Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (2024)

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Part of what makes the Instant Pot so easy to rely on in the kitchen is meal prep! Whether you prep just breakfast, snacks, or all of your meals for the week, these healthy Instant Pot recipes are delicious, hearty (the can easily last 5-7 days in the fridge), and can be frozen easily.

Whether you are trying Instant Pot meal prep for weight loss goals, to save money, or to save time–these recipes can help.

Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (1)

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To use the free grocery list feature for these recipes:

This website allows you to save your recipes, make custom meal plans, and print grocery lists–for free!

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You have to be logged in to save recipes, otherwise your browser clears your recipes every time you leave the website. Creating an account is free, and your email address will never be sold or shared.

  1. Log in

    You’ll have to be logged in to save your recipes.

  2. Save it!

    Where you see a grocery list, click “Save to my Collections”Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (2)

  3. Customize it!

    After saving the recipes, you can customize the grocery list!

  4. Here’s how to make it yours:

    -Click on your Recipe Box
    -Find the collection you’d like to create a grocery list for and simply click what you’d like to do: add items, remove items, etc.
    -Click “Shopping List” and then Generate Shopping List.Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (3)

Let’s get prepping!

1. Choose a few of these easy sides to prep for the week

  • Instant Pot Brown Rice
  • Instant Pot White Rice
  • Instant Pot Quinoa
  • Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash
  • Brown Rice and Quinoa

Additional Easy Recipes & Tips for prep day:

  • Chicken Stock and Turkey Stock
  • How long to cook vegetables in the Instant Pot
  • Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (but with cauliflower)
  • Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs

2. Breakfasts – Choose one or two to prep for the entire week

If I choose two of these recipes, I always freeze some of it because two full recipes for breakfast is a bit much if I’m the only person eating it.

Bonus: These are all healthy breakfasts that include serving sizes and counts for both the 21 Day Fix and Weight Watchers.

Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (4)
  • Chorizo and Eggs made with ground turkey
  • Starbucks Egg White Bites
  • Mini Frittatas
  • Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups
  • Amish Baked Oatmeal
  • Blueberry Lemon Zest Steel Cut Oats

Grocery List for these breakfast recipes:

Non-Instant Pot recipes to prep while your pot is in use:

Unless you have multiple pots, you’re going to have some down time while your recipes are cooking. I recommend using this time to cut veggies for snacking and make some non-Instant Pot recipes.

These recipes can be made in about 30 minutes and are perfect for snacking or as part of your lunch.

Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (5)
  • Oatmeal Peanut Butter Protein Balls
  • Just Crack an Egg Copycat Recipe
  • No Bake Coconut Bars
  • Healthy Buckeye Recipe
  • Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Grocery list for these snack recipes:

If I step out of the kitchen while I’m prepping, even if I’m waiting for something to cook, I find that I lose my motivation to prep. The name of the game for me is “don’t leave the kitchen” ;)

3. Meal Prep Instant Pot Lunches and Dinners:

Most of these recipes can be made in the slow cooker as well! It’s a great way to get more done on your prep day.

There are a couple of ways you can plan these.

  1. Choose one recipe to eat all week for lunches, and choose three to make and freeze for busy weeknight dinners (I do leftovers for two days).
  2. Choose multiple recipes and plan on eating a recipe for dinner, then lunch the next day. This is an easy way to have meal prep lunches for the week without a ton of prep.

Instant Pot Lunch Recipes:

Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (6)
  • Rotisserie Chicken You can use this set of recipes to cook your chicken with any of these delicious flavors: Lemon & Parsley, Rosemary & Garlic, Mexican Citrus, Lemon Garlic, and hearty vegetable.
  • Healthy Hamburger Helper
  • Minestrone Soup
  • Instant Pot Meatballs This is a super versatile recipe that is great for heating up during the week.
  • Teriyaki Meatballs
  • Instant Pot Healthy Crack Chicken(dairy free version here) Eat this as a dip, lunch, used to stuff your veggies–there are so many things you can do with this delicious and versatile recipe!
  • Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup
  • Instant Pot Buffalo Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese I don’t need to say more about this one. Buffalo chicken wins my heart every. time.

Grocery List for these recipes:

Instant Pot Dinner Recipes:

Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (7)
  • Instant Pot Risotto Add mushrooms, asparagus, or your other favorite vegetables!
  • Instant Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo
  • Tuscan Chicken Pasta This is one of the most popular recipes on My Crazy Good Life–creamy and hearty but still healthy, and if you don’t have sun dried tomatoes you can use cherry tomatoes!
  • Swedish Meatballs
  • Crack Chicken and Rice Casserole Another variation of Crack Chicken, this is so delish! The frozen chicken and dry rice are perfect together in the Instant Pot.
  • Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
  • Instant Pot Beef Pho Not a simple or quick recipe–I’ll admit that right away. But it’s delicious and satisfying to make.
  • Orange Chicken
  • Instant Pot Spaghetti
  • Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl with frozen chicken, dry brown rice, and dry black beans
  • Instant Pot Turkey Breast

Grocery List for these recipes:

Looking for more awesome Instant Pot Recipes? I’ve got 100 healthy Instant Pot recipes here, and a ton of healthy Pressure Cooker Recipes here.

