Getting a healthy dinner on the table is so quick and easy when you have a pressure cooker and a few amazing Family Instant Pot Recipes by your side! These recipes are not only fast, but kid-friendly and delicious!

Family Instant Pot Recipes
We are a busy family. School. Work. Schedules that need constant collaboration, shifting and reorganizing. Pets that need to be walked. Girl Scout patches that need to be sewed. And everything that falls in between.
Oh and then there are meals! Meals have to be made. Breakfasts, lunches, dinners and even snacks. Apparently this family of mine wants to be fed regularly (seriously?) and I have started to lean (hard) on my Instant Pot for making meals happen fast and minimize the dishes!
My slow cooker has been my kitchen wingman for years. I love the set-and-forget vibe of slow cooker recipes, since I could throw a recipe in before I left for work in the morning and come home to dinner done at the end of the day.
And while all of that is awesome, it also required me having my act together in the morning. Which didn’t always happen. And if I wasn’t thinking about our dinner plan at 7am, I often found myself scrambling to get dinner on the table.
So, when I found the glory of the Instant Pot, gosh…life changed and dinner time became infinity easier.
Table of contents
What is an Instant Pot?
Brace yourself, because if you don’t already know the glory of an Instant Pot…life is about to become magical. Instant Pots are basically the unicorn of kitchen gadgets, after all.
An Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker that cooks food up silly fast! Like, mindblowingly fast! And it also has a lovely sauté feature so that you can brown meats, sauté onions and simmer down soups without having to dirty any extra dishes. And clean up is SO easy!
So, while I still love using my slow cooker for dinners when I have the time and the sense to think ahead, I find myself more often then not reaching for my Instant Pot when making meals for my family that are easy, delicious and low on the mess-o-meter.
Handy tools and pantry staples for making healthy family Instant Pot recipes
- Instant Pot
- Immersion Blender
- Wooden Spoons
- Chef’s Knife
- Epicurean Cutting Board
- Canned Coconut Milk
- Chicken Broth
- Vegetable Broth
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Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes
Zucchini Carrot Instant Pot Oatmeal
Strawberry Beet Instant Pot Applesauce
Instant Pot Soups
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Veggie-Loaded Instant Pot Tomato Soup
Instant Pot Black Bean and Butternut Squash Soup
Instant Pot Paleo Pumpkin Chili
Instant Pot Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili
Instant Pot Side Dishes
Mashed Instant Pot Potatoes with Cauliflower
Instant Pot Corn On The Cob
Instant Pot Beets
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Risotto
Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
Instant Pot Main Dishes
Instant Pot Creamy Mushroom Chicken
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
Slow Cooker + Instant Pot Butternut Squash Chicken Curry
Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Salmon (from frozen!)
Other healthy recipes you are going to love…
- Veggie-Loaded Whole30 Recipes
- 15 Family-Friendly Whole30 Soup Recipes
- Kid-Friendly Vegetable Soup (+ how to serve it to picky eaters)
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Loving these healthy family Instant Pot recipes and hungry for more?
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Family Instant Pot Recipes: Instant Pot Butternut Squash Risotto
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter sub extra olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onions or shallots
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage plus extra for garnish
- 1 ½ cups Arborio rice
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 pound peeled butternut squash cut into ½-inch dice (about 4 cups)
- 2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot (or other multi-cooker) to SAUTE function. Add the olive and butter. Once hot, add the onion or shallot and stir occasionally until golden brown around the edges, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, sage, and salt. Cook for an additional minute. If the pot begins to brown too quickly, add a splash of water.
- Add rice to the pot and stir for 2 minutes to lightly toast the rice. Stir in the vinegar and then the broth. Add the butternut squash. Cancel the SAUTE function.
- Place lid on the Instant Pot then set to MANUAL high pressure for 5 minutes. It will take your Instant Pot about 6 minutes to get up to pressure.
- Once time is up, quick release the pressure and remove the lid. Stir in the grated parmesan cheese and season with a few grinds of black pepper. Taste and add more salt or parmesan cheese if needed.
- Let risotto sit in the Instant Pot for 5-10 minutes to thicken up and absorb more of the liquid. Serve risotto with a sprinkle of extra chopped sage and parmesan on top, if desired.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Comments
This is the most comprehensive collection of Instant Pot recipes that I’ve seen to date!