58 Quick, Easy, & Healthy Instant Pot Weeknight Dinners For Busy Families (allergy-friendly, too!)

Who needs quick and easy weeknight dinners?!

The Instant Pot helps you get your meals on the table faster. With minimal prep, just toss everything into the pot and let it do the cooking for you!

Here are a bunch of delicious and simple Instant Pot weeknight dinners that will also nourish your body with real, whole foods.

Below, I’ve broken up these recipes into categories… Poultry Favorites, Hearty Proteins, Pasta, Chili, Sides & Comfort Foods and Delicious & Nourishing Soups.

Any dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, and/or Paleo people out there? There are plenty of allergy-friendly recipes for you! I’ve also suggested a few ingredient swaps to help you keep your meals as healthy and traditional as possible.

Poultry Favorites

Image courtesy of Prepare & Nourish.

• Sugar-Free Pulled BBQ Chicken — Bring on the sauce! Pile this classic southern BBQ on top of your favorite buns, baked sweet potatoes, or homemade nachos.
  
• Citrus-Herb Basque Chicken — Beautiful flavors (orange, vibrant herbs, sun-dried tomatoes…) combine in this simple and easy chicken!
• Paleo Butter Chicken — It takes only 10 minutes to cook this chicken and its luscious dairy-free sauce!
• Easy Thai Chicken — Serve this family favorite next to riced cauliflower or Jasmine white rice.
• Paleo Basil Coconut Curry Chicken — Enjoy this yellow curry over riced cauliflower or next to your favorite steamed veggies
• Chicken Tinga — Serve this delicious shredded chicken (cooked in a tomato and Chipotle adobo base) in tacos, taco salad, or nachos.
• Chicken Adobo — You can’t beat a 6 minute cook time! This sweet and tangy shredded chicken is so yummy cooked in a ACV + coconut aminos + coconut palm sugar sauce.
• Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dip — Any buffalo wings fans? You’ll LOVE these!
• Buffalo Chicken Meatballs — A fun twist on the traditional buffalo wings! These flavorful meatballs pack all of the same “buffalo” flavors into one yummy little bite.
• Chicken Cacciatore — Classic Italian food at its best! This fall-apart, tender chicken has that slow cooked taste but it cooks in less time thanks to the Instant Pot!
• Garlic Lemon Chicken — This simple chicken cooks in 18 minutes and packs that delicious garlic-lemon flavor.
• Whole Chicken for Fast Healthy Meals — This recipe allows you to have chicken on hand throughout the week!
• Best Chicken Breast — Eat this perfectly seasoned chicken as-is, or slice it up for a salad or sandwich. You can easily use frozen chicken breast in this recipe too!

Hearty Proteins

• Lemon Dill Salmon & Asparagus — Easy to make, cooks in no time, and fancy enough to serve to guests. Extra bonus, the full meal is cooked in one pot to cut down on washing!
  
• 15-Minute Asian Salmon & Garlic Vegetables — Another quick salmon meal, this time packed with Asian flavors and lots of veggies.
• Sweet ‘n Spicy Asian Pulled Pork — You’ll want to make this sugar-free flavor explosion often! 😉
• Paleo Beef Barbacoa (Chipotle Copycat) — Serve this delicious shredded beef in your favorite “bowl” style meal, in tacos or burritos, on top of nachos, etc.
• Gluten-Free Asian Short Ribs with Cucumber Sunomono — One of my family’s favorites! Terrific Asian flavors; tender, fall-apart meat!
• Mediterranean Spinach-Feta Pie — This savory “pie” is similar to a frittata with the delicious flavors of Greek spanakopita. Serve it by the slice!
• Asian Fusion Short Ribs — If you don’t have sauerkraut juice on hand to make this sweet and spicy dish, use apple cider vinegar instead!
• Mediterranean Lamb Roast with Potatoes — Everyone in the family loves a good roast!
• Gluten-Free Country Cube Steaks in Gravy — Gravy!!! Enough said.
• Chile Verde — This Latin favorite is full of tender chunks of meat in a savory green salsa sauce.
• Keto Country-Style Ribs — Tender, saucy, juicy, fall-off-the-bone meat. So good!
• Beef & Broccoli with Keto Option — This classic take-out meal is so easy to make at home. Use fermented tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, and a natural sweetener instead of brown sugar.
  
• Pulled Pork — Pulled pork is always a crowd-pleaser! Use a homemade BBQ sauce, and swap the brown sugar for maple sugar or coconut palm sugar.
  

Pasta, Chili, Sides & Comfort Foods

Image courtesy of Live Simply.

• Beef Picadillo Chili with Sweet Raisins — Green olives and sweet raisins add a twist to this family favorite!
• Easy Paleo Beef Chili — Classic spices, fire-roasted tomatoes, bone broth combine in this chili.
  
