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 The Instant Pot is probably the most well-known electric pressure cooker—more accurately called a multi-cooker because it can also slow cook, sauté, and more—but many brands make this handy type of appliance. A good electric pressure cooker can help get dinner on the table quickly and easily even when you’re swamped.
Of the 18 models we’ve tested from a variety of brands since 2016, the
Instant
Pot Duo 6-Quart is still our favorite. It offers great performance at a reasonable price, and its tried-and-true design makes it easier to use than other multi-cookers or gimmicky smart cookers. Looking for things to make in your Instant Pot? Try these recipes for bone broth,
corned beef and cabbage, salsa verde chicken, and classic beef chili from
NYT Cooking. In 2021, Instant Pot narrowed down its lineup to five main electric pressure cooker models. We believe that the Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart remains the best choice for the price. (Instant Pot continues to change its lineup even now; you can find the most recent models on its site.) The Duo is super simple to use and performs all the core functions, including pressure cooking, sautéing, and steaming, as effectively as (or better than) competitive models. Like all Instant Pots, it comes with a stainless steel pot, which is more durable than the nonstick inserts in tested cookers from many other brands. The Duo has been our top pick since 2016, and we think it’s an even better value now since it has been updated in 2021 with a few features—such as an auto-sealing ring and an easy steam-release switch—that you used to get only with pricier models. After many years of testing and personal use, we also know that the Duo is a reliable, straightforward machine that will crank out meal upon meal. Although you miss out on some of Instant Pot’s newer, more advanced features, such as an LCD screen and an anti-spin design, the Duo is typically the most affordable model that has all the settings we think most home cooks need. Upgrade pickInstant Pot Pro 6-QuartMore versatileThis Instant Pot model offers more cooking control than our top pick does, and it has upgraded features such as a huge LCD screen, as well as a redesigned inner cooking pot with stay-cool handles for lifting the insert out or keeping the pot from spinning while you stir. Buying Options*At the time of publishing, the price was $130. The Instant Pot Pro 6-Quart, one of Instant Pot’s new models in 2021, comes with a number of small but impressive upgrades that make it more enjoyable to use. Its inner pot has handles, a convenience that not only allows you to lift the pot out easily but also keeps the pot from whirling around inside the cooker as you sauté and stir. The Pro also has a bright LCD screen that’s intuitive to use, and it includes a few extra functions that the Duo lacks, such as a sous vide program, five customizable and savable cooking presets, and a quieter steam release (though you’ll still hear and see the steam—it’s gotta go somewhere). The Pro also offers more fine-tuned cooking control for sautéing, with five cooking levels in contrast to three on the Duo. Another perk of the Pro is that it comes with an extra sealing ring for the lid. This model is also one of the few machines that are compatible with the QuickCool Tray (sold separately on Instant Pot’s site and on Amazon), which can cut down the depressurization time when you’re using a natural (but not quick) release. In the fall of 2021, Instant Pot introduced a smart version of the Pro, the Pro Plus Smart Multi-Cooker, which shares many of the Pro’s features and adds a few more, including app-based wireless operation and a canning setting. But it costs $40 more, and after years of testing multi-cookers, we don’t think smart cookers are worth the upgrade for most people. We may consider the Pro Plus for future updates. Everything we recommendOur pickUpgrade pickInstant Pot Pro 6-QuartMore versatileThis Instant Pot model offers more cooking control than our top pick does, and it has upgraded features such as a huge LCD screen, as well as a redesigned inner cooking pot with stay-cool handles for lifting the insert out or keeping the pot from spinning while you stir. Buying Options*At the time of publishing, the price was $130.
