Whats New About The Brand New Instant Pot
- It can be used for canning.
- It has an automatic stirrer for when youre making bone broth or risotto.
- It has a new venting options.
- It has an easy-to-read touch screen.
It also has a few other other fun, new functions. For starters, it will have an automatic stirrer for when youre making, say, bone broth or risotto. It will also have more safety features including options for an automatic slow venting, a pulse of venting, or a quick-release situation. And itll have a fancy, easy-to-read new touch screen. Fun, right?
The Instant Pot Max, as its been adorably named, will hit stores sometime in May or June. To start, it will only be available in the six-quart size and the price tag is estimated to be around $200, although company reps couldnt say for sure just yet.
More on the Instant Pot
Best Splurge Electric Pressure Cooker: Breville Fast Slow Pro 63
If you prefer a simple, straightforward stovetop pressure cooker, the Kuhn Rikon Duromatic looks lovely on the stovetop and does an impressive job cooking food. We tested the 8.5-quart option and found the two-handle design easy to grab, the pressure indicator simple to read and, while the company doesnt recommend cleaning the heavy stainless steel pot in the dishwasher, it was no big deal to hand wash it .
More importantly, we got great tasting, perfectly finished meals out of the Duromatic.The risotto turned out wonderfully. Id never not cook risotto this way again, one taster said. The beans were just right, as were the tender stew meat and vegetables and hearty gravy.
Using the Duromatic is a snap: Add your ingredients, lock the conical lid into place, heat the pot on high and watch the spring-loaded pressure gauge rise in the center of the lid. When you see one red line, its at low pressure two red lines delineate high pressure, letting you know its time to turn the heat down for an evenly pressurized cook. Yes, youll need to keep an eye on it and adjust your burner heat accordingly, but if you get distracted, steam is automatically released to keep the pot from overpressurizing . When your cook time is done, depending on the recipe you can let the pressure come down naturally, or quick-release by moving the pot to the sink and running cool water over the rim of the lid, or press the gauge down to release pressure, with steam releasing evenly.
Other Instant Pots And Pressure Cookers We Tested
We tested 11 electric pressure cookers for this guide. These are the ones that missed the cut.
What else we recommend and why:
Zavor LUX LCD: This model has more than 30 programmable settings, including sous vide, and an easy-to-read LCD. In our tests, it was easy to set up and use. It was quick to build pressure and made juicy, easy-to-shred pulled pork. However, we weren’t as impressed with its bean cooking and meat searing.
Ninja Foodi XL Pressure Cooker: The Ninja Foodi air fries and pressure cooks. And, in our tests, it did a great job of searing, slow cooking, and pressure cooking delicious meals but took longer than most units to build pressure. Read our comparison of the Instant Pot Duo Crisp vs. the Ninja Foodi.
Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 80 : The Duo Evo Plus’s stay-cool handles set it apart from other multicookers since you usually need to grab potholders to lift a multicooker’s pot out. The pot also stays in place when you stir the contents. The screen is packed full of info, including several preset programs. It didn’t make our guide because it didn’t do better than average at any cooking task and was one of the worst at rice and slow-cooker pork.
What we don’t recommend and why:
Read Also: How To Cook Rice With Instant Pot
The Best Stovetop Cooker: Kuhn Rikon Duromatic Pressure Cooker
The Rolls Royce of stovetop pressure cookers, Kuhn Rikon’s models are built to last, with all-metal valve parts and quality gaskets. The Duromatic line comes in a range of shapes and sizes. This 6.3-quart option is a good choice for most homes, though we’re also huge fans of its 8.5-quart, 11-inch-wide model for stews and braises.
What Does An Instant Pot Do
Yeah, why can’t you just get a regular slow cooker? At their core, Instant Pots are electric pressure cookers. The proprietary locking lid creates a seal that heats any water inside far past its boiling point, turning it to steam. When that steam has nowhere else to go, it creates pressure thus cooking food 2-10 times faster than what an oven or slow cooker could do.
