A Grateful Meal

Dinner

Instant Pot Swiss Steak

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This Instant Pot Swiss Steak is an old-school classic using a modern method, the Instant Pot. It’s chock full of veggies like tomato sauce and onions with tenderized steak.

Swiss steak is one of those old-school recipes. I remember my parents making it for an easy weeknight meal. Swiss steak doesn’t have origins in Switzerland – it is made from a tougher cut of meat, but is “swissed” or tenderized through pounding or rolling the steak. I didn’t bother with either of these techniques to tenderize the steak. Instead, I used my Instant Pot to help tenderize the steak with a high-pressure setting. After the steak is tenderized, it’s typically braised in a tomato and onion sauce. 

A plate of instant pot swiss steak with green beans and rice on a countertop.

Ingredients

Steak: You can use either bottom round, top round, or round steak. These steaks are typically quite lean, which is why they’re on the tougher side if you were to try to straight-up grill them. Instead, these types of steaks benefit the most from braising or tenderizing the steak, which is precisely what this recipe does.  

Flour: I used all-purpose, but you could use whatever type of flour you like. I dredged the steak through the flour for two reasons. One is that the four creates a dry surface for the steak that will sear better, locking in the juices. And two, because a light flour crust will help soak up more of the tomato sauce and provide more flavor. 

Onions and garlic: This duo is a classic base to just about anything, especially when it comes to a tomato sauce. 

Crushed canned tomatoes: My absolute favorite crushed canned tomatoes are San Marzano, but use what you like of course. 

Smoked paprika: Adding smoked paprika makes this dish next level. Of course, you can use sweet paprika, but the smoked variety gives a lot of extra flavor. 

Worcestershire sauce: This sauce gives a nice meaty, umami flavor to the tomato sauce. 

Sage: Fresh is always best, but you can use dried. If you use dried, you’ll need to decrease the amount from 1 tbsp. to 1 tsp.  

How to Make Instant Pot Swiss Steak 

This method uses two Instant Pot functions – the sauté function and the manual pressure function. After the steak has been seasoned and dredged in flour, you’ll sear it in the Instant Pot with oil. If your Instant Pot is small, you may have to work in batches. After the steak is seared, you’ll sauté the onions and garlic in the oil until soft and fragrant. 

Then you’ll add the rest of the ingredients and add the steak back to the Instant Pot. Using the high-pressure setting and cooking for about 12-15 minutes will tenderize the steak and marry all of the flavors together in the tomato sauce, making the perfect Instant Pot Swiss Steak. 

A plate of instant pot swiss steak with green beans and rice.

How to Serve Instant Pot Swiss Steak

Swiss steak is great paired with all sorts of side dishes. Here are few that go well:

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Instant Pot Swiss Steak

A plate of instant pot swiss steak with green beans and rice on a countertop.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Instant Pot, Dinner, Steak
  • Method: Instant Pot, Pressure cooker
  • Cuisine: American
Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs of bottom round, top round, or round steak, cut into 4 equal pieces, trimmed of excess fat
  • 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 tbsp. oil, divided
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups of crushed canned tomatoes
  • 1 ½ tsp. smoked paprika
  • 1 ½ tbsp. Worcestershire sauce  
  • 1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped finely

Instructions

  1. Season flour with salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge steak through the flour. Heat 1 tbsp. of oil in the pot of the Instant Pot using the sauté function and sear the steak just until it’s browned on each side (it does not have to be cooked through at this point). Put the steak on a separate plate and set aside.
  2. Add an additional 1 tbsp. oil to Instant Pot. Sauté onion for 4-5 minutes, then add garlic, tomatoes, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and sage. Turn off the sauté function.
  3. Change function to manual on high pressure. Add steak back to the pot and cook on high pressure for 12-15 minutes (depending on thickness, use 15 minutes for thicker steaks). Use the quick-release valve to allow to depressurize. Serve with your favorite sides.

Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Honey-Lime Slaw

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These Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Tacos are everything you want and more. Warm, crunchy, sweet, and a little sour – they’re the perfect way to be transported to a tropical paradise. 

I think I might be a tacotarian. I could celebrate Taco Tuesday just about any day of the week. Tacos are the perfect vehicle for pretty much any food. I have to say these crispy, sweet coconut shrimp topped with crunchy, tangy honey-lime slaw is an ideal combination.

