17 Easy Freezer Dump Meals For Your Instant Pot
If you’re like me, you find yourself scrambling around at 2 p.m. looking for something to put together for dinner. Many times we just end up eating pizza or fast food. I absolutely adore these freezer dump instant pot meals to really help cut down on the number of meals we eat out. I try to make sure that I put a bag of frozen veggies into each meal or cook some veggies as a side. This is a great way to get a home-cooked meal and save TONS of money each month. I absolutely love my Instant Pot! I have the 6 quart Instant Pot and it is plenty big for anything that I want to cook in it. You can get one here.
I made these meals this week when our local grocery store had boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs on sale for $1.37 a pound. This is an amazing price for chicken. Ground chuck was also on sale as well as frozen veggies. So, I hit the meal-prep jackpot! Each of these meals cost me less than $5 to make and that is for a family of 5! Yes! Five people can eat for less than $5 with the proper planning. I had them all prepped and ready to put into the freezer within 3 hours. Now, we have enough meals for 17 dinners. In between these, I will usually cook something from scratch or order takeout. Most of these can be easily converted to slow cooker recipes simply by adding about a cup of water and cooking on low for 6 hours. I hope you enjoy these as much as our family does and it helps your money save big each month! Please let me know which of these are your favorites or any other creative ways you may use them! Take a look at all of the Instant Pots and accessories available now.
Grocery list: (PRINT grocery list)
- 30 boneless skinless chicken breasts (sliced into about 6 pieces each)
- 18 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3 lb ground beef chuck
- 1 lb smoked sausage
- 2 – 1 lb bags dried kidney beans
- 1 Bell pepper
- 1 stalk Celery
- 1 pkg brown (beef) gravy mix
- 2 packets of Ranch Dry Dressing Mix
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 oz)
- 1 can cream of celery soup (10 oz)
- 1 can of chicken broth (14.5 oz)
- 1 can beef broth (14.5 oz)
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 Bottle of Teriyaki Sauce (12 oz)
- 1 Bottle of zesty Italian Dressing (12 oz)
- 1 Bottle of Louisiana Hot Sauce or your favorite wing sauce (10 oz)
- 2 cans pineapple chunks (20 oz)
- 8 (14-ish oz) cans tomato sauce
- 2 cans stewed Italian tomatoes
- 1 jar orange marmalade (12 oz)
- 1 small jar minced garlic
- Brown sugar
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Ginger
- 1 jar soy sauce (12 oz)
- 1 can cranberry sauce with whole berries
- 1 Bottle of Lemon Juice
- 2 Bottles of BBQ Sauce (12 oz)
- 1 Bottle of Southwest lime marinade (12 oz)
- 1 Bottle of Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce (12 0z)
- 1 stick Butter
- Honey
- 1 Jar of Salsa or picante sauce (10 oz)
- 17 gallon size Ziploc Storage Bags
- Oriental frozen veggies x 2 (12 oz)
- Frozen mixed veggies x 2 (12 oz)
- Frozen corn x 2 (12 oz)
- Frozen Carrots
- Frozen Italian veggies (12 oz) x 2
- 12 oz frozen Parisian vegetables (broccoli, green beans, carrots, and mushrooms)
- Frozen broccoli (12 oz)
- 1 lb rice
- Preference of pasta, rice, and/or potatoes for serving
* * Adding your veggies into these freezer meals and cooking them with the meat will make your veggies very well done. If you like your veggies a little more firm, feel free to cook them on the stove top or adding them to your Instant Pot for the last 2 minutes of cooking, which is what I like to do, instead of adding them to the meals at the beginning. It is super easy peasy to just keep the frozen veggies in the bag they come in from the store. My family loves the veggies added into the meals 🙂 You can also cut the cooking time to 15 minutes and see if that works better for your family’s preference.
Orange Chicken
- Gather your ingredients
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 jar of orange marmalade
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw then cook in the instant pot on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve over white rice and enjoy!
Red Beans and Rice
- Gather you ingredients:
- 16 oz smoked sausage
- 16 oz dried kidney beans
- 2 cans tomato sauce with 2 cans of water (10-12 oz cans)
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 cup frozen seasoning mix (chopped onions, bell peppers, and celery)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump bag into instant pot, add 4 cups of water and cook on manual for 1 hour. Natural release for 20 minutes.
- Serve over white rice and enjoy!
Spaghetti
- Gather your ingredients:
- 1 lb of ground beef, browned and drained
- 1 can of stewed Italian tomatoes (10-12 oz can)
- 2 cans tomato sauce (10-12 oz cans)
- 1 can of water
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp dried minced onions
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 10-15 minutes. Quick Release
- Serve over spaghetti pasta and enjoy!
Buffalo Ranch Chicken
- Gather your ingredients
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup of your favorite hot sauce (I use Louisiana hot sauce)
- 1 (1 oz) package ranch dressing mix
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1 – 12 oz bag frozen carrots
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve with potatoes or rice and enjoy!
Teriyaki Chicken
- Gather your ingredients:
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 bottle teriyaki sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 – 12 oz bag frozen Oriental veggies
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release
- Serve over rice and enjoy!
