Six Quart Instant Pot

Instant Pot Duo80 8 Qt 7

Courtesy Walmart

Normally $130, Now $100

If you dont need every bell or whistle and are looking to simplify your kitchen life, the Duo80 is a great option. Primarily a pressure cooker and slow cooker, this version also cooks rice and makes yogurt, steams vegetables and sautés meat or vegetables. Ten presets aid in cooking, along with programmable warming and reheating functions.

The lowest price we’ve seen is $81.

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

Instant Pot Duo Nova 8

Courtesy of Macys

Normally $125, Now $100 at Amazon

Six quarts just not cutting it for you? Upgrade to the 8-quart version of the popular Instant Pot Duo Nova for all the same great features but with a larger capacity. It fits enough food to feed the whole family, and youll probably end up with some leftovers to save for lunch the next day.

The lowest price we’ve seen for this item is $81.

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Differences Between Instant Pot 3 Quart And 6 Quart

When it comes to choosing an instant pot, size isnt the only thing that matters! The difference can stem from the design, available features, and overall performance.

So, were going to discuss them to facilitate your decision-making process.

• Difference in Design

While appearance isnt something that affects functionality, its still quite important. Instant pot, in all its glory, is a kitchen appliance. Its going to sit inside your kitchen so you want something that looks appealing and matches the décor.

As instant pots come with varied designs, youd want to pick one that looks the best to you.

Aside from the difference in appearance, the 3-quart version is a mini product. Its small enough to fit any place perfectly as it doesnt occupy much space.

You will find it easy to store inside your kitchen cabinet or leave it safely on a table. However, it offers limited functionality due to the compact design.

Since the 6 quart instant pot is a larger appliance, its going to take up a lot of your kitchen space. Its comparatively harder to store for obvious reasons.

However, its something you will have to sacrifice if you want to prepare a large volume of food.

• Difference in Capacity

As weve mentioned before, the 3 quart instant pot isnt good enough for large families. The limited space makes it suitable for holding a small amount of food. It cant cook meals for more than 2/3 people.

• Difference in Performance

• Difference in Safety

What Is An Instant Pot

The short answer: The Instant Pot is a convenient multi-cooking machine that lets you cook fast or slow.

The longer answer: Because the Instant Pot is a countertop electric pressure cooker and slow cooker wrapped up in one , its designed to help you remove the guesswork of figuring out the ideal amount of heat, pressure, and time your food needs. Its great for beginner cooking and simple meals, like stews and oatmeal. But once you get more comfortable with the machine, its excellent for tougher cuts of meat like baby back ribs or proteins that usually require a long cook time. With a willingness for some trial and error, many recipes can be adapted for the Instant Pot. Generally speaking, when adapting for pressure cooking, the liquid and cook time will need to be cut and adjusted from those of a manual pressure cooker. For slow-cooking, youll need to adjust for less liquid and more time.

Recommended Reading: Instant Pot Chicken Roast

Should You Buy The Duo Plus

This pressure cooker is not only intuitive, but its versatility is impressive. Each feature is easy to use and performs well. It will happily take the place of your rice cooker, as long as you don’t might slightly sticky rice, and your slow cooker, clearing up space in your kitchen. The Duo Plus is truly a marvel, and its upgraded valve control leaves us with little to complain about. The Duo Plus is, without a doubt, a fantastic value. While it is still a bit of an investment, it is far less than the most expensive options in our test suite and outperforms many of them. It is a versatile kitchen tool that not only can get all the jobs done but it does each of them quite well.

Instant Pot Duo Plus 9

This 9-in-1 model functions as an electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, sauté pan and food warmer. You get two other tricks, too: a sterilizer and, a sous-vide function that allows you to keep your cooking water at a constant temperature.

The machine has 15 customizable programming options.

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The Classic Duo Model

If you are looking for a model that has all the great functions of an Instant Pot without any extra bells and whistles, opt for the best-selling Duo. It comes in the 3-, 6- and 8-quart sizes and has 13 one-touch programs including soup/broth, meat/stew, bean/chili, slow cook, sauté, rice, porridge, steam, yogurt, keep warm and pressure cook.

