Healthy Pressure Cooker Recipes

Sweet corn and tender lump crabmeat go together wonderfully to make this rich, hearty chowder. This colorful, quick and easy Instant Pot soup makes a great starter for a summertime meal.

This Instant-Pot cabbage soup is a light vegetarian soup with a surprisingly rich flavor. Fire-roasted tomatoes add depth, but regular canned tomatoes will work well too. There is cabbage in every bite, and vinegar added at the end brightens the flavor. Serve this soup on a cold day with a side of toasted bread or a slice of crusty sourdough.

Inspired by tzimmes, a vegetable stew featuring dried fruit and commonly served for the Jewish New Year, we added carrots and prunes to this braised brisket for a sweet-and-savory flavor.

Your Instant Pot is the perfect appliance to turn to if you want tender, juicy beef brisket done quickly. Here, we cut the brisket in half so it can fit inside the pot. After it's seared, it's cooked with plenty of onions that add body once blended into the flavorful, rich sauce. If you are making this brisket for Passover, look for products (like ketchup) that are labeled "Kosher for Passover."

Cooking chickpeas from scratch is the best way to make your own hummus, but it can take hours to soak and cook them yourself. Enter the pressure cooker. Even without an overnight soak, your beans can be done in less than an hour, making this the ultimate last-minute appetizer option.

This recipe was inspired by a hearty lamb and chickpea soup from Turkey. Finishing it with a dollop of pistachio-mint pesto adds another layer of flavor.

Use your Instant Pot--or any other pressure cooker--to whip up this healthy butternut squash soup. Anjou pears add sweetness, while the soup gets creaminess and a wonderful flavor from light coconut milk, and a bright, fresh kick from ginger, cilantro and lime. Finishing the soup with whole-milk yogurt adds a nice richness, but you can skip it to keep the soup vegan. (Allow the soup to cool slightly before stirring in the yogurt so it doesn't curdle.) This soup would be equally delicious chilled.

Corned beef is brisket that has been pickled in spices for days. You can buy it ready-to-cook or corn your own at home, but both are serious sodium bombs, packing more than 500 mg per 3-ounce serving--nearly 25% of the recommended daily limit. For this healthier pressure cooker corned beef and cabbage, we start with a plain brisket and add seasonings ourselves to control the salt level. We also opt for a flat-cut end of brisket, instead of the thicker point cut, as it has less fat, making it easier to slice when cooked. An electric pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot, is absolutely key to this recipe, allowing you to cook the brisket in one hour--as opposed to three hours or more in the oven. It also lets you sear and roast in one device, saving cleanup time.

Prep and freeze all the ingredients for this homey classic ahead of time, and it will be ready to cook and serve any night of the week--no lengthy simmering needed, thanks to the multicooker. Freezing the ingredients in a round container creates the perfect fit for an easy transfer into your pressure cooker without having to thaw first.

Use this Instant Pot chicken breast recipe any time you need cooked chicken on hand. Cooking chicken breasts in your Instant Pot (or other multicooker) is an easy, hands-off way to enjoy chicken during the week for easy lunches and dinners. Slice chicken for a salad, or shred and use in your favorite chicken salad recipe. This recipe calls for the dried seasoning blend of your choice, so you can vary the basic recipe according to what you want to make. For example, use Italian seasonings to make chicken for a Mediterranean-style salad or choose to cook the chicken breast with chili powder for tacos, nachos or chicken chili.

This Instant Pot vegetarian chili recipe is full of healthy veggies and two kinds of beans. Chipotle chiles give it a hint of smoke and a nice kick. Top this quick and easy chili with cheese and sour cream, or enjoy it as a vegan chili by garnishing with veggies such as avocado, sliced jalapeños, onions, radishes and scallions or cilantro.

Chili cooks in just 15 minutes when it's made in a multicooker. The beef gets infused with the flavors of chili powder and cumin. Shredded cheese, scallion and sour cream round out the meal, but feel free to garnish with whatever toppings you choose.

Yellow and green peppers, tomatoes and sweet onion come together in the Instant Pot and make this classic sandwich pop with flavor. Cooking sausage and peppers in your Instant Pot makes this even easier for a busy weeknight. While green peppers are classic, any color bell peppers will work well.

This vegetable curry comes together fast thanks to the help of a multicooker. Coconut milk makes it creamy, while keeping this easy dinner vegan, and the potatoes and chickpeas help bulk up the dish for a satisfying meal. Serve over basmati rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice.

Enjoy classic chicken Marsala on a weeknight with this recipe that comes together fast thanks to the help of a multicooker, like the Instant Pot. Serve over cooked brown rice to sop up any of the extra sauce.

This satisfying and hearty soup has all the flavors of lasagna, but without the fuss of layering ingredients in a baking dish and waiting for the lasagna to bake. Here, we take advantage of the multicooker to prepare a soup that is ready in 10 minutes. Just top the soup with ricotta and Parmesan and enjoy!

Meatloaf and potatoes cook together in your multicooker, such as the Instant Pot, in this weeknight-ready recipe. Cooking meatloaf in your pressure cooker keeps it nice and moist and, once assembled, the whole meal is cooked in just 20 minutes!

To make a flavorful base for this soup—while still using some shortcuts—we pressure-cook store-bought broth with ginger, garlic, scallions, soy sauce and Shaoxing rice wine.

This warm Instant Pot steel-cut oatmeal is flavored with cinnamon and just a little maple syrup for a hint of sweetness. Top this creamy oatmeal with fresh berries, lemon zest or toasted nuts.

Make a healthier version of classic macaroni and cheese with this recipe that adds broccoli for a nutritional boost and an easy way to eat more vegetables. Using an electric pressure cooker, such as the InstantPot, gets dinner on the table in just 30 minutes.

Lentils and rice have been served together across the Middle East for centuries; they make a nutritious and satisfying vegetarian meal. This Instant Pot version is inspired by Lebanese mujadara, a variation that combines lentils, rice and caramelized onions.

Traditionally, this Yucatán-style pork is cooked all day in a pit, but a pressure cooker gets it on the table much quicker. Cooking the pork wrapped in banana leaves is optional but adds an authentic grassy note.

A multicooker is the perfect vessel for making homemade tomato sauce. You can sauté to develop flavor with the aromatic ingredients, then cook everything under pressure to infuse the tomatoes with garlic, onion, oregano and a splash of red wine. If the tomatoes are sweet on their own, you may not need the optional teaspoon of sugar. Taste before adding.

This basic Instant Pot whole chicken is moist and delicious. Plenty of garlic and fresh herbs flavor this healthy chicken recipe that can be enjoyed as a meal on its own or shredded and used in soups or as a topping for salad. In addition to the garlic and herb chicken, see Tips (below) for a lemon-garlic variation and a lemongrass and lime version of the basic recipe. Whichever version you choose, this pressure-cooker chicken requires just 15 minutes of active time.