If you have an instant pot, do you recommend it?

[BubblinTrouble]

Just that really.

I had a slower cooker but hated that you needed to brown everything first and then put in the slow cooker. I have a pressure cooker already so is it worth getting an instant cooker?

What do you cook in them? Are they worth the hype?

TIA

Love mine. It's great for cooking tough types of meat quickly and they come out so tender as they would in a slow cooker. Also just great for cooking quick in general. I'm not organized enough to have everything ready to put in slow cooker first thing. I'm a very last minute cook, so it's perfect for me

I prefer mine for soups, meat, tough grains like wholewheat and lentils. I don’t like it for pasta and rice.

I have the duo crisp - the air fryer is really good on that but it does take a bit of getting used to

Would a curry work well in one do we think?

@BubblinTrouble

Would a curry work well in one do we think?

Depends on the curry. Aloo gobi & other root veg or meat yes provided you put everything in and only pressure cook on high for 1-2 mins then finish it off on the sautee function. With meat curries I find popping on the grill lid really useful at the end - it gives it a smoky flavour which can be similar to a tandoor.

Yes! I love it. My favourite thing about it is that you can make something early in the day and the keep warm function means it stays warm for dinner. I have 3 young children so I like to get dinner prep done early in the day.

I did a curry in mine last night!

Love hate mine. It's great for having a meal ready but the pan burns and the non stick comes off and the rubber seals stink of every meal ever cooked.

@BeautifulBirds

Love hate mine. It's great for having a meal ready but the pan burns and the non stick comes off and the rubber seals stink of every meal ever cooked.

Mine’s stainless steel so there’s no non stick coating to come off the inner pot.

I have two. An 8l (which I’ve had for three years) and a 3l. I use at least one of them daily, tonight I’m making curry so the curry will be in the large pot and I’ll make the rice in the smaller one, although first I’ll be preparing a pasta dish in that for my son to take to work for his lunch tomorrow.
I wouldn’t be without them.

@MadisonAvenue thanks. This is exactly what I wanted to hear!

I've not really used mine as much as I hoped I would I keep burning stuff in it

But what does cook is lovely

Love mine.

I hated my slow cooker, and never used it as I don't want to be prepping dinner before I go to work - I'd rather be in bed!

But the pressure cooker means I get the slow cooked effect in an hour or so. It's fab.

I'm considering getting the air fryer lid for it too.

We have two rings - one for savoury which stinks of curry and one for porridge / rice pudding etc

Love it

I hated mine and sent it back to Amazon for a refund. I mucked up a few slow cooked dinners that I do very well in a normal slow cooker. I invested the money in a decent slow cooker.

FWIW I never brown meat before slow cooking it and its always tasty.

myheartbeets.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/
www.happyfoodstube.com/instant-pot-chicken-risotto/
I love my instant pot and am currently cooking bolognese in it. Tomorrow I’m using it to cook curry.
Above are a couple of recipes which always turn out well. You can even cook a good cheesecake in the instant pot. If mine broke I would replace straight away.

We’ve got two. They’re brilliant. No non stick to come off, the inner pots are stainless steel. Brilliant for risottos and for Indian food. I wholeheartedly recommend this cookery book for Indian food too: Indian instant pot cookbook by Urvashi Pitre available from Amazon.

@UtterPiffle thanks for the recommendation!!

Love mine. I have the Crockpot version so not a proper branded instant pot but it's the same thing.

Use it 4 nights a week. It's so so easy and incredibly quick! You can make spaghetti and meatballs all in the one pot on a 6min setting and I think that's brilliant!

I love mine, took a bit of getting used too but now I cook most meals in it. I use the slow cooker function for Currys, Bolognese etc. Rice cooker function most days. Make yogurt in it overnight which is so easy with uht milk. Bake cheesecake in it. I love that it cooks risotto in 8 minutes without all the stirring and adding stock. Cooks a whole chicken in 30mins which came in handy last Sunday for unexpected guests.

Oh and it's fabulous for making soups and cooking lentils

I love mine! I cook in it most days. Today I softened the onions etc, fried off the seasoning, added the rest of the curry ingredients and pressure cooked for 0mins. The keep warm function meant it was perfect when I needed it. I did rice (10mins) in the microwave, I find it easier than messing about with pot in pot, double decker cooking.

I generally do all wet meat dishes- stews, curries, chillies, also vegetable chilli.

You can do cowboy beans with dried beans and gammon straight in the pot, no soaking.

It's good for stