12 Favorite Instant Pot Recipes for Easy Summer Dinners
Can't stand the heat? Instant Pot to the rescue!
Would you rather spend your precious summer hours cooking in a hot kitchen or having fun in the sun? Since fun wins every time, let me show you how to use your Instant Pot to make easy summer dinners—from main dishes to sides and desserts—and keep your kitchen cool at the same time. No oven, no stovetop, no sweat!
Instant Pot Main Dish Recipes
One indispensible feature of the Instant Pot is that it can saute! Just press the saute button. When the display reads "hot," add your food and brown it up. Then press the slow cooker button and adjust the timer. If you're new to cooking with this amazing device, check out our Guide to Instant Pot Cooking. Then let your Instant Pot do the heavy lifting with one of these easy main dish recipes:
Just a few simple ingredients come together to make this saucy chicken for an easy taco filling. There might even be enough for quesadillas the next night.
Recipe submitter, bd.weld, says, "You can use it to make tacos, burritos, chimichangas, tostadas, quesadillas, sopes, or even tamales." Want it all? This recipe is easy to double!
This recipe packs some heat by way of dried New Mexico chiles and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Plan on 20 minutes of prep, then let the Instant Pot do the rest.
4. Instant Pot® Quick and Easy Outlaw Chili Beans
With a quick prep and speedy cooking time, you can have this crowd-pleasing meal ready to serve in under an hour. Set out bowls of shredded cheese, diced avocado, cilantro, jalapeños, and sour cream so everyone can choose their own chili adventure.
5. Instant Pot® Rotisserie Chicken
A little paprika and garlic powder go a long way in this easy weeknight chicken recipe that recipe submitter, Fioa, says is "the most tender and moist chicken" you can make at home. Just five minutes of prep, then the Instant Pot takes over.
6. Instant Pot® Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Barbeque sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, and smoked paprika...yes please! Marinate the pork for 30 minutes, sauté for five to to seven minutes, then finish up on pressure cooker mode in 60. That's a fraction of the time it would take in your slow cooker, oven, or stovetop.
Instant Pot Summer Side Dishes
Your Instant Pot can take care of side dishes, too. Any of these recipes would be great with grilled chicken, steak, a veggie option, or the Instant Pot main dish suggestions. (We know people who have two Instant Pots so they can make multiple dishes in a fraction of the time.)
7. Instant Pot® Pineapple-Coconut-Lime Rice
Add a taste of the tropics to your summer meals with this fragrant rice. Just 10 minutes of prep is all that's needed, then it's ready in 30 more!
8. Tiffany's Instant Pot® Potato Salad
Recipe submitter, Tiff, says this is "a simple Southern-style potato salad recipe that is a one-pot wonder!" The hardest part will be waiting three hours for it to cool in the fridge. (We suspect it'll be worth the wait, though!)
9. Instant Pot® Corn on the Cob
If you have several other recipes to whip up for your meal, this recipe is your friend. "Put everything in the pot and walk away," says recipe submitter, Bren.
10. Instant Pot® Mediterranean Couscous Salad
This is great on its own, or as a summer side. Cucumber, tomatoes, and cilantro keep things light and fresh, and cooking the couscous in an Instant Pot keeps it lightning fast!
Instant Pot Summer Desserts
No need to limit yourself to no-cook summer desserts when you have an Instant Pot that can handle the heat for you.
"This is a phenomenal cheesecake that is light, fluffy, and super tasty," says SKaustin. "Since I have never made a cheesecake before, I followed the recipe exactly as written. I left the cream cheese, eggs, and sour cream out on the counter for a good while before I made the batter, as I have read that it's important everything be room temperature to get a consistent cake texture with no cracks."
No need to heat up your kitchen to make this old-fashioned comfort food dessert. "Brought back memories of my favorite rice pudding. And so easy!" says Megan Morettini.
Related: Check out our collection of Instant Pot Recipes