35 Southern Soul Food Instant Pot Recipes For Beginners
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Southern soul food is all about comfort, tradition, and flavor, the kind of cooking that feels like a warm hug from Grandma’s kitchen. And now, thanks to the Instant Pot, you can enjoy these rich, home-cooked classics in a fraction of the time without losing an ounce of soulful taste.
Whether you’re new to pressure cooking or just getting started with soul food, this beginner-friendly collection will guide you step by step. From tender collard greens to buttery mac and cheese, these recipes are easy enough for anyone to make, and soulful enough for everyone to love!
Is an Instant Pot good for beginners?
Yes, Instant Pot is perfect for beginners! With simple one-touch settings, it takes the guesswork out of cooking and makes everything from rice and veggies to full Southern meals almost foolproof. It’s a fast, reliable way to build kitchen confidence while serving up delicious, home-cooked dishes.
What soul food can you make in the Instant Pot?
You can make just about every classic soul food dish in your Instant Pot faster, easier, and with all the same rich flavor! Think tender collard greens, creamy mac and cheese, smoky black-eyed peas, candied yams, Southern cabbage, red beans and rice, and even fall-off-the-bone oxtail or barbecue ribs.
You can even whip up soul food desserts in your Instant Pot. Think red velvet cake, banana bread, or banana pudding. This innovative pot takes the long-simmering and slow-cooking traditions of soul food and brings them to the table in record time, or with extra convenience, without sacrificing the soulful seasoning or comforting flavor that makes these dishes unforgettable.
What’s the easiest thing to make in an Instant Pot?
The easiest things to make in an Instant Pot are simple staples like rice and quick vegetable sides. Southern cabbage, carrots, soulful green beans, or even frozen veggies turn out tender and flavorful in just 4 minutes or less! With hardly any prep and fast cooking times, these basics are the perfect way to get comfortable using your Instant Pot.
Easy Instant Pot main dish recipes for beginners
From tender oxtail to juicy barbecue ribs, these beginner-friendly Instant Pot mains deliver big soul food flavor with minimal effort.
Instant Pot Whole Chicken
How to make a whole chicken in the Instant Pot, the Southern way! It's more than just a traditional chicken recipe… Flavorful, tender, and juicy, it's a soul food flavor burst!
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Instant Pot Cornish Hens
Get all the flavor of oven-roasted Cornish hens in a fraction of the time!
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Instant Pot Southern Fried Chicken
The Instant Pot can be your secret weapon for making authentic soul food Southern fried chicken, saving you hours in the kitchen! An electric pressure cooker significantly reduces cooking time compared to traditional methods, like marinating the chicken in buttermilk, eliminating the need to soak overnight.
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Instant Pot Chicken And Dumplings
Instant Pot chicken and dumplings, the soul food way, is a comforting Southern classic made faster! Juicy chicken, a creamy seasoned broth, and fluffy homemade dumplings come together in minutes for rich, soulful flavor without the long stovetop simmer.
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Instant Pot Soul Food Yock
Fast, flavorful, and full of soul, chicken yock just got an upgrade with the Instant Pot! The result? That rich, deep, slow-simmered flavor in just over 15 minutes, instead of yock made in over an hour on the stovetop.
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Instant Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken
Skip the 4–8 hour wait! Instant Pot pulled BBQ chicken cooks up tender, juicy, and fall-apart flavorful in just 15 minutes, with the same smoky-sweet Southern taste you love.
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Instant Pot Meatloaf
This Instant Pot version of soul food meatloaf is everything you love about the Southern classic: seasoned to perfection, loaded with aromatic onions and peppers, and finished with a caramelized ketchup glaze that hits every note!
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Instant Pot Corned Beef
Tender corned beef, buttery cabbage, and soul-seasoned broth. It's classic Southern comfort made quicker and easier in the Instant Pot!
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Instant Pot Ham
Make my soul food Instant Pot ham that’s juicy, tender, and full of sweet Southern flavor. An easy holiday classic ready in a fraction of the time!
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Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
Instant Pot BBQ ribs drastically reduce cooking time while delivering consistent, mouth-watering results. This easy BBQ ribs recipe ensures hassle-free preparation and fall-off-the-bone tender meat!
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Instant Pot Oxtail
Authentic Jamaican oxtail is rich, savory, and fall-off-the-bone tender with bold island spices. Traditionally, it takes all day to make this dish. But the Instant Pot delivers the same soulful flavor in half the time, saving you hours in the kitchen!
