Instant Pot and Slow Cooker Copycat Recipes

Looking for the best Instant Pot and Slow Cooker Copycat Recipes on the web? I’ve got 23 copycat recipes that you can make at home in your own kitchen.

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Do you love eating out but don’t love what it does to your budget? You can eat well at home! And it doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. These copycat recipes can be made in your Instant Pot or slow cooker and taste pretty close to the real thing.

Cafe Rio Instant Pot Recipes

Café Rio Chicken–this shredded chicken is perfect to serve with your Mexican dinners on salads, in burritos, in enchiladas or over rice.

Instant Pot Cafe Rio Chicken

Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Chicken

Cafe Rio Cilantro Lime Rice–this quickly cooked seasoned rice made in you pressure cooker is just like Cafe Rio’s and it makes the perfect addition to any Mexican dish for dinner.

Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice

Creamy Tomatillo Ranch Dressing–This Cafe Rio-style dressing is so addictive and tastes awesome for up to a week!

Creamy Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

Smothered Green Sauce Enchiladas–homemade Cafe Rio style mild tomatillo sauce is simmered in your electric pressure cooker along with chicken breasts to create the base of your enchiladas.

Smothered Enchiladas

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork—make your favorite restaurant’s sweet pork at home with just a handful of ingredients. This pulled pork is perfect over salad, rice, tacos, burritos, quesadillas or on a toasted bun.

Instant Pot Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Cafe Rio Black Beans–These black beans will be a hit at your next Mexican dinner.

Instant Pot Cafe Rio Black Beans

Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Black Beans

Olive Garden Instant Pot Recipes

Zuppa Toscana–It tastes better than the restaurant and is really fast and easy to make.

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana

Pasta E fa*gioli Soup–your favorite soup from Olive Garden made quickly at home in your pressure cooker or slow cooker. White and red beans, ground beef, tomatoes and pasta in a savory broth.

Instant Pot Pasta E fa*gioli Soup

Slow Cooker Pasta E fa*gioli Soup

Chicken Gnocchi Soup–A cream based soup with tender, moist bites of chicken, bacon crumbles, bright green leafy kale and dumpling-like gnocchi. This soup is a 10 out of 10 at my house.

Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup

More Copycat Recipes…

Instant Pot Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley Soup—A hearty split pea soup with barley, carrots, onions, savory herbs and green onions. This is a copycat recipe of the popular vegan soup sold at California Pizza Kitchen.

Instant Pot Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley Soup

Slow Cooker Dakota Smashed Pea and Barley Soup

Instant Pot Skyline Chili Cheese Coneys–a hot dog in a steamed bun with mustard, covered with copy cat Skyline chili, diced onions and a mound of shredded cheddar cheese.

Instant Pot Skyline Chili Cheese Coneys

Instant Pot Runzas—a Nebraska favorite, Runzas are a cross between a hot pocket and a burger. Ground beef, onions and cabbage are wrapped in a yeast dough and baked, resulting in a savory pastry.

Instant Pot Runzas

Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwich from the Brown Hotel in Louisville is an open faced turkey sandwich on Texas toast drizzled with a Romano cheese sauce and topped with crispy bacon. Your Instant Pot cooks a frozen turkey breast in an expedited manner to use for this addicting sandwich.

Instant Pot Hot Brown

Homemade Rice-A-Roni–Do you love “the San Francisco treat” but want to make it from scratch? Make this super easy version of Rice-A-Roni in your slow cooker or pressure cooker!

Instant Pot Rice-A-Roni

Slow Cooker Rice-A-Roni

Homemade Hamburger Helper–with just a little more effort than making a boxed meal you can have a homemade creamy tomato basil beef pasta meal. And with the help of your Instant Pot it takes just a few minutes.

Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper

Panera Bread’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup–reminiscent of Panera Bread’s broccoli cheddar soup this pressure cooker or slow cooker version has chopped broccoli, shredded carrots and celery simmered in a velvety smooth cheese sauce. I believe this version is just as good or better than you could order at any restaurant! Try it for dinner this week.