Three air fryer coconut shrimp tacos with a bowl of slaw in the background.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Tacos

  • Purple Cabbage: I really like using purple cabbage for this slaw for a nice bright pop of color on my plate, but regular cabbage works well in this recipe too!
  • Pineapple: A little chopped pineapple adds a sweet tropical flavor to the slaw.
  • Cilantro: Fresh is always best when it comes to cilantro. You can always add a little more at the end for garnish.
  • Lime juice: I squeeze mine fresh. I like to take a few extra wedges if I have any extra limes on hand and squeeze on top of my tacos when it’s all finished.
  • Apple cider vinegar: Like lime juice, it adds a nice sour flavor that will be balanced out by the sweetness in this recipe.
  • Honey: Honey is the sweetness that will balance out the sour in the slaw. If you don’t have any honey on hand, you can use agave nectar or even plain old sugar.
  • Shrimp: I like to get the large EZ peel shrimp since they’re already deveined and a breeze to peel.
  • Flour: I used all-purpose flour in this recipe because that’s what I had on hand. You can certainly use whatever flour you have on hand. Coconut flour would work great and help pump up the coconut flavor!
  • Eggs: Eggs help the breading stick to the shrimp.
  • Panko breadcrumbs: Panko has a larger crumb size than regular breadcrumbs, which gives the shrimp more of a crunch. I like to combine panko with the coconut to make the shrimp extra crunchy.
  • Coconut flakes: You can use the sweet or unsweetened, whichever you prefer. I used the unsweetened because the sweet Thai chili sauce had enough sweetness for me.
  • Cooking spray or melted coconut oil: If you can find spray coconut oil in the grocery store, even better! We use this to help crisp up the shrimp in the air fryer. 
  • Sweet Thai chili sauce: This stuff is one of my absolute favorite condiments. I could put it on everything.
  • Six-inch tortillas: You can use corn or flour, whichever you prefer.
  • Sriracha (optional): Not really optional for me as I love heat, but you do you.
Close up of air fryer coconut shrimp tacos.

How to Make Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Tacos

I like to start by making the slaw. It allows all of the flavors to marinate while you make the shrimp. You’ll need to coat your shrimp with the flour, eggs, and panko/coconut mixture. The breading process can be a little messy, so I try to bread the shrimp only using one hand so I can keep my hand clean. 

After you coat your shrimp, you either brush on your coconut oil or use the cooking spray and then air fry away! Once the shrimp are done, you toss them in the sweet Thai chili sauce and layer with the slaw in the tacos. If you’re using sriracha, you can drizzle a little on top at the end.

Air Fryer vs. Oven Method

If you don’t have an air fryer (I highly recommend you get one!), you can make these Coconut Shrimp Tacos in the oven. You would simply need to preheat your oven to 400 degrees. You would bake the breaded shrimp on a sheet pan for 5 minutes, flip the shrimp, then bake for an additional 5 minutes. Air frying will get you crispier shrimp, but the oven method works too.  

What to Serve with Tacos

Air fryer coconut shrimp tacos on a white background.
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Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Tacos with Honey-Lime Slaw

Overview of air fryer coconut shrimp tacos with honey-lime slaw on a white background.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Tacos
  • Method: Air Fryer
  • Cuisine: Latin
Scale

Ingredients

  • 3 cups shredded purple cabbage
  • 1 ½ cups pineapple, chopped
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tbsp. honey
  • 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups of panko
  • 1 cup coconut flakes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Cooking spray or melted coconut oil for brushing
  • 1/3 cup sweet Thai chili sauce
  • 12 six-inch tortilla (corn or flour)
  • Sriracha, to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat air fryer to 360 F.
  2. Place cabbage, pineapple, and cilantro in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together lime juice, apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, and honey. Pour vinegar mixture over slaw and toss. Set aside.
  3. Place flour, eggs, and panko in 3 separate bowls. Add coconut flakes to the bowl with panko. Season the coconut flake/panko bowl with salt and pepper to taste. 
  4. Working in batches, dip shrimp in the flour, then the egg, then the panko/coconut, coating the shrimp all over. Place shrimp in the air fryer basket, evenly spaced apart.
  5. Spray shrimp with cooking spray or brush with coconut oil. Cook in the air fryer for 3 minutes, flip shrimp, brush/spray with more oil, then cook for an additional 2 minutes or until shrimp are opaque when pierced with a knife.
  6. Toss shrimp with sweet Thai sauce. Assemble tacos by layering warm tortilla shell with slaw, then coated shrimp. Drizzle on sriracha, if using.