Wirecutter senior staff writer Lesley Stockton has spent her entire career in the culinary industry and has covered electric and stovetop pressure cookers for Wirecutter since 2016. For the original version of this guide, she interviewed pressure-cooking experts Lorna Sass, author of Cooking Under Pressure, and Mike Vrobel, author of the blog Dad Cooks Dinner. (Vrobel has tested electric pressure cookers sent by Instant Pot and Zavor on his own.) In 2020, Lesley tested the Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus against our picks. For the 2019 and 2021 updates, staff writer Anna Perling spent more than 30 hours cooking beans, onions, cakes, butter chicken, rice, and risotto in pressure cookers, as well as air frying two whole chickens, french fries, and mozzarella sticks in new and notable cookers. She also consulted Hip Pressure Cooking, The Veggie Queen, Serious Eats, and Miss Vickie Pressure Cooker Times for guidance. Who this is forIf you’re a set-it-and-forget-it type of cook who needs to get dinner on the table with minimal effort, an electric pressure cooker may become your new favorite cooking tool. Making meals can be stressful and time-consuming, but an electric pressure cooker can do a lot of the work for you. As with a slow cooker, you add your ingredients to a pressure cooker, seal the lid, turn it on, and walk away. But instead of leaving it to simmer all day, you can cook dinner in an electric pressure cooker in under an hour (including prep time). Pressure cookers speed up traditional braising, stewing, boiling, and steaming methods by trapping steam inside the pot. As pressure increases, it heats the moisture in the pot beyond the boiling temperature (212 degrees Fahrenheit), so it can cook foods more quickly. The new generation of electric pressure cookers are more accurately called multi-cookers because they can also slow cook, steam, cook grains, and sometimes even make yogurt quickly and safely. They’re less intimidating and more versatile than stovetop pressure cookers, although they take up more space and sometimes cost more. Many Wirecutter staffers love using their electric pressure cookers for quickly feeding their families or experimenting with simple, riffable recipes. Some multi-cookers also include lids with heating elements and fans that can cook food using convection. These cookers let you air fry, roast, or even bake foods if you want an even more versatile machine. But after years of testing these convection-capable models, which we discuss with more detail in the Competition section, we don’t think the results are as delicious as foods made in an oven or toaster oven. If you have limited space, however, one of these do-it-all models may work for you. How we pickedWe’ve learned in our testing over the years that most pressure cookers cook basic dishes, like beans and braised meat, similarly well. The biggest differences between cookers lie in how easy they are to use and in the range of features they offer, so to find the best electric cooker, we prioritize the following criteria: User friendliness: Electric pressure cookers can have a lot of intimidating buttons and sounds. We look for models with intuitive user interfaces that are easy to use right out of the box, with clear digital displays that show exactly what’s happening during cooking. Versatility: Our favorite electric pressure cookers are actually multi-cookers, with more cooking modes than slow cookers or rice cookers offer. They can successfully pressure cook, slow cook, sauté, steam, make rice, and even make yogurt. We search for models with the most pressure modes and cooking programs to fine-tune cooking. Materials and construction: Most electric pressure cookers have removable cooking pots or inserts. We prefer uncoated stainless steel inner pots because nonstick coatings will wear out after a few years, even if you don’t scratch them up sooner with metal tongs and spoons. We also look for cookers with detachable lids that you can submerge in soapy water for easy cleaning. Warranty and replaceable parts: Over years of testing, we’ve found that a good warranty at least covers the electronic housing and inner pot for one year but may not include gaskets, valve parts, and seals. Whether or not those small parts are covered by the warranty, it’s important to be able to buy them separately, since you’ll need to replace them every one to three years, depending on use. How we testedWe’ve been testing electric pressure cookers since 2016. For every round of testing, we’ve started by tackling a few basic cooking tasks: making beans from scratch, cooking brown rice, and sautéing onions. Over the years we’ve also prepared a range of other dishes, including brisket, pork, risotto, butter