5-Ingredient Instant Pot Recipes for When You're Short on Time and Ingredients
Use your multicooker to make the most of a small number of ingredients. These 5-ingredient Instant Pot recipes prove that you can coax a lot of flavor out of a few items ... and one appliance. So gather the kitchen staples—we're assuming you already have oil, salt, and pepper in your pantry and butter in the fridge—and whip up a low-fuss few-ingredient Instant Pot recipe for every meal and snack in the day.
Jason Donnelly
Pressure Cooker Beef and Broccoli
Number of Ingredients: 5
Sure, you could order takeout. Or you could customize this few-ingredient Instant Pot recipe with your desired spice level, beef cut, and gluten-free sauce components (coconut aminos instead of soy sauce). If you don't mind going over the ingredient count, serve the 5-ingredient meal on a bed of cooked brown rice or cauliflower rice.
Related: The Complete Beginner’s Guide on How to Use an Instant Pot
Andy Lyons
Pressure Cooker Peaches-and-Cream Breakfast Quinoa
Number of Ingredients: 5
Instant oatmeal, you have some protein-packed and peachy competition. Requiring only 1 minute under pressure, this few-ingredient Instant Pot recipe works on even the busiest of mornings. Come summer, craft the quinoa recipe with fresh stone fruit; in winter, frozen peaches work.
Buy It: Instant Pot Evo 6-Quart Plus Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker, $119.99, Bed Bath & Beyond
Jason Donnelly
Pressure Cooker Caramelized-Onion Jam
Number of Ingredients: 4
No more stirring for an hour or more on the stove to make homemade jam. This less-than-5-ingredient Instant Pot recipe for DIY speedy jam (one of our seven favorite surprising Instant Pot tricks) essentially prepares itself after you add the ingredients. Come cocktail party time, simply slather atop goat cheese crostinis for a restaurant copycat appetizer.
Blaine Moats
Pressure Cooker Bacon Deviled Eggs
Number of Ingredients: 5
Go ahead, reconcile your relationship with deviled eggs. They’re not that complicated when you have this 5-ingredient Instant Pot recipe in your arsenal. Steam the eggs in the appliance for an easier peel on your hard-boiled eggs, then mix the yolks with mayo, mustard, and chives. If that’s not irresistible enough, top them with crumbled bacon and for snack heaven.
Jason Donnelly
Pressure Cooker Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Number of Ingredients: 5
Don’t reserve pie for dessert. And certainly don’t only think of it as an all-day affair. This 5-ingredient pressure cooker recipe requires only 15 minutes of prep and only 5 minutes under pressure. Frozen veggies, thinly sliced turkey, a jar of (or leftover) gravy, and refrigerated mashed sweet potatoes make this dinner dream a reality.
Jason Donnelly
Pressure Cooker Cauliflower Steaks with Pesto
Number of Ingredients: 5
Veggie steak that’s tender and mouthwatering? Yep, it’s possible. This 5-ingredient Instant Pot recipe is the ultimate busy weeknight dinner side because it cooks in a mere 4 minutes. Basil pesto, briny olives, and sweet-tart sun-dried tomatoes make the easy side dish taste remarkably complex.
Adam Albright
Pressure Cooker Lemon and Dill Fish Packets
Number of Ingredients: 4
An Instant Pot recipe with fewer than 5 ingredients, creates incredibly flaky fish, and has zero clean up time? The Test Kitchen pros lured us in with those promises. The lemon-dill flavors sweeten the deal.
You knew the Instant Pot was making your cooking life easier, but recipes calling for so few ingredients (read: little prep) mean you barely have to be in the kitchen at all.