The Instant Pot’s heart is a microprocessor aided by built-in temperature sensors that give Instant Pots the ability to 1. Mimic the cooking functions of multiple different appliances and 2. Switch between those functions at the press of a button. This collection of programs can be tweaked and tailored to perform super specific tasks that you may have struggled with pre-Instant Pot . They get down to the nitty-gritty of heat intensity, pressure, and cooking duration to achieve more precise results in the kitchen. Some of the more advanced models even offer personalized programming and will remember your settings for the next time.
Each Instant Pot model gains a new cooking method or two, so you aren’t paying for functions you won’t use.
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How We Selected The Best Instant Pot
We try our hardest to review all of the products we feature in our Small Appliance buying guides, and we are currently in the process of reviewing a number of the best Instant Pots in our guide. A few have already been extensively reviewed by our team of expert testers, and you can click through to find out how well they performed when we tried them out in our own homes.
Are Instant Pots Really Worth It
If you have a rice cooker at home and youre also deciding on getting a pressure cooker, or maybe, an air fryer. Well, you can have all those functionalities in one kitchen equipment.
Without mentioning all the cooking techniques it offers, I believe its worth every penny. Buying a multicooker is definitely an excellent investment.
Just in case, heres the best of the best Instant Pot Pressure CookerThe Pro Plus.
Also Check: How Do I Use My Instant Pot
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
It Will Vacuum Your Countertops
Say buh-bye to crumbs, spills, and other countertop messes. The Instant Pot MEGA has a Roomba-like setting that will send the small appliance all around your countertops to sweep up anything that doesnt belong. Bonus: You can also use it on your floors! Theres a small compartment at the bottom that youll have to empty after each use, but otherwise its totally hands-off.
Also Check: How To Make Boiled Eggs In Instant Pot
Where Can I Find The Best Instant Pot Recipes
Good Housekeeping Instant Pot® Cookbook
Good Housekeeping Instant Pot® Cookbook
If you need recipe inspo for all the fuss-free meals you can make in your new Instant Pot, check out Good Housekeeping’s Instant Pot Cookbook. In addition to a primer filled with all the how-to info youll need to know, it features 60 delicious dishes, including Weeknight Tuscan Ragu, Vegan Black Bean Soup, Spicy Sesame Rice Bowls and Korean Pork Lettuce Wraps.
Instant Pot Vs Ninja Foodi
Instant Pot and Ninja Foodi are two of the biggest names in the multi-cooker world and are regularly compared to see which is best. Both brands create a wide number of appliances including everything from air fryers to blenders.
As you might expect, the larger and more feature-heavy appliances from Instant Pot and Ninja Foodi are more expensive, but generally speaking, Ninja models are normally more expensive.
Itâs also worth comparing how easy these machines are to clean. Ninja Foodi machines feature a cooking pot with a non-stick coating so you shouldnât need to scrub for hours to get rid of any food. Instant Pots have stainless steel pots but both of the brandsâ pots can be placed in a dishwasher.
Weâve compared these brands in detail, to find out which came out on top, read our Ninja Foodi vs Instant Pot feature.
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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.
The Best Stovetop Pressure Cooker: The Kuhn Rikon Duromatic
The Kuhn Rikon Duromatic Pressure Cooker is as pretty to look at as it is effective. It’s a second-generation cooker, which means improved safety features and a spring-loaded pressure gauge rather than a jiggler.
Some stovetop cookers have various switches, levers, or valves to toggle between low pressure, high pressure, and release settings. The Kuhn Rikon combines them all into one elegant solution. The valve is in the center of the conical lid. As pressure builds up inside, an indicator rod slowly rises up in the center, revealing red lines. One red line means you’re at low pressure, while two red lines mean you’re at high. Let it keep heating and, eventually, it will start venting steam to prevent an explosion.
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
To release pressure, you use the exact same rod. Just push it down, and steam gets released evenly around from under a shield, reducing the chances of a burn. The valves and rods are also easy enough to remove and clean, which is important to maintain proper function. I like the fact that the valve is an all-metal construction. It gives me peace of mind that the moving parts here are designed to last.
