Straight To The Point
The best Instant Pot is the Instant Pot Pro. It performs well and has nice features like a steam release switch and handles on its cooking pot. Our budget-friendly pick is the Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1.
Instant Pot has become synonymous with a type of electric appliance more correctly known as a “multi-cooker” . Similar to how Xerox has become the de facto term for copy machines, Instant Pot has become the most well-known electric multi-cooker, even though plenty of other companies make electric multi-cookers, too. While we don’t think Instant Pots should be considered in a vacuum , the fact of the matter is there are so many Instant Pot models that we think it’s worthwhile to sort through them. This review, then, is our look at everything Instant Pot offers to help you weigh those options, but it’s only part of the larger question of what kind of pressure or multi-cooker you should buy, which we answer in a separate review.
Instant Pot Duo Gourmet
Exclusively available at Costco since its introduction in 2020, the Instant Pot Duo Gourmet is very similar to the Instant Pot Duo Plus. The Duo Gourmet has a slightly different control panel that includes a sous vide button and comes with more accessories . Oh, and theres that sweet Costco member pricing too. Unlike the Duo Plus which is available in three sizes, the Duo Gourmet is only available in the 6-quart size.
Built-in smart programs: 15Functions: Pressure-cooking, slow-cooking, steaming, sautéing, rice-cooking, yogurt-making, sous videcooking, food-warming, sterilizingSizes available: 6-quart Instant Pot
Why You Should Trust Us
Serious Eats has long promoted the benefits of stovetop and electric multi-cookers, but we are not Instant Pot evangelists. I personally have now been living with these five machines for over a monththey have taken up residence in my life, and we are currently in an intimate and complicated relationship, sprawling across every inch of my kitchen counter.
I am a seasoned cook and pretty darn familiar with following a recipe. I went to both culinary and pastry school and developed and tested recipes at Americas Test Kitchen for five years . I’m able to use my trained culinary background to recognize good outcomes and know what matters in the kitchen, and my Instant Pot agnosticism makes it easy to assess the usability of these machines.
Recommended Reading: How Long To Cook Turkey Breast In Instant Pot
Instant Pot Duo Crisp 65
Pressure cook, air fry, slow cook, bake and more using one do-it-all ultimate lid!
No more switching lids! The Instant Pot® Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid combines the best of smart pressure cooking with air frying, using a single lid for all cooking! This Duo Crisp is simple to use, with a large LCD display that includes status messages to guide you through cooking programs. The advanced steam release is simple, with a release button on the control panel and status messages letting you know when to open and close the lid. And its whisper quiet, with an advanced steam release design for a simpler venting experience. With 13 different cooking functions, you can pressure cook for fast, healthy meals or slow cook for deep flavor, and then air fry for the perfect crisp. The dishwasher-safe cooking pot makes cleanup simple.
The Best Pressure Cookers In 2022
If old tales of exploding pots have kept you from jumping on the pressure cooker bandwagon, its time to reconsider. These days, the best pressure cookers are not only versatile and easy to use, but theyre brimming with safety features and theyre capable of making great meals faster and easier than ever.
Perfect for busy families or feeding guests without having to spend the whole night in the kitchen, pressure cookers are great for whipping up stews, soups and tough meat cuts as well as whole chickens, rice, beans and more. To determine which popular and highly rated models are best, we put 15 electric and stovetop cookers to the test, using each to make a no-stir risotto, unsoaked beans and a simple beef stew. Heres what we found.
It cooks rice and slow cooks. It can make yogurt and cook sous vide. With 10 preset functions and app control, the Instant Pot Pro Plus promises to be the holy grail of small kitchen appliances, and delivers on a lot of its promise. First and foremost, though, its a great electric pressure cooker, with a simple interface, solid build and useful pressure-release functions that let us easily get great results on all of our test recipes.
The Pro Plus upgrade performed better on all three recipes, and has the added benefit of a more streamlined interface, auto steam release and progress indicator. But if youre just testing out the pressure cooker waters, this is a great option for wading in.
Read Also: How Long To Cook Frozen Pork In Instant Pot
The Critiera: What We Look For In An Instant Pot
The most useful function of an Instant Pot is its ability to pressure cook, so you want to get a model that quickly comes to pressure. Since many pressure cooker recipes start with a searing or sautéing step, it can help to have an Instant Pot with inner pot stability, so the pot doesnt spin while youre cooking. You want to know whats going on inside your machine while youre cooking, so an easy-to-read progress bar is super helpful. Some additional functions, like being able to use your Instant Pot for not-very-precise sous vide cooking, are sometimes welcome, but others, like the cake-baking function included in some models, we don’t find particularly attractive. However, if the Instant Pot model advertises it can do those functions, it should do them passably well.
Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer
This standout 11-in-1 pressure cooker was the first Instant Pot model to offer an air-frying function by way of a second air fryer lid. When youre done frying, you can simply switch back to the standard lid for pressure cooking, steaming, sautéing, and more. Like all Instant Pot models, this one comes with advanced safety features and access to a digital library of more than 1,000 Instant Pot recipes. The Instant Pot Duo Crisp even lets you broil, and until the Instant Pot Pro Crisp + Air Fryer came along, this model was the Ninja Foodis fiercest competitor.
Built-in smart programs: 11Functions: Pressure-cooking, slow-cooking, air-frying, steaming, sautéing, food-warming, sous videcooking, roasting, baking, broiling, dehydratingSizes available: 6- and 8-quart Instant Pots
Don’t Miss: Instant Pot Replacement Pot 6 Quart
How We Test Instant Pots
We lined up the Instant Pot Lux, Duo, Duo Plus and Ultra for a side-by-side comparison in which we evaluated cooking capabilities, time, temperature, controls and the final cooked results. Although each model is available in multiple sizes, we purchased the 6-quart model of each to eliminate any variables related to volume.
We purposely selected these five cooking methods and their corresponding ingredients, as they represent the most common uses for Instant Pots.
- Soft-boiled eggs: to use the Egg program or Low Pressure setting
- Long-grain rice: to test the Rice program on each pot
- Diced onions: to test the Sauté setting
- Chicken thighs: to evaluate how the High Pressure setting worked
- Whole pork shoulder: to see how each Instant Pot would sear and braise on the Saute and then Slow Cook settings
Test : User Experience
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
The test: In reading reviews from Instant Pot users, a common user experience complaint is fear about the steam released when venting the pressure cooker. To find the least scary option, we added 3 cups of water to each pot, sealed the lid, and selected the pressure cook option for 5 minutes. Once the cooking ended, we released the pressure and waited for the float valve to drop before opening the lid.
Another common frustration is about how the inner pot spins uncontrollably while sautéing. We took note of this behavior while searing the meat and sautéing the onions for the chili test mentioned above.
Intuitive design is also a heavy hitter in affecting user experience. The control panels on each model vary some use buttons while others have dials for navigating options. Each model gives information about whats happening inside the pot through different status indicators.
Ease of cleaning, of course, is also important.
All of the pots spun while we was searing and sautéing except for one: the Duo Pro. We tested this pot both on the stovetop and in the machine and it was stable in both methods. It had handles that held it put in the cooker’s base.
The Duo Pro was the easiest to navigate, and the steam release felt safe and simple. The upgraded inner pot that doesnt spin when stirring and can be used on the stovetop is a true value-add.
Read Also: Can You Make Fries In An Instant Pot
Instant Pot Or Pressure Cooker
Instant pots are pressure cookers, but pressure cookers aren’t instant pots. You see, it’s more of a “all squares are rectangles” situation. An instant pot is the swiss army knife of pressure cookers. It slow cooks, pressure cooks, steams rice, and can make yogurt too. Unlike an instant pot, pressure cookers can ONLY pressure cook.
There’s some brilliant magic to the whole thing too. Usually you have to babysit the stove, but the instant pot is designed to jive with the 9-5 lifestyle . Because of its versatile nature it can be hard to imagine what it can cook.
Just about anything. Seriously! It defrosts meat or other frozen food. If you mix in the ingredients, you can make just about any meal. Set it and forget it is methodology of an instant pot. Pulled pork is a cinch. Interested in black bean soup? It can do that too. Chicken adobo is a no brainer. And for the holidays, you can even make delicious mulled wine.
What Instant Pot Accessories Do I Need
Since each Instant Pot model is a little different, its important to read the manual and learn about the various features and settings of your Instant Pot. Generally, every model will include an outer body with a display panel and buttons, a lid, a pressure valve, a steam release valve, a plastic collector cup to catch any condensation released during slow-cooking, a stainless-steel or nonstick inner pot, a sealing ring that surrounds the lid and helps absorb odors, and a steam rack or basket to elevate food inside the inner pot.
Any Instant Pot accessories or gadgets you may choose to buy to bulk up your cookers functionality are just a bonus. Depending on what you plan to make with your Instant Pot, extras range from practical and essential to plain old fun. Some people buy extra sealing rings so they can use one for meat and one for baked goods. Some invest in egg trivets if they cook a lot of hard-boiled eggs. Some look into springform pans to make cheesecake and quiche.
Also Check: How To Convert Slow Cooker Recipe To Instant Pot
Instant Pot Pro Crisp + Air Fryer
The 8-quart Instant Pot Pro Crisp + Air Fryer is the Duo Crisp turned up to 11. This pro model has all the same functionality of the Duo Crisp plus an upgraded lid with advanced heat protection, auto-sealing, and gentle pressure release. The sturdier stainless-steel inner pot is made to handle anything its stovetop friendly and oven safe up to 450ºF.
