5 Reasons Why I love my Instant Pot

If you have been reading my blog for the past year, you know that I am slightly majorly obsessed with my Instant Pot.

I got my Instant Pot last October and I haven't looked back! 

I haven't used my Crock Pot since I got my Instant Pot...for the past year, my Crock Pot has been in my pantry collecting dust.

 Most of the Crock Pot recipes I have on my blog, I have been converting them to IP recipes and making them in that. I will try and update all those recipes with the Instant Pot version at the bottom of the post, so stay tuned for that...it's a work in progress :)

 Speaking of Crock Pots....

Mark your calendars for Monday, October 30th for Crocktober!

I really want to re-name it to Instant Pot-ober because I haven't used my Crock Pot since I got an Instant Pot last October.

But, I will still call it Crocktober because that just sounds better :)
There will be a new recipe & a giveaway!

Here are my Top 5 reasons why I love my Instant Pot. Or, IP for short :)
This post is not an ad, it is not sponsored. I just really, really, really love the Instant Pot and it has made my life so much easier and I am alllllllllll about sharing tips & tricks to help people out, especially when it comes to getting dinner on the table!

{ONE}

It cooks food FAST & It's EASY to use!
It takes a fraction of the time that a slow cooker takes.
Most of my Crock Pot meals take 4-8 hours to cook, the Instant Pot takes 15-45 minutes.
You can throw frozen chicken breasts in your Instant Pot and it takes 15 minutes of cooking and your chicken will be fork tender & falling apart.
It really is easy to use. I was intimidated at first. I wasn't sure how to use it.
But, like everything....practice makes perfect!
All of the Instant Pot recipes I have on my blog are step by step, so if you follow those, you will be good to go! 

{TWO}

One Pot Meals....less clean up!

The beauty of the Instant Pot is that it has 7 features on it, one of them being the saute button.
So, when I make my Taco Soup recipe & it calls for browning ground beef, you can do that in the Instant Pot on saute mode and then after you drain the grease, you can dump the rest of your ingredients into the Instant Pot and have it cook. I have several recipes that call for ground beef or browning sausage and I love that I can do that in the Instant Pot. Whenever I made things in the Crock Pot, I would have to use another pan to brown the meat on the stove & clean that up. Not with the Instant Pot! You can do it all with one pot & only have 1 thing to clean after dinner.

{THREE}

You can cook pasta & rice (and other grains) in the Instant Pot.
My kids love pasta dishes & eat some sort of pasta dish 3 times a week.
With the Instant Pot, you don't need to boil water.
I can cook a pound of pasta in the  Instant Pot in 4 minutes. I just add the pasta, 4 cups of water, a dab of butter and then cook on manual high pressure for 4 minutes. The pasta comes out perfectly!
Sometimes after I make the pasta in the  Instant Pot, I will add a few cups of shredded cheese to make a homemade mac & cheese for my kids. Or, I will add my homemade spaghetti sauce to the pasta (that I make in the  Instant Pot & need to blog) 
The fact that it makes pasta & rice supports reason #2...one pot meals...less clean up!

{FOUR}
The possibilities of things to make in your Instant Pot are Endless!
I have made soups, stews, pot roast, homemade mac & cheese, spaghetti, pulled pork, ribs, chicken fajitas, jambalaya, meatballs,  baked potatoes, spaghetti squash,  hard boiled eggs, popcorn (yes, you can pop popcorn in it!) homemade yogurt, cheesecake, oatmeal....the list goes on and on and on!
It really is a magic pot.

{FIVE} 

You can make Healthy Meals at the last minute which means less eating out!
Every Sunday I do my meal planning for the week & go to the grocery store so that we are all set for the week (I have gotten some emails about how I do my meal planning....stay tuned for that)
But, some weekends we are out of town (especially in the Winter when we go to Tahoe to ski) I don't have a chance to do my meal planning/shopping on Sundays. Enter the Instant Pot.
I have some staples that I always keep in my freezer & pantry so that if we have "no food" in the house, I know that I can grab these items and make a healthy dinner in my Instant Pot.
For example, I ALWAYS have a bag of frozen chicken breasts or chicken thighs in my freezer.
I also always have a bag of frozen broccoli florets in my freezer. In my pantry, items that I always have stocked up are: Jar of Teriyaki Marinade, Jar of BBQ sauce & a jar of salsa.
 One of my go-to really easy & really healthy Instant Pot meals is a bag of frozen chicken breasts or thighs and a jar of teriyaki sauce. Put it in the Instant Pot for 15 minutes & then shred the chicken and then put in a bag or 2 of frozen broccoli florets. Keep warm for 5-10 minutes. Serve over rice. BAM! Chicken & broccoli teriyaki.
Or, do the same thing with Chicken & a jar of salsa. Shred it up and then you can serve in tortillas or rice and you have Mexican Salsa Chicken.
You can use frozen chicken & a bottle of BBQ sauce...BAM! Shredded BBQ chicken!

Fall is a super busy time of year for us because both girls are playing soccer, so 3 times a week we are driving around taking them to and from soccer practices. But, we have not eaten out during the week in months....thanks to the Instant Pot! I know that even though I am busy during the evening hours driving my kids around, that dinner is cooking in my Instant Pot & can be cooked quickly!

Speaking of other healthy & easy Instant Pot recipes, here are all the Instant Pot recipes I have posted in the last year since I have owned my Instant Pot:

Korean Beef

Grammy's Split Pea Soup 
(Side note...today is Grammy's 106th birthday...her first birthday in heaven since she passed away exactly 5 months ago on May 27th at the age of 105 years 7 months old. I made a batch of this soup on Monday to have for my lunches this week in her honor)

Savory Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs:

Chicken Taco Soup:

Instant Pot Jambalaya:

 Rosemary Beef Stew

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Instant Pot Shredded Pork Tacos

 Instant Pot Easiest Dinner Ever

Instant Pot Pulled Pork

Instant Pot Baked Chicken Tacos

More Instant Pot Recipes coming your way...I hope to blog 1 or 2 Instant Pot recipes a month!
I told you I'm obsessed with it :)

If you don't have an Instant Pot yet, put it on your Christmas List

I bet they will be on sale on Black Friday.

Or, better yet....come back here on Monday for Crocktober (which is really Instant Pot-ober)

I may or may not be giving an Instant Pot away ;)

Do you own an Instant Pot?
What Instant Pot recipes would you like me to create/convert/post?
I have SO much fun converting recipes into Instant Pot recipes & would love to know what recipes you are looking for!