Instant Pot - Were you against it, gave in and now love it?

[Night Elf]

I'm seriously contemplating a purchase. I don't know how often I'd use it but I like the idea that I can get a meal in super quick time. I think that in adding this to my Hello Fresh cooking, I'll have easy cooking nights. I've resisted this purchase because I'm worried I won't really use it and I'll have spent the money for something that will sit in the back of my cabinet.

[Word Nerd]

I use mine several times per week, sometimes more than once in the same day. It’s the best kitchen appliance I’ve bought in recent memory and have even considered getting another one in a different size. I wouldn’t say you can make things “super quick,†as cooking times may be fast for some things but you also have to account for the time it takes for something to come to pressure (and release, if you let it release naturally rather than sliding the vent).

Edited January 17, 2018 by Word Nerd

[G5052]

I love mine, and sometimes use it to cook rice and as a slow cooker with a glass top.

 

When my usual crockpot and the everyday rice cooker die, we'll just use the Instant Pot for those functions.

[Word Nerd]

I love mine, and sometimes use it to cook rice and as a slow cooker with a glass top.

 

When my usual crockpot and the everyday rice cooker die, we'll just use the Instant Pot for those functions.

 

I haven't used my actual crockpot since I bought my IP and keep thinking I may as well get rid of it. I hate the crockpot insert anyway, as it's impossible to clean.

[scbusf]

I am still in the skeptical phase. I think the next time it goes on sale, I will probably give in and get one. But I need the 8 quart one.

[RootAnn]

I picked (a big) one up when it was on sale during the Christmas season. We've used it a couple of times so far. Not a huge fan (yet?).

Our slow cooker just died - wires came out & DH, my electrician, said fixing it would leave a fire hazard, so it needs to be tossed out. So, we'll be using the IP as our slow cooker - although it doesn't seem as flexible as a slow cooker as our one that just died. We'll have to get used to just low-medium-high vs. five settings that we can just turn the knob to adjust.

 

So, don't love it. Might end up just taking up counter space. Hoping not, but I figure I can always sell it if I don't use it much and get another slow cooker.

[TravelingChris]

I didn;t get an Insta pot but Cosori  8 quart for my birthday last week after I put in on my saved to buy later and nudged my husband. He had taken our old crockpot to an event in Dec and the handle broke somehow.  That is when I decided to research and get one of these.  It has been a week since my birthday but I haven't used it yet.  Maybe tomorrow night.  I am really excited to get it and will get down to the brass knuckles of reading the manual maybe later.

[cjzimmer1]

While I'm very happy to have mine, I'm not one of those people who use it daily.  On average probably once a week. We don't use it for complete meal,  I just haven't found any that we love.  However,  for cooking chunks of meat (roasts, chicken pieces), it is superior to any other method I've tried.  Faster than a slow cooker or even oven and definitely more tender.  I also love it to make large batches of yogurt with minimal effort.  Today I made steel cut oats (which I would never make on the stove because they are too putzy that way).  Super creamy and minimal effort but not a time saver when you factor in the build up to pressure and cool down time.  

 

So there are some things I make that I'm very glad to have it, making large quantities and/or the ability to walk away and not worry about things burning.  I don't consider the time savings to be substantial enough that I would purchase it for that reason alone.  However, I've never been the type to be struggling at 4 to figure out what to make for supper.  If I want something time consumming I start in the morning,  if I want something fast, I just pick a low effort meal.

[Guest]

No; for me it was the opposite. I expected to use it more. I wanted it so I would have more Easy Dinner nights (and I have also contemplated meal services like Hello Fresh or Sunbasket, but I have not tried it yet).

 

The main thing that is hard for me to accept with the IP is putting food in there, shutting the lid, and hoping for the best. (That’s how it feels to me) I can’t see what’s going on. I can’t tell if the time under pressure is right until it’s over and I can’t change matters. Not all ingredients should cook the same amount of time and working around that turns it into no longer an Easy Dinner. (For example, my boys especially like for me to cook Brats in the IP and serve it with onions and green peppers, but I do not like the vegetables cooked in there simultaneously because they are mush. I can sauté the veggies separately and they taste delicious, but now it is virtually the same amount of active work as any other dinner I would cook not in the IP.)

