I’ve got six kids. So when it’s time to make supper, it has to be something my entire family will eat. During the busy school year, I strongly prefer to use my pressure cooker, so I’ve been on the hunt for kid-friendly recipes for the Instant Pot. The thing is, they have to pass the six-kid test. That’s a tall order to get six kids to agree on anything! So when I say that these recipes are kid-approved, that’s a big deal.
What follows is our collection of 100 kid-friendly Instant Pot recipes in a huge variety of categories to please everyone. Also, we already have a huge list of Instant Pot Soups and Stews that your whole family will love so be sure to check out that list too!
Now, I will be the first to admit that my kids are not picky eaters, but they do all have individual tastes that can make mealtime a challenge. Kid-friendly Instant Pot meals are a great way to keep evenings super simple. You usually just throw a bunch of stuff in the pressure cooker, make sure you get it closed right, get it started, and walk away. Even the longest meal I cook this way (Instant Pot Beef Stew) takes 40-45 minutes for six pounds of super tender beef, but it’s 45 minutes that I can be getting kids through baths, playing with my dog, folding the endless laundry pile, or working on my home business. And I don’t know about you, but I need every 45 minutes I can get!
I didn’t even include that particular recipe in this collection even though it’s my favorite, because half of my kids don’t like it. So for the most part the kid-friendly recipes for Instant Pot that I’ve included will be 20-30 minutes total of prep and cook time. Just remember to warm up the pot ahead of time to speed up the process. Turn it on sauté mode with a little water in the bottom as soon as you start getting things ready in the kitchen.
Pizza-Flavored Instant Pot Meals Kids Love
Because what kid doesn’t like pizza? So if you can marry the flavors of a good pizza with the ease of the IP, that’s a win-win situation right there.
This Instant Pot Pizza in a Bowl is fantastic! It’s full of flavor, and you can customize it with the toppings of your choice.
Who knew you could actually make PIZZA in your Instant Pot, crust and all? How cool is that?
Pizza. Soup. Pizza Soup? Like really? Who even thinks of these things? But it’s good stuff! Instant Pot Pizza Soup
This Instant Pot Pizza Casserole is awesome. It’s a lot like lasagna, only with pizza ingredients. Yummm!
Here’s one kid-friendly recipe for Instant Pot I would never have thought of on my own – the Instant Pot Pepperoni Pizza Meatloaf.
If you want a KETO Pizza – try this Instant Pot Supreme Pizza Chicken.
One more! Instant Pot Pizza Dip Appetizer is sure to be a hit on your party days! Every once in a while we like to have a party/game night and this kind of recipe is perfect for that!
My kids love meatballs! So I’m very excited about this interesting take: Pizza-Flavored Meatballs for the Instant Pot
What about this Instant Pot Pull Apart Pizza Bread? Yes! You can make bread in your pressure cooker.
Instant Pot recipes for kids who love Mexican and Hispanic Flavors
This Instant Pot Taco Pasta is a family favorite from Food Schmoody Blog
My kids are huge fans of Mexican style dishes and we love chicken, beans and rice! We serve it with tortilla chips and sour cream for dipping, or we’ve also eaten it in tortillas like a burrito. This meal is picky-eater approved, but you can leave out the beans if your picky eaters turn their noses up at legumes. I get it.
My kids surprise me a lot. The first time I made a taco soup and they ate it, I don’t know why that surprised me but it did. My friend Marcy has a great Instant Pot Taco Soup to try out with your kids.
Fajita Chicken Rice is another great take on Mexican, but made for Instant Pot. It’s so easy.
When you want something different but those delicious Mexican flavors, try this Instant Pot Mexican Casserole.
This Instant Pot Pork Carnitas recipe will make it super easy to have your favorite Chipotle-style meal at home!
Or try this Instant Pot Mexican Lasagna for layers of cheese and meat deliciousness.
Here’s a twist. Why not serve your kids this Pressure Cooker Taco Pie inspired by the flavors of Mexico?
Street Tacos anyone? These beefy ones from Eating on a Dime are the perfect Taco Tuesday meal.
Kid-Friendly Recipes for Instant Pot starring Pork
The first time we made this savory Instant Pot pulled pork recipe I was pretty shocked at how much my kids loved it, and also pretty stoked at the sheer amount of leftovers. We almost always eat it on sliders with our purple coleslaw on day one, but the next day we eat it on nachos, or tacos, or over rice bowls aka Chipotle-restaurant style. And I usually still have enough left over to freeze for when my husband travels and life gets crazy busy. Pork shoulder is cheap too! We can often find it for less than $2 per pound!