Beef Stroganoff
- Gather your ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef chuck, browned and drained
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 can beef broth
- 1 packet brown (beef) gravy mix
- 1 – 12 oz bag frozen Parisian veggies
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release
- Serve over egg noodles and enjoy!
Chili
- Gather your ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef chuck, browned and drained
- 16 oz dried kidney beans
- 2 cans tomato sauce with 2 cans water
- 2 Tbsp dried minced onions
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot, add 4 cups of water and cook on manual for 60 minutes. Natural release for 20 minutes.
- Serve with cornbread or corn chips and enjoy!
Lemon Garlic Chicken
- Gather your ingredients:
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 – 12 oz bag frozen broccoli
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve over wild rice and enjoy!
Zesty Italian Chicken
- Gather your ingredients:
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 bottle of zesty Italian dressing
- 1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 – 12 oz bag frozen Italian veggies
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve over Risotto and enjoy!
BBQ Chicken
- Gather your ingredients:
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 cups of your favorite BBQ sauce
- 1 – 12 oz bag of frozen corn
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve with potatoes or rice and green beans and enjoy!
Salsa Chicken
- Gather your ingredients:
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 jar salsa or Picante sauce
- 1 bag frozen fiesta veggies
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve with Spanish rice and enjoy!
Honey Mustard Chicken
- Gather your ingredients:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups honey BBQ sauce
- 1/4 cup brown mustard
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 – 12 oz bag of frozen peas and carrots
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve with potatoes or rice and enjoy!
Southwest Lime Chicken
- Gather your ingredients:
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 bottle of Southwest marinade
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 – 12 oz bag frozen southwest veggies
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve with Mexican rice and enjoy!
Cranberry Chicken
- Gather your ingredients
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 Can of cranberry sauce with whole berries
- 1 Can pineapple chunks (drained)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- Salt to taste
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve with stuffing and enjoy!
Hawaiian Chicken
- Gather your ingredients
- 3 Chicken breasts
- 1 can pineapple chunks (drained)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 – 12 oz bag of frozen oriental veggies
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve over white rice and enjoy!
Chicken Cacciatore
- Gather your ingredients:
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cans tomato sauce
- Can stewed Italian tomatoes
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 3 tsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp dried minced onions
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve over white rice or your favorite pasta and enjoy!
Creamy Ranch Chicken
- Gather your ingredients:
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 pkg ranch dressing mix
- Can cream of celery soup
- 1 can of chicken broth
- Dump all of the ingredients into a gallon size freezer bag and freeze.
- When you’re ready to use; place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
- Dump into Instant Pot and cook on manual for 15-20 minutes. Quick Release.
- Serve over white rice or your favorite pasta and enjoy!
Great Tasting Vanilla Extract In Your Instant Pot For A Fraction Of The Cost
Could these not be cooked from frozen? I know you can cook chicken from frozen
Absolutely, you could 🙂 You’d probably only need to add about 5 more minutes of cooking time.
Thanks for quick reply. Heading out with my shopping list soon 🙂
Thank you for these recipes! I made the cranberry chicken tonight and cooked it for 20 minutes. Next time I think I’ll try 17 minutes.
You don’t have to add time to the IP for cooking from frozen! The way the pot works is that it takes longer to come to pressure if the ingredients are frozen — this allows for thawing as it comes to pressure. I have been using the IP and other brands of electric pressure cookers for 4 years and I use it multiple times a day, I have never added time for frozen. 🙂
Me either 🙂 I do find that sometimes the shape is odd for the pot when it’s frozen, so I like to use it semi-thawed, just for easier fit.
I saw a suggestion to freeze your meal in the large round ziploc reusable Tupperware, and the plop easily into the instant pot that way. I haven’t tried this yet myself though.
That sounds like a fantastic idea!
I don’t own an IP. Could I cook these recipes in my crock pot?
Absolutely, the cooking time would need to be adjusted and you would need to add about a cup of water to each recipe. I’d probably cook the thawed meals on high for about an hour 🙂
You said you like to add your veggies for the last two minutes. How does that work when you have to open it, releasing the pressure, to put them in?? I’m new to this 🙂
I set my pot for 3 minutes less than the original time, do quick release, add veggies, and reset for 2 minutes. It takes a lot less time to come to pressure again once your Instant Pot is already hot 🙂
since it’s being frozen anyway, can I just get a bag of frozen chicken breasts and use that?
For your creamy ranch chicken, you can’t pressure cook dairy. It will curdle.
Nope, it works great 🙂 I just made this last week. It’s actually the one I cook the most.
I tried it, and the cheese did in fact go bad. Ruined the chicken. So don’t do this one.
I’m not sure which recipe you’re referring to. The only one with cheese is the creamy ranch with cream cheese and I make this one often. This is one of our faves 😀 I have never had the cheese go bad on me. Can you tell me more about how you prepared it?
I have lots of recipes with cream cheese. Works great for me every time.