Instant Pot Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Instant Pot Maid-Rite Sandwiches from Maid Rite restaurants in Iowa are seasoned, simmered flavorful loose ground beef sandwiches served with mustard and a pickle.

Instant Pot Maid Rites

Zupa’s Cafe Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup–A creamy, cheesy, crockpot cauliflower soup that is similar to the version served at Cafe Zupas.
This soup is best when served with crumbled bacon on top!

Slow Cooker Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps–Ground chicken, mushrooms, green onion, water chestnuts and crispy rice sticks all rolled up into crisp leaves of lettuce.

Slow Cooker Lettuce Wraps

Starbucks Instant Pot Egg Bites—crust-less quiche-like bites of eggs, cheese and whatever mix-ins you want. They’re protein packed and a perfect portable breakfast.

Instant Pot Egg Bites

Panda Express Instant Pot Fried Rice–easy recipe for fried rice made quickly in your Instant Pot. Just like what you’d order at Panda Express!

Instant Pot Fried Rice

Panda Express Orange Chicken–tender bites of chicken in a flavorful orange sauce.

Instant Pot Orange Chicken

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Instant Pot Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich—thinly sliced seasoned roast beef piled onto a bun with flavorful juices and some pickled vegetables. An amazing sandwich with tons of flavor!

Instant Pot Chicago Italian Beef

And here are some copycat recipes from other bloggers that you may like…

Instant Pot Copycat Taco Bell Beef from The Salty Pot

Instant Pot Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumplings from A Little Moore

Instant Pot Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Beef from 12 Tomatoes

Instant Pot Artichoke and Spinach Dip Applebees Copycat from Adventures of a Nurse

Slow Cooker Copycat Chili’s Queso Dip from The Food Charlatan

Slow Cooker Wendy’s Chili from Runs for Cookies

What’s missing? Tell me! Is there a dish from a restaurant that you’d love to make at home? Maybe I could create it in my slow cooker or Instant Pot. Good fits are soups, braised dishes, some desserts, pasta dishes, etc.

Instant Pot and Slow Cooker Copycat Recipes - 365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking (2024)

FAQs

Can an Instant Pot slow cook like a Crockpot? ›

Touted as the do-it-all appliance for good reason, an Instant Pot is a multi-function pressure cooker that easily doubles as a slow cooker. The difference between pressure cooking and slow cooking is substantial, so we love that one appliance can do both, along with a slew of other cooking methods.

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What is the equivalent of 4 hours in the slow cooker in the Instant Pot? ›

Generally, if your slow cooker meat, soup, or stew recipe calls for 8 hours on the low setting or about 4 hours on the high setting, it should be fully cooked in about 25 to 30 minutes in the Instant Pot. For chicken or turkey, use the 15-minute poultry button. While volume doesn't matter, density does.

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Is slow cooking better than pressure cooking? ›

Slow cookers are much better for cooking root vegetables and tough cuts of meat because the long, low-temperature cooking process is great for adding moisture and breaking down fat. Pressure cookers can get hot enough for meats and vegetables to brown in them when cooking, but slow cookers can't.

Can I pressure cook something that has been slow cooking? ›

Modify the Cooking Time

Check your electric pressure cooker manual for cook times of different food items. Trial and error indicates that if a meat-based dish can be cooked in 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high in a slow cooker, it can be cooked in an electric pressure cooker in about 25-30 minutes.

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What temperature is low on a slow cooker? ›

Most slow cookers have two slow cooker temperature settings. The 'Low' cook setting reaches temperatures between 164-182°F (reaching a peak of around 205°F after 4 hours). Wondering what temperature is 'High' on a Crockpot slow cooker? The 'High' cook setting tops off at around 205°F after cooking for 4 hours.