Pressure Cooker Pork Chops in homemade mushroom gravy is extra yummy and you can always remove mushrooms for picky eaters.
Pressure Cooking Today perfected the art of Sweetly Spiced Glazed Ham in the Instant Pot, so now we can have a ham, and not heat up the whole house.
Speaking of ham, I think your kids will like this Ham and Penne Pasta pressure cooker recipe.
Pork Tenderloin in a garlic rub is a very traditional family meal served with mashed potatoes and sauce.
Another family favorite is this yummy Sweet Basalmic Pork for the IP.
Pressure Pork Ragu — remember that word Ragu from tv commercials growing up? It doesn’t have to mean what you think it means and doesn’t necessarily come out of a jar! Try this one.
My kids always choose ribs, if ribs are on the menu at a local restaurant. But with the best pork ribs for Instant Pot you don’t have to go to a restaurant to give your kids what they like! And it’s so fast to get them tender.
Honey Soy Pork Tenderloin almost goes under the Asian recipes section, but it’s not traditionally Asian to my knowledge. It is, however, super delicious.
My family loves to have stuffing and gravy with their meat, but we don’t do the gravy very often because it just seems like so much work. I love that this Pork Loin with Stuffing and Gravy is a one pot deal!
By the way, if you love Facebook groups — be sure to join our small Instant Pot Facebook group to be part of our community. We are just getting started over there, but if you post questions in the group I am happy to help!
Easy Chicken Instant Pot recipes for kids
Do your kids love anything chicken? Mine too! Make sure you check out our awesome list of easy chicken recipes for Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs are a crowd pleaser for sure. Kids like the hint of sweet.
Who doesn’t love drumsticks? Some of my kids start pouting when they reach for a drumstick and find none left. Which isn’t hard, since there are only two drumsticks on every chicken! Did you know you can buy an entire pack of just drumsticks? It’s true! And, you can make these Ginger Garlic Drumsticks and keep everyone happy at the table too.
When the kids get sick, this is the first thing I think to serve, because my grandma used to tell us the story of how chicken broth saved her life when she had measles. But honestly, Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup is so yummy, my kids ask for it more often than they are sick!
Tuscan Garlic Chicken is a recipe my sister introduced us to originally. This one is a little different, so suffice it to say you will enjoy adding some crumbled bacon to the top of this.
One of my all-time favorite food memories growing up was my mom’s homemade chicken and dumplings. I haven’t translated that recipe to the Instant Pot yet, but in the meantime here’s a great IP recipe you can try.
Chicken Pot Pie is one of our favorite family meals, and you can also make this with leftover turkey!
Oh my goodness, I love the flavors in this Instant Pot Greek Chicken recipe!
This Instant Pot Chicken Marsala is ridiculously easy for such a famous dish. And very flavorful too.
If your kids love spinach dip as an appetizer, they are going to love this Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Chicken recipe for IP!
Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken is a perfect, easy pulled chicken recipe with a hint of sweetness, which can be served as a sandwich or over rice or even on tacos for a fast weeknight kid-friendly Instant Pot meal!
My Mommy Style has a fantastic Instant Pot Chicken Cordon Bleu which is the perfect blend of cheesy flavors kids love.
Kid-Friendly Instant Pot Meals for kids who love Asian food
One of the first meals that really blew my kids away and won them all over to Instant Pot cooking was this Mongolian Beef in the Pressure Cooker. Seriously, so good! Man, we haven’t had that in a while; I’m gonna need to put that on my shopping list for next week.
We have take-out Tuesday and get Chinese food a lot, but it’s almost always better when we make it ourselves. I’m so glad Laura from Awe-Filled Homemaker figured out how to make Better Than Takeout Kung Pao Chicken!
Chicken Fried Rice in the Instant Pot blows me away. This cooking method has a way of creating incredibly deep flavors. This is the chicken fried rice I dream of!
This is one of those dishes that you might not think your kids will like, but try it. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much all of my kids enjoy the Korean dishes I’ve made in the pressure cooker, and Instant Pot Korean Beef is no exception.
Chicken Pad Thai for the Instant Pot is another great Asian dish my kids will eat.
Asian food is one thing the Instant Pot does really, really well, and this Yummy Teriyaki Chicken with Instant Pot directions is no exception! If they have to choose, my kids will choose teriyaki every time.
This recipe for Thai Peanut Noodles reminds me of a yummy Thai restaurant we used to go to twenty years ago. Just a note – it says sriracha to taste. So maybe go lightly if your kids can’t handle heat.