chicken, sushi rice, and even cake. To test the air-frying and crisping abilities of the Ninja Foodi and the Instant Pot Duo Crisp (both of which are combined air fryers and electric pressure cookers), we roasted a chicken and air-fried frozen finger foods like mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers, and french fries in addition to our usual tests. To test Instant Pot’s updated multi-cookers in 2021, we sautéed onions to test the anti-spin cooking design on the new Duo Plus and Pro, cooked beans to see whether some pots pressurized faster than others, and tried baking a cake in the Pro, which has a baking function. Once we realized that most pressure cookers handle basic dishes similarly, we started to really take note of usability, features, and build. During our testing, we’ve paid attention to whether pressure cookers are simple to operate and clean, and whether they have multiple cooking modes, decent sautéing capabilities, and durable stainless steel inserts. We’ve also taken note of more advanced options such as adjustable heat levels to sauté or sear, as well as the ability to save cooking presets. Our pick: Instant Pot Duo 6-QuartOur pickAfter testing Instant Pot’s new cookers in 2021, we still think the classic Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart is the best electric pressure cooker for the money. It performs basic cooking functions just as well as newer and costlier Instant Pot models, and it does even better than cookers from other brands. The Duo has also proven to be a reliable appliance that’ll hold up to weekly use for years. Although the Duo’s control panel may not look easy to use at first glance, it is intuitive, and you’ll be cooking very soon after you get this pot out of the box (though you should always be sure to read the manual first). In 2021, Instant Pot added an easy steam-release switch that makes the Duo even less intimidating to use. It’s one of the easier cookers to clean, too. Instant Pot’s durable stainless steel pot will last longer than nonstick inserts, and replacement parts are readily available. Despite its many buttons and spaceship-like appearance, the Instant Pot Duo (like most Instant Pot models) is simple to use. We were cooking beans within minutes of scanning the instructions. In contrast, the controls on competitors such as the T-fal cooker were complicated, and the manual for the Cuckoo iCook Q5 Premium was impenetrable. We like that the Instant Pot Duo has three temperature settings for sautéing, as well as three levels of pressure cooking, whereas some other cookers in its (inexpensive) price category offer only one or two. You can make a sofrito for soup base using the low-heat setting, for example, or caramelize onions and garlic on the high setting. The Instant Pot Duo also has two pressure settings—low and high—whereas some other models we tested have only one. The Instant Pot Duo has 13 programs, including presets for foods like rice, stew, and yogurt, as well as manual programs for sautéing, slow cooking, and pressure cooking, plus a keep-warm setting. You can also adjust the time and pressure level within the programmed functions, and the machine will remember those adjustments the next time you turn it on. Some other Instant Pot models, such as our upgrade pick, the Pro, have even more preset cooking programs. For the most part, those extra presets are for specific uses like cooking eggs or baking cake, and we haven’t missed them in our years of using the Duo at home. The only somewhat notable cook setting that the Duo lacks is sous vide, which some other Instant Pot models (including our upgrade pick) offer. But that isn’t a function that everyone uses, and it doesn’t work as well as a dedicated sous vide immersion circulator. All of Instant Pot’s electric pressure cookers come with an uncoated stainless steel inner pot that has a tri-ply disk on the bottom to help distribute heat evenly. Most cookers from other brands have nonstick-coated inner pots that don’t brown food as effectively and aren’t as durable. Even if you’re careful not to scratch the nonstick coating, it will eventually wear out with just a few years of use. A stainless steel pot, on the other hand, will likely outlast the appliance itself. In 2021, Instant Pot updated the Duo with a few extras that the company used to have only on costlier models. The Duo now has a steam-release switch that’s far easier to use than before when you want to quickly depressurize the pot (such as when you’re cooking delicate foods like vegetables or fish). Previously, you needed to turn the valve to release pressure and then quickly pull your hand away from the gush of steam. Now, you can simply slide the switch. The lid also automatically seals the steam valve