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Can you Slow Cook frozen chicken? ›

Information. It is best to thaw meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker. Frozen pieces will take longer to reach a safe internal temperature and could possibly result in foodborne illness. Frozen or partially frozen foods can also cool everything else in the slow cooker.

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How do I convert a slow cooker time from low to high? ›

According to the Crock-Pot website, Crock-Pot low temp to high conversion times are: Twelve hours on low equals eight hours on high. Ten hours on low equals six hours on high.

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What is the Instant Pots equivalent cooking time? ›

3. Try this Instant Pot cheat sheet.

Stovetop	Pressure Cooker	Slow Cooker (on High Heat)
1 hour or more	30 to 45 minutes	4 to 6 hours
30 to 45 minutes	10 to 15 minutes	2 to 3 hours
20 to 30 minutes	5 to 10 minutes	2 hours
15 minutes or under	0 minutes	NA

Jun 16, 2023

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What oven temperature is equivalent to a slow cooker? ›

Conversion to Oven

The low setting of a slow cooker ranges from 190°F to 200°F. To mimic this in an oven, set your temperature to approximately 325°F. The high setting of a slow cooker ranges from 290°F to 300°F; in oven terms, this is roughly equivalent to 375°F.

What are the disadvantages of a slow cooker? ›

Food texture changes: Canned foods, such as vegetables, can become too mushy in a slow cooker. It's better to use them fresh or frozen. But, frozen veggies tend to make the texture of the dish more “watery”. Defrosting and draining the extra liquid before cooking can help minimize this.

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Which makes meat more tender, slow cooker or pressure cooker? ›

Traditionally cheaper cuts of meat always slow cook better. Slow cooking breaks down the connective collagen in meat, which turns into unctuous gelatine. This creates that soft and tender mouth feel we all crave.

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What are the disadvantages of pressure cooking? ›

Because pressure cooking is an enclosed form of cooking, there is no contact with air. Therefore, some nutritionists argue that the ingredients may remain uncooked from within which can hamper your digestion on being consumed. Almost all cooking methods, including pressure cooking, have their own pros and cons.

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What can you not cook in a pressure cooker? ›

Foods containing dairy, like milk, cream, or yogurt, should not be pressure-cooked. The high heat and pressure can cause dairy products to curdle or separate, ruining the texture, taste and flavour of the dish. Cooking fried foods is a strict no no, when it comes to pressure cookers.

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Can you use an instapot as a Crockpot? ›

If you're adjusting a slow cooker recipe to prepare in an Instant Pot as a slow cooker, and the slow cooker recipe calls for cooking on Low, set the Instant Pot to Slow Cook Normal and cook for the same amount of time suggested in the original recipe.

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Can you cook something too long in a pressure cooker? ›

Steam penetrates food easily under pressure. So connective tissues in cubes of beef for soups or stews soften in 15 minutes or less, and a pot roast will be medium-rare in 30 minutes. Be sure to follow instructions carefully; at this speed, it's easy to overcook things in mere minutes.

How to slow cook without a slow cooker? ›

Another option for slow cooking without a slow cooker is to utilise your oven. Choose an oven-safe dish with a lid or tightly cover a regular baking dish with foil. This method is excellent for roasts, casseroles, and baked dishes.

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Is there a difference between a slow cooker and a Crockpot? ›

A slow cooker and a Crockpot are the same thing, essentially. A slow cooker is an appliance of which there are lots of brands. Crockpot is one brand of slow cooker. Crockpot popularized slow cookers when they launched their version in the 1970s.

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What are the settings on a Crockpot slow cooker? ›

On all CrockPot units you have usually three temperature settings. I for Low, II for High and the last symbol (it may be in the form of "squiggly lines" that look like elongated SS) is the Warm setting. On the Warm setting, your slow cooker will achieve 165-175°F.

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Instant Pot and Slow Cooker Copycat Recipes - 365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking (2024)