What do you cook well / easily in your slow cooker or instant pot?

[Ninjawannabe]

I have an old rubbish spots cooker and a pressure cooker which gets used once every 6 months for one specific bloody amazing curry.

Many of my appliances are old and worn out, DH and I have both had recent pay rises, and I fancy splashing some cash.

What do you make in your slow cooker or instant pot? Should I get rid of my two and buy this combined one?

I only ever use the slow cooker to give things I've already made some extra stewing time. I tried chucking raw bits on but they always tasted horrible, of raw onion. Even after many many hours cooking.

If I have to soften the onions first then I can't be arsed I'm afraid, I might as well just cook properly.

What do you use the slow cooker for which makes your life better? Is the instant pot just as good? Does it make things itself?

I also want an airfryer but I'm not sure I can justify that as I supposedly bought a microwave with airfry capability but it didn't come with a frying basket and is too much hassle with preheating etc

I want to get this one right!

ninja - but you dont just eat the chicken bland.....u do things with it like add mayo for sandwich filling, or chilli sauce, or BBQ sauce or use it for a pitza. its just another way of cutting corners and the basis for several other meals.

I don't really do any of those things dreaming

I like the sound of poached chicken, I'm just mulling over the realisation that I've never had it and can't imagine how it would fit into my life and diet

I have an instant pot and an air fryer and love both
Yoghurt, risotto, goulash, curry, corned beef hash are my most regular instant pot dishes

I love my Instant Pot. I would definintely get a programmable pressure cooker over a slow cooker though- I've never liked the taste of food from the slow cooker.

I love doing either a beef or lamb joint in it. Lamb kleftiko is a great dish to do in the Instant Pot. It's great for things like pulled pork. We use it a lot for makinig stock, soup from leftovers and cooking beans.

I'm not one of these people who uses it for any and all dishes. I don't think it's good for pasta, for example. Generally I just use it for stuff that you'd typically cook low and slow.

@MavisMonkey- you wouldn't need to use it on an induction hob. All the functions, including sautee, are integrated into the unit.

I love my instant pot. Made risotto yesterday - sauté onions and garlic in the IP, add mushrooms and sauté a little longer. Add arborio rice, wine, stock. Close lid and cook for 4 minutes. Release steam, add Parmesan. It’s delicious.

@MavisMonkey

Those with instant pots, can you use them on induction hobs? Very tempted by one seeing all the replies on here re them

Instant Pots are standalone. You plug them in so you can use them anywhere there is an electric plug in.

Yoghurt is also really good and I like making it in jars - so much less messy.

Curry, soup, tagine, dal, all kinds of pulses. All excellent.

Oh and steamed puddings, especially Christmas pudding which takes no time at all compared to steaming in a pan.

We've macgyvered a sous vide attachment for our slow cooker. That's all we really use it for these days. It's worth hanging on to, just for that. It has radically changed our barbecuing game.

I’ve got an older Instant pot and use it all the time. Stews- sauté the onions and brown the meat then add the stock and veg, seal then leave it on keep warm until I need it. Whole chicken with some stock v quick to make wraps with salad. All sorts of beans and lentils, Dhals, rice, soup. Tried to use the yogurt mode to warm some bread dough but found it a bit hot- would need the dough in a second inner container.

In your situation I’d get the combined instant pot air fryer- if mine dies that’s what I’ll do!

I researched replacing my pressure cooker & s.c. with an I.P. , but they are very heavy & would need to be left on the workbench permanently - not suitable for my kitchen.
I brown meat & veg before using the s.c. - some people don't but I firmly believe it's worth it. I use ordinary recipes, but obviously with much less liquid.
I've got an Airfryer, & love it. I use it as a small oven (only 2 of us), & it makes brilliant chips !

Agree with @chickenhunter - that's a really good book.

You can brown a whole chicken all over on sauté first, then pressure cook it so you still get the brown skin.

Some recipes we like:

Jamaican oxtail

Honey garlic chicken

Chicken & wild rice soup

Honey teriyaki chicken

I have a simple- large slow cooker.
When it is set to high it simmers gently, so a casserole will cook easily in 3 hours.
The main advantage for me is that it doesn't need attention, it doesn;t catch, stick or burn at the bottom and I can leave it unattended while I pop out or do other things. It isn't so much the time factor.
Things that usually need a lot of stirring like lentil soup cook really well in the slow cooker, but I cook stews, casseroles, bolognese, curry etc.

I love my instant pot! It is worth it for the rice cooker function alone. So much nicer than rice cooked in a pan.

Love the instant pot. We eat a lot of pulses and you can cook dried pulses quickly and without needing to pre-soak them. So much less packaging waste than buying tins and tastier too.
Also love it for yoghurt (which I then strain in a seive lined with kitchen roll) for gloriously thick Greek style yoghurt.
And stews... Slow cooking cuts that would take several hours in the oven are tender in 40 mins plus steam release time in instant pot.
I got it when we were having our kitchen done and had no kitchen for weeks - because there is a saute function you can brown meat, fry onions etc. But have used it loads since too

Best poached chicken dish in instant pot www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-hainanese-chicken-rice/

@Ninjawannabe

Threw everything in except the tomatoes (raw), gave it a good stir, added the tomatoes so they were on top, then switched it on.

Also love making yoghurt in it, and home-made clotted cream.

HOME MADE CLOTTED CREAM???

Yup. And it makes quite a lot more than you get from the supermarket.

I'm going to put a stone on in a week

I use my slow cooker for pulled pork loads. Just use a sauce mix and add the ingredients, no veg required, no chopping etc. the only thing I do is cut off the fat/skin. So tasty and our fussy kids love it and pork is cheap.

I use my instant pot maybe for 10% or 20% of meals and do really like it.
I am still experimenting but so far the favourites are mushroom risotto and chicken chilli (really love chicken chilli more than beef chilli).

Well I’m going to have to follow this thread now to find out more about the clotted cream…

There’s an Instant Pot UK Facebook page which is really good for recipes and inspiration

Texan pulled pork. It's not a one pot dish - I cook it in the slow cooker and then reduce the sauce on the hob but it does the bulk of the work and means I'm not stuck in the house for hours whilst the oven is on.

I personally tend to brown meat off etc before putting it in if I'm making a stew etc. You don't get the flavour otherwise.