 

My dear buddies here and IRL and at our Meet-Ups from here are having great success with the IP but it does not seem to suit me well. I think I am just too control-freakish to trust that things are turning out fine in there when I can’t see it or influence the cooking at all.

[Lady Florida.]

I wouldn't say I was against it but I did think it was over hyped. Then I got one and I understood the Instant Pot love. I've used stove top pressure cookers but never as often or as easily as I use my IP. It gets used for dinner several times a week. It also gets used for rice even when the rest of the dinner is cooked elsewhere (stove, oven, grill). It's also the only way I make hard boiled eggs anymore.

 

I don't know how often you have Hello Fresh dinners though. You might use an Instant Pot less than most people because of it. If you can afford one (wait for a sale, they happen about twice a year on Amazon) I say go for it.

[xixstar]

I used stove top pressure cookers before getting the IP, though the IP would be pointless and duplicate of what I have, except I still wanted it. I've had it for 3 years now, I cook more than half of our meals in the instant pot. Tonight I am actually using the stove because "I'm afraid it'll think I don't like it anymore" was my literal thought -- and yes, I'm a dork and I think things like thing. I'm making lentils and rice and could have made both dishes in the instant pot at the same time but decided to make my kids wash more dirty pots, lol. 

I am anxiously awaiting getting an 8-qt model so I have two!

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't say I was against it but I did think it was over hyped. Then I got one and I understood the Instant Pot love. I've used stove top pressure cookers but never as often or as easily as I use my IP. It gets used for dinner several times a week. It also gets used for rice even when the rest of the dinner is cooked elsewhere (stove, oven, grill). It's also the only way I make hard boiled eggs anymore.

 

I don't know how often you have Hello Fresh dinners though. You might use an Instant Pot less than most people because of it. If you can afford one (wait for a sale, they happen about twice a year on Amazon) I say go for it.

I’m so pleased to see your smiling face instead of your dog! :)

[Soror]

I actually didn't have any clue about it until dh bought me one, I had never even heard of it and certainly had no clue why I needed it. A friend of his had one so he decided to get me one for Christmas a couple of years ago, I loved it nearly instantly. I don't use it daily but several times a week. BUT it is not necessarily the fast way to cook something, you can often pan sautee something quicker, because you don't have to wait for it to get to pressure and release. It does cook certain things faster, not all.

Edited January 17, 2018 by soror

[Lady Florida.]

I’m so pleased to see your smiling face instead of your dog! :)

 

Aw, thanks. I take such awful photos and that's a rare one that's actually decent  (and recent - taken over the holidays). Not good, but decent.

[marbel]

I  was skeptical and then bought one when it was on a Black Friday sale.  I like and use it a lot.  The other day I read a chicken and rice recipe for it, changed the seasonings from Mexican to Indian, and had a sort of chicken biryani - not authentic but delicious.  I cook a lot of bone-in chicken so make broth frequently.  I  use it as a rice cooker and for making hard boiled eggs, which I do every few days.  

 

I thought it might be a stupid purchase because our family is small and we are hoping the kids will be up and out soon (away at college rather than commuting and living here). But it has paid off for me.

[Lady Florida.]

 

 

I thought it might be a stupid purchase because our family is small and we are hoping the kids will be up and out soon (away at college rather than commuting and living here). But it has paid off for me.

 

Same here. There are only three of us and ds is 20 so will not be living at home much longer. But I'm glad I got it. It gets use even for small meals. It also gets use for larger meals when I freeze half.

[Night Elf]

I have never cooked with a pressure cooker but my mom had one when I was young. I can't remember what she cooked in it. I can't think of any of our dinners that could be improved on by using a pressure cooker. I was hoping for new recipes of all-in-one meals so I could just load it up, turn it on, and have dinner. I may not be understanding well though. I am not a busy person in the least so prepping for meals is no big deal to me. Maybe the IP is just not something I need.

[KungFuPanda]

I think it’s a great concept, but when my pressure cooker died I replaced it with a new stovetop pressure cooker for about $40. I’m comfortable using it and I think it’s faster to have some manual control over the pressure so it’s faster than the IP. It fits in the cabinet with my other pits. Also, I have an old crockpot and I know exactly how it cooks. When it or my rice cooker dies I’ll probably replace it with an IP and I’m hoping by then to get a decent sous vide function. ðŸ˜

[JFSinIL]

Mine lives on the counter, I use it daily, and even had "Santa" get me an extra liner pot so I don't have to clean it out between items (like, say, if I want to cook rice then a veggie or meat separately). Both my dds have them now, too, and one dd makes ton of brown rice weekly, her sister makes a lot of actual meals AND cheesecakes in hers.

