10 Easy French recipes for the Instant Pot

France is renowned for its gastronomy. But connaisseurs of French cuisine also know that a lot of classic recipes take an awfully long time to make. No one has time to cook a beef bourguignon or coq au vin for 3 hours nowadays.

With busy schedules of work, family, and friends, nobody wants to cook like, even on a weekend. And that is where the Instant Pot comes in. Allons-y!

Beef bourguignon

The traditional French beef stew made simple. Beef Bourguignon from Burgundy is the perfect easy dinner recipe to make quickly in the Instant Pot.

The dish involves cooking beef for long hours with a dose of veggies and spices, a recipe that is perfect for the Instant pot. Classic and delicious, you can get the recipe for boeuf bourguignon here.

Side dish: Tagliatelle pasta, mashed potatoes, rice or baguette.

Wine: Vin de Bourgogne (Red)

Cassoulet

A French classic comes to the Instant Pot, with this easy cassoulet recipe that is quick and delicious.

A hearty weeknight dinner with duck confit, sausages, and white beans, this dish from Occitanie is much beloved. You can get the recipe for cassoulet here.

Side dish: Salad and a baguette

Wine: Reds such as Cahors or Bergerac; White wine such as a Limoux or a Gaillac.

Coq au vin

Legend has it that the Coq au Vin dates back to the time Julius Caesar and the Romans had invaded France.

An old chicken that is slow-cooked in a chicken stew with wine sauce to tenderize it and bring out the flavors. You can get the recipe for Coq au vin here.

Side Dish: Tagliatelle pasta, mashed potatoes, rice or baguette.

Wine: Dry Côtes du Rhone, or a light Bourgogne.

Chicken provençale

The Chicken Provencal is traditional recipe from Provence, in the South of France.

With its distinctive with its use of local ingredients of herbs, tomatoes, and olives, this French chicken stew will remind you of summer. You can get the recipe for Chicken Provencal here.

Side Dish: Tagliatelle pasta, mashed potatoes, rice or baguette.

Wine: Regional wines like Côtes du Rhône or Côte de Provence.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a vegetable stew from Nice, Provence in the South of France. It usually features an assortment of local vegetables, such as eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes.

Paired with: Ratatouille is usually served with baguette or steamed rice as a main dish. But you can also serve it as a side dish with some lamb chops, roasted chicken or chipolata sausages. You can get the recipe for ratatouille here.

Wine: Côtes de Provence or Vin de Corse 

Chicken blanquette

A creamy chicken recipe in Instant Pot known as the blanquette de poulet, a French cuisine favorite.

An easy meal to prepare, this dinner idea is one to love. You can get the recipe for chicken blanquette here.

Side Dish: Tagliatelle pasta, wild rice or mashed potatoes.

Wine: Dry Muscadet from the Loire or a light white Bourgogne.

Rogail saucisse

Rogail saucisse is an easy recipe, perfect for the Instant pot. The dish is prepared “à la créole” with plenty of sausages, spices and tomatoes. Just throw everything into the Instant pot, and you are set.

The recipe comes from the La Réunion, which is an overseas French department in Indian Ocean. Also known as the Sausage Rogail, this French main dish is one that the whole family will love. You can get the recipe for rogail saucisse here.

Side Dish: Rice, beans, or potatoes.

Wine: Côtes de Provence or Beaujolais Nouveau

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is a traditional stew originating from the port city of Marseille. It was originally a stew made by fishermen, using the bony rockfish from the bottom of their fishing nets, which they were unable to sell to restaurants or fish markets.

These days this delicate fish stew is considered haute cuisine. Adapted for the instant pot, we use whitefish and shell fish to remake this recipe for modern times. You can get the recipe for Bouillabaisse here.

Side Dish: Country bread or baguette

Wine: Côtes de Provence rosé 

Carbonade flamande

In the North of France and Belgium, the classic dish for centuries has been the Carbonade Flamande. Similar to the Boeuf Bourguignon, it is called Stoofvlees in the Flemish language, and is also sometimes referred to as a Flemish stew.

Traditionally slow-cooked for hours into a rich and hearty meal, it is made with beef, onions, leek and dark beer instead of wine. You can get the recipe for carbonade flamande here.

Side dish: Tagliatelle pasta, mashed potatoes, rice or baguette.

Wine: Vin de Bourgogne (Red) or Beaujolais with lower tannins so as not to compete with the stew.

Pot au feu

Pot au feu is a traditional French dish including meat, vegetables and herbs all cooked together in a nourishing stew. The name “pot au feu” in French means “pot on fire”, and as you can imagine, the recipe dates back centuries.

In the Middle ages, it was an open flame in a large fireplace kitchen, slow-cooking meat and vegetables on a boil until it became a hearty ragoût. These days, we don’t need an open flame since there is the Instant pot. You can get the recipe for the classic beef pot au feu here, as well as a chicken version.

Side dish: Pilaf rice, tagliatelle pasta, mashed potatoes, or baguette.

Wine: Vin de Bourgogne (Red) or Beaujolais or white Chardonnay from Languedoc-Roussillon