If the yogurt button doesnt appeal to you, the Lux is the most basic Instant Pot model, offering all the functionality of a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, sauté pan, steamer and warmer without the yogurt-making feature. We do not recommend making yogurt in the Lux model.

Recently Discontinued Instant Pots

As its product line has grown and evolved, Instant Brands has retired some of its older models.Instant Pot Viva: Discontinued in the U.S.The Instant Pot Viva began as a QVC exclusive and was later sold through other retailers. The Viva has since been discontinued in the United States but this 6-quart model is still available in Canada.

Duo Nova Instant Pot: 10-quart Size DiscontinuedWhile you can still get a Duo Nova Instant Pot in 3-, 6-, and 8-quart sizes, the 10-quart Instant Pot Duo Nova has been discontinued.

Instant Pot Nova Plus: Discontinued

The Nova Plus was a Costco Instant Pot exclusive that is no longer available. The Nova Plus was similar to the Duo but had the blue LED screen of the Duo Plus.

Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus: Discontinued

The Duo Evo Plus was an upgrade on the standard Duo and has been discontinued by Instant Pot. It had an upgraded blue LED display panel like the Duo Plus and a sleeker interface.

Instant Pot Lux: Discontinued

This early Instant Pot lacked many of the features you can get in even the most basic models available in 2022. The Lux has been discontinued by the brand, though you can sometimes still .

Instant Pot Smart Wi-Fi: DiscontinuedThis Wi-Fi-enabled 6-quart Instant Pot has been discontinued and replaced by the Instant Pot Pro Plus 6-quart Smart Multi-Cooker.

Instant Pot just got delivered? Put it to use with one of these Instant Pot recipes:

Also Check: What Is An Instant Pot Liner

Best Buy Customers Often Prefer The Following Products When Searching For 6 Quart Pressure Cooker

Pressure cooking is the process of cooking food under high pressure steam, employing water or a water-based cooking liquid, in a sealed vessel known as a pressure cooker. Browse the top-ranked list of 6-quart pressure cookers below along with associated reviews and opinions.

The Instant Pot Duo Drops To $50 Ahead Of Black Friday

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing.

There’s no doubt that air fryers have been having a moment, but they haven’t pushed the humble multicooker completely out of the limelight yet. If you somehow haven’t jumped on the Instant Pot bandwagon yet, you can give it a try for much less right now. Amazon has discounted the six-quart Instant Pot Duo by 50 percent, bringing it down to $50. We’ve seen this model dip slightly cheaper in the past , but this is the best price we’ve seen in many months.

The benefit of a multicooker like this one is that it can do many things, acting as a jack-of-all-trades in your kitchen. The Duo in particular has seven cooking modes: pressure cook, slow cook, rice cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker and warmer. It also has 13 customizable “smart programs” that take a lot of the guesswork out of preparing common foods like soup, beans, rice, poultry and more.

Read Also: What Is An Instant Pot

Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer

Right now on Amazon, you can save money on this higher-end Instant Pot model.

As you can see from the picture above, the Instant Omni Plus is not exactly a pot. In fact, no, it isn’t a pot. The Instant Omni Plus is a countertop convection oven that, in true Instant Pot fashion, has a bunch of tricks up its sleeves. This 10-in-1 appliance can be used to air fry, broil, bake, roast, dehydrate, reheat, toast and warm. And, as noted, it works as a convection oven and a rotisserie.

Which Size Is Right For You

When selecting your Instant Pot, you’ll want to consider how much space you have. Instant Pot models come in four different sizes: 3-, 6-, 8- and 10-quart. Depending on what youre going to use it for, the size you choose can make a big difference.

If youre sticking to side dishes and meals for up to three people, Instant Pot recommends the 3-quart size. This is offered in most basic models including the Duo, Duo Nova, Duo Plus, Ultra and Lux. The 6-quart size is the most popular and is available in every model except the Duo Crisp, which is an Instant Pot and air fryer combo. Instant Pot recommends this size for feeding up to six people. The 8-quart model is the next most-popular size. It is offered in all models except the Smart WiFi and Max models, and is recommended for large families or to meal prep food for the week. The Duo Nova is the only model that comes in the 10-quart size, which is designed for larger meals, feeding a crowd or to stock the freezer with family dinners.