 

Haven't used the slow cook function since I am home most of the time. I love using it for steel cut oats, rice, steaming a cut-up spaghetti squash in two minutes, cooking beets for hubby far faster than I can on the stovetop, tender meat for pulled pork or chicken to shred for tacos etc. and great beef stew, etc.

 

If, like KingFuPanda, you already have and use a stovetop pressure cooker, then an Instant Pot makes little sense. If, like moi, you never used a pressure cooker out of fear it would explode, then Instant Pot is a kind and gentle introduction to the wonders of pressure cooking.

 

I am in a couple Facebook groups for Instant Pot recipe swaps, etc. Some folks do have steamer baskets etc and put several "layers" of food in their IP to cook at once. I am not that clever yet.

 

Note - the IP does not get hot enough to use on homemade canning. For that you need a stovetop version.

Edited January 18, 2018 by JFSinIL

[Amira]

I looked at the instant pot for years and kept deciding it wasn’t worth it based on what I was reading about it. It just didn’t seem to fit what our family eats. I also didn’t like that everything had to be cooked with a certain amount of liquid. Then last fall I did more reading and realized that it’s much more versatile than I had thought so I got one on Black Friday. Since it has arrived, I think there has been one day that I haven’t used it, except when we’ve been traveling. It doesn’t cook everything faster given the time to come to pressure, but it changes the hands-on time. Once you get it started, you don’t have to think about it again and it’s much faster than a crockpot. Now I always think about whether it’s worth using the instant pot to cook something instead of a different appliance and I use it around 1/4 of the time. It was easy to learn how to use and I don’t bother with a cookbook, although I do look online before trying something new to get an idea of how long to cook something.

Edited January 18, 2018 by Amira

[HS Mom in NC]

I wasn't against it, but I didn't around to buying one for a while. I love it.  Just understand that cook time needs to be added to the time it takes to pressurize and to depressurize. It's passive time, not active time, but it can be 15 minutes on each side of the cook time, so it's really an extra half an hour.  Totally worth it, but more than the cook time. I have the Indian food and 2 healthy food recipe books. 

[JFSinIL]

Yeah, time-wise by the time I factor in the pot heating up and then cooling down before I open it, I am not saving time on my steel-cut oats (I make a big batch every five days and put it in smaller containers in the fridge). BUT - instead of staying near the stove to stir the bubbling oatmeal every couple minutes so it doesn't stick (stovetop for me took 26 minutes to reach my preferred texture) I leave the room until the Pot beeps at me. Freedom!

Edited January 18, 2018 by JFSinIL

[Lady Florida.]

It's a pressure cooker. If you don't like food cooked in a pressure cooker you won't like the Instant Pot. If you like using a pressure cooker, if you have a stove top one, you'll like the IP. 

 

Yes it has all kinds of fancy buttons and the pressure regulation is much easier to do than on a stove top one, but the bottom line is if you like pressure cookers you will probably like the Instant Pot. That's a general observation. There will always be people who prefer their stove top cookers, but maybe that will help some of you decide if you'd want an IP or not.

[HS Mom in NC]

I only use recipes specifically designed to work with the Instapot.

[Pen]

I got mine recently and I've been using mine.  I have it out, not putting it in a cupboard at all.  I did not already own things like a rice cooker, or pressure cooker, that many people have, so this has provided several functions in convenient form.  It is especially good for making rice, which it has made perfect every time so far, without my needing to keep watch.  It also reheats nicely.  I've successfully used it for chicken, stew, soup, and recently used the saute feature for onions and meat, then took out the meat and let the brownings go into rice cooked next.  Tonight I will be trying it for a mixed one pot meal of rice, lentils, and vegetables.  I look forward to possibly finding a good mac and cheese and a good spaghetti recipe that I can make in it as one pot meals.