Ty
I too have made several recipes in the IP with cream cheese and never had a problem.
How many people do these packages feed.
These will all feed my family of 5 for at least 1 meal with leftovers 🙂
Made the chili – I found it was WAY too much water after adding the 4 cups at the end. Was that a misprint?
I just made the chili 2 days ago. I added the 4 cups and it was great. We like soupy chili. If it is too much liquid for your taste, then absolutely try reducing it 🙂 I hope this helps.
I’ve noticed on some other recipes that people are not starting with dried beans; they’re using canned and that is why it seems like too much water. Not sure if that’s the case here.
That could be. I always use dried beans. They’re cheaper and take up less space in my pantry 🙂
Gretchen you add the water at the beginning.
I really liked the variety of meals that were shown here so I put them together to get out of my cooking rut. I am new to the Instant Pot but when I made the first meal, Lemon and Garlic chicken, the broccoli was non existent after cooking and my chicken was miniature sized. I followed the recipe but am not pleased with the result. I almost feel that I am better off cooking most of these recipes on the stove top. Any hints or clues as to how I can cook the food all together and not lose the veggies and shrink the meat?
I have made the lemon chicken several times. My kids love it with rice. I only slice my chicken across the breast to make strips. I do not cut into bite sized pieces. This may help. You can, absolutely cut down the cooking time on any of these to 20 minutes if it is too long for your preference. You can also put everything in the freezer bag except the veggies if you like and cook the veggies separately if this makes them too mushy for you. A lot of that depends on the brand and cut of frozen vegetables you use. I hope this helps.
I wonder if you defrost the chicken before hand but add the vege’s frozen would keep the vegetables from getting mushy?
I just cook everything like the recipe calls for and wait to add the veggies. I add the veggies then cook it for an extra 2 minutes.
These recipes look wonderful. Do I need to add extra water to these for use in my instant pot? It seems that there is very little liquid in some of the recipes. (I scorched my first recipe when I first got my pot due to little water). Thanks.
No, with the veggies added, you will have plenty of water 🙂 You can cut the time down to 20 minutes if you’re concerned about over-cooking. I hope this helps!
This might be a silly question but I’m new to the IP. How do you add the veggies in at the end and cook an additional 2 minutes? Do you wait until the time is up, release the steam, add the veggies and then pressure cook it again for 2 minutes?
I set the time for 3 minutes less than the recipe calls for, do a quick release, add veggies, reseal and cook for 2 minutes 🙂
What about the release instructions? QR? NPR? Thank you!!
I always use quick release 🙂
Thank you!!
What size jars of salsa, marmalade, teriyaki sauce. What size cans of tomato sauce, broth , tomatoes ect… 8, 12, 16, 24? Made the teriyaki chicken with 12 oz jar 16 oz would of been better. Was good but more sauce would of been better. Made the lemon garlic chicken the broccoli was overpowering and I doubled the garlic and lemon.
I use the smallest jar/can (soup size can) of each of them. If you like more sauce, then by all means, use a bigger jar 🙂
Is there a way to cook the spaghetti pasta in the instapot with everything else for the spaghetti recipe? I am planning on using these recipes while my kitchen is being redone, so I will be without a stove to cook the pasta on and basically living off of my instapot and a microwave. Any thoughts appreciated!
I don’t see why not with the spaghetti. I would cut the cooking time to 15 minutes and add 2-3 cups of water with the pasta. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out 😀
It worked out great! The sauce did come out a little soupy so I may adjust the water content next time, but I added some cornstarch to thicken it up and that worked well.
I usually add 1-1.5 cups of water or beef broth but I don’t put the spaghetti directly on the bottom because I tend to get the dreaded burn error. I usually add a bit of meat mixture to bottom, evenly spread spaghetti noodles over that, then cover noodles with remaining meat mixture and do not stir. Add water/ beef broth on the sides. The problem I have with spaghetti noodles is they stick together so when I put them in pot I tend to fan them out so they won’t stick together as much.
I agree completely! Rotini is my favorite pasta for the Instant Pot 🙂
Quick question! I want to half these recipes because it’s just my hubby and I. Would the cooking time be the same or would it be halved? I haven’t used an instant pot before (even though I’ve had one since Christmas) and want to switch between the instant pot and crockpot for meals when we bring our newborn home.
Hi – I have a 6quart instapot does everything stay the same for the recipe
?
Yes 🙂
Thanks so much for recipes that don’t need onions! I have an allergy and it’s very difficult to find recipes that work. I just finished shopping off the printable list and was getting ready to start when I realized that the ingredients for Red Beans and Rice are not on your printable grocery list. Thought you’d like to know
I’m allergic to onions as well. Glad to hear many of these are onion free. Whew.
Yes! Plus you can just leave them out if they do have onions 😀
I’m putting these together tonight for my postpartum recovery (37 weeks on Sunday!) and I’m so glad to have found recipes for Instant Pot freezer meals! Thank you!!
I did want to point out that the shopping list is missing a few things…sausage and kidney beans for red beans and rice, 2 more cans of tomato sauce and kidney beans for chili. I was just labeling my bags in prep for filling them and discovered the missing stuff.
