My Best Instant Pot Review– why it will change your cooking

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My Best Instant Pot Review

Best Product: Instant Duo60 6Quart

I love my Instant Pot! However, the idea of an electric pressure cooker did not sit well with me at first. When I envision pressure-cooking I think of my mom in the kitchen putting a big pot on the stove and it suddenly starts rocking and hissing! Then she puts it in the sink and runs and runs and runs cold water on it. Finally, she opens it but always first gives me a word of warning, “make sure all the pressure is out or it’ll blow up!” WHAT!?! Yes, pressure cookers of old were dangerous, loud but dang did they make good food! I’ve craved beans that did not have to be soaked overnight. I longed for tender beef and potatoes! Yet, I was terrified to ever use my own pressure cooker.

Enter the Instant Pot. I first saw one in my cousin’s kitchen and inquired how it worked. Then a friend received one for her wedding shower and I really was curious. So finally I saved up the money (they were significantly more than they are now) and bought an Instant Pot! When it arrived I unpacked it, cleaned it, and sat it on my counter. Not knowing what to really fix. Now the Duo60 comes with a delightful cookbook that I perused and got very excited by some recipes (this cookbook gets updated quite frequently as it seems no one I know has exactly the same one). In the book was a butternut squash soup recipe that called to me! I made it, with my own twist, and fell instantly and forever in love with my Instant Pot.

So what is an Instant Pot? It is an electric pressure cooker! What does this mean? It uses steam to cook food. More specifically, it takes the liquid in the pot super heats it to create temperatures higher than boiling. At higher temperatures food cooks quicker. The pressure also forces liquid into the food which is why meat comes out tender and beans don’t need to be soaked! Yes, science is cool! Anyways, it will change your life! My favorite Instant Pot is this one and here’s why!

The Instant Pot does the work of 7 appliances

Pressure Cooker: This is the number use I would say for your Instant Pot. A pressure cooker reduces the time it takes to cook meats and veggies by using compressed steam. Basically steam is trapped in the cooker which quickly raises the internal temperature.

Slow Cooker: For the slow cook function to work you need to buy a glass lid which is different from the gasket pressure lid. You can purchase it on Amazon here. From everything I have read it is hit or miss if the recipes turn out like they should. My best advice is to use recipes that are made for the slow cook Instant Pot function. This way you know someone has tested them and its not you yourself testing out your favorite slow cooker recipe. Or be adventurous! Test is out and create your own Instant Pot/slow cooker recipes!

Rice Cooker: This instant pot cooks rice in 5 minutes. This is phenomenal because my rice cooker can take up to 20 minutes to cook rice and gets icky, sticky, rice water all over my kitchen!

Steamer: You will need a metal steamer basket for this one. The great thing about steaming in an instant pot is that you can accomplish it while cooking other things at the same time. All you need is to layer and separate out your vegetables with the steamer basket. It’s really that easy! Just make sure you have similar cook times on your dishes!

Saute: This function allows your Instant Pot to be truly a one pot meal maker. Gone are the days of the slow cooker where you had to brown all your proteins and veggies in a skillet before adding it to the cooker! This means that you don’t lose crucial flavor and you deglaze the same vessel you will be cooking!

Yogurt Maker: This is the one function I have yet to use but if you like yogurt you will love this function. Against just eliminates the need for multiple cooking/cooling vessels. If you have kids this is a must. Homemade yogurt tastes better, is better for you (less sugar and preservatives), and is cheaper than store bought yogurt!

Warmer: This function is key for the instant pot when you allow it to come down in pressure on its own. It makes it so your food does not get cold. I will also add with this the time function. You can set your meal on a timer, go to work or run errands (dare I say clean house?), and have a lovely dinner warm and waiting for you and the pot does it all by itself! Genius!

Great for Families

We all know how important it is to eat healthy, nutritious meals together as a family! But life! There are days when my kitchen is so messy I dread cooking let alone eating in it! When I first became a stay-at-home mom I thought I’d clean, do laundry, entertain my baby, get an online degree, work from home and have dinner on the table every night! I mean how hard is that right…any SAHM mom is laughing so hard right now! Some days I get laundry done but not put away, most days I get dishes at least rinsed off, and every day I play and play and play some more with my LO! However, I try really hard to have at least one healthy non jarred baby food meal for me and her. The Instant Pot is how I accomplish this. My proteins come out tender enough that a 10-month old can eat them and veggies are a breeze we are both able to eat healthy with minimal work and my tiny little house isn’t heated up with an oven all day! If I am so inclined I can even make homemade baby food! Just trust me that as a mom you will not regret purchasing an Instant Pot!

What to Expect

The Instant Pot comes in 3 different sizes. I own and recommend the medium size or 6 quarts. If you have a huge family, make big meals in advance to freeze or just want this option than go for the 8 quarts. With the 6 quart I can cook for a family with 4 adults and a kiddo (although she doesn’t eat much) and I usually have leftovers. I can fit around a 5 pound roast and even a small whole chicken. The smaller 3 quarts at this time, is the same price ($79.99) as the 6 quart and I truly don’t see the benefit of the 3 quarts. If you are just using it for rice and vegetables or possibly baby food than maybe a 3 quart will get the job done but I think once you see everything you can do with your Instant Pot you will want to make dinner in it every night.

