Why did I write a blog post about Instant Pot Meals for Kids with meals your kids will actually eat? Well, because I’m a parent and I know how it goes.
Ah, parenthood: the time of life when it feels like you spend all of your time either making food or trying to get your kids to eat it. Plus cleaning it up. Ugh. There probably is more that we spend our time on than that, but it sure doesn’t feel like it sometimes. There is very little in the world more frustrating than a picky eater.
We prod, we plead, we bribe, we cave. Sound familiar? All too, it seems.
It feels like no matter what we make, it’s not good enough. Even if it was good enough yesterday, today they act like you’re trying to poison them.
You spend all that time (and money) putting good, healthy food on the table and all you get in return is whining and complaining. Am I right? Who do these small people think they are, anyway, kings and queens? Do they think you’re a short-order cook? Do they think they can survive on dinosaur nuggets and fruit snacks? Do they honestly think eating a green vegetable will actually kill them?
The Solution: Instant Pot Meals For Kids
So, the problem is too much time in the kitchen for too little eating. Enter the Instant Pot, which is a little pressure cooker that takes the pressure off mealtimes. It not only saves time, but with these ten recipes, you’ll have them coming back for seconds.
Each of these recipes is kid-tested, and kid-approved. Even picky eaters could be swayed into eating a home-cooked meal when presented with this delicious food. They don’t need to know it’s healthy; that can be our secret! And they don’t need to know how little time you spent preparing it.
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1 – Instant Pot Mac-N-Cheese
Our instant Pot mac n cheese rivals “the blue box” in not only cost and time-investment, but in kid-pleasing flavor and texture. Except it’s made with only real-food ingredients that you don’t have to feel guilty about. If you’re the type to only give the blue box “once in awhile” because it’s too processed, that’s fine, but with this recipe you can feed it on a regular basis without regret.
PS. We actually did a whole blog on this recipe vs. the store brand (see here).
2 – Instant Pot Pork Fried Rice
While not fried rice in its truest sense, this one pot brown rice dish is so great your kids will actually ask you to make it again and again. And since it’s all done in one pot, both the cooking and the clean up is easy.
3 – Instant Pot Brown Rice Pudding
OK, so this isn’t exactly a “meal”, but I figured you’d appreciate a dessert recipe as part of this Instant Pot Meals for Kids blog. Who says dessert can’t be healthy? This one-pot rice pudding uses real, whole foods and tastes just like its processed counterpart.
4 – Chicken Teriyaki Lettuce Wraps
Summer, Winter, Fall or Spring, these lettuce wraps know no season. The sweet teriyaki and mild chicken are impossible to resist even for the most resisting of eaters.
5 – One Pot Sausage Spaghetti
This recipe feeds them all with just one pot to wash (in the dishwasher)! Pasta, sauce, meat…it all goes into the only pot you really ever need: the Instant Pot.
6 – Cool Ranch Chicken Tacos
A modern take on tacos, and a modern take on prep, the filling for these cool ranch chicken tacos cooks up in your Instant Pot, and your kids are gonna love ‘em!
7 – Korean Beef Bowls
This one is guaranteed to become a family favorite after just one bite. (And, by guaranteed, I mean you get your money back from this free recipe if I’ve missed my mark. But I don’t think I have.)
8 – 3-Ingredient Pineapple Salsa Chicken
Three ingredients + one pot = success! The pineapple in this dish really makes the kids happy.
9 – Lasagna Soup
Who doesn’t love lasagna? Except, perhaps, the cook. This lasagna soup makes quick work out of what used to be an all-day affair. Plus the kids will ask for seconds.
10 – Chicken Noodle Soup
Ah. Classic Chicken Noodle Soup. Except, this doesn’t come from a can, it comes from a pot! So good, and so clean, you can serve this every week.
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