Built-in smart programs: 11Functions: Pressure-cooking, slow-cooking, steaming, sautéing, food-warming, sous videcooking, air-frying, roasting, baking, broiling, dehydratingSizes available: 8-quart Instant Pot
How Does It Work
Putting it simply: airtight container + water + heat + food = fully cooked meal. But how that actually works is pretty cool. Usually, water/liquid can only boil at 100 degrees celsius, because most pots are not airtight, so steam escapes. This means that food can only get up to that temperature, increasing cooking times considerably. Instant pots and pressure cookers create a situation where steam and heat cannot escape, increasing the boiling heat of liquid and food to 120 degrees celsius . Essentially, your food is cooking considerably faster at higher degrees.
But what does it do about heat regulation? Instant pots don’t let your food burn because they have a pressure sensor inside the outer pot. The inner pot with deform slightly at such high temperatures, and touch a pressure plate. When this happens the pressure cooker turns off the heating element. This allows the heat to cycle so your food cooks evenly, and shouldn’t burn. Interestingly, ovens work a similar way. They’ll shut off the heat to maintain the temperature inside.
In order for an instant pot to not just be a fancy pressure cooker, the internal computer can adjust temperatures and heat cycles to different foods in different ways. That’s how an instant pot can achieve all those different settings.
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Other Electric Pressure Cookers We Tested
$199 at
If you love the Instant Pot Duo and also love using an air fryer, this may be just the electric pressure cooker option for you. We found it performed identically to the Duo when it came to pressure-cooking our three recipes, and the interface is also essentially the same as the Duo, though it has four more cooking functions than that model .
However, its about twice as heavy as the Duo, and with the air fryer lid , it requires a lot of vertical storage and counter space . Included are a broil/dehydrating tray, multi-level air fryer basket, air fryer basket base, protective pad, storage cover and rack. So, if you think an air fryer-pressure cooker combo would save room and youd use it frequently, this model is certainly worth considering. Otherwise, the Duo will work just fine and the Pro Plus will perform even better.
$149.95 at
$52 at Walmart
$179.95 at
The Zavor LUX is a high-quality pressure cooker: It is simple to set up, with an intuitive digital LED display, including a super-handy preheating indicator, a lock icon, and screen that changes colors so you know when cooking has started the LUX also has a custom setting that lets you program your favorite recipes. There are 10 cooking functions and it comes with a steamer basket and trivet. We liked that the pressure valve includes a clean option that pops the piece out for easy maintenance.
$329 at Ninja
$149.95 at
Should I Get The Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid
The Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid is sold and is compatible with 6-quart Instant models that dont already have air-frying capability . The Air Fryer Lid comes with a fry basket and other accessories and allows you to air-fry straight from your pressure cooker. In addition to air-frying, the Air Fryer Lid adds broiling, baking, roasting, reheating, and dehydrating functionality to compatible machines.
Read Also: Instant Pot Roast Recipe
How Instant Pots Work
Instant Pots and other pressure cookers have unique lids that create an airtight seal. Once the lid is locked in place and the cooker is set, steam gets produced in the pot and can’t escape.
The trapped steam increases the atmospheric pressure inside the cooker, increasing the boiling point of liquids and speeding up the time it takes to boil, braise or steam foods.
An Instant Pot should not be confused with an air fryer. Check out our guide on Instant Pot vs air fryer for more details.
Instant Pot Smart Programs Vs Functions
Instant Pots are beloved because of their ability to cook foods quickly using pressure. But theyre also wildly popular, in part, because theyre true multi-cookers that can be used to braise, sauté, steam, and so much more. But all Instant Pots are not created equaler, not every model can perform every function, and theyre billed accordingly . All Instant Pots can pressure-cook, slow-cook, sauté, and keep warm, and fancier models tack on additional cooking methods like yogurt-making, sous vide cooking, broiling, and air-frying. The functions are customizable, and while you cant air-fry or broil in a model that doesnt have an air-frying lid, people still manage to bake cake in models that dont offer mini oven functionality and make yogurt in models that arent officially marketed for yogurt-making.
The Instant Pot Smart Programs allow you to engage each cookers listed functionality with the touch of a button. Many models also have additional Smart Programs that take the guesswork out of specific items like cake, yogurt, eggs, brown rice, and more. The buying guide below details which and how many functions and Smart Programs are available with each model.
Recommended Reading: How To Cook Jasmine Rice In The Instant Pot
Instant Pot Pro Plus Smart
The defining feature of the new Instant Pot Pro Plus Smart is that you can pair it with your iPhone or Android to automatically engage the cooking functions from more than 800 smart recipes on the Instant Brands Connect app. This doesnt mean you can press Start while youre at the office and come home to your Instant Pot braising ribs , but you can control almost everything through the appincluding the steam release! The Pro Plus Smart also features a premium inner pot with easy-grab handles and comes with NutriBoost, a function that mimics the motion of boiling by moving food in the pot to enhance the flavor and texture.
Built-in smart programs: Access 800+ smart recipes via the appFunctions: Pressure-cooking, rice-cooking, slow-cooking, yogurt-making, steaming, sautéing, food-warming, sous videcooking, baking, sterilizing, NutriBoostSizes available: 6-quart Instant Pot
