked at in the past that look amazing, but are unrealistic due to time constraints or odd ingredients. Cheers!
You’re welcome Alli! Hope you like them!
Hi karen
Do you have any recipes for the 3qt mini IP?
I like your recipes!
Hi Janine, you can cook most any of my recipes with the 3 quart. Please watch this video on how: https://youtu.be/qXV2R__PzsM
People/ cooks might remember that prep time–slicing, dicing, chopping can be done ahead of time and prepped foods refrigerated till needed.
That sure cuts time off my IP meals!
Please suggest that idea now and then. It would be very helpful for quicker meals.
Love your website! Joyce
Good idea Joyce!
I canโt eat wheat, daily or anything acidic do you have any suggestions. ๐
That’s hard! I would check out my gluten free recipes: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_method=instant-pot&fwp_dietary_restrictions=gluten-free
Hi Karen,
Do you have a recipe for the Instant Pot for Lentil Stew? I saw one from your Crock Pot recipes. Thank you.
Frances
This one? https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-ground-turkey-lentil-chili/
Really love all of your recipes that I have tried so far! Just wish you could eliminate the bottom portion of the recipe that prints out Category, Method and Cuisine. That to me is a real ink waster. Love you instant pot recipes!! Thank you. V
All you have to do is when you print out the recipe is when you print, customize pages, nd only print page one…that is all you need. Hope that helps…
Yes that’s what I do!
I agree with this request. It really is unnecessary and it does use up the ink.
Let me see if I can ask the recipe plug in developer to fix it ๐
You know what I love about your site and recipes? First, you give a wide variety of recipes all at once and frequently. I want to try them all. Second, you are careful to give all the necessary time elements to expect when cooking with the IP. I have tried many of your recipes. I now have a 3 ring binder with literally hundreds of your recipes. The instant pot is a marvel and your collection of recipes, ideas and tips are marvelous. Many thanks!
Jon
Jon, that was such a nice note to read. Thank you for taking the time to express this!
Hi Karen, I absolutely love everything you do! This article is of particular interest to me but I only have a crockpot. I was wondering if you had a similar list for slow cookers? Thank you!
Hi Marena, this has 5 ingredient recipes that might interest you: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/5-ingredient-instant-pot-and-slow-cooker-recipes/
I just saw your suggestions for recipes that don’t include rice or pasta. Could you start publishing some recipes for those of us who eat low carb/keto?
I will try. Honestly I don’t eat like that in my house so it’s out of my wheelhouse. Here are the recipes I have labeled as low carb: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_method=instant-pot&fwp_dietary_restrictions=low-carb
I AM HAVING TROUBLE WITH CROCK POT BAGS… I HAVE COOKED ON HIGH FOR 12 HRS. AND THEY BURN ONTO THE CROCK OT LINER … WHAT AM I DOING WRONG??? DO YOU SPRAY WITH PAM ON THE LINER FIRST???
I haven’t tried that. I’m not sure it would help. What brand do you use?
Is this supposed to read 1 to 2 hours instead of 12 hours? I’m thinking this must be a typo.
Just a big thank you for being so clear on how much time the recipes take! โInstantโ is so misleading-
Million Dollar Spaghetti is an excellent edition to this list. It is probably the quickest one pot meal in my repertoire,
That’s true! I will add it to the list. Thank you.
I’m looking for recipes that don’t have rice or pasta in them. Do you have many of those? My husband doesn’t like rice or pasta.
Here are a few:
Mango salsa chicken: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-mango-salsa-chicken/
pork chops and green beans: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-garlic-herb-pork-chops-and-green-beans/
chicken barley soup: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-chicken-barley-soup/
dill chicken: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-creamy-dill-chicken/
garlic chicken: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-garlic-mushroom-chicken/
homestyle chicken and veggies: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-homestyle-chicken-and-vegetables/
tortilla soup: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-creamy-chicken-tortilla-soup/
chicken asparagus: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-chicken-asparagus-potato-dinner/