Vegetarian Archives - Fueled By Instant Pot

[Instant Pot] Easy Vegetable Curry

Original publish date September 25, 2014. Updated 2023 with expanded information.

This Instant Pot Vegetable Curry is a simple, healthy dinner that will fill you up with plant-powered nutrition. A mountain of mixed veggies, warm spices and creamy coconut milk make this a quick meal that will nourish your whole family – vegan and gluten free eaters included.

A curry spice blend peppered with cinnamon and nutmeg creates an aromatic curry that transports my appetite to a steamy West Indian or Caribbean kitchen. You will crave it and cook it again and again!

[Instant Pot] Insta-Pumpkin! DIY Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Puree

Original publish date September 26, 2020. Updated 2022 with expanded information.

The easiest way to prep your own pumpkin from scratch: pressure cook it in your Instant Pot!

I love and respect canned pumpkin as much as the next fall baking enthusiast – but if you have a local source for fresh pie pumpkins, you can make your festive fall recipes that much more special by giving them the starring role.

[Instant Pot] Potatoes and Carrots, Upgraded!

Use your pressure cooker to make quick work of this classic side dish – then upgrade it with one of my 3 favorite simple seasonings. Whether your family gets hooked on lemon pepper, garlic herb or maple mustard – Instant Pot Potatoes and Carrots will become a staple veggie dish in your healthy meal prep rotation.

[Instant Pot] Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

Original publish date July 23, 2016. Updated 2022 with new photos and expanded information.

How could I bring myself to host this website without a signature healthy cheesecake recipe? This is my Greek Yogurt Cheesecake, a lighter spin on Instant Pot’s flagship dessert – silky, wholesome indulgence with 100 fewer calories per serving than typical cheesecake recipes!

[Instant Pot] Insta-Artichokes! How to Steam Whole Artichokes in a Pressure Cooker

With Instant Pot, whole steamed artichokes are faster and easier than ever! Read on for everything you need to know to master this special treat.

[Instant Pot] Insta-Greens! How to Prep Leafy Greens in a Pressure Cooker

Original publish date May 30 2017. Updated 2022 with new photos and information.

Instant Pot makes it SO easy to cook up a batch of leafy greens. Whether you’re looking to prep yourself a pot of kale, collards, chard, beet greens, turnip greens, ANY kind of greens… with your pressure cooker, you can set-it-and-forget-it and get them done in a flash.

I like to call them INSTA-GREENS. Make a batch every week to add to your dinners, lunches and breakfasts. Let your Instant Pot be a positive influence on your self care routine!

[Instant Pot] Banana Nut Oatmeal

Instant Pot makes it so easy to enjoy healthy whole grain steel-cut oats for breakfast – and with this recipe, they taste like a warm, cozy bowl of banana bread!

[Instant Pot] Insta-Zoodles! How to Cook Zucchini Noodles in a Pressure Cooker

Zucchini noodles are a fun way to load up your plate with an extra dose of veggies and mix up your meal prep!

[Instant Pot] Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Pumpkin cheesecake is a beloved Thanksgiving tradition in my family. Since I was a little girl, my mom has always slipped a cheesecake layer underneath her annual pumpkin pies… and everyone loves her for it!

The layering is essential, if you ask me. I am not satisfied with the mere pumpkin-flavored cheesecakes of the world, which homogenize together into less than the sum of their parts. This dessert shines from the contrast between rich vanilla cheesecake, and a pure, silky, spiced pumpkin custard layered on top.

If you don’t already know, believe it: Instant Pot is a secret weapon for effortlessly perfect cheesecakes. This fall, let your pressure cooker help you serve up this irresistible seasonal treat!

(Your Instant Pot can also help you make dessert even more special, with your own DIY homemade pumpkin puree… See: Insta-Pumpkin!)

[Instant Pot] Dark Chocolate Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

Today we revisit the first and most popular of my Instant Pot dessert recipes: the classic Greek Yogurt Cheesecake. This time… it’s chocolate! Sometimes the occasion calls for chocolate cheesecake, and this is my go-to method for turning my basic recipe into a super-rich and deeply chocolate-ized treat.

Aside from revealing my chocolate-ization techniques (!) – the other reason I’ve been overdue to return to this recipe is that I’ve discovered a new cheesecake crust that I’m WAY into. Believe it or not, the secret ingredient is dried almond pulp, which I am always scheming to get rid of because the man in my house has a serious DIY almond milk habit (the pulp is the mass that remains after soaking/blending/pressing to make nutmilk). This coarse almond meal does a beautiful job replacing graham crackers in a crumb crust – it comes out less sweet than a graham crust, which I appreciate, and gains a tasty nutty quality. Another added bonus for some of you: it’s gluten-free, too!

