Ah, the Instant Pot. This glorious pressure cooker is truly a mom’s best friend.
Once you actually cooking with your Instant Pot, you’ll wonder how you ever got food on the table for your family without it.
What makes the Instant Pot so great?
Why, let me count the ways.
1. It’s fast.
Even when you forget to take chicken out of the freezer (so, like, always), you can have a fully-cooked meal on your table in 45 minutes or less (see my Creamy Bacon Ranch Crack Chicken recipe, for example).
2. It’s easy.
Most of my Instant Pot recipes are set-it-and-forget-it. There’s usually a couple steps of prep involved (sautéing, mixing, etc.), then you lock the pot, walk away for 30 minutes, and come back to fully cooked perfection.
3. It does it all.
For those multi-step recipes, you can often do all the steps right in the same pot. Need to brown your meat first? Fire up sauté mode. Need to thicken the sauce at the end of the recipe? Kick it back to warm or sauté. One pot to clean, no need to heat up the stove, no digging through your cabinets to find that dusty old pan that fits the entire meal in it… win/win/win.
Plus, it can literally cook any meal of the day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert – the Instant Pot has got you covered.
But… I’m a Beginner. Where do I start?!
Lucky for you, I’ve compiled all the tips, tricks, supplies, and terminology you need to expertly navigate this magical cooking machine. Start with these top tips that ALL Instant Pot beginners should read.

Then, get to cooking! And be sure to let me know which ones your family likes – I absolutely LOVE hearing what your families think of these meals!