I added more meat to my recipes because we have 4 adults and 3 children eating, and it came out to about $8/meal, which is fantastic!! Might bump up to $10/meal once I buy the rice/pasta/potatoes for serving.
Again, thanks!!
What are Parisian vegetables?
They have mushrooms and broccoli in them 🙂
I just made 15 of these Instant Pot meals and froze them! I can’t wait to see how they turn out. Thank you for putting this together. I had a little difficulty, though. I printed out the grocery list and went shopping, but I found out while preparing the meals that the list that prints out is not the same as the one you have on the page. These are the differences if you want to update the printable sheet:
-For the 30 boneless skinless chicken breasts it does not say to cut them into 6 pieces each so I was really short on chicken and fortunately I had more in my freezer to use.
-1 lb smoked sausage is missing
-1 lb dried kidney beans is missing
-1 can cream of mushroom soup is missing
-12 oz frozen Parisian vegetables is missing
-Neither the page nor the printable sheet mention cream cheese is required
-I found number of frozen vegetable bags was incorrect
I’m not trying to complain! I hope you can fix these problems so others will have everything they need to make your dishes.
Thanks,
Tina
Thank you for taking the time to comment on the things missing from the list. I’m so glad I saw this. I’m going to try these recipes and your input will save me a second run to the store. I don’t think the list has been updated.
Is this high pressure or low pressure? 20 min seems like a long time for high pressure
This is the regular manual setting on the instant pot.
Did you find the times to be accurate? I thought the times seemed long to me too.
These times are accurate for my instant pot, but I have found that each instant pot/pressure cooker can vary by plus or minus 5 minutes.
Could you add the potatoes and rice into the freezer meal? Would that change cook times? Looking for something easy for the hubby to cook.
You could and it wouldn’t change the cook times, but the rice and potatoes will, likely, be overcooked.
If i wanted to cook white rice with like the orange chicken and chicken teriyaki but do it PIP would the cook time be the same or would I cook the rice first then cook the chicken? I hate to have to wait for it to come to pressure twice.
I never cook rice in my IP. I don’t like the consistency of rice in the IP. I use a rice cooker 😀
Hello???? Super excited about all of this. I just did all these except for a couple because… I couldn’t locate parisian or Italian veggies???? Could you tell me what veggies are in these, individually, so that I could perhaps ‘diy’ my own mix?? Thank you much in advance!❤
Absolutely, Terry 🙂 Most Italian mixed veggies have red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and Italian green beans.
I just made the chili and it’s in the freezer right now. It was really easy and I want to try more of your recipes. My question is, for the ground beef recipes you say to cook and drain, which I did. But for the chicken recipes it does not mention cooking them ahead. Is this correct? Thanks. Also, it seems as though the one gallon freezer bags are almost not big enough. Any thoughts/ideas?
Some of these recipes such as lemon chicken doesn’t have much liquid, do you cook these pot-in-pot or add water to the food?
You don’t need extra water with the Instant Pot. None of the moisture escapes 😀
Hi there! For the beef stroganoff, do you have to add water for the condensed cream of mushroom soup, or just add it “as is”?
It’s just as is. You do not lose any of the water from the beef or other ingredients, so there’s no need for extra water.
Hello, I’ve tried the BBQ Chicken and Lemon Garlic Chicken to what I thought was to a T… is the chicken PRECOOKED in these dump recipes? Because, both times, using raw these have left a ugly-looking chicken goop in their sauces. I’ve been forced to scoop the meat out and resauce, and I think with the Teriyaki, I’m going to just pull the meat out first, cook it, and then add the rest to see if better.
The Lemon Garlic one was a huge disaster for us because the broccoli degenerated to mush. I even went to the low end on the time too.
Please let me know if anything can be done. 🙁 These are our first freezer dump IP meals and so far, doesn’t seem like it’ll work for us.
Yes, I always use raw chicken. I like to cook the veggies separately, but I have also cooked it all together. It really depends on your preference. I cook them for 20 minutes and I have cooked all of these recipes. Yes, the veggies do get over-done when they are all cooked together in the IP (in my opinion), but my hubby loves them like that.
This is going to be so helpful. Thanks for putting this together. What size cans of tomato sauce?
I think it’s 10.5 oz. The soup can size.
What size are your cans of tomato sauce forme the recipes?
They are the soup size cans (10.5 oz)
Do you have to thaw these before cooking? Or can they be done in the IP frozen?
I have prepared them both ways and they have turned out just fine 🙂 I prefer them with the vegetables cooked separately.
Do these recipes fit in a 3 quart mini instant pot?
They probably would if you didn’t add the veggies 🙂 You could cook the veggies separately.
New to instant Pot are you using manual hi on these? Thanks so much recipes look awesome
Yes, I always use manual 🙂
Thank you for the recipes! 🙂
Something to pass along… freeze your ingredients into a bowl that is slightly smaller than the inner pot of the IP. When you’re ready to cook you meal; it’ll fit right into the pot!! 🙂 No waiting for it to defrost or awkward shape to deal with.
