20 Instant Pot dishes that are worth trying

This spinach garlic rice—or Lahsuni Palak Pulao—recipe is a nostalgic one for Lakshminarayan, as it was her mother's favorite dish when she was growing up. Now, Lakshminarayan is able to quickly replicate the memory in the Instant Pot. This recipe requires 15 minutes of prep and 10 minutes cooking to bring its ingredients—such as basmati rice, spinach, green chili, green peas and garlic cloves—alive.

"This meatless masala curry is perfect for weeknights," writes Lakshminarayan of her Chettinad black-eyed peas vegan curry recipe, and further explains the dish's background: "This cuisine emerges from the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu in the South of India.  It offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes." This particular recipe is vegan and gluten-free with black-eyed peas paired with an assortment of pastes, powders and seeds.

This versatile breakfast, lunch, or dinner recipe uses the Instant Pot for its black bean sauce. As is, the ingredients are vegetarian but can be made vegan by substituting in vegan cheese and cream cheese spread. The combination of vegetables such as bell peppers, jalapeño, onion, and tomatoes packs a flavorful punch—taken up a notch by tandoori masala.

This dairy-free, gluten-free vegan aloo bharta recipe can be served as a main course or side dish. The ingredients are simple, as is the Instant Pot process with just 10 minutes of prep and 10 minutes of cooking. You'll need six potatoes, salt, and turmeric powder plus vegan butter, garlic cloves, cilantro, onion, paprika, pepper, and vegan creamer to make the accompanying onion mixture.

We're spoiling you with vegan recipes. These black beans taco boats are also gluten-free. To form the taco boats, you'll need taco shells. Other ingredients are raw black beans, bell pepper, garlic cloves, jalapeños, onion, sweet corn, tomatoes as well as Cajun seasoning, chili seasoning, and Mexican seasoning.

This vegan lentil soup recipe is an Indian dish called Dal Shorba. Let Lakshminarayan explain: "I call Shorba an Indian soup recipe because of the aromatic curry spices used to make it that give it its power-packed flavors." That flavoring comes from the lentils, which Lakshminarayan reminds are "great meat substitutes," and several vegetables such as carrots, green chilies, greens, paprika, and tomatoes.

Keep this vegan Thai butternut squash curry recipe in mind the next time you're scrambling for a dinner idea in the middle of a hectic week. This dish is gluten-free and vegan-friendly with curry that can be cooked in the Instant Pot. These will be your necessary ingredients: butternut squash, chickpeas, coconut milk, coconut oil, vegan red Thai curry paste, ginger-garlic paste, Thai red chili pepper, cilantro or basil, and salt. You can add your choice of greens, such as beet leaves, kale, or spinach.

Set 30 minutes aside to try this yellow pea Instant Pot curry chili recipe, derived from South Indian-style Kozhumbu. This chili is a gluten-free, low-fat, and vegan dish with a 30-minute cook time between the chili, red paste, and white paste. 

This vegan chana masala recipe can be made in an Instant Pot or on a stovetop, depending on your preference. "Chana masala, which literally means chickpea curry, is usually a vegan curry," writes Lakshminarayan, "but some like to make it in ghee/butter instead of oil which makes it non-vegan. Otherwise, there is no dairy used to make chana masala curry." 

This vegan mint potato rice recipe is easily customizable based on which vegetables you want to use. The veggies incorporated by Lakshminarayan are cilantro, green chili peppers, and green peas. The base of the dish is fresh mint or pudina with Basmati rice and potatoes.

What are the perks of cooking Instant Pot chickpeas potato vegan curry? It's dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and soy-free. It would be hard to find a healthier choice. If you need further reasons to try it out, Lakshminarayan points toward the fact "it's an easy dunk-and-go" vegan curry that the Instant Pot method "ensures all the spices and flavors are well-infused."

This South Indian cuisine is vegetarian. Rasam is a soup-like dish that, per Lakshminarayan, "eases bowel movement and soothes the digestive system" and "is rich in antioxidants." The recipe calls for beetroot, cilantro, rasam powder, rice, turmeric powder, and a few healthy seeds.

Cabbage can have a negative connotation, but don't skip over this slide. This gluten-free, low-carb, and vegan quinoa lentil cabbage roll soup recipe can be made in seven minutes with an Instant Pot. Gather asafoetida, cabbage, cilantro, cumin seeds, cloves, coconut, curry leaves, curry powder, dried red chili peppers, green peas, lentils, mustard seeds, quinoa, and turmeric.

You'll be set for the next cold, rainy night with this Chettinad black-eyed peas chili recipe. The dish is South Indian cuisine, as well as gluten-free and vegan. It can be made easily in an Instant Pot or on the stovetop. Black-eyed peas are known for providing calcium, copper, iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and several other health benefits.

Paal Payasam is commonly referred to as kheer, a South Indian rice pudding that can most easily be made in an Instant Pot. You'll need almonds, cashews, coffee creamer, ghee, milk, pistachios, raisins, rice, saffron, and sugar for this recipe. To make this a vegan dish, use dairy-free milk and creamer as well as coconut oil instead of ghee.

This plant-based recipe is, as Lakshminarayan puts it, "basic Indian Khichdi" made even better by "new flavors" bursting from chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, and vegetables. She put her spin on the dish by substituting ghee for Pure Blends Plant-Based Butter: "It's creamy and soft, making it easy to spread, and has a mild salty flavor."

This chickpeas and spinach masala recipe is a spin on a separate Cookilicious vegan chana masala recipe. "Chickpeas and spinach are two nourishing ingredients that come together to make this dish an extra special flavorsome dinner party treat for all," Lakshminarayan explains. Chickpeas are high in fiber and protein as well as free of cholesterol, while spinach is a known superfood that can boost immunity with very low caloric value.

We have dinner very well covered to this point, so let's try a breakfast dish. This oats and vegetable upma recipe is described as Indian breakfast porridge. The ingredients list is a tad lengthy, but still, it can be made in 20 minutes. 

Let's stay on the breakfast train with this vegan matki misal recipe, made with misal masala and sprouts and made even better with a side of warm toast. Lakshminarayan can't get enough: "Making this vegan dish in an Instant Pot was so easy and hassle-free." Among the ingredients, you'll need are cilantro, coconut, curry leaves, cumin seeds, garlic cloves, lemon juice, mustard seeds, onion sprouts, and tomatoes.

Khichdi makes one last appearance to close out our list. This carrot and beets masala Khichdi recipe is comfort food that can be made easily by soaking lentils and rice in the Instant Pot for 30 minutes. Other ingredients will include beetroot, carrots, cilantro, cumin seeds, curry leaves, lemon juice, mustard seeds, spinach, and turmeric powder.