once you lock the lid into place, whereas before you had to remember to adjust the valve into the sealed position. The lid on the Duo, as on all Instant Pots, detaches for easy cleaning. It has tabs that fit into a slot in either handle, so you can park it where it’s most convenient. In comparison, we found that the hinged lids on some other models, like the T-fal and Ninja Foodi cookers, made both cleaning and storing the cooker difficult. You can conveniently rest the Instant Pot’s lid on one of the pot’s handles while cooking or stirring. Video: Michael Hession Like all modern pressure cookers, the Instant Pot has multiple safety mechanisms (though the current list on the company’s site includes some outdated models) to keep pressure at a safe level and to prevent you from opening the lid while the pot is still under pressure, which could lead to a dangerous eruption of hot liquid. Instant Pot’s cult status is real. A simple Google search for “Instant Pot” yields countless blogs, recipes, and cookbooks dedicated to this cooker. And it’s deserved. We’ve heard from many folks, including Wirecutter staffers, who have used their Duo for years and still love it. The pot has a one-year warranty, and replacement parts are available online. Some Wirecutter staffers have owned their Instant Pots for over half a decade, and they report that the pots have survived years of use. Everyone who owns an Instant Pot says it still works great even after being dropped on the floor or handled by roommates. Flaws but not dealbreakersA few of the Instant Pot’s parts require extra effort to clean—but this goes for every Instant Pot model, not just the Duo. The depression around the rim of the outer pot traps salt, crumbs, and gunk, but we clear it out with canned air and a damp rag. Though the lid’s silicone sealing ring can also retain smells, you can deodorize it or buy extras (many people like to use one sealing ring for cooking savory dishes and another for cooking sweet dishes). None of the pressure cookers we tested, including the Duo, cook rice as well as the Cuckoo CRP-G1015F electric pressure rice cooker (the upgrade pick in our guide to rice cookers). But the Duo is more all-purpose than a dedicated rice cooker, and it still makes fine rice that we’d be happy to eat. The electric heating element in the Instant Pot can’t sear meat as well as stove-top techniques (an issue with all electric pressure cookers). For intense browning, sear meat in a separate pan on the stove, deglaze, and add the meat and drippings to the electric cooker. This process may kill your one-pot-dinner fantasies, but sometimes life is a compromise. If you’re looking for more versatility, our upgrade pick’s inner pot is designed to work on most cooktops. In 2021, Instant Pot redesigned the Duo’s lid to include a switch to release steam, whereas before you needed to turn a valve and quickly pull your hand out of the way. The gush of steam releasing from the updated Duo is still loud and intense, and if you’re new to pressure cooking, it can look and sound scary. We’ve never experienced an accident with hot steam on the Duo, and we think the new switch is even safer to use. But you should still keep your face and hands away from the valve. Upgrade pick: Instant Pot Pro 6-QuartUpgrade pickInstant Pot Pro 6-QuartMore versatileThis Instant Pot model offers more cooking control than our top pick does, and it has upgraded features such as a huge LCD screen, as well as a redesigned inner cooking pot with stay-cool handles for lifting the insert out or keeping the pot from spinning while you stir. Buying Options*At the time of publishing, the price was $130. In 2021, Instant Pot released the Instant Pot Pro 6-Quart, which has some great features that make it a meaningful upgrade over the Duo, namely handles on the inner cooking pot, a large LCD, customizable and savable cooking presets, more temperature levels for sautéing, a sous vide function, and a diffuser cap that makes the steam release just a bit gentler (you’ll still get a jet of steam spurting out from the top, but it won’t be as loud, strong, or long). The Pro also comes with an extra silicone sealing ring for the lid and works with Instant Pot’s QuickCool Tray (sold separately) if you want to depressurize foods faster before serving. Of Instant Pot’s costlier models, the Pro and its features are most worth the jump in price, especially if you plan to use your multi-cooker frequently. Instant Pot’s midlevel offering, the Duo Plus, usually costs about $20 less than the Pro at this writing, but the Duo Plus’s features are less impressive. Despite the Pro’s extra features, its basic cooking functions—pressure, slow, steam, yogurt, rice and grain—are essentially the same as on other Instant