Cheers!
Great tip! Thanks 😀
If you don’t put the Vegs in the baggie ( and just cook separately on the stove), do you need to add additional liquid to the IP?
Nope, you don’t 😀
Do I have to soak the beans for the chili recipe, thanks
No, you don’t 😀
I just received an IP for Christmas and thought you needed at least 1 to 1-1/2 cups thin liquid in the bottom of the insert to prevent getting the ‘burn’ message.
None of these recipies have any added broth/liquid. Won’t they stick to the bottom and give a burn message?
I do not add extra liquid to any of these, other than what the recipe calls for. I’ve not had anything burn as of yet *fingers crossed*
For those who prefer their vegetables less cooked, you can place your veg in a smaller bag inside the larger to freeze. At prep time, set them aside and add at your preferred time during cooking. That way you keep the convenience of prepping ahead, but have more control over delicate items like veg and dairy additions. I’ve done this with my own recipes with success.
What a great tip! Thanks 😀
Great idea Alisa!
Thank you so much for sharing! Can’t wait to try these recipes.
I think pre-packaging meals is a great idea. But I’m confused by the instructions. If all recipes are cooked on “manual” why not just cook on stovetop ?
The instant pot is so much more convenient and quicker 😀
frozen seasoning mix? what exactly is that?
They don’t sell that in all places. All it is is frozen chopped onions, bell peppers, and celery 😀
Awesome, thank you!
Question…..Ive bagged up the chicken cacciatore, the beef stroganoff & the Orange Chicken ALL withOUT the frozen veggies just cuz I can’t stand frozen ones. Will these all have enough liquid???
Absolutely 😀 You should still have plenty of liquid.
Can’t wait to try some of these recipes, thank you for sharing. I do have a question though, our family is not big on chicken breasts are we able to substitute thighs for the chicken breast? Maybe 2 good sized thighs for 1 breast?
Absolutely 😀 I interchange thighs and breasts. Two thighs to one breast is a great substitution.
I’m new to the IP, but some of these cook times seem very long? 60 minutes for Chili? I did Chili in my IP once @ 20 minutes from frozen and it was excellent. Sorry, but am I missing something? I’m really excited to jump in here…..
Absolutely 😀 I just made this chili last weekend. I use dry beans and they take longer to cook in the IP.
So you. cook nothing before putting it in the freezer.
All I cook is the ground beef for the chili 🙂
So far we’ve tried the red beans and rice (love it!) and the Buffalo ranch chicken (I didn’t love it but my husband definitely did!). Both were easy and I did double batches so they’d cycle into 2 weeks worth of meal planning.
I’m about 35 weeks pregnant and planning to prep a bunch of these for after baby is born – excited to try the BBQ chicken, Creamy chicken, and beef stroganoff! Thanks so much for making it so easy for us! 🙂
What release?? Natural or quick?? Not sure what recipe I will try first but would like to know.
It really just depends on your personal preference. I usually use the natural release, but quick release is okay to use too 😀
Can you tell me what Southwest lime marinade looks like? What brand or ingredients? I couldn’t find it in my local WinCo. I’m excited to try these!
Hi Tammy 🙂 I don’t have a photo of it on hand, but it is in the section with marinades and sauces. I hope this helps!
Your recipes look good with the exception you have not included ounces of your cans and jars that would be of great help
Hi Catherine 😀 If the size isn’t listed, then they are the average (soup size) cans. I hope this helps 😀
I agree the additional detail on recipe for oz. would be helpful, for example I have a Sam’s Club size teriyaki sauce…I know I need to use less but how much? If not listed In would need to research it. Different bottle sizes could vary through out the US depending where people shop there may also be two bottle/can sizes. Recipes look easy but having to research and guess isn’t so easy.
These easy recipes were created for the average grocery store, not a bulk club. The average grocery store sells 15-16 oz bottles of sauces 🙂 These are very easy unless you make them more difficult. I hope this helps!
I am working on these today. I love how they are so nice and easy to prep. However, there are A LOT of things missing from the printable shopping list! I have to run to the store now again. Here are a few of the things that are missing for sure: brown mustard, honey, frozen peas/carrots, lime juice, beef broth, 1 lb beef chuck, 1 can cream mushroom soup, frozen southwest veggies, 16 oz. smoked sausage. There may be more, but I shook the bottle of southwest marinade when the lid was not on tightly and made a mess of my kitchen and got distracted from adding to the list. I hope this helps. Maybe the shopping list could be updated to save people frustration and an extra trip to the store.
Thank you so much, Laura! I have added everything you suggested and a few extras that I noticed were missing. I hope everything is there now 😀
I worked on these today also, one note a 2nd bag of Red Beans is missing from the shopping list. I made the Red Beans and it was AMAZING first IP recipe ever for our house and it’s a winner
Hi! Love these recipes. Where do I find the updated shopping list that includes the beef and chicken broth? Thanks!!
Got it all updated 🙂
Doing this today! So excited!!
Quick question:
1.) what’s size jar for the marmalade
8-10 oz 😀
Thanks so much for the great resource!
