The Instant Pot sat on my counter for three months before I actually used it. I’d heard the hype, bought into it, then got intimidated by all those buttons and the vague fear that I’d somehow blow up my kitchen.
Sound familiar? Here’s the thing: once you get past that initial hesitation, the Instant Pot becomes the most useful tool in a vegetarian kitchen. Beans from scratch in under an hour. Risotto without constant stirring. Soups that taste like they simmered all day when you started them 30 minutes ago.
These recipes are designed for people who are still figuring out which button does what. No complicated techniques, no obscure ingredients, just solid vegetarian meals that make you look like you know what you’re doing.
1) Classic vegetarian chili
This is the recipe that finally made me trust my Instant Pot. Chili is forgiving, flavorful, and almost impossible to mess up. The pressure cooker melds all those spices together in a way that stovetop cooking takes hours to achieve.
The key is building flavor before you seal the lid. Sauté your onions, garlic, and spices in the pot first using the sauté function. That step takes five extra minutes but makes a massive difference. Then add your beans, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and whatever vegetables you want to throw in. Bell peppers, corn, and zucchini all work beautifully.
Think black beans, kidney beans, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and a splash of vegetable broth. Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes with a natural release. Top with avocado, cheese, or sour cream.
2) Creamy coconut lentil soup
Red lentils are a beginner’s best friend. They cook fast, they don’t need soaking, and they break down into this gorgeous creamy texture without any blending required.
This soup leans into warm spices like curry powder, turmeric, and a bit of ginger. The coconut milk gets stirred in at the end, which keeps it from separating and gives you that rich, silky finish. It’s the kind of soup that feels fancy but requires almost zero skill.
You’ll want red lentils, coconut milk, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, and vegetable broth. Eight minutes on high pressure, quick release, then stir in the coconut milk. Squeeze some lime over the top and you’re done. This one reheats beautifully for lunches throughout the week.
3) Hands-off mushroom risotto
Traditional risotto requires you to stand at the stove, slowly adding broth and stirring constantly for 30 minutes. The Instant Pot version? Dump everything in, set it, walk away.
I’ve mentioned this before, but risotto was one of those dishes I avoided for years because it seemed too fussy. The pressure cooker changed that completely. The rice comes out creamy and perfectly al dente every time.
Use arborio rice, a mix of mushrooms (cremini and shiitake work great), shallots, garlic, white wine, vegetable broth, and finish with butter and parmesan. Sauté the mushrooms and shallots first, add the rice and toast it briefly, pour in the wine and broth, then pressure cook for 6 minutes.
Quick release, stir in your cheese and butter, and let it rest for a couple minutes to thicken.
4) Black bean tacos with quick pickled onions
Canned beans are fine. But Instant Pot black beans from dried? They’re creamier, more flavorful, and cost a fraction of the price. Plus you control the salt.
The trick is adding aromatics to the cooking liquid. A bay leaf, some cumin, a halved onion, and a few garlic cloves transform plain beans into something special. No soaking required, which is the whole point of owning this appliance.
Dried black beans, onion, garlic, cumin, bay leaf, and enough water to cover by two inches. Pressure cook on high for 30 minutes with natural release.
While that’s happening, make quick pickled onions by soaking thinly sliced red onion in lime juice and a pinch of salt. Serve the beans in warm tortillas with the pickled onions, cilantro, and whatever salsa you have around.
5) Vegetable curry in a hurry
A good curry is all about layering flavors, and the Instant Pot compresses that process beautifully. Everything melds together under pressure in a way that would normally take an hour of simmering.
Start by blooming your spices in oil using the sauté function. This releases their essential oils and deepens the flavor significantly. Then add your vegetables, tomatoes, and coconut milk. Harder vegetables like potatoes and carrots go in first. Softer ones like spinach get stirred in after cooking.
Think potatoes, chickpeas, cauliflower, diced tomatoes, coconut milk, onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, and turmeric. Pressure cook for 5 minutes, quick release, then stir in fresh spinach and let it wilt. Serve over rice with naan on the side.
6) Steel cut oatmeal for the week
This isn’t dinner, but it’s too useful not to include. Steel cut oats take forever on the stove. In the Instant Pot, you can make a big batch on Sunday and have breakfast ready for the entire week.
The texture is better than stovetop too. Creamy but still chewy, not mushy. You can customize each portion differently when you reheat it, so you don’t get bored eating the same thing every morning.
Steel cut oats, water, and a pinch of salt. That’s it.
Pressure cook for 4 minutes, natural release for 10 minutes, then portion into containers. When you’re ready to eat, reheat with a splash of milk and add whatever toppings you want. Maple syrup and walnuts, fresh berries, peanut butter and banana. The base stays the same, the toppings keep it interesting.
The bottom line
The Instant Pot isn’t magic, but it’s close. It turns dried beans into dinner in under an hour. It makes risotto hands-off. It builds deep, complex flavors in a fraction of the time.
Start with one of these recipes. Whichever sounds best to you. Get comfortable with the basic functions: sauté, pressure cook, natural release versus quick release. Once you nail those fundamentals, you’ll start improvising on your own.
The goal isn’t to follow recipes forever. It’s to understand the tool well enough that you can throw together a meal with whatever’s in your fridge. These recipes are just the starting point.