Pot models. We do like that the Pro has five custom sauté temperature settings (compared with the Duo’s three) in addition to the low, high, and medium presets. It also has a sous vide setting that, for all intents and purposes, does the job. The Pro has a bake function, as well, but we were unable to fit three different 8-inch cake pans into the Pro, so we weren’t able to successfully bake a cake in our tests (Instant Pot sells a proprietary baking pan, but we didn’t test it). We tried with some smaller cake rounds and ended up with uncooked goo even after an hour. You can make a cheesecake in all Instant Pot models, and you can use steam to bake in models without the air-fryer lid. (A representative from Instant Pot told us that on its Instant Brands Connect app, the company offers baking recipes—such as for brownies, cornbread, and coconut cake—that are tailored to the Pro. We didn’t try these recipes in our tests, but if you’re especially interested in using your Instant Pot to bake on top of all the other uses, we might suggest considering one of the air-fryer models (or lids), which we discuss more below. Instant Pot has also made some design upgrades that improve the usability of the Pro over that of the Duo and Duo Plus. One improvement that stands out is that the handles on the inner cooking pot stay cool, which lets you easily remove the pot even when it’s hot. These handles also act as anchors that lock the pot into place so that it doesn’t whirl around when you stir—a common gripe we had while testing other Instant Pot models (the Duo Plus has an anti-spin design in which rubbery stoppers on the inner pot help prevent the insert from moving, but it isn’t as effective). Another unusual feature on the Pro’s inner cooking pot: It has a flat bottom, which makes it functional on most stove tops, including induction and electric, and it can tolerate the oven up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. We can see this feature being useful if you wanted to sear meat on a stove with more control than you get in the Instant Pot, or if you wanted to finish a dish in the oven (browning cheese or bread in a ribollita, for example). The pot in other Instant Pot models has a slightly convex bottom and thus doesn’t work on a stove. Overall, the Pro’s inner pot represents a nice level-up from the Duo’s inner pot, which has no handles and is not recommended for use on or in any cooking appliance other than the Instant Pot. Of the Instant Pots we’ve tested, the Pro has the most intuitive interface, with a large, bright LCD. It has buttons for you to select your cooking program (such as pressure, sauté, or steam) and a dial that toggles between presets within each program, as well as the option to set your own time and temperature. The screen has white lettering with a blue background and is readable from a distance, with large icons and a progress bar so you always know where the Pro is in the cooking process. In contrast, the Duo’s pared-down red and black screen indicates only that it’s heating up with an “On” message before counting down once it has reached temperature or pressure. The Duo also doesn’t have a start button—it starts automatically—which can feel counterintuitive if you’re just getting into pressure cooking. You can also turn off beeping noises on the Pro, whereas you cannot disable sounds on the Duo or Duo Plus. The Pro’s lid has a steam-release valve that promises to make the release quieter than on other Instant Pots, but in our tests, we didn’t notice a significant difference in noise levels. If you’ve used pressure cookers in the past, you know that using the quick-release method produces a loud and forceful geyser of steam. The valve cover on the Pro diffuses the force of the steam, though it doesn’t minimize the noise (sorry). In 2021, Instant Pot added an automatic sealing feature and a quick steam-release switch to all of its models, including the Pro: You won’t be left wondering whether the pot is sealed, and you won’t have to dodge the jet of steam after twisting the valve (which you used to have to do with the older models). Unlike the Duo, the Pro has two reminders you can set for steam release at five and 10 minutes. The Pro also has a clearly marked venting system that includes a red pressure indicator, a vent/seal switch that automatically seals when you close the lid, and a steam-valve diffuser. You also get two silicone sealing rings (which ensure that the lid maintains a tight seal) with the Pro. Silicone absorbs food odors, so having the extra ring is handy if you use your pressure cooker for both savory and sweet recipes and don’t want to go to the trouble of making a cheesecake only to have it come out with the faint scent of beef stew. Using dedicated