We have an Instant Pot Ultra and there is no manual setting. By manual do you mean the pressure cooker on high or low or saute on high or low? Thanks.
I am not super familiar with all of the other settings on other instant pots. I would suggest starting with the low setting and tweaking it as needed. I hope this helps 😀
I do pressure cook on high.
Hi! I wanted to let you know that this list has been very helpful to my family and me. I sat down and decided to make them all. All of the meals needed minimal tweaking to make them gluten-free and were super easy. Of course, my family didn’t want a couple of the recipes but we’re happy to try everything. Most of them are keepers! I totally agree with making them all with the veggies separately. Especially the teriyaki chicken. I also have 3 kids, 2 of which are meat loving boys as well as hubby! I have to up the amount of meat because of that. Thank you!! You’re a lifesaver! Oh! Do you have any meatless ones on another link?
I am so happy you loved the recipes, Tina. I don’t have any meatless recipes yet, but I am working on a few 🙂
Hello so I’m still confused….does manual cook for 20-25 min …does that mean high pressure or low pressure or is there a manual button? Also does it matter if your chicken breast are kinda big or not? Will they still cook?
Hi Becky 🙂 My instant Pots don’t have a high/low pressure setting; just the manual or other food type settings. From what I understand, manual is the same as high pressure.
Hello Tina Valdez,
Could you please let me know which sauces you have used for these recipes that were gluten free.
Thanks
I prepped 13 of these recipes yesterday and I made the creamy ranch chicken tonight and there were no leftovers except a little of the sauce! Thank you so much. My husband is still raving about it. Im not a great cook and I was scared but this turned out amazing. I’m gonna freeze the left over sauce and make a chicken, rice and broccoli casserole with it later. I can’t wait to try the rest of these. You truly made my life much easier with these recipes! Thank you so much!
Awe, I am so happy you liked these Anita 🙂
Are you cooking any of the meat pryer to bagging them to put in the freezer
The only meat I cook prior is the ground beef 🙂
Wow this is a lot of work! Thank you for posting this.
I too have used cream cheese many times in instant pot without it going bad.
I was prepping my shopping list. I noticed in the shopping list you don’t have frozen peas and carrots, cream cheese, can of chicken broth, frozen seasoning mix, also in the shopping list you have Southwest Lime Marinade but in the recipe you have lime juice and then Southwest Marinade.
Hope this helps,
Again thank you for the list,
Lisa
I had a question…for the Red Beans and Rice recipe, 4 cups of water seems excessive. Wouldn’t this make for a very watery dish?
No, remember you’re using dried beans 🙂
hi Rachel,
Thank you so much for sharing! I m going to try tonight.
Are you supposed to use the trivet with these?
With the Instant Pot? No.
I made the Italian chicken and the cranberry chicken and both were delicious. However, when I did the quick release, it started shooting everywhere! What am I doing wrong? I made sure the seal thing was properly in place both times. I have a 6qt instant pot.
Im not sure Shayna. The only time I’ve had that happen is when I over-fill my IP. This should not be over-filling your pot.
Do you have experience with doubling any of these? Would you increase the time?
I have doubled some of them. You do not need to increase the cooking time 🙂
We got our first IP yesterday, I spent HOURS UPON HOURS of looking for recipes and came across your 17 – Shopped today, came home and prepped (something I never do) and made the Red Beans and rice for our FIRST meal
AHHHMMMAAAZZZZZIIIINNNGGGGG
Thank You for the great recipes and shopping list- looking forward to trying them all
1 thing I noticed was it should have 2 pigs of red beans on the shopping list but that was an easy fix sending hubby back to the store
Thanks so much! I’m so happy you like the recipes 🙂 I’ll get that 2nd bag on there right now.
How many does these serve?
Each recipe is enough to serve my family of 5 or more 🙂
Could you cut these recipes in half for a smaller family? I’m just wondering if there’s a change in cook time or in quality?
Yes, you would cook it the same amount of time 🙂
Are you adding RAW CHICKEN to those prep meals. I thought that was a big no no, from everything I’ve read.
Yes, but it gets cooked before you consume it 😉
I just wanted to say is it ok to separate the meat from the other ingredients when freezing?
Asolutely 🙂 I just put them all together to make it easier for preparing.
How do you add veggies to the last few mins of cooking? Isn’t the pot under pressure? Sorry if this is a silly question… Newbie here????
Hey Michelle 🙂 I set my IP for 3 minutes shorter than the original cooking time. I do a quick release, add the veggies and set it to cook for 2 minutes with the veggies in 🙂
Will these feed a family of seven?
If you fix a couple of sides with it, it probably would 🙂
Would the cook time be the same if I followed these recipes and wanted to cook them right away instead of freezing them?
You can do that. They do work better if they are frozen first, just because they will have more liquid once thawed, but I’ve done them without freezing them and it worked great as well.
Question how do you cut the chicken? 3 total pieces of breast per recipe?
Yes, 3 total boneless chicken breast pieces.
Hello! Newbie here! A couple of questions:
1. Do you have to cut the chicken into strips or can you leave them whole?
2. Can you cook the rice in the IP with you everything? If yes, do you have to chance the recipe or cook times?
Thank you so much!
Hi there 🙂 You do not need to cut the chicken, but I like to cut it before freezing just to make it easier to serve. I don’t like to add the rice or pasta to the IP with the food. I like to cook them separately, they turn out better, in my opinion 🙂
I cooked the creamy ranch chicken and before the IP could even get pressure cooking I got a ‘burn’ message. Cancelled the cook, and chicken that was touching the bottom had begun to burn, but all chicken was cooked after only about 5min before it had started pressure cooking (like counting down). Thoughts? I’m using the rack this time around am hoping for better results?
I’m not sure. 1 cup of liquid is all that it takes to get your Instant Pot to pressurize. I just made it tonight, with bow-tie pasta. You could try adding a little extra water and see if that works.
CAN I ADD FROZEN CHICKEN TO THE BAGS OR DOES IT NEED TO BE FRESH CHICKEN?
I use fresh chicken, but you can use frozen 🙂
Hey there!
I’m a brand new user of the Instant Pot and I so appreciate these simple recipes! This may be the dumbest question in the world.. 🙂 My version doesn’t have a “Manual” button, so I’m wondering if that means to use the “Pressure Cook” setting. If so, what level of pressure do you typically use? Mine gives me the option for low, medium, and high.
Thank you!
Use the high setting 🙂
I made the cranberry chicken tonight it came out very watery is that what it supposed to be like? It’s very good just watery I did not drain the pineapple or anything should I have?
I don’t drain the pineapple, but you can if it was too watery. You can also add some corn starch to help thicken it up. Just be sure to wisk about 1 Tbsp of Corn starch in 1 Tbsp of water before adding it to your recipe to keep it from clumping 🙂
Thank you!! We are enjoying your recipes. So far we’ve made red beans and rice and beef stroganoff. We loved both of them. Thank you very much for sharing the recipes and the shopping list!
You’re very welcome, Angela! I’m so happy you are enjoying them 🙂
Hello! New to the Instant Pot world.
Does the 20-25 minutes include the amount of time for the pressure to build up, cook time, and quick release? A couple of my chicken dishes only require 8 minutes of actual cook time when selecting manual pressure. However, when you look at the total amount it’s usually 10 minutes to build to pressure, 8 minutes cook time where it counts down on the IP, and a few minutes during quick release so in total 20-25 minutes.
This time does not include the time to pressurize as that time can vary according to pots and whether your pot is already warm or not.
The recipes that call for water – do you place the water in the bag & freeze or just add the water when it comes time to put the ingredients in the pot?
I put the water in when it’s time to cook 🙂
Hi, I’m so excited to try these! About how many pounds of chicken do you add per recipe? I buy my chicken locally so the breasts are WAY larger than what is normally found.
I use 2 split breasts. This is about a pound of chicken 🙂
when it says 30 pieces of chicken breast, is that 30lbs? 15lbs? Typically the pieces I get are 1 lb each.
30 chicken breasts. Yes, they are about 1 lb for 2 breasts (halves).
For converting these recipes to crockpot, which ones would need liquid added?
Hi Shelly 🙂 I would add, at least, a cup of water to each of these recipes before converting them to the crock pot.
Hi, New to instant pot as I don’t have on yet. Was thinking of making these recipes to give to my 92 year old mother-in-law along with an instant pot as she is struggling making 3 meals a day for her and her husband but not yet ready to have home care come in. Is there an instant pot you’d recommend for someone who is 92 and new to the whole idea? Thanks and thanks for making these recipes available. I think it will make a big difference in her life.
Absolutely! Walk her through it the first few times, but it’s easy peasy after that 🙂
Do you have to soak the dry beans? If so, how long? Thanks. I have made chicken cacciatore and lemon recipe and we loved both. Thank you for the recipes!
You do not have to soak the beans. That’s the beauty of cooking beans in the IP. It’s my favorite thing to cook in my Instant Pot 🙂 I’m so happy you love the other recipes!
You say dump all ingredients on zip lock bag and freeze. Does this include Italian dressing, bbq sauce etc? Or do you just add the when you start to cook it?
Yes, you dump it all in the freezer bag and freeze it together 🙂
Your current shopping list has 6 chicken breasts cut in 6 pieces. When we cut chicken breasts we do them lengthwise and get at most 3 pieces. Will this effect the recipe at all. Love finding this site because my biggest problem is waiting till time to cook and then not knowing what to cook.
thanks again
I cut each breast into 6 pieces. It’s just the size a like, but you can cut it however you like. I cook them whole a lot of times, just because I don’t feel like cutting them. The cook time is the same 🙂
You say cut each chicken breast into about 6 pieces. I’m wondering how much your chicken breast weighs. I ask, because I buy my chicken breasts at Walmart, and they seem to run larger than the chicken breasts I get at other grocery stores. I often have to adjust my recipes for weight, so I wonder how much chicken you are actually using when you say 3 chicken breasts? Thanks!