Keywords: Air fryer, tacos, slaw

How to Make Instant Pot Basmati Rice

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This post contains links that pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you.

This blog post covers how to make Instant Pot Basmati Rice. It doesn’t matter whether you prefer brown or white rice, this recipe works for both!

Truth is, as much as I love to cook and feel that I’m a pretty decent cook, I am terrible at making rice – or at least I used to be. I especially struggled with brown rice – it just never turned out right until I started using my Instant Pot. I think one of the reasons I used to be bad at making rice is that I used to peek and lift the lid of the pot, which you are never supposed to do. What can I say? I’m impatient. 

One of the first things that I made in my Instant Pot, when I got it years ago, was rice. I was initially skeptical about having an Instant Pot in the first place, but how easy and foolproof rice was to make in the Instant Pot sold me. (Don’t worry, I have since discovered the many more benefits of owning an Instant Pot.) I love that I can set it and forget it. Whole grain rice doesn’t take forever as it does on the stove thanks to the pressurization. Plus, there is the fact that I can’t mess it up by “peeking” on the rice. 

So, I thought I’d put together a tutorial on making one of my favorite rice varieties, basmati. It’s fragrant, nutty, and goes perfectly with my Vegan Tikka Masala with Chickpeas. 

Brown and white instant pot basmati rice on a white background.

What you’ll need:

  • Basmati rice: You can use white or brown basmati rice. Did you know that white rice is just merely the inner carbohydrate part of brown rice? Brown rice has retained its outer layer and thus has B-vitamins and more fiber than it’s white counterpart. There is nothing wrong with preferring one or the other. Both are a good source of carbohydrates and energy. One just happens to retain extra vitamins and fiber.  
  • Liquid: Clearly, you could just water for the liquid portion of cooking the rice, but if you want to add more flavor switching to a broth or stock like chicken, beef, or vegetable will add more flavor to otherwise bland food. Basmati rice does have some fragrance to it and more flavorful than you’re typical rice. 
  • Seasonings: You could certainly spice up the rice any way you’d like, but adding at least a pinch of salt adds some flavor. 
  • Oil: Adds some flavor and a more creamy mouthfeel to the rice. Olive oil or butter are my usual choices. 

How to Make Instant Pot Basmati Rice

When it comes to the Instant Pot, the high-pressure setting is your friend. It gets the job done SO much faster! It might seem a little scary, but the Instant Pot makes it perfectly safe compared to the old pressure cookers of yesteryear. Simply dump all of your ingredients in the Instant Pot, make sure the pressure release knob is sealed, and that’s it. Because brown rice retains more fiber, it takes longer to cook, even with the high-pressure setting. Here is a breakdown of the cooking settings that I use: 

  • Brown rice: use the manual setting on high pressure to cook for 25 minutes. The rice button on the Instant Pot is typically used for white rice. 
Bowl of brown instant pot basmati rice with a cilantro garnish.
  • White rice: use the manual setting on high pressure for 12 minutes, or use the default rice setting (on my model it’s 12 minutes on high pressure). 
Bowl of white instant pot basmati rice with a cilantro garnish.

Also, you can use the quick release on this Instant Pot Basmati Rice if you’re in a hurry, but the texture will be best if you let it naturally release for at least 10-15 minutes. 

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Instant Pot Basmati Rice

Brown and white instant pot basmati rice on a white background with an instant pot next to it.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes for brown rice; 12 minutes for white rice
  • Total Time: 17-30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: side dish
  • Method: Instant Pot
Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of basmati rice (brown or white)
  • 3 ½ cups of liquid (water or broth)
  • ½ tsp. salt (plus other seasonings, if desired)
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil or butter

Instructions

  1. Put all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot. Cover with lid and seal the pressure release knob.
  2. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes for brown rice and high pressure for 12 minutes for white rice.
  3. Allow the pressure to release naturally (ideally 10-15 minutes) before serving.