gaskets for pungent and mild foods, respectively, helps you avoid that. Besides more preset cooking programs (such as those for various grains or for baking cake), the Pro has one basic cooking function that the Duo doesn’t: sous vide. This function allows you to cook vacuum-sealed foods in a water bath set between 77 and 203 degrees Fahrenheit. We previously tested the sous vide setting on the Duo Evo Plus, and we didn’t retest the setting on the Pro because we weren’t impressed with the results. Sous vide cooking is all about accurate temperature control and water circulation—two things the Instant Pot sous vide setting doesn’t really do—and the sous vide setting on the Duo Evo Plus consistently ran 5 degrees below our target temperature. But it still cooked our modest vacuum-sealed filet of salmon in 45 minutes. We think it could be useful for folks who want to cook or hold food at a specific temperature for an extended period of time, such as while keeping soup warm on a buffet table. That said, if you want to do sous vide cooking, consider getting a dedicated immersion circulator. In 2021, Instant Pot has advertised that the Pro preheats 20% faster than the brand’s other pots. We timed how long the updated versions of the Duo, Duo Plus, and Pro took to pressurize while cooking a pot of beans, and we didn’t find a significant difference. The Pro preheated in 14 minutes 24 seconds, while the Duo took 14 minutes 48 seconds and the Duo Plus took 16 minutes 8 seconds. All pressure cookers take time to pressurize, but you can still walk away from the machine instead of standing over the stove. The Pro is also one of the few Instant Pots that work with the QuickCool Tray, which you can buy separately for about $10; this tray sits on the lid and allows you to cool the pot down faster, reducing the time it takes to depressurize during natural release. In our 2019 tests with the Duo Evo Plus, we found that the QuickCool Tray reduced depressurization time by half, from just over 30 minutes down to 15 minutes. Here’s how it works: You fill the tray’s reservoir with water and freeze it until solid (about three hours). When you’re done pressure cooking, turn off the pot—double-check that it’s not on “Keep warm”—remove the vented plastic cover from the lid, and place the frozen tray on the exposed metal area beneath. By the time the pressure indicator in the lid drops, signaling that it’s depressurized, the QuickCool Tray and the water inside are pretty hot—so maybe use a dish towel or a mitt to protect your hands. Although we wish the QuickCool Tray were not sold separately, it does give you a pressure-release method tha isn’t as jarring as releasing a geyser of steam and is faster than waiting for the pot to depressurize naturally. The instruction manual that comes in the box isn’t nearly as detailed as the online PDF version (the manuals that come in the box are condensed, according to a representative). We suggest that you bookmark the online manual for easy reference. Like all Instant Pot models, the Pro comes with a one-year limited warranty that mainly covers manufacturer defects—not accidents, misuse, or abuse. Care and maintenanceIt’s crucial to clean a pressure cooker’s lid after every use because the valves and rim can trap gunk that not only breeds bacteria but also prevents the pot from sealing properly. Removing the valve parts and gasket from the lid is simple and makes cleaning off any food residue easier to do. The entire lid is also dishwasher safe. Even with washing, the lid’s silicone sealing ring can retain food smells that transfer to subsequent batches. We found that baking just the ring in a 250-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes takes the smell out (be sure to clean it thoroughly first to avoid baking on any gunk or grease). You can also buy extra sealing rings and keep one exclusively for aromatic foods. Instant Pot sells the rings in different colors, too, so you can distinguish which ring is which. Eventually, the sealing ring will wear out. This is normal; based on our experience, one clue that it’s time to replace the ring is if your pot takes noticeably longer to build pressure. We advise buying sealing rings and other parts through the manufacturer’s website as opposed to Amazon to avoid phony Instant Pot parts. What about other Instant Pot models?Instant Pot has released many new models of electric pressure cookers since we first started testing them, and in 2021 the company reduced its lineup to five core Instant Pots. Figuring out exactly what you’re giving up or getting from one to the next can be tricky. To help, Instant Pot has a comparison chart that you can reference. In general, however, if you can find another model on sale for a better deal