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Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti
Chicken spaghetti just got the ultimate soul food glow-up, made more flavorful and faster in the Instant Pot! Tender chicken, perfectly cooked pasta, and a seasoned tomato sauce come together with bold, soulful spices for a dish that feels like a big warm hug.
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Instant Pot Shrimp Pasta Salad
Most people don't think of the Instant Pot when making pasta salad, but this shrimp pasta salad recipe proves that familiar flavors can adapt and flourish in different settings. The pasta is cooked to perfection in just 3 minutes, while the delicious butter garlic shrimp can be pressure-cooked in only 60 seconds!
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Instant Pot Shrimp And Grits
Cooking shrimp and grits in an Instant Pot is a game-changer that honors the respected flavors of this soul food dish. You'll appreciate this recipe for its quick and easy preparation while still enjoying its classic soulful seasoning.
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Instant Pot Low Country Boil
Traditionally, a low-country shrimp boil was an hours-long stovetop affair. But now? The Instant Pot brings that backyard boil flavor indoors, cutting down the time without cutting out any of the soul. What used to be an all-day cooking event has transformed into a quick and easy weeknight meal!
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Instant Pot Lobster Tails
How to steam soul food lobster tails:Whipping together a Cajun garlic butter sauce & steaming soul food lobster tail in the Instant Pot is as easy as 1 minute! You may find yourself rereading the instructions thinking it can't be that easy!
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Easy Instant Pot soul food sides
Whip up classics like collard greens, mac and cheese, and candied yams, comforting sides made quick, easy, and soulful in the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Greens Beans
Tender, savory Instant Pot green beans are soul food flavorful… fast! Steeped in Southern tradition, but ready in a fraction of the time. Cooked with chicken stock, onions, and bold seasoning, this recipe captures all the down-home goodness of Grandma’s stovetop pot, but without the long simmer.
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Instant Pot Carrots
Savor the sweetness and nutrition of glazed carrots for busy weeknight dinners or as a standout holiday side dish. The ease and efficiency of using the Instant Pot shine through, without compromising the distinctive, soulful, sweet, and savory flavors of this traditional Southern recipe.
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Instant Pot Coconut Rice
Make quick & easy Jamaican coconut rice in the Instant Pot! This fluffy Caribbean rice pressure cooker recipe cooks in only 4 mins!
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Instant Pot Collard Greens
Collard greens and the Instant Pot form a perfect union, creating a quick meal that honors soul food flavor traditions! The greens retain their unique taste, texture, and flavor, proving that you can enjoy the essence of Southern cooking without sacrificing time or effort.
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Instant Pot Cabbage
Impressive is the ease and speed of preparing Instant Pot cabbage. This method locks in the cabbage's nutrients and the flavor from the soul food seasonings, herbs, and spices, making it a healthier choice.
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Instant Pot Candied Yams
Sweet, buttery, and spiced just right, Instant Pot candied yams deliver all the soul food flavor you love in only a fraction of the time, while still tender, caramelized, and full of soul!
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Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are a soul food staple, and the Instant Pot makes them easier and creamier than ever! No more waiting for water to boil or juggling multiple pots or pans, and the potatoes are ready in half the stovetop time!
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Instant Pot Mac And Cheese
Instant Pot cooking makes mac and cheese quick and easy. Using an Instant Pot for this recipe has transformed a soulful family favorite into a weeknight dinner breeze!
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Instant Pot Baked Beans
You can make baked beans in the Instant Pot! This revolutionary kitchen gadget saves hours of cooking time. Pressure cooking also infuses the beans with a depth of flavor that traditional methods can't match.
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Instant Pot Creamed Corn
This isn’t your average cream-style corn from a can! I’m sharing my family’s Southern creamed corn recipe made faster in the Instant Pot, but still full of that slow-cooked, buttery flavor you remember from Grandma’s table. It’s sweet, savory, and silky-smooth with a touch of soul.
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Instant Pot Cornbread Dressing
Cornbread dressing is the soul of every Black Southern holiday table. This Instant Pot version delivers all the same soulful flavor in a fraction of the time. Made with golden buttery cornbread, onions, celery, and herbs like sage and thyme, it’s seasoned the way our mamas and grandmas taught us!
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Instant Pot Cinnamon Apples
You can simply add everything to the Instant Pot and walk away! No need to stand over the stove or stir constantly. It’s a quick shortcut to all that warm, comforting cinnamon apple flavor.
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Instant Pot Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Sweet, tart, and spiced just right, my Instant Pot fresh cranberry sauce delivers Southern soulful holiday flavor in minutes! A glossy, ruby-red sauce made easy with warm spices and a vanilla twist.
