Best 8 Quart Instant Pot

How Do You Clean An Instant Pot

The good news is that most Instant Pots have dishwasher-safe components. At the least, the stainless steel cooking pot and the silicone ring are dishwasher safe. On many models, the entire lid is dishwasher safe. The lid has a few removable parts that should be removed and cleaned, but the process for that is different depending on the model, so its best to check the user manual to see what parts are removable and how to clean them.

Are There Any Disadvantages To An Instant Pot

Instant Pots are affordable and easy to use and clean, so there aren’t too many downsides to buying one. If you have a small kitchen or limited cupboard space, it’s worth noting that Instant Pots do take up a bit of space so consider how much you think you’ll use it before settling on one. There are compact 3-quart Instant Pots but, as you might imagine, they don’t have as much cooking capacity.

Best For Beginners: Instant Pot Duo Plus 6

If youre totally new to the multi-cooker world, this intuitive version of the Instant Pot Duo might be ideal for you. The 6-quart Duo Plus can do all the things that the Classic Duo can do, including pressure cooking, sous vide, and slow cooking. But it also has an automatic sealing lid, which takes some of the guesswork out of the process, and keeps you from accidentally leaving the steam valve open and making a mess of your kitchen. There’s also a progress indicator that will keep you updated in real time.

The Duo Plus also features 15 “smart” program options, which allow you to start your meal by just pushing a button. Our tester, senior editor Sara Bir, tested the yogurt and sous vide functions. She was pleased with how intuitive the yogurt setting was, especially compared to the other Instant Pots she’s used, adding, “I’ll be using this pot to make my yogurt from now on.” The sous vide function, however, was underwhelming, particularly because it’s this setting that makes this Duo model a “Plus.”

When using the setting to make sous vide carrots, the cooker was never able to heat the water above 190 degrees Fahrenheit . “It’s not terribly accurate, it does not circulate the water, which is important for maintaining a constant temperature,” Sara explains. The carrots themselves turned out too al dente for her taste.

Price at time of publish: $115

Recommended Reading: How To Make Shredded Chicken Instant Pot

Should I Buy The 6 Qt Or 8 Qt

The choice between the two sizes is a personal decision based on your lifestyle. I have a family of 5 and almost always use my 6 quart. I do like to have leftovers for the next day and the 6 quart usually allows for that.

I use my 8 quart when I have guests or if Ill be hosting a large group. I also use the 8 quart when I want to make a whole chicken or large piece of meat. A whole chicken will fit in the 6 quart but if its a larger chicken, it can be a tight squeeze.

What Slow Cookers Are Good At

To be fair, there are a few tasks that slow cookers perform better than either Dutch ovens or pressure cookers, and not just on convenience but in terms of actual performance. There’s no better device for keeping things like stews, soups, chilies, dips, and cheese sauces hot at a potluck picnic table, where guests are going to be dipping repeatedly over the course of several hours. There’s very little reduction going on, and because of the slow, even heat dispersal of ceramic, there’s virtually no chance that your sauces are going to burn or brown.

Slow cookers are also great for making large batches of caramelized onions. It takes a long time, but it’s essentially a set-it-and-forget-it technique. Fill up the crock with sliced onions, add a few knobs of butter, season with salt, turn it on, and leave it alone until the onions are as dark as you like. You won’t develop quite the same flavor as you’ll get with onions caramelized the traditional way, and you won’t get the speed of pressure cooker caramelized onions, but as far as the convenience-for-results ratio goes? It’s tough to beat.

I also quite like the uniquely moist and custard-like texture you achieve when cooking stuffing or bread pudding in a slow cooker both are recipes that don’t rely on intense browning or reduction of liquid for their flavor.

After all, as anyone who has played can attest: Good things come to those who try to find shortcuts.

Recommended Reading: Best 8 Qt Instant Pot

Best Instant Pot 202: Our Top 6 Multi

Find the best Instant Pot for your kitchen, with the help of our reviews of the Duo, Pro, Crisp, and even a few alternatives from Ninja

Choosing the best Instant Pot can be overwhelming. After all, it’s an expansive line, with a range of functions and capacities to choose between. That includes the Duo, Pro, and Crisp lines, all of which have various differences that will make them more suited to some users than others. So, which is the best Instant Pot for you?

We’ve been busy reviewing all the best Instant Pots over the past few months to bring you our top picks, and we’ve also included a few alternatives from Ninja, which have in-built crisper lids as well as pressure cooking functions. A lot of Instant Pots come with crisper lids too, meaning they will double up as the best air fryers, as well as steaming or pressure cooking any food you could hope to make.