than whichever of our picks is nearest in price, we think most of them will serve you well. We understand that there are some cases where folks are looking for their Instant Pot to truly do everything (in an RV or a dorm room, for instance). That’s when we get asked about the air-frying lid that you can purchase separately for a Duo or Duo Plus—which features a heating element and a fan to convection-bake foods—or other Instant Pot models like the Duo Crisp or Pro Crisp, both of which come with an additional (though different) air-fryer lid. We have not tested the current version of the air-fryer lid sold separately, but we have tested the Duo Crisp, and we say more about it in the Competition section below. In general, they work okay, and they might be worth considering if you’re committed to baking or browning foods directly in your Instant Pot. But they can also be larger and more expensive than our main pressure cooker picks, and they don’t work as well as appliances dedicated to convection cooking. You can also check out the Competition section for more specific information on the other multi-cookers we’ve tested, including Instant Pot models and those from other brands. The competitionCompared with the Duo, the Instant Pot Duo Plus offers a few bells and whistles for about $20 more at this writing (over the years, we’ve found that prices sometimes fluctuate between models). While the Duo Plus has a sous vide and sterilizing setting, otherwise it has the same cooking capacity and functionality as the Duo. The Duo Plus’s digital display looks similar to the Duo’s, as it lacks the slick-looking LCD of the Pro, but the Duo Plus has a few extra buttons that make setting the time and temperature, and starting cooking, more intuitive compared with the Duo. Although the pot lacks handles, the Duo Plus does have an anti-spin design consisting of four rubbery stoppers attached to the inside of the multi-cooker base; these stoppers help keep the inner pot from spinning but aren’t as effective as the handles on the Pro. Overall, the Pro offers better features for about the same price. We recommend the Duo Plus only if you can find it on sale at a price comparable to that of the Duo. The Instant Pot Ultra was our upgrade pick for a few years before getting unseated by the Duo Evo Plus and then the Pro; now, it’s available only through other retailers, such as Amazon and Walmart, and isn’t sold on Instant Pot’s site. We still like the Ultra’s sleek control panel, large display, and myriad cooking options. Prices may fluctuate on Instant Pot’s models: At this writing, the 6-quart Ultra costs slightly less than the 8-quart Pro. But the Ultra lacks some of the Pro’s features, such as an improved inner cooking pot with stay-cool handles and a steam-diffusing lid. Even so, we still think the Ultra is a solid cooker, with features (including an altitude-adjust setting) that the Pro lacks. It also works with an air-fryer lid that’s sold separately if you want to be able to air fry or roast foods. The Ultra is worth considering if you live at high altitudes or if you find it on a deep discount. In 2018 we tested the Instant Pot Max, which can reach a higher pressure than the Pro (in addition to the usual low- and high-pressure settings, it also has a Max setting that Instant Pot says can reach 15 psi). Plus, it offers a canning setting that other Instant Pots don’t have, as well as a sous vide setting. We didn’t test the canning function, but we did try out the sous vide option along with regular pressure cooking to compare the Max against other Instant Pots. After ending up with many batches of risotto, black beans, and bone broth, plus one failed sous vide attempt in our 2018 tests, we concluded that the Instant Pot Max doesn’t offer any real upgrades. Even though extra pressure settings should mean that the Max can cook foods faster, the machine takes longer to come up to pressure. The NutriBoost program, which agitates food as it cooks by releasing intermittent pulses of steam, didn’t wow us, making stiff risotto and an indistinguishable batch of beef broth. The sous vide function never reached its target temperature to begin cooking. The Max’s lid doesn’t have the steam-release switch like the Duo’s does, and the pot doesn’t have handles or the anti-spin design of the Pro. After spending a full day pressure cooking, air frying, baking, and broiling, we think the Instant Pot Duo Crisp is too expensive for what it can do, as well as too large for most kitchens. The Duo Crisp is essentially a barebones Instant Pot (with very few preprogrammed settings) that comes with an air-fryer lid. It’s convenient for cooking and then browning dishes, but we recommend it only if making such one-pot meals is your top priority—a