Recipe Tips:

  • You can easily use chicken breasts or chicken thighs in these recipes, they’re easy to swap and require no changes to the pressure cook time.
  • Use raw veggies for a last minute side dish
  • Most of these recipes are gluten free as is, but you can definitely swap regular pasta for gluten free!
  • These recipes use whole grain pasta, which requires different cooking times than regular white pasta. They can’t be swapped out in a recipe.

Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (8)

Becca Ludlum

Healthy recipe creator, self-confessed food snob, and certified Level 1 Precision Nutrition Coach. I create healthy recipes with minimally processed ingredients, but have never turned down a homemade brownie. ;)

Healthy Instant Pot Meal Prep Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Are instant pots good for meal prep? ›

Instant Pot and other electric multi-cookers can make meal prepping and batch cooking faster and easier. If you're motivated to cook healthy whole foods for yourself and your family, this tool can really help support your efforts.

Are Instant Pot meals healthy? ›

While it might not be the best option out there for nutrient retention, you should never feel bad about making a home-cooked meal in your Instant Pot, as there is no "perfect" preparation method for food.

What size Instant Pot is best for meal prep? ›

Benefits of a 6-quart Instant Pot: The 6-quart (and new 6.5-quart variation) Instant Pot is the most popular size for home cooks, as most recipes are written for that size. Generally, a meal cooked in a 6-quart model feeds three to six people.

Are Instapots safer than pressure cookers? ›

Unlike stovetop cookers, which require monitoring to prevent over-pressurization, the Instant Pot reduces this risk with built-in safety features.

Are Instapots better than crockpots? ›

An Instant Pot does have more functionality (like sautéing, pressure cooking, slow cooking, and acts as a rice cooker, steamer, and warmer!) than a slow cooker, but if you don't plan to use all of its extra functions and just prefer the simplicity of a slow-cooker, then you might prefer a Crock-Pot.

How full is too full in an Instant Pot? ›

Your Instant Pot should have a line on the inner pot to show the maximum amount of food you can cook in it at once (and it's there for good reason!). Overfilling your Instant Pot can affect the pressure that builds up inside, so you might end up with a mushy meal, or one that doesn't cook properly.

Is 8-quart Instant Pot too big for one person? ›

This depends on how many people you plan on regularly serving. Instant Pots come in 3-, 6-, 8-, and 10-quart sizes. 3-quart Instant Pots work best for singles or couples, the 5-quart serves three to five people, and the 8-quart will easily cook for six or more.

How many cups should a meal prep container be? ›

Best Plastic Containers for Meal Prep

The 4.7 cup containers are great for storing side dishes or taking meals to work. The small containers (1.3 cups) are perfect for storing sauces and garnishes. Ultimately these are my favorite meal prep container because they are stackable and a consistent shape.

What Cannot be cooked in an Instant Pot? ›

So before you get cooking, here are 10 things you should never cook in an Instant Pot.
  1. Fried chicken. Chicken Wings Two Ways (Image credit: Steven Asarch/Tom's Guide) ...
  2. Bread. Bread loaves in bread box (Image credit: Shutterstock) ...
  3. Macaroni and cheese. ...
  4. Stir fry. ...
  5. Pasta/noodles. ...
  6. Seafood. ...
  7. Baking cookies. ...
  8. Yellow and red lentils.
Jun 28, 2022

Which is better, an air fryer or an Instant Pot? ›

Should you buy an air fryer or instant pot? When deciding what kitchen appliances to buy, you should focus primarily on your personal preferences. If you want to make soups and stews, go for an Instant Pot. On the other hand, to prepare crispy treats, choose an air fryer.

Can you put frozen meat in an Instant Pot? ›

It is safe to cook frozen food in a pressure cooker because it uses pressure to move food through the "Danger Zone" quickly. As a result, you don't run into the issues that you would find by cooking frozen food in a slow cooker, where it can stay too long in the Danger Zone and could become unsafe.

What containers do you use for meal prep? ›

Materials: Meal prep containers most commonly come in plastic, glass, and silicone, though you'll find some stainless steel containers, too. The material can be a personal preference, but there are pros and cons to each type. Both Alsing and Persyn recommend glass containers for safety and quality.

Is instant rice good for meal prep? ›

Note: If you like to meal prep, batch cook enough servings of our Instant Rice and use it to make quick meals throughout the week. If you like what you see, this is just the beginning! Learn how you can customize any meal of the day and boost the flavor by simply mixing your ingredients of choice.

Are instant pots safe to eat from? ›

Provided you follow the manufacturer's instructions for your Instant Pot model when pressure cooking food, you're completely safe when cooking in an Instant Pot. Are Instant Pots nontoxic? Yes! Instant Pots are made using nontoxic food-grade stainless steel, and all components are safe to cook with.

How long do instant pots usually last? ›

If you're using your pressure cooker on a daily basis and investing in regular maintenance, it may last you up to five years. On average, though, most pressure cookers perform well for up to three years. After that, it's time to consider investing in a replacement.

References

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