[Instant Pot] Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Cozy comfort food – it’s what I need right now! This creamy soup is made from roasted broccoli, real sharp cheddar cheese, and an earthy-sweet foundation of onions, carrots and celery. It’s also enriched (in both the culinary and nutritional sense) with a healthy dose of hemp seeds, which blend into a creamy texture without any need to add actual cream.

Reflecting on my favorite soup recipes, it’s hard not to notice a pattern: there are a lot of creamy soups made with roasted vegetables. Why? First, because roasting makes vegetables delicious! Second, because it reflects an efficiency in my food-prep workflow. If it’s the weekend and I’m heating up my oven to cook dinner or bake anything, I always try to double-down and bake or roast several foods in that single session. It saves time and energy, and it’s always handy to have extra roasted veggies on hand.

[Instant Pot] Carrot Cake Steel-Cut Oats

This winter, I found a new favorite cheerful make-ahead weekday breakfast. This golden bowl features whole-grain steel cut oats with no refined sugars, instead sweetened and enriched with lots of carrot (2/3 cup freshly grated root per serving), fresh ginger, warm spices, raisins, juicy pineapple tidbits, and flakes of toasted coconut.

Top as you please with even more nuts and fruits, and a swirl of your favorite creamy dairy or nut milk. Then revel in the moment of cozy glory you achieved. Then tomorrow morning, reheat and repeat.

[Instant Pot] Double Decker Saag Paneer + Cauliflower Rice

Double Decker Dinner is a personal favorite Instant Pot recipe theme, all about finding the right combination of foods that pair together as a balanced meal and that can be stacked and cooked at the same time in the same pressure cooker. It’s one-pot wonderful!

I love paneer – it’s a fresh non-melting cheese common in Indian cuisine, uniquely made without salt or rennet. To make it, milk is simply cooked with an acidic ingredient like lemon juice; when the curds precipitate from the whey, they are gathered and pressed into a firm block.

This recipe is my favorite way to eat paneer: the rich, chewy, cheesy cubes are seasoned, crisped, and tucked into this classic curry of creamed greens. I like to serve it with a bed of steamed cauliflower rice – this extra helping of veggies pairs well with the rich curry sauce, and leaves room for a side of bread if desired (I am still working on perfecting my homemade sourdough naan… If you’re interested in that recipe, speak up in the comments to move it up a notch on my priority list!)

[Instant Pot] 50 Clove Garlic & White Bean Soup

Garlic lovers only! Fifty whole cloves – half roasted until deeply caramelized, half left sharply raw before pressure-cooking – make this soup very powerful.

Because this recipe is made with hardy produce that stays available through the cold season, it is an excellent candidate to accompany your winter grilled cheese sandwiches after your freezer supply of Roasted Tomato Soup runs out. Instant Pot makes it easy to pressure-cook garlic, onion, herbs, broth, and soaked dry white beans into a creamy, fiery, satisfying soup.

[Instant Pot] Pumpkin Salted Caramel Flan

Silky-smooth custard, salty-sweet caramel, pumpkin-spiced joy. This seasonal treat is a perfect fit for Instant Pot’s dessert wheelhouse – like we learned when we made Maple Espresso Creme Brulee and Greek Yogurt Cheesecake, high-pressure steam can be a very effective way to quickly and evenly cook any custard.

If you’ve never made caramel before, it’s an interesting reaction to observe. Upon heating pure sucrose, the sugar molecules begin to break down and their pieces get shuffled around to form a virtually infinite array of new and different compounds, each with unique flavors and aromas. This is why as caramel darkens, it gradually becomes less sweet and more complex.

[Instant Pot] Insta-Beets! How to Cook Beets in a Pressure Cooker

This Instant Pot beets recipe is the simplest, most foolproof way to prep this super healthy vegetable. This is the ultimate guide to pressure cooking beets: learn my simple formula to perfectly cook beetroots of any shape and size, practical tips for prep & storage, and tasty ideas for enjoying them in your everyday meals.

I started regularly cooking beets when I was in grad school, studying to become a registered dietitian nutritionist. I fell in love with their deep, earthy flavor and with the way they made me feel. Food can be powerful! Let your Instant Pot help you eat more veggies and feel awesome.

[Instant Pot] Roasted Tomato Soup

Ever think about using your Instant Pot to transform fresh tomatoes into soup? Think about it! I gave it a shot for the first time this Summer, and the results blew me away: rich, velvety, and intensely flavorful.

Ever wonder why so many recipes tell you to remove the seeds and skins from tomatoes? I avoid that step whenever I can, and not just because it’s annoying…

[Instant Pot] Maple Espresso Creme Brulee

Here comes the fanciest dessert ever to step out of my Instant Pot. Pressure cookers have a special talent for foods that need to cook in a hot, wet place – including the finicky oven/hot-water-bath setup required by cheesecakes and, yes, creme brulee!

