Best Instant Pot Comparison Guide
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Which is the best Instant Pot for you?
Are you ready to save time, money and eat well with high-quality meals that don’t require stewing over a hot pot all day?
Awesome! Then Instant Pot is just right for you!
So I’m breaking down which Instant Pot is best for you with an Instant Pot comparison.
Plus, you’ll have my Instant appliance guide to help you choose the best products for delicious convenience cooking and easy magical meals in minutes!
First, what is an Instant Pot?
Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker that works faster than your typical cooking appliance.
As a result, food that used to take hours to prepare has turned into magical meals in minutes with an Instant Pot pressure cooker!
It slow cooks, sautés, makes rice, steams vegetables, and cooks chicken, meat, and other food items. It also has soup and yogurt maker settings, and you can even make cakes and bread from scratch in it!
How do electric pressure cookers work?
An Instant Pot is an innovative electric pressure cooker.
Electric pressure cookers create a highly pressurized environment by mixing heat and steam to cook food instantly.
Even though Instant Pot is a relatively new brand, the pressure cooker has been around since the 1700s!
What can you cook in an Instant Pot?
Instant Pot pressure cooking is a much healthier way to prepare:
- meats
- chicken
- fish
- seafood
- rice
- grains
- vegetables
- beans
- chili
- soups
- stews
- yogurt
- porridge
- cake
- bread
- Plus more!
Instant Pot pressure cooker shorter cooking times lend to better preservation of vitamins and minerals while intensifying each recipe’s flavors and enhancing the taste and texture. Yum!
Instant Pot bakes in under an hour and cooks whole chicken dinners in under 30 minutes!
Instant Pot makes braised meats easy for keto diet-folks.
And vegans and vegetarians love Instant Pot for its 4-minute vegetables!
Even dry beans that typically need overnight soaking are cooked in approximately 20 minutes for dishes like chili and hummus thanks to Instant Pot’s smart programs.
What are the Instant Pot smart programs?
Depending on the Instant Pot model you choose, there are smart programs with pre-programmed cooking times for the food you’re making.
You simply place the ingredients in the pot and press a button to cook!
The smart settings on all Instant Pot pressure cooker models include:
- soup/broth
- meat/stew
- bean/chili
- poultry
- rice
- multigrain
- porridge
- steam
Why choose an Instant Pot over another multi cooker?
Because Instant Pot not only comes with pre-set smart programming but also multiple cook settings – all in one pot!
These space-saving counter top, one-pot, multi cook settings include:
- slow cook
- sauté
- yogurt
- keep warm
- delay start
- and of course, the most popular – pressure cook!
Instant Pot Duo is the model that started the pressure cooker product craze and has all of the above-listed smart programs and settings.
Which Instant Pot size is right for you?
There are various Instant Pot sizes to accommodate any family – even cooking for one or two!
Each recipe that I share here on The Soul Food Pot allows you to use the dynamic recipe card to adjust the ingredients to make more or less of a given recipe!
What sets the Instant Pot Duo Nova apart from the Duo?
While Instant Pot Duo is the one that started it all, its next-generation upgrade, Duo Nova, is precisely the same – except for one innovative feature…
With Instant Pot Duo Nova, the valve sealing and positioning are automatically done for you when pressure cooking! (Sweet!)
What’s the difference between Instant Pot quick release and natural release?
Natural release is probably the topic covered the most when it comes to Instant Pot cooking!
Next to the question – “Should the Instant Pot valve be up or down?” (The answer is HERE, btw!)
Natural release vs. quick release is the next question I answer the most.
A natural release will happen when you keep the food locked in the Instant Pot after the cooking time has elapsed.
Then, the pressure will naturally release from the Instant Pot on its own.
To prompt a manual, quick pressure release, position the pressure valve down for Instant Pot Duo. Or press the pressure button for models Duo Nova and beyond.
Is Instant Pot easy to clean?
Instant Pot is super easy to clean!
Next to making delicious meals in a matter of minutes, I love that Instant Pot clean-up involves only one stainless steel pot. Just soap and dish wash – no specialty cleaners needed.
You should also clean your Instant Pot lid by rinsing it in the sink.
After enough heavenly suppers, your Instant Pot will begin to secure a food smell and possibly some food stains.
Wash the lid by running it underwater, and you can actually remove and even replace the lid’s silicone ring!
Can you air fry in an Instant Pot?
Yep! You can now air fry in the Instant Pot by replacing the Instant Pot lid with the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid!
(And you thought I was kidding about one-pot straight to plate!)
You simply add the Air Fryer Lid to start or finish a meal with a beloved air fryer crisp!
Instant Pot also makes air fryer appliances that do not pressure cook. Like their super popular Vortex Air Fryer and my personal favorite, the Omni Plus toaster oven and air fryer.
Love your Instant Pot but wish you had another for side dishes?
Pro tip: If you’re obsessed with Instant Pot cooking like so many more home cooks and me, you can enjoy cooking meals with multiple pots simultaneously!
Or, for smaller portions, try the PIP: pot-in-pot cooking technique. (Find more Instant Pot terms and tips HERE).
Where can you find the best Instant Pot recipes?
While Instant Pot shares some recipes on their site, you can always count on The Soul Food Pot for the best soul food, southern recipes and Caribbean cuisine.
Save time, money and eat well with high-quality meals that don’t require stewing over a hot pot all day!
Like this post? Pin the below image to your Pinterest Instant Pot board!