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Kuhn Rikon offers a range of Duromatic models in a variety of shapes and sizes, all with the same basic features and build. We think the 6.3-quart model is the best size for most families, making meals that can feed about 4 to 6 people.
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
Recommended Reading: How To Put Instant Pot Slow Cooker On High
Versatility And Special Features
What sets different models of Instant Pots apart from each other is the different features that they offer. While some Instant Pots just offer basic pressure cooker and saute functionality, others have modes for making specific foods or various cooking options, such as steaming. Other features include delayed cooking, keep warm settings, temperature controls, Alexa compatibility, remote cooking capabilities, high-altitude adjustments, sterilize features, air frying, and sous vide.
Clearly, there is no shortage of special features that this appliance can offer, so definitely prioritize which features are important to you and look for a model that offers them. Theres no need to buy an appliance that offers a laundry list of features if youre only looking to do basic pressure and slow cooking.
Basic Differences In Instant Pot Sizes
The basic Instant Pot guidelines say that the 3-quart is good for 1 or 2 people, the 6-quart is for up to 6 people, and the 8-quart is for large families or big batches. I think this is a good starting point, but there are exceptions.
Most recipes online are written for 6-quart pressure cookers. You may need to add more liquid for some recipes with 8-quarts and larger. So if you feel really nervous about going off recipe, Id recommend using a 6-quart.
Instant Pot accessories will also be easier to find in a 6-quart or 8-quart size.
Also Check: Is The Instant Pot An Air Fryer
Average Price For An Instant Pot
The price of an Instant Pot depends mainly on the model. Since all Instant Pots come in 6-quart sizes , we’ll use this size for comparison.
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A 5.7-litre Instant Pot Lux costs around $80.
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A 5.7-litre Instant Pot Duo costs around $100.
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A 5.7-litre Instant Pot Duo Plus costs around $120.
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A 5.7-litre Instant Pot Ultra costs around $150.
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A 5.7-litre Instant Pot Smart costs around $160.
Should I Get The Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid
The Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid is sold separately 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.
Also Check: How To Cook Chuck Roast In Instant Pot
Other Stovetop Pressure Cookers We Tested
$255 at
With a strong and sturdy stainless steel pot and a lid that easily locks into place, we were big fans of the Vitaquick. For one, its large blue pressure indicator is easy to see, with two white ring markings: one ring means its at low pressure, two means its at high pressure. Other great features: a removable handle that makes cleaning a snap , clear measuring markings on the inside of the pot that mean you dont need to dirty extra dishes, and a handy helper handle to carry it without fear of dropping the thing. The materials are high quality and we appreciated the added safety feature of a lid with a button that turns green and clicks when its locked into place. We also really liked the steam release function in the handle that requires just the push of a button to begin rapid release, and that it comes with a lifetime warranty. So what kept it from winning? The Kuhn Rikon did just a bit better job on the risotto and costs a little less. But the Vitaquick was a very close runner-up.
$299.95 at
$79 at
Best Upgrade Instant Pot
- Those with smaller kitchens
Skip if:
- You like the look and feel of a sleek digital display or simply want more features
I determined the bestselling Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart Multi-Use Pressure Cooker, V5 to be an excellent tried-and-true model for any home cook with a slightly lower budget. At under $100, its an ideal pick for those who are curious about all things Instant Pot but arent yet ready to splurge on one of the newer models. That said, as you might imagine given its substantially lower price , this is not the most advanced or modern option out there. For starters, the Duo does not offer a digital touchscreen or ergonomic dial, and its inner pot does not feature the silicone handles of the Pro Plus .
That said, I concluded that this original device pressure-cooks just as well as pricier models: The pork was tender and fully shreddable after 60 minutes of pressure-cooking, and the rice I cooked was fluffy, well separated and the perfect canvas for homemade teriyaki chicken, which, I should add, was my dinner for many nights in a row during this testing process. But despite producing great results, the rice cooker here is still somewhat basic, and both novice and sophisticated cooks alike might be put off by the lack of convenient controls. Unlike the upgraded Duo Plus, theres no way to select which type of rice youre cooking the only options are for cook times .
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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.