Continue reading “[Instant Pot] Maple Espresso Creme Brulee”

[Instant Pot] Pumpkin Spice Steel-Cut Oats

Seattle is getting colder, and predictably, my breakfasts are getting warmer. The days of raw fruit & chilled muesli have come and gone, and now my oats are getting the hot & hearty porridge treatment.

A breakfast like this can help you stay strong through the stresses of the seasonal shift. With the growing season coming to a close and colorful summer crops disappearing from the local food system, pumpkins and other winter squash persevere as a shelf-stable source of vibrantly orange vitamin power. And as the weather chills, spices become magical; we love them, and they love us back with their stimulating, grounding and warming qualities. (Don’t forget: spices are powerful plants that humans have selected, valued, and carried along with us through the history of eating. They interface with our physiology in ways that science is only beginning to understand).

[Instant Pot] Creamy Coconut Steel-Cut Oats

Resolving to Eat Better this year? Me too, but I’m not just talking about nutrition… I’m also always looking for new and exciting ways to ENJOY IT. That’s why I make this kind of food: wholesome, real ingredients coming together to make something indulgently nourishing for your “most important meal of the day.” It’s simple, but special. It’s rich, but still provides legit nutrition. And as a bonus, it will warm you to the bones not only by virtue of being a hearty porridge, but also by briefly relieving your winter weather woes with a mental tropical vacation.

So, what makes these oats so nutritious and filling? The winning combination of whole grains and coconut deliver fiber, complex carbs and a healthy dose of fat that provide lasting energy to fill you up and truly satisfy.

[Instant Pot] Balsamic Basil Wheatberry Salad

When most people think about pressure cooker recipes, they tend to conjure up images of stews, braises, and other sorts of steamy, stick-to-your-ribs one-pot meals that enjoy the spotlight in the colder months. But don’t forget that an electric pressure cooker is also a valuable tool for summer cooking: because everything is self-contained, cooking under pressure doesn’t heat up the kitchen. So don’t neglect your Instant Pot just because even the thought of your favorite soup recipe is making you sweat… think outside the box! It may sound crazy, but this week I used my pressure cooker to make salad. I only wish I had tried it sooner, because you’re looking at an instant summer staple.

[Instant Pot] Everyday Lentil & Spinach Dal

These days I do most of my recipe-clipping on Pinterest, but I still have a recipe folder on my browser’s bookmarks bar dating back from the days before ‘pinning’ was a household term (shocking, I know). The heart of the collection is a sub-folder marked “Tried and True,” which holds those special recipes that I’ve come back to again and again… the keepers! Along with the formula behind killer pumpkin garlic knots, this folder is also home to an unassuming yellow dal bookmarked from Smitten Kitchen. I made this recipe for the first time in college, just starting to dip my toes into Indian cooking, and I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve served it up since then!

This dish has been a dinner staple in my house for a lot of reasons. For one, the recipe is really straightforward, easy enough to commit to memory. It’s also super inexpensive. I do my best to cook with economy and grace, and these tasty lentils make it easy: all of the budget-friendly benefits of dried beans, but with no soaking needed. It’s a hearty vegetarian (easily vegan) source of protein – about 14 grams per serving, before the yogurt garnish. And those healthy legumes are filled out with plenty of vegetables and nutritious spices. I’ve been putting more focus on anti-inflammatory foods in my diet lately, and the turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne and garlic in this recipe all offer functional health benefits to reduce inflammation in the body. This is definitely an example of getting your flavor from real food, and this enticing combination is so nutritious that it’s practically medicinal!

[Instant Pot] Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

How much tradition do you like on your Thanksgiving table? Is it just not the same without your family heirloom recipes for turkey, stuffing and green bean casserole? Or do you prefer to flex your creative muscles and trick out your menu with fancy stuff like cranberry coulis or pumpkin panna cotta? Personally, I fall somewhere in the middle. Traditional flavors, but with enough twist to keep things interesting. Right at home on my holiday table? These dreamy Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes.

[Instant Pot] Greek Vegetable Soup

A funny thing happened on the way to writing this post. We’re only here talking about this soup today because two months ago on RD Day, I took the opportunity to scope out a list of fellow RD bloggers. On one of the many links I clicked, I came across a giveaway raffle and entered on a whim. And out of the zillion entries, I actually won! That day I gained an awesome new Mediterranean cookbook, and my first glimpse into what has become one of my new favorite RD blogs, Zen and Spice by the talented Emily Hein. This girl inspires me to live right! If you’re like me and love cooking/eating beautiful whole foods, growing some of them yourself, and generally taking a mindful and appreciative approach to it all, you should definitely check it out!

The book that I won in the giveaway is Eating the Greek Way, by Dr. Fedon Alexander Lindberg. Emily mentioned that this is one of her favorite cookbooks, and I can totally see why. The book features gorgeous photos and recipes featuring the kind of simple but perfect food I can imagine being served up in Mediterranean kitchens on real life weeknights. And now in my kitchen too! On my weeknights! Life is grand.