[scbusf]

I got mine recently and I've been using mine.  I have it out, not putting it in a cupboard at all.  I did not already own things like a rice cooker, or pressure cooker, that many people have, so this has provided several functions in convenient form.  It is especially good for making rice, which it has made perfect every time so far, without my needing to keep watch.  It also reheats nicely.  I've successfully used it for chicken, stew, soup, and recently used the saute feature for onions and meat, then took out the meat and let the brownings go into rice cooked next.  Tonight I will be trying it for a mixed one pot meal of rice, lentils, and vegetables.  I look forward to possibly finding a good mac and cheese and a good spaghetti recipe that I can make in it as one pot meals.

 

My friend uses this Mac and Cheese recipe, but I have not tried it.

 

INSTANT POT MAC AND CHEESE

INGREDIENTS

16 oz pasta I used elbow

3 cups water

sharp cheese (16 oz)

Few drops of hot sauce-optional

1 tbs dijon mustard

1/2 cup milk (I usually use more milk adding more as needed)

3 tbs butter

2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place pasta in your Instant Pot with chicken broth. Push manual (high pressure) and set the timer to 4 minutes. Do a quick release. Place your Instant Pot on saute. Stir in milk, butter, mustard and hot sauce. Stir in cheese and stir until melted about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

[Paige]

I wasn’t against it, but I wanted to chime in and say I literally use it every day. If I’m not using it to make a meal, I’m using it to make a huge pot of tea and keeping it warm all day. We use a big ladle to dish it out. I’ve also considered getting another one.

[ondreeuh]

I'm another one who wasn't ever against it, but was wary I would use it enough. I use it several times a week.

 

What I really like is that I can do most everything in the pot, and while it's cooking I don't have to babysit it - I can wash up all the prep tools and set the table. 

 

I don't like fussy meals - I make a lot of soups & stews in it. For chicken soups, I cook the meat, take it out, saute the veggies, add broth, cook for 8 minutes or so, stir in chopped meat, and voila. I made a potato chowder the other day that was delicious. I make squash soup and celeriac soup so easily - and just use the stick blender in the pot after it's done cooking. I adapt regular recipes by cutting the cook time in half and sometimes decreasing the liquid (for soup only). You get a feel for how long things take. And soups are very forgiving on the time.

 

It makes perfect rice and perfect hard-boiled eggs. It sucked at steaming broccoli. I've heard it's great at cooking potatoes and sweet potatoes.

 

I can throw 3 big chicken breasts on the trivet, pour in a cup of water, and cook for 5 minutes on high - perfect, juicy chicken to add to soups. 10 minutes if they're frozen. I just did a bunch of skinless chicken thighs, and they took 15 min. 

 

It does make amazing mac & cheese. I used the recipe with evaporated milk. It's pretty rich, but talk about comfort food!

[ondreeuh]

My friend uses this Mac and Cheese recipe, but I have not tried it.

 

INSTANT POT MAC AND CHEESE

INGREDIENTS

16 oz pasta I used elbow

3 cups water

sharp cheese (16 oz)

Few drops of hot sauce-optional

1 tbs dijon mustard

1/2 cup milk (I usually use more milk adding more as needed)

3 tbs butter

2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place pasta in your Instant Pot with chicken broth. Push manual (high pressure) and set the timer to 4 minutes. Do a quick release. Place your Instant Pot on saute. Stir in milk, butter, mustard and hot sauce. Stir in cheese and stir until melted about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

 

My IP cookbook "Great Food Fast" has a similar recipe, except it uses 1 cup of evaporated milk instead of the regular milk. The pasta, water, hot sauce, mustard, and butter are cooked for 4 min. Then after you open it, stir in the evaporated milk and cheese. I've transferred it to a casserole dish, sprinkled panko bread crumbs, and then broiled it for a few minutes, and the kids loved that. I've also stirred in sauteed onions and cooked bacon, which adds a nice touch.

[melmichigan]

I didn't get the hoopla.  I received an 8qt. Insta Pot for Christmas this year.  My kids will never let me boil potatoes for mashed potatoes again. ;)  I'm still working on what I like and don't like, but it's leaning more towards like.  I made a Boston Butt Pork Roast a few days ago.  It takes me 12+ hours in my crock pot, but only took an hour and a half in the Insta Pot, and it turned out awesome!

[mumto2]

I use it mainly for rice and potatoes but have to say I love it. No more soggy potatoes because they can't soak up too much water while boiling. We love roast potatoes and I make them weekly.