One of the major perks of owning an Instant Pot this time of year is the sealed-in, compact design. On a hot day, the last thing you want to do is pour over a hot stove, but the best Instant Pot will do all the cooking for you, and it will prevent your kitchen from overheating while it works. And when your meals are done, you can expect to put all removable parts in the dishwasher to take all the effort out of mealtimes. For our top picks of the six best Instant Pots, keep on reading.

Detailed Features And Comparison Of Experts Recommended Best Instant Pot 8 Quart Price Reviews

We understand how much of a hassle it can be to go through thousands of reviews when you have too many options. So, leave all your worries behind, check out this ultimate guide, and make a hassle-free purchase decision.

The internet is full of different companies offering a variety of products. It can be hard to know which ones are the best and which ones to avoid. Thats where the research team comes in. They use their experience to offer the most accurate and unbiased reviews of Instant Pot 8 Quart Price on the internet.

They conduct a thorough evaluation of each product, taking into account quality, features, price, and more. Based on their findings, they note which product excel and which fail. This helps you make an informed decision about which product to trust and which to avoid.

To offer the most accurate, unbiased reviews on the internet, we had used given below parameters,

Also Check: How Long To Cook Cabbage In Instant Pot

Is An Instant Pot Really Worth It

Thereâs no denying an Instant Pot is a great kitchen appliance but you may be wondering if itâs really worth it? Or will it simply end up as another kitchen gadget that languishes on your countertop gathering dust?

Itâs important to remember that while Instant Pots offer a multitude of cooking methods, many of which means you no longer need to use an oven or a hob, they canât cook everything. For example, theyâre not an option if you regularly prepare pasta, noodles, or stir frys. And while some do come with lids that can air fry, we found making fries in an Instant Pot wasnât as good as using one of the best air fryers.

At the same time, you canât just pop the lid off and check the dish youâre cooking, as you would when using the hob, the oven, or a slow cooker. Youâll need to release the pressure, effectively stop cooking, and detach the lid. Then if the dish isnât ready, youâll need to start cooking again.

Similarly, an Instant Pot can certainly shave a few hours off cooking stews, ribs and other dishes that usually take the best part of a day to cook, however with dishes like rice or steaming vegetables the time saving is minimal, which may mean an Instant Pot isnât worth the investment.

The Best Instant Pot: Instant Pot Pro

What we liked: This model pressurized the quickest and offered the best searing and sautéing experience, with a stable, non-spinning pot. The ability to use the stainless steel inner pot on an electric, induction, or ceramic stovetops was welcome, as it gives the user greater flexibility and control. Releasing the steam feels straightforward and safe because of its separate push-button release and the plastic cover around the steam valve. The control panel is easy to navigate with a mixture of buttons and a dial. We also liked the handles on its cooking pot, which made it easier to lift the pot up and out of the Instant Pot’s base.

What we didn’t like: Its pretty expensive, and while the sous vide function works, although it isn’t nearly as reliable as an immersion circulator.

Price at time of publish: $150

Recommended Reading: How Long To Cook Pork Loin Instant Pot

A Quick Note On Pressure Cooker Type

Over on the Cooking Issues blog, Dave Arnold has noted that results can vary greatly depending on the type of pressure cooker you use. See, older models of pressure cookers have what’s called a “jiggler”: a weight that sits on top of a steam vent. As pressure in the pot builds up, that steam pushes up on the weight harder and harder, until it finally lifts it just enough to vent a bit of steam out, releasing pressure and allowing the jiggler to settle back down. This happens at quite a rapid rate, leading to the weight “jiggling” up and down . What this means is that in an old-school pressure cooker equipped with a jiggler, the liquid inside actually simmers slowly as pressure builds and is released. This leads to cloudier broths and stocks, and soups and stews with ingredients that tend to fall apart a little more.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

The results are pretty drastically different. See the batches of chicken stock here:

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

Here’s what’s in each cup:

• A) Stock cooked in a spring-valve stovetop pressure cooker
• B) Stock cooked in an electric pressure cooker
• C) Stock cooked in an older stovetop pressure cooker with a jiggler
• D) Stock cooked on the stovetop in a Dutch oven
• E) Stock cooked in a slow cooker

If you already own a jiggler-equipped pressure cooker, it’ll still work fine. But if you’re in the market for a new stovetop cooker, I’d strongly suggest looking for a spring-valve-equipped model.

Best Buy Customers Often Prefer The Following Products When Searching For 8

A pressure cooker is a kitchen appliance used to cook food faster by trapping steam inside the pot. The steam increases the boiling point of the liquid, thus cooking it faster. This is especially useful for cooking foods that need to be cooked at higher temperatures. Browse the top-ranked list of 8-quart pressure cookers below along with associated reviews and opinions.

