5 Instant Pot Staples Worth Mastering

I use my Instant Pot several times a week for everything from quick breakfasts to easy dinners and even dessert. But some of the recipes I rely on most are the simplest: hard-boiled eggs, rice, beans, potatoes, and chicken breasts.

Master these five basics and you have a head start on meals all week long, whether that's eggs for breakfast, rice for a quick bowl, or chicken ready for wraps and salads. Plus, they're mostly hands-off, which is a big reason I keep coming back to them.

1. Instant Pot Hard-Boiled Eggs

This is hands-down one of the recipes that made me fall in love with the Instant Pot. The eggs cook evenly, but the real win is how easily they peel. If you've ever stood over the sink picking tiny pieces of shell off an egg while taking half the white with it, you understand why that matters.

I make a batch to keep in the refrigerator for quick breakfasts, snacks, lunchboxes, and egg salad. After making hard-boiled eggs this way for years, I have zero desire to use the stovetop method again.

2. Instant Pot "Baked" Potatoes

Are they technically baked? No. Do I care on a busy night when I can get fluffy, creamy potatoes without waiting for the oven? Also no.

The moist heat from pressure cooking gives the potatoes really fluffy centers, and the process is almost entirely hands-off. I especially love this method when baked potatoes are the starting point for dinner. Set out steamed broccoli, baked bacon, shredded cheese, leftover chili or pulled pork (or whatever needs to be used up in the refrigerator), and everyone can build their own loaded potato.

Have sweet potatoes instead? My Instant Pot sweet potato recipe uses the same easy approach.

3. Instant Pot Rice

I don't own a separate rice cooker because my Instant Pot already handles rice so well.

Just add the rice and water, start the machine (following my recipe for Instant Pot white rice or Instant Pot brown rice), and move on to the rest of dinner. There is no pot to watch or burner to babysit, which is exactly what I want from a side dish on a busy weeknight.

I usually make extra, too. Leftover rice is an easy head start for rice bowls, stir-fries, fried rice, or lunches later in the week.

4. Instant Pot Beans

This recipe makes cooking from scratch feel much more realistic.

You can take inexpensive dried beans straight from the pantry and cook them without remembering to soak them the night before. That last part is important because I rarely remember what I want for dinner tomorrow while cleaning up dinner tonight.

I often make a full batch and freeze the extras in portions. Then I have cooked beans ready for soups, tacos, salads, bowls, and quick meatless meals without relying on canned beans every time.

5. Instant Pot Chicken Breasts

Chicken breasts sound like the easiest thing in the world to cook, but they can turn dry and rubbery surprisingly fast in a pressure cooker.

After a LOT of testing, I found that precise cook time and the right pressure release matter. Follow those two things and you can get tender, juicy chicken that is ready to slice, shred, or use for meal prep.

And yes, the recipe works with frozen chicken breasts. I consider that less of a cooking trick and more of a backup plan for the nights when someone forgot to thaw dinner. Someone being me.

Use the cooked chicken for salads, wraps, sandwiches, casseroles, or basically any recipe calling for cooked chicken.

Happy Pressure Cooking! xo Kristen