 

We eat quick stir fry meals frequently with rice as the side. They are so easy to get on the table now that I can simply do the rice and leave it on warm in the instant pot until my family is all ready to eat. I can get a meal on the table in just a few minutes if the rice is ready to go and perfect.

 

I actually bought an extra insert recently more as a just in case.

[IfIOnly]

I use it mainly for rice and potatoes but have to say I love it. No more soggy potatoes because they can't soak up too much water while boiling. We love roast potatoes and I make them weekly.

 

We eat quick stir fry meals frequently with rice as the side. They are so easy to get on the table now that I can simply do the rice and leave it on warm in the instant pot until my family is all ready to eat. I can get a meal on the table in just a few minutes if the rice is ready to go and perfect.

 

I actually bought an extra insert recently more as a just in case.

 

Yes! We're a gluten free family here and rice and potatoes are staples here. I'm totally in love with it for mashed potatoes.  I'm new to cooking in an IP, and my next staple to try is beans and bean based dishes like chili and ham and bean soup. I make big batches of beans and freeze to have on hand too. 

Edited January 19, 2018 by IfIOnly

[ondreeuh]

Yes! We're a gluten free family here and rice and potatoes are staples here. I'm totally in love with it for mashed potatoes.  I'm new to cooking in an IP, and my next staple to try is beans and bean based dishes like chili and ham and bean soup. I make big batches of beans and freeze to have on hand too. 

 

If you're using cooked beans, you can saute your veggies, add the broth and beans, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Really, you could probably do anywhere from 5-15 depending on your veggies. 

 

This is really yummy: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-lentil-and-hambone-soup/ (I add a cup of diced potatoes)

 

This even has video - but I NEVER use that much oil! https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-quick-chili-with-canned-beans/

[appyonthebeach]

The main thing that is hard for me to accept with the IP is putting food in there, shutting the lid, and hoping for the best. (That’s how it feels to me) I can’t see what’s going on. I can’t tell if the time under pressure is right until it’s over and I can’t change matters.

 

This bothers me too.  I look up recipes online and one recipe will say to set it for 18 minutes for chicken thighs, another says 28, another says 25.  I'm not much of an experimenter in the kitchen, so it's pushed me out of my comfort level a bit. 

[mumto2]

Yes! We're a gluten free family here and rice and potatoes are staples here. I'm totally in love with it for mashed potatoes. I'm new to cooking in an IP, and my next staple to try is beans and bean based dishes like chili and ham and bean soup. I make big batches of beans and freeze to have on hand too.

I have had really good luck with dry beans also. Mainly black beans and chick peas. I simply followed the basic directions that I found online. They involved pushing the bean button so easy. Haven't tried freezing.

[IfIOnly]

I have had really good luck with dry beans also. Mainly black beans and chick peas. I simply followed the basic directions that I found online. They involved pushing the bean button so easy. Haven't tried freezing.

 

Good to know! Black beans and garbanzo are the two we cook the most, followed by pinto and lentil. I have an 8 quart and will try to find a recipe or guideline for cooking as much as possible at a time in the IP. I'm used to cooking 5 pounds at a time in my huge stock pot but don't think I'll be able to do that in the IP.  It will be so great to fix it and forget it and have them cook quickly though.

Edited January 20, 2018 by IfIOnly

[IfIOnly]

If you're using cooked beans, you can saute your veggies, add the broth and beans, and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Really, you could probably do anywhere from 5-15 depending on your veggies. 

 

This is really yummy: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-lentil-and-hambone-soup/ (I add a cup of diced potatoes)

 

This even has video - but I NEVER use that much oil! https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/pressure-cooker-quick-chili-with-canned-beans/

 

Thank you for the recipes and tips, ondreeuh!

[MistyMountain]

I had one of the first models and did not use it much but at the time there was less recipes and I was a vegetarian and used it for rice and beans the most. I resisted getting another one for years until the holiday sale this year. I am really liking it so far. There are some recipes that are much faster but not everything is fast since it needs to come to pressure and sometimes you need to wait to let the pressure if but everything has been very tasty and more infused with flavor then even things that cook all day and the meat very tender. My kids have even eaten things they used to not like because it tastes so good in the instant pot. Hard boiled eggs also peel so much easier.

Edited January 20, 2018 by MistyMountain