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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

Oxo Silicone Pressure Cooker Lifter

Barbone said a silicone rack with handles is helpful when cooking anything youll need to lift out of the Instant Pot, like a small chicken, meatloaf or cheesecake. Instant Pots come with a metal steam rack, but she said the silicone one is easier to maneuver. This dishwasher-safe option from OXO fits 6- and 8-quart Instant Pots, the brand says. It has two large loop handles that connect to fit under the appliances lid while youre cooking, and you can detach them while moving it in and out of the pot. The lifters flat base allows you to pile food directly on top, or you can place it under a pan.

Also Check: How To Cook Beans In An Instant Pot

Instant Pot 6 Quart Vortex Plus 6

Courtesy Best Buy

Normally $130, Now $100 at Wayfair

Instant Pot doesnt just make slow cookers and pressure cookers. This multi-function air fryer delivers a whole world of lower-fat flavor at the touch of a button. Pre-set smart buttons allow you to air fry, roast, broil, bake re-heat or dehydrate anything from chicken wings or fries, to carrots and apples. In addition to 9 built in smart programs, you can create custom settings, all in a small, easy-to-clean package.

$90 is the lowest price we’ve seen on this item.

Normally $105, Now $70 at Amazon and Best Buy

Ideal for apartments, or cooking just a few meals, this full-function 3-quart pressure cooker also functions as a slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, warmer and sauté pot.

The lowest price we’ve seen on this item is $59.

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

Read Also: How To Make Chicken Breast In Instant Pot

Are Instant Pots Safe

One of the main reasons people are often on the fence about purchasing an Instant Pot or an electric pressure cooker in general is safety. Stovetop pressure cookers got a bad reputation because their lids were relatively easy to remove before the pressure was released, which ran the risk of burns and messes, experts told us. electric pressure cookers like the Instant Pot are incredibly safe compared to stovetop pressure cookers, Weinstein said. And even are much safer than they used to be.

Weinstein also noted that Instant Pots and similar electric pressure cookers are designed with safety mechanisms so theyll shut down if something goes wrong. One of those safety mechanisms is a burn notice thats triggered if the Instant Pot overheats and food begins to burn the appliance shuts off completely in this case.

Instant Pots To Purchase

All Instant Pot models come with a dishwasher-safe locking lid, steam rack and inner pot. Each model will auto-adjust to the right pressure and temperature before it starts cooking, and you can manually adjust the cook time. In addition, all models are equipped with a delay start option and a keep warm setting, as well as a food burn sensor. Instant Pots are also designed with safety features like Overheat Protection, which helps prevent food from burning by suspending heating if the appliance detects a high temperature at the bottom of the inner pot.

Below, we broke down every Instant Pot model currently on the market. We highlighted how models differ from one another and what sizes they come in.

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How I Tested The Best Overall Instant Pot

I spent 3 weeks testing different Instant Pots, including the best overall modelthe Pro Plusconsidering each ones features, ease of use, reliability, size and appearance. In the Duo, Duo Plus and Pro Plus, I cooked the following: white and brown rice using the rice-cooker setting, whole chicken on the pressure-cooker setting and pulled pork on both the pressure-cooker and slow-cooker settings. I evaluated how long it took each pot to preheat, how easy it was to change the settings and release the steam and the overall look and feel of each model. I found that the Pro Plus preheated the fastest, had easy-to-understand features that put the home cook in control and boasted the most modern design to boot.

Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer 11

Normally $225, Now $150 at Amazon

In case seven or nine functions wasnt enough, this 8-quart Instant Pot Duo adds two more options for you: air fry and dehydrate. You just have to switch out the pressure cooker lid for the air fryer lid, which contains a heater and fan, plus an air frying basket.

The lowest price we’ve seen for this item is $120.

The Spruce / Donna Currie

“I decided to cook a small portion of pork ribs using both the Pressure Cook and Air Fry functions. I placed the ribs on the broiler/dehydrator rack because I wanted to get the sauce bubbly after cooking without overcooking the ribs. It worked well and was great for a quick dinner.” Donna Currie, Product Tester

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