Instant Pot - should I get one?

[BeverlyCleary]

Does anyone have one? Would you recommend it? What do you use it for? We don't have a big kitchen - is it worth the space it will occupy? If I get one how big should it be? We're a family of 4. Options are 3l, 5.7l and 8l. Thank you
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We have one, the 5.7l one. I love it for things like casseroles, bolognese and have also done things like cook a whole chicken in it to shred the meat for sandwiches etc. It's not super quick if you factor in the time is takes to come up to pressure (can be up to 10 mins) but easy for throwing stuff in then leaving it. For that reason I like it as it's safe to use with kids running round rather than having things bubbling on the stove.

I’ve got the 5.7, I mainly use it as a large slow cooker which I can brown stuff in the same pot. Was in the Black Friday sales and as cheap if not cheaper as a slow cooker that could go on the hob.

I probably could make more use of it and keep meaning to do porridge in it but never get around to it.

I love the instant pot. It’s great for making stock out of leftover chicken roast, and cooking up tough cuts of meat until meltingly tender. It’s also a really convenient way of cooking any curry’s, bolognaise etc, you can just leave it bubbling away for ages without any need to keep popping back to the kitchen and checking if things are burning dry etc

I love it too - use it mostly for porridge (great as I put it on when I make a coffee when I wake, and can leave it alone whilst I get ready. Pot in pot cooking (which I use for porridge) means you just bung the small pot in the dishwasher so minimal cleaning.
Makes fab mashed/ parboiled potatoes, and anything that likes a long slow cook can be sped up (eg pie filling/ bolognaise etc.

Thanks everyone. I love the sound of being able to leave things cooking without having to keep popping back to check.

I love it, use it a lot. There are offers though, so only buy it when there's a deal on! Also, I don't know if it's significantly better than other electric pressure cookers.

I use it for stews, soups and curries, stock etc.
It's good for doing curry and rice at the same time.
Rice pudding is gorgeous!

It's good because of the timer, automation, self contained cooking. I use it when I don't need to.

Thanks pickle The problem is that I want the Instant Pot instantly and I'm not sure if I can find a better price than the £84 on Amazon. How much comes off when it's on offer?

As above, and I make yoghurt in it. I also prove bread dough in the Instant Pot if it's a bit chilly in the kitchen.

Someone else said that they find if they're cooking "one pot" dishes it will often stick on the bottom- at which point it cuts out with a burn message and you have to tip it out, clean the pot, put it back in. Has anyone else ever found this?

We have the duo one I think. It's fab. Much better than the slow cooker as we find it doesn't dry meat out. We do whole chickens, soups, stews and lots of risotto

I have one and perhaps don't use it as much as I should. It replaced my slow cooker and stove top pressure cooker. It does great rice once you get the hang of it. My favourite is cheesecake. I was sceptical at first but it is so easy.

The more I hear about it the more I want one

If you put tomatoes in the bottom, then they tend to burn. You therefore layer everything else in and add the tomatoes on the top and only mix them in at the end. It d of debt take long to get the knack

Last sentence is supposed to say "it doesn't take long"!

@BeverlyCleary

Someone else said that they find if they're cooking "one pot" dishes it will often stick on the bottom- at which point it cuts out with a burn message and you have to tip it out, clean the pot, put it back in. Has anyone else ever found this?

That's a good price, to be fair! I've hardly ever had a burn notice. As pp says, add everything except tomatoes, then put them on top.

Pre thickened sauces cause it trouble, so don't cook with cook in sauces. If you've browned things off beforehand, have a good scrape of the bottom, perhaps with a splash of water, before closing up and sealing.

Risotto is great. I put the pan on sauté, add onions, celery, raw meat etc as I chop. Add the water and have a good scrape, then the cooked meat and rice. Pressure cook for 0mins then natural pressure release. All done.

Remember to allow time for getting up to pressure.

And if you're cooking a stew or similar, when the cooking time is finished it switches to Keep Warm for up to 10 hours; so it stays hot without burning.

I love mine.

You have to get to know it and experiment with it though

I love it and use it about 3-4 days each week. The main benefit for us is that we can start (adult) dinner before taking the kids upstairs for bath and bed, and once we come back down it’s ready. No standing at the stove stirring. I mainly do bolognese and chilli con carne but also do things like honey mustard chicken, ginger chicken. Hard Boiled eggs.

I’ve got one and use it a lot. I did a big pork shoulder for pulled pork last time I needEd to cook for a crowd. I do soup for school before breakfast a couple of times a week. Perfect for stews. Easy to cook chicken breast for sandwiches in a few minutes. Boiled eggs for sandwiches super quick and easy. The best corned meat as well.
The only thing I have a problem with is tomato based sauces I’ve had them burn on the bottom but are fine on slow cooker mode.

I don't have an instant pot but I have multicooker which is a similar thing (can sauté, slow cook, pressure cook etc). Agree it takes a while for the pressure to build then release, the main convenience is just being able to leave it and get on with other stuff. Once it finishes cooking it just goes into warming mode, so great for whenever I'm working from home.

I use it quite a bit to cook rice, make risottos and casseroles. It also does a very nice and easy rice pudding.

Just to go against the grain, but i sent mine back. I'm a decent cook, and use the slow cooker regularly with no problems, but I just couldn't get on with the instant pot. Slow cooker mode either burnt or didn't cook well enough, the pressure cooker I couldn't get the hang off and the saute function just burnt everything. I spent the money on a half decent slow cooker.

Love my instant pot! Use it for stews, bolognaise, risottos etc. Also handy for cooking potatoes and keeping them warm til whatever else you’re cooking is ready, so you don’t have the last minute juggle.

I use it more days than not. (Only downside is that it’s really ugly and is out all the time...)

£84 sounds like quite a good price.

Look at the Ninja Foodi - I use mine every day, it does everything!

My slow cooker broke just before Christmas, so I decided to replace it with an Instant Pot for a bit more flexibility. I went for the Evo 8l for a family of 4 - as I like to cook extra for leftovers for the freezer. It only arrived two days ago, but I’ve used it twice (stew and soup) and am loving it. What I like is the ability to blend methods - start off with sautéing then add other ingredients to pressure cook in a hurry or slow cook when I’ve been a bit more organised. I’d say the 5l one would definitely work for a family of 3, and that the footprint in not much bigger than my old slow cooker, although it seems bigger as it’s taller. I’m still not sure where I’ll keep it when I’m not using it, as it’s too big for my cupboards!