I also buy my chicken breasts at Walmart sometimes. All of these recipes make a lot of sauce (juice), so if the breasts are larger, they will be great.
Hello, I am wondering what Southern Marmalade is. I live in Alaska and I have never seen it before. Thank you. I am very excited to try these!
Orange marmalade is like preserves or jelly made with oranges.
I tried the ranch chicken one. The pot kept saying “burn”. I’m new to this…. do I put directly into the pot or in something, then in the pot?
Thanks!
I put it directly in the pot. Some pots are more sensitive than others. You can add about 1/4 cup of water to keep this from happening. After you remove the lid at the end, add a mixture of 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 Tablespoon of water. This will help thicken up the extra water 🙂 I hope this helps!
Did you forget to include the can of chicken broth? That should be enough to prevent it from getting the burn message provided the ingredients aren’t frozen when you put them in.
Looking forward to this! Do you use a trivet for the chicken? Also, is the chicken supposed to be sliced?
Finally (sorry lots of questions), is the chicken supposed to be thawed or frozen?
I don’t use a trivet for any of these recipes. You can cut the chicken up before you cook it or wait until you’re ready to serve. You can also cook frozen or thawed, it won’t change the cooking time. I hope this helps 🙂
Silly question- do you dump the bags into the instant pot or put the bag- plastic and all- in the pot?
You dump the bag into your IP 🙂
If I were to omit the frozen veggies from the recipe, freeze, and then combine the thawed recipe mix with fresh veggies, would the cook time still be the same? Or do yo see anyproblem with that?
Thankyou in advance!
I actually cut the cooking time by 2 minutes, then add my veggies at the end and cook with the veggies for 3 minutes. This keeps the veggies from getting soggy.
I am looking forward to getting these meals in my freezer but I am confused about the amounts of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs. It says 30 breasts and 18 thighs. Are each of these whole chicken breasts, cut into six pieces? About how many pounds is this for each breasts and thighs? I go to a butcher who has their own farm and their chicken breasts are about 2 pounds each so I am having trouble planning the correct amounts. Thank you for your help!!!!
Hi Deeann 🙂 These recipes are made for the average grocery store, which typically sells boneless, skinless split breasts. I hope this helps!
HI! I love the sound of all of these recipes! I am new to the IP and just learning. When you say “dump all of the ingredients into…” do you also mix them? Using the Orange Chicken as an example…do you mix the marmalade, soy sauce and bbq sauce together? Or just “layer” them in the freezer bag on top of the chicken? Thank you in advance for your help!!!
Hi there! I just pour them all into the freezer bag and mix them after they are cooked 🙂 I hope this helps!
Perfect!! Thank you!! I can’t wait to make several of these!!
Hi! Friday night is exciting here. I am prepping my first meal and have a question on the beef stroganoff. I have cooked the beef and have all the ingredients ready to go in the freezer bag. Do I add the noodles too or cook those separate from the IP? 15-20 minutes seems like a long time to pressure cook for just the sauce. Hoping to cook the noodles in the IP
I add them all to the bag and cook them for 15 minutes 🙂 I hope this helps!
I love these easy recipes and I’m exited to try them! I have 10 people though. If I wanted to double the recipe, would you recommend doubling just the meat, all of the ingredients or just using both of my instant pots? I want to try the orange chicken first! It sounds so good.
You could easily double just the meat and veggies in many of the recipes, depending on your taste. You will love the orange chicken!
I have rinsed and soaked my red beans for the red beans and rice recipe. Do I still add the 4 cups of water to the InstantPot or what amount should I use now?
You will add 2 cups of water to your Instant Pot as the beans have already soaked up the majority of the water they need 🙂 I hope this helps.
I see some of the comments say add the vegetables last So they don’t get mushy and only cook them two minutes. How are you supposed to do that if you’ve already mixed them up in the freezer bags ahead of time like the recipe states?
If you wanted to add them at the end, you would not mix them up in the freezer bags. I hope this helps 🙂
How long do you think these would last in the freezer? Thinking of making alot of these but wondered if they happened to be in the freezer 6 months, if that would be ok or would that be too long? Thanks so much for all your wisdom!!
Good morning Rhonda 🙂 They would probably last 6 months. I’ve only kept them 3 months and they held up great! I hope this helps 🙂
I don’t usually post comments but this post is great! I love how all the recipes are in one place, and that many of them use similar ingredients so I don’t have tons of open items in my pantry. Also, all of the recipes I have tried so far have been delicious! I am new to the IP and this was a great way to dig into some great recipes while on maternity leave. Thank you!
Awe, I’m so happy you love them <3
I made the beef stroganoff and it was amazing, one of the few I have ever enjoyed! I cooked it for 15 min
Where do you buy Parisian frozen veggies? Looked for them or frozen veggies with carrots, broccoli, mushrooms and beans at several stores with no luck.
I buy them at Albertsons. They may be difficult to find depending on where you live.
Hi! For the smoked sausage in the red beans and rice, do I cut it first or am I just putting the whole long rope in the bag?