• Chipotle Chili — Enjoy this smoky dish with sour cream, avocado, and homemade cornbread.
  
• Vegetarian Chili — Swap out the regular quinoa in this dish for sprouted quinoa, and use soaked beans instead of canned!
  
• Hawaiian Sloppy Joes — This fun spin on the traditional classic calls for pineapple and ginger!
• Healthy Gluten-Free Sloppy Joes — Serve this healthy version of Sloppy Joes on a toasted and buttered bun… OR enjoy it as a topping for baked sweet potatoes!
  
• Gluten-Free Alfredo — I love Alfredo, especially if it’s dairy-free and nut-free like this!
  
• Super Easy Macaroni and Cheese — If you’re gluten-free, look for Jovial brand gluten-free pasta! Jovial uses the old-school traditional extruder machines that aren’t coated with Teflon. That’s hard to find these days!
  
• Fast Prep Vegetable Lo Mein — This Asian favorite cooks in mere minutes!
• Meatballs in Homemade Spaghetti Sauce — A homemade Italian classic.
• Risotto with Peas and Artichokes — This silky, sticky risotto is packed with peas and artichokes.
• Gluten-Free Spaghetti — From start to finish, this entire meal can be made in 45 minutes.
• Spaghetti Squash — In this recipe, learn how to cook a spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot. Then choose between two recipes: “spaghetti” and meatballs, or hearty garlic butter sauce.
• Mashed Potatoes — Mashed potatoes are so easy in the Instant Pot!
• Nourishing Gravy — Top any savory veggies with this beautiful, deeply flavorful, nourishing gravy.
• Butter & Dill Rainbow Potatoes — You can’t go wrong with glorious grass-fed butter and vibrant dill!
• Bacon-y Green Beans & Mushrooms — Bacon, green beans, AND mushrooms?! Yes, please!
  

Not enough chili recipes for you here? Check out this roundup of 20 Best Chili Recipes (cooked up in the crockpot, Instant Pot or on the stovetop)!

Delicious & Nourishing Soups

Image courtesy of Instant Pot Eats. 

• Broccoli Soup with Gremolata — If you’ve never had a soup with gremolata before, you’re in for a real treat!
• Winter Vegetable Soup — This blended soup is extra yummy with homemade biscuits on the side.
• Creamy Paleo Pumpkin Soup — Enjoy this lovely fall and winter classic while cozied up next to the fire!
  
• Paleo Creamy Broccoli Dill Soup — You won’t miss the dairy in this super creamy veggie-based soup! It’s my version of the classic broccoli and cheese soup, minus the cheese. Serve alongside a sandwich, homemade biscuits, or crackers.
• Delicious Borscht (Beet Soup) — Enjoy this special soup the traditional way… by topping it with a big dollop of sour cream!
  
• Detox Vegetable Soup — Quick, easy, and loaded with veggies.
• Tuscan Kale, Squash & Chicken Stew — Thanks to bone broth, this is one soup you’ll want to make throughout cold season.
• Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup — This traditional minestrone cooks in less than 20 minutes!
• Taco Soup — Use soaked beans in this hearty and satisfying soup to reduce anti-nutrients.
• Chicken Tortilla Soup — Use soaked beans to reduce anti-nutrients in this tortilla soup. Then load up with your favorite toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, diced avocado, cilantro…
• Easy Meatball & Veggie Soup — Rustic-cut veggies and herbs combine in this nourishing and satisfying meatball soup! My family makes it often.
  
• Bacon Cheeseburger Soup — Good ole’ bacon cheeseburger in soup form! My mom made me a very similar cheeseburger chowder when I was a kid.
• Chicken Salsa Queso Soup — Picture this: nacho queso dip paired with salsa, except made into soup. Bliss!
• Sweet Potato Curry — Use soaked garbanzo beans in this delicious red curry to reduce anti-nutrients.
• Lentil Soup — This cozy soup cooks in just a little over 20 minutes. Use sprouted lentils to reduce anti-nutrients and enhance nutrition.

Looking for more creamy blended soups? Check out this roundup of all our favorite blended soups, perfect for fall!

Looking for more Instant Pot Recipes? Try these!

• 52 Instant Pot Game Day Recipes For A Crowd (Keto, Paleo, Whole30, & more!)
• 71 Low-Carb & Keto Instant Pot Dinners (Whole30, Paleo, THM:S too!)
• 43 Fresh & Vibrant Instant Pot Recipes For Spring (Keto, Paleo, Whole30)

Which of these Instant Pot weeknight dinners will you try first?

Main images courtesy of Live Simply and All the Nourishing Things.