Keywords: side dish, instant pot

Vegan Tikka Masala with Chickpeas

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This Vegan Tikka Masala has the right hint of spice in a creamy tomato sauce and chock full of protein and nutrients. Plus, you can get it on the dinner table in about 30 minutes – what’s not to love?

This tikka masala has all the flavors you could want in a satisfying meal. It’s got spice, sweetness, tang, and creaminess all wrapped up in one meal. Plus, it’s so filling thanks to being chock full of fiber and protein. Leftovers get even better by allowing the flavors to marry together longer. 

You can get the meal together in just about 30 minutes, and 20-25 of those minutes are hands-off. So really getting to eat this meal from about 5-10 minutes of work is like being on top of the world. 

Vegan tikka masala on a plate next to a pot of vegan tikka masala with chickpeas.

Ingredients

For this recipe, you’ll need:

  • Light-colored oil: I use a light tasting olive oil, but you could use avocado oil to sauté the vegetables. 
  • Onions and garlic: These are the foundation flavors of so many recipes, and this recipe is no different. 
  • Ginger: Ginger gives the dish a nice sweet spice flavor to it. I prefer fresh, but you could use ground ginger. If you use ground ginger, decrease the amount to 1 tsp. instead of 1 tbsp. 
  • Tomato Paste: Tomato paste is known for giving a rich umami flavor, especially when you sauté it a little before adding the rest of the ingredients. 
  • Garam masala: Garam masala is an Indian spice blend that actually is different from region-to-region in India. Mine contained coriander, black pepper, cumin, cardamom, and cinnamon. I used the McCormick brand. 
  • Cumin: Cumin adds a robustly smoky flavor to the tikka masala.
  • Turmeric: This yellow, anti-inflammatory spice adds a bittersweet taste to the dish. 
  • Tomato sauce: I used a large can of the sauce, but if you want a little more texture, you could use diced tomatoes with their juices. 
  • Coconut milk: Coconut milk is responsible for the creamy texture and naturally adds a bit of sweetness.
  • Chickpeas: Chickpeas are chock full of fiber and protein, which makes this dish so filling and satisfying.
  • Cilantro: The cilantro adds a burst of freshness.
  • Cooked basmati rice: You can use either white or brown, whichever your preference. Brown will add a little extra fiber compared to the white. 

How to Make Vegan Tikka Masala

Like I mentioned above, the work of this recipe is contained in a brief 5 minutes. The rest is to set it and forget it. For the actual “work” part, you’ll need to saute the onion for a few minutes and then add the ginger, tomato paste, and the spices. You’ll let that saute for just minute or two. The spices should be really fragrant, and the tomato paste will have changed to a darker color. 

You’ll add in the canned ingredients next: the tomato sauce, coconut milk, and chickpeas. You’ll let it all simmer for about 25 minutes. Serve it over a big pile of rice and fresh cilantro on top. Done and done. 

Vegan tikka masala with rice on a white background with a blue and white towel.

How to Serve 

I consider myself an omnivore – meaning I eat just about everything. I do enjoy going meatless at least 1-2 times per week. This meal makes a great addition to a Meatless Monday and for meal prep for the week. Like I mentioned above, I feel this Vegan Tikka Masala gets better for leftovers. If you wanted to bulk up the recipe with more nutrients and fiber, you could easily add in some broccoli, cauliflower, or peppers to go along with the rice. 

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Vegan Tikka Masala with Chickpeas

Vegan tikka masala with rice on a white background.
  • Author: Melissa
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
  • Category: Indian
  • Cuisine: Indian
Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. light-colored oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger
  • 3 tbsp. tomato paste
  • 2 tsp. garam masala
  • 1 ½ tsp. cumin
  • 1 ½ tsp. ground turmeric
  • 1 (28-ounce) can tomato sauce
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 2 cans (15.5 oz. each) of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
  • Cooked basmati rice, for serving

Instructions

  1. Cook basmati rice according to package directions. 
  2. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for about 4-5 minutes. Add in garlic, ginger, tomato paste, garam masala, cumin, and turmeric and sauté for additional 1-2 minutes. 
  3. Add in tomato sauce, coconut milk, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, and simmer for 25-30 minutes. 
  4. Serve with cilantro on top and with steamed basmati rice. 

Keywords: Indian, tikka masala