The key to making sure my kids will eat the Asian food we purchase is to pick one of the sweet dishes like this Orange Chicken for the Instant Pot.
Favorite Beefy Kid-Friendly Recipes for Instant Pot
Do your kids like meatballs? We typically grill ours, but with my husband traveling so much and my lack of skill in keeping the grill from catching fire, I’m switching over to the Instant Pot. Plus it makes these a super easy meal! Try these Swedish Meatballs from Simply Happy Foody or these dump and go Sweet and Sour Meatballs from Once a Month Meals. Two different variations that taste great!
Oh my goodness, sloppy joes are like the super easy staple at my house. Served with air-fryer tater tots, these Sloppy Joes in the Instant Pot are a go-to family meal. We’ve got the Weight Watchers Turkey Version too.
Instant Pot Creamy Shells and Beef is like one of those old Hamburger Helper meals, but this one tastes way better, doesn’t have extra preservatives, and you can control everything that goes into the pan, so you can even make it grass-fed and organic if you want.
When we want comfort food that’s fast, we turn to Beef Stroganoff on Egg Noodles. My husband taught me to make this on the stove top when we first got married, but let me tell you, I’m so glad it can be made in the Instant Pot now!
My kids love a good brisket, and the pressure cooker does such a good job of tenderizing meat. Brisket in the Instant Pot.
Your kids like to dip, right? Because if I’m right, then making this Pressure Cooker French Dip recipe is a no-brainer. Let the dipping begin!
I think the reason kids love ribs so much is because they get to eat with their hands and lick their fingers. I don’t know. But my kids have loved every single ribs recipe I’ve tried in the IP, and these Instant Pot Short Ribs are pretty amazing.
Here’s another surprise. My kids love meatloaf. So did you know you can make meatloaf in a pressure cooker?
This Pressure Cooker Cheesy Beef and Potatoes is exactly like what my employer used to make for me when I babysat her kids way back in high school. I loved it then (as a child) and I love it now!
Stuffed red peppers are another thing my kids just love. I think it’s a combination of the novelty of it (using food as the baking dish) and the fact that they love red peppers! Making Stuffed Red Peppers in the IP is a win-win, easy for me and fun for them!
Breakfast Kid-Friendly Instant Pot Meals
Oh my goodness. These gigantic Instant Pot Pancakes are so fun for supper! Does anyone else serve breakfast at supper-time? I hope I’m not the only one!
The best thing about this Instant Pot Frittata is that you can customize it to include the added ingredients of choice.
Not all of my kids like French toast, but for those that do this Banana French Toast in the pressure cooker is a great choice.
Oatmeal made in the IP is divine! My kids are a huge fan of flavored oatmeals like this Maple Brown Sugar one, but if your kids prefer plain oatmeal you can do that too.
Also, my kids like yogurt. To the tune of 30 or more little tubs a week! I don’t know that it is in any cheaper made in the IP, but it’s definitely tastier, you can customize flavors after, and you can control the input and choose organic or whatever milk and starter you like. Here’s how to make yogurt in the IP for kids.
If you like the idea of frittata, but have lots of individual tastes to feed, you can also make Pressure Cooker Egg Muffins and customize each one!
This Strawberry Cheesecake Breakfast Quinoa is a fun way to get your kids to try this different grain. Because strawberry. And cheesecake.
Again for those kids who love Mexican flavors, here is a fun breakfast casserole to try!
This beautiful and sweet Instant Pot Lemon Blueberry Breakfast cake is perfect for mornings when you have a sweet tooth!
Pasta Kid-Friendly Recipes for Instant Pot
Pasta dishes is one thing that the Instant Pot does incredibly well. I love that I can throw the meat and the pasta in together with other ingredients and get a fully cooked, fabulous meal after 9 minutes at full pressure. It’s fast, and the best part is – kids love pasta! Especially cheesy pasta.
I was really shocked at how much my kids love this Instant Pot Chicken Tetrazzini. But it’s not just my kids; I’ve also fed it to nieces and nephews and the families of friends. It’s always a hit!
We’ve been making Mac N Cheese in this thing pretty much since the day we got the Instant Pot, and for some reason I’ve never blogged my recipe, but this one from Family Fresh Meals is pretty close and this meal cooks up in about 15-20 minutes including time to come to pressure.
Another really easy kid-friendly recipe for Instant Pot is this Parmesan Alfredo. This is one of my kids’ favorites.
Lasagna is probably one of our favorite family meals, but it’s also one of those meals that takes forever the traditional way. So we don’t have it the old way very often any more! You’re gonna like this Instant Pot Lasagna, and it’s going to make your life easier too.