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An Analysis Of The Most Useful Functions On The Instant Pot And Other Multi

The Instant Pot’s ascendance has been so sudden, so swift, so far-reaching, and so utterly dominating that it’s hard to think of another kitchen product in recent history that has so thoroughly cornered the market.

Before the Instant Pot, when I tried to convince people that a pressure cooker was worth buying, their eyes would glaze over. Now that the Instant Pot has taken off so explosively, it seems nearly everyone owns a pressure cooker, even if half of them don’t seem to realize it.

And that, really, speaks to the power of the Instant Pot. People own them, people love them, and people often have no idea what they even are. So let’s set this straight: “Instant Pot” is a brand name for a multi-cooker, and a multi-cooker is basically an electric pressure cooker with a few bells and whistles thrown in for good measure.

How To Choose The Best Instant Pot For You

Here are the key things to consider when choosing an Instant Pot:

Features: Some Instant Pot models come with preprogramed cooking functions and even additional capabilities such as Yogurt Making and Sterilization. However, these preprogrammed functions merely mimic low- and high-pressure cooking, and you can re-create them manually. Additionally, we found that some preprogrammed functions were unreliable .

Evaluate the kind of cooking you typically do before splurging on bells and whistles that you don’t need. You should also realize that you may still need to adapt your cooking times to get the results you want. We frequently found that the more features an Instant Pot had, the more confusing the controls were.

Size/capacity: We tested only 6-quart models, as they’re the most popular size on the market. However, many Instant Pots are available in 3-quart sizes, which are better for individuals or couples, and 9-quart sizes, which are better for larger families.

Price: It’s surprising how widely the prices vary for Instant Pots, given that most of them offer the same basic features, give or take a few specifics. Your personal budget for cooking gear will influence your decision on which price is best.

Also Check: How To Release Steam From Instant Pot

Best Instant Pot Of 2022

Instant Pots are known for fast and easy cooking, but how do you know which one is right for you? This guide will help you find the perfect multicooker.

David Watsky

Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen

David lives in Brooklyn where he’s logged more than a decade writing about all things edible, including meal kits and meal delivery subscriptions, cooking, kitchen gear and commerce. Since earning a BA in English from Northeastern in Boston, he’s toiled in nearly every aspect of the eats business from slicing and dicing as a sous-chef in Rhode Island to leading complex marketing campaigns for major food brands in Manhattan. These days, he’s likely somewhere trying the latest this or tasting the latest that – and reporting back, of course. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.

• Instant Pot FAQs

While many thought it was merely a passing trend, the Instant Pot is here to stay. If you haven’t adopted one yourself, then Instant Pot cooking is something you could get into right now: These magic time-savers make it easy for budding home chefs. You really don’t need skill or any cooking knowledge to work with an Instant Pot. You can make simple, delicious meals in no time at all. Craft soups, chilis and even pulled pork for taco night. The effort you’ll need is in picking the right one for you. That’s why we’ve tested a number of models to find the best Instant Pot.

There are even Instant Pots made especially for Star Wars fanatics.

Which Size Of Instant Pot Should You Buy

Depending on the model, you can choose from the mini 3 quart Instant Pot, the standard 6 quart or the large 8 quart.

6 Quart Instant Pot

For the average user, I recommend getting a 6 quart Instant Pot. Most recipes that you will find online and in cookbooks are tested in a 6 quart Instant Pot. The six quart is large enough to cook for a family of 4-5. I most often use my 6 quart to cook for my family of 6 .

8 Quart Instant Pot

If you have a large family, have a family of big eaters, or like to meal prep big batches of food, I recommend getting an 8 quart Instant Pot. The 8 quart is also great for cooking for a crowd if you like to entertain.

The 8 quart Instant Pot is bigger than the 6 quart, so you will need to plan for more storage space. Its a little bit taller and a little bit wider. Heres a photo of my 6 quart and 8 quart side by side.

3 Quart Instant Pot

I dont recommend getting the 3 quart Instant Pot, unless you are very comfortable adapting recipes and are always cooking for just one or two. Since most recipes that you will find are designed for the 6 quart, you would need to scale them down to fit in the 3 quart mini Instant Pot.

Read Also: What Instant Pot To Buy

The Cheapest Instant Pot Sales And Deals

This is Instant Pot’s best selling model, and with good reason. As its name denotes, the Instant Pot Duo Plus is similar to the Duo model, but with a few added features. You can make a cake or eggs in it, and it can also be used as a sterilizer, so it’s great if you enjoy canning and preserving. You also get 15 built-in programs – one more than the Duo, to make a number of cooking tasks as simple as pushing a button. It is available in 3-quart, 6-quart, and 8-quart models.