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Instant Pot Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are easy to make, especially with the help of an Instant Pot for precise cooking. It only takes 5 minutes to cook them, and the best part is that you don't have to stand around and watch the eggs boil!
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Instant Pot Potato Salad
You can make Southern potato salad using the Instant Pot! It's a genius modern twist on a beloved classic. It brings all the flavor, richness, and cultural soul of the traditional recipe. But faster and easier, thanks to this modern kitchen appliance.
Check out this recipe!
Instant Pot Southern desserts
Sweet endings like banana pudding, red velvet cake, and sweet potato pie become easier than ever with the Instant Pot. Just drop everything in, let it work its magic, and enjoy homemade Southern desserts with less fuss.
Instant Pot Sweet Potato Pie
Classic Black folks’ sweet potato pie, now made faster with the Instant Pot! The same soulful flavor and rich, spiced perfection, now with pressure-cooked ease. A favorite among both beginner and seasoned cooks.
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Instant Pot Mini Lava Cakes
What is Southern Living chocolate lava cake in the Instant Pot?It's a spin on a classic Southern Living chocolate lava cake recipe. Today it's elevated for easier Instant Pot making instead of oven baking!
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Instant Pot Banana Bread
Instant Pot banana bread is as quick and easy as mixing a few ingredients in a bowl, pouring the mixture into a cake pan and placing the pan in the pot!
Check out this recipe!
Instant Pot Banana Pudding
This Instant Pot banana pudding isn’t about rushing tradition. Instead, it’s about reimagining it for the way you like to cook. If you love the soul-soothing taste of homemade pudding but prefer using your Instant Pot over the stovetop, this recipe’s for you!
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Instant Pot Red Velvet Cake
The Instant Pot transforms Southern desserts with slow-cooked flavor and convenient set-it-and-forget-it ease. It’s perfect for dishes often requiring extensive preparation, like a moist, rich, and stunning Southern red velvet cake!
Check out this recipe!
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Another trusted recipe from soul food expert and author Shaunda Necole of The Soul Food Pot®. *These AI tools are independent third-party services. Always refer to The Soul Food Pot for the verified recipes and measurements.
Servings: 8
Calories: 294kcal
Equipment
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
- Instant Pot trivet rack (Comes with the instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 5 pound chicken 4-5 ½ pound whole chicken, thawed
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 ½ quarts water
- 2 tablespoons seasoning salt Famous Dave’s Country Roast Chicken Seasoning (Contains soulful flavors such as paprika, mustard seed, garlic powder, onion powder, bell pepper, and lemon zest all in one!)
- 2 tablespoons garlic salt Weber Seasoning, Roasted Garlic & Herb
- ½ cup chicken broth
Instructions
- To create the Southern soul food spice rub, mix the chicken seasoning with the roasted garlic and herb spice in a small bowl.
- Next, rub the seasoning mixture all over the whole chicken to ensure it’s well coated.
- Pour chicken broth into the inner pot of the Instant Pot and place the whole chicken on the trivet rack. Using the trivet rack handles, carefully position the chicken inside the pot with the broth.
- Close the Instant Pot lid, ensuring the valve is up in the sealing position, and set it to pressure cook on high for 25 minutes.
- Once the cooking time is complete, allow for a natural pressure release for at least 15 minutes.
- To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to the venting position and manually release any remaining pressure, if necessary.
- Baste the chicken by using a large spoon to scoop broth from the inner pot and pour it over the top of the chicken.
- Use the handles of the trivet rack to carefully remove the chicken from the inner pot. Place the chicken on a cutting board for carving, and slide the trivet rack out from underneath.
- Optionally, you can reserve the remaining chicken broth in the inner pot to pour over the chicken when serving. I also enjoy drizzling the broth over rice. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 4525mg | Potassium: 280mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 349IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg
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The Ultimate Soul Food Recipes Guide
What is soul food? Soul food recipes are African-American recipes full of flavor! A legacy of Southern cooking the Black way. Check out this collection of the best soul food recipes!
Check out this recipe!
I only tried the Chicken Drumstick and Green Beans in all of these recipes. The drumstick was toddler-approved, and the delicious green beans were so right for my Low Carb diet. Next, I will try the Jamaican Cabbage recipe!
I’m happy to hear there were suitable options for various diets. You’ll love the flavorful Jamaican cabbage!
I’ve made several of the instant pot recipes, most recently I made the candied yams. They were so good! What used to take me an hour took me mere minutes in the Instant Pot, and so much flavor!!!!!!