Instant Pot Baked Ziti is another pasta dish smothered in cheese. This one’s a crowd pleaser!
What fun that with so many of the pasta dishes like this Spaghetti and Meatballs for the IP, you can just dump the meat and pasta in the pot and cook it all at once!
Instant Pot Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta – just the name of this one is going to make your kids want to try it!
I was surprised that my kids loved pesto, but they do. Don’t be afraid to try new things! In fact, try this IP Chicken Pesto Pasta.
30 Minute Creamy Chicken Pasta is a great choice to try. I don’t recommend using Brussels sprouts though, unless your kids are game for that. Notice the recipe says “steamed vegetable of choice.” Pick something else. 🙂
Oh my goodness this brings back memories of “potlucks” we used to have growing up – this is the dish older ladies would bring that I loved, and craved, and couldn’t wait to try! And it’s not expensive to make, but so yummy. Instant Pot Beef Noodles.
For a different variation on mac ‘n cheese, try this Cheesy Chili Mac.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta is a fun noodle twist on this classic favorite kids love!
If you need an incredibly easy way to pull together dinner fast with ingredients on hand, try this one pot spaghetti in your IP.
Pressure Cooker Side Dishes Kids will Love
So at the end of the day, we all know we aren’t going to make 100% of our main dishes in the Instant Pot. I mean, the grill is awesome! So when we are throwing meat on the grill, we are often throwing side dishes in all three of our Instant Pots! The Instant Pot is absolutely perfect for making red-skin mashed potatoes for instance. Here are some of our favorite Kid-Friendly Recipes for Instant Pot side dishes that our family enjoys.
Applesauce made in the IP. I mean, applesauce is 100% kid approved, am I right? And so easy this way.
One of our favorite side dishes for holidays, but with the IP we can enjoy Cheesy Potatoes anytime; they are so easy!
Corn on the Cob in the Instant Pot is so much easier than waiting for a huge pot of water to boil!
One of my favorite, favorite, favorite discoveries with the pressure cooker is that it cooks risotto perfectly. I mean, so perfect. And so easy. No stirring! So this butternut squash risotto is very yummy and the kids love it, but surprisingly they also love this purple cabbage risotto a lot too. Maybe because it is purple?
If they’re like mine, your kids love all things potatoes – try out these roasted potatoes in the Instant Pot. I love this method!
Sweet Potato Casserole is always a big hit!
If you are grilling and want rice – use your Instant Pot to make Cilantro Lime Rice. So good this way!
Delicious Baked Beans made in a pressure cooker is the perfect way to get them done fast while you are grilling the dogs and burgers!
Polenta is a delicious, creamy side dish that adds nice variety to our meals! I love that we can make it in the Instant Pot now with perfect results.
Let’s talk desserts. Here are a handful of kid-friendly recipes for dessert.
One thing is, desserts are something the Instant pot does really, really well. I didn’t want to include too many dessert recipes in this list, because it seems pretty certain kids are going to like desserts I think. But I realize not all kids like all desserts. So I went through the desserts looking for the ones that seem like sure bets for the family table. Here’s the short list.
Peach Cobbler in the pressure cooker, perfect to enjoy in the sunny summer with some ice cream.
Red Hots Valentine’s Day Cheesecake is yummy any time of year! And kids love desserts made with candy!
Chocolate! Instant Pot Lava Cake is instant love.
Or just look at this gorgeous red velvet lava cake made in a pressure cooker. Wow.
This salted caramel cheesecake made in the IP is divine!
For some reason my kids love to see a cake filled with poppy seeds. I’m not sure why – but here’s a perfect lemon poppy seed bundt cake made in the Instant Pot.
This Instant Pot Raspberry Lemonade Custard is a wonderfully balanced dessert kids will love.
And now let’s end on this. Let’s not forget the Instant Pot Peeps Brownies.
I hope you enjoy our fantastic list of Kid-Friendly Recipes for the Instant Pot! If you have more suggestions, feel free to link them in the comments below and let me know!
Thank you for sharing my Instant Pot Breakfast Egg Muffins! Re: Risotto in the Instant Pot rocks!!!
tried and loved the pizza in a bowl but I can’t get the recipe to print by any means : (
There is a print button on the recipe card, in the right corner. When you click it, the recipe opens in a new window. You may have to have pop-ups enabled. Blessings!
Thanks for sharing instant recipes for kids.. Hope so now my kid will have something easily 🙂
Thank You so much for sharing these recipes.