convection toaster oven works better for air frying because it fits more food. You can also buy an air-fryer lid, separately, that fits most 6-quart Instant Pots—we haven’t tested it, but the fryer basket it comes with is even smaller than the one in the 8-quart Duo Crisp, which we found to be cramped. In 2019, we also tested the Ninja Foodi, another pressure cooker with an air-fryer lid (though this lid is not detachable). In our pressure cooking tests, the Foodi performed well. It also did a good job as an air fryer and made an acceptable roast chicken. But the Foodi is huge and expensive. If you’re set on getting both an air fryer and a pressure cooker combined into one appliance, we think you’re better off choosing the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, which includes a fully removable air-fryer lid as well as a lid for pressure cooking and has a smaller footprint. Ninja has also released some smart multi-cookers that are more expensive than our picks; we did not test these in 2021. The 6-quart Zavor Lux LCD costs more than our picks at this writing and offers about the same functionality, minus some of the nicer features of the Pro, such as handles and the steam-release switch. One particularly striking difference is that this Zavor model’s inner pot sits pretty loose inside the cooker—it spun like a whirlygig every time we stirred onions as they sautéed. We tested the Cuckoo iCook Q5 Premium multi-cooker in 2019, but this model has only one pressure-cooking setting and is generally difficult to figure out. It’s not nearly as versatile as the Instant Pot and costs more. Cuckoo has a range of pressure cookers, many of them with smart features such as voice navigation, but they’re at least two to three times the cost of our picks at this writing. We also tested the Breville Fast Slow Pro in 2019 and liked its intuitive interface, sleek design, and altitude-adjust function. But it currently costs about twice as much as the Instant Pot Pro (our upgrade pick) and lacks some of that model’s nicer features. The Breville Fast Slow Pro, for example, has a nonstick-coated cooking pot without handles, whereas the Instant Pot Pro has a stainless steel pot with handles that make it easier to lift. In 2021, Breville released the less-expensive Fast Slow Go (whew, these names!), which has a stainless steel pot. But the Fast Slow Go still lacks the LCD and handles of the Instant Pot Pro, and it still costs more than our upgrade pick right now. The T-fal Electric Pressure Cooker was difficult to figure out. We were pressing the same buttons repeatedly until the cooker decided to kick on. Although the manual says that this T-fal model can pressure cook for 12 hours, we found in our tests that it wouldn’t do so for longer than 40 minutes. Sources
About your guidesAnna Perling is a former staff writer covering kitchen gear at Wirecutter. During her time at Wirecutter, she reported on various topics including sports bras, board games, and light bulbs. Previously she wrote food and lifestyle pieces for Saveur and Kinfolk magazines. Anna is a mentor at Girls Write Now and a member of the Online News Association. Lesley Stockton is a senior staff writer reporting on all things cooking and entertaining for Wirecutter. Her expertise builds on a lifelong career in the culinary world—from a restaurant cook and caterer to a food editor at Martha Stewart. She is perfectly happy to leave all that behind to be a full-time kitchen-gear nerd. Further reading
Can Instant Pot be used as pressure cooker?Yes, while Instant Pots are technically multi-cookers - with functions including slow cooking, rice cooking, steaming, warming and sautéing - they're all pressure cookers.
What's the difference between an Instapot and an Instant Pot?First off, it is actually called an Instant Pot . This is despite the fact that it seems like everyone calls them an “Instapot”. Well, Dad has been calling it an Instapot forever. That is until a nice person in a Facebook group pointed it out he was calling it the wrong name.
Is a 7 in 1 pressure cooker the same as an Instant Pot?Instant Pot Duo is a 7-in-1 programmable cooker, it replaces 7 kitchen appliances as it has the functions of a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker & warmer.
Is a Cuisinart electric pressure cooker the same as an Instant Pot?INTERIOR COOKING POT: The Cuisinart comes with a non-stick inner pot while the Instant Pot comes with a stainless steel inner cooking pot. The stainless steel pot is still easy to clean, but not quite as quick and super easy as the non-stick pot with the Cuisinart.
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Is an instant pot and pressure cooker the same
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