Easy Clean Up…Mostly

The clean up for the Instant Pot is a breeze. I usually just hand wash the lid with a soapy dish cloth and put the pot insert right into my dish washer! The lid’s gasket is super easy to take off and wash around. They also have these awesome replacement seals that you can color code so sweet food stays sweet and savory food stays savory! If you do a lot of different cooking styles I highly recommend these!

The one critique I have for this gadget is cleaning the outside of the instant pot. You can wipe down the outside with damp cloth and when you unplug it you can really go at the buttons to get them clean. My beef is with the top part of the seal (I’ve included pictures of my fairly gross looking top). It gets everything in there and it is really hard to get clean.

I take a damp paper towel with just a dab of soap and clean around it than go back with a damp cloth. That’s the best I can manage. I’m sure some of you are going to keep this spotless but I just don’t cook or clean that way!

My other critique is that this is a counter appliance. I would not want to try to store this in a cupboard and take it in and out all the time. It has a bit of weight to it and it’s bulky! But you are going to love this appliance so much that I think it’ll 100% earn its spot on your counter.

Recommendations

I highly recommend the purchase of the Instant Pot Duo60 It is just so indispensable for a family to have and use! There are some great add-ons as well that will make this appliance even better! You can see those below.  Own your very own pressure cooker and love it?  Drop some comments below and tell us just how much!  #InstantPotLove


Blessings Joyful Mamas!!!

KARA

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9 thoughts on “My Best Instant Pot Review– why it will change your cooking

  1. CravenATAT

    This is an amazing review for the Duo60 6 quart, as I use this product at home. I have had it for a few months, but did not realize it did the work of 7 appliances until I read this post. I use it as a rice cooker and slow cooker a few times a week, but it did not occur to me to use it for a yogurt maker! 

    You recommend the medium size, and I completely agree. I am in a household of 4 and it is the perfect size for all of us. If you have a larger family, the 8 quart may be better, but this 6 quart one you are referencing is tremendous. In reference to the cleaning, I use a damp sponge (just water) after a soapy paper towel and it seems to get all the areas clean if you want to give that a shot!

    Great post!

    Reply
    1. Kara Post author

      Thank you!  I’m glad you also enjoy your Instant Pot!  My whole extended family has this same model and loves it!  Thank you for the cleaning tip…I always clean up after cooking but the rim area always seems to get forgotten so it is a real pain for me to clean.  Days upon days of crud is my real problem! I’m sure if I cleaned it regularly it would be an easier job.

      Thank you for your comment!

      KARA  

      Reply
  2. Eric Cantu

    Spectacular review. I’ve been looking into getting one of theses and I feel like your intro was word for word what I was thinking when I first read “ELECTRIC pressure cooker”… That scenario with your mom brought back memories! The section you wrote on this appliance doing the job of 7 was really eye opening. Thanks to you I think I’ve found what I’m looking for 🙂 I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. Looking forward to some slow cooked pulled pork in my future!

    Reply
    1. Kara Post author

      Eric,

      Slow cooker pork is my favorite!  I will hopefully have a few recipes for this in the future.  It is truly amazing how quickly this cooks a whole pork roast and how tender they come out!  My special tip…cook the pork with apple cider vinegar or even better a hard cider!  You will not regret it! 

      KARA

      Reply
  3. Billy.W.

    Hey Kara, truly such a great article that you have written here. I liked it for the following reasons.

    I love pressure cooked food and pressure cookers!! They take so little effort to put a meal on!!

    Great simple easy to read layout of our article

    Written in an easy to read conversational style, really relatable!!

    Fantastic links to the product and the accessories.

    The article made me hungry just reading it lol!!

    I love the fact this one cooker can do the task of 7 appliances!!

    Awesome article and good work here Kara,thanks heaps for sharing this

    Reply
    1. Kara Post author

      Billy,

      I’m so glad you liked my review!  I’m glad that it made you hungry!  I hope you’ll check my recipe pages next and cook up a great dinner for your family! 

      Thank you for the comments,

      KARA 

      Reply
  4. David

    Fantastic article. I love to cook and I tried a pressure cooker once, the terror I felt while that thing was beating and banging. I had heard about these instant pots and have really have been curious. Reading your article it sounds like a breeze to use. Does it come with other things like the basket or are those sold separately? I love the idea of being able to do pressure cooking without the danger involved. I really want to try the yogurt making my kids love it and as you stated it would be a lot healthier. Thank you so much for this great review and can’t wait to give it a try.

                                                                                                                                                          David

    Reply
    1. Kara Post author

      David,

      This model comes with one cooking insert and gasket but not a steamer basket.  You can purchase those separate or use any metal one if you already own one.  If you are planning on doing a lot of yogurt making, I would recommend purchasing an additional insert and gasket. You have to have the insert and gasket cleaned very thoroughly before starting to make yogurt and I think keeping separate inserts would be beneficial.      

      I also was so scared of traditional pressure cooking!  The stove top models have come along way from what you and I are probably remember but I’m still apprehensive about using them.  The electronic models have fail safes so you can’t open them when they are at pressure and will give you an error if there is not enough liquid and it starts to burn!  

      I hope you decide to try one!  Please let me know how it goes I think you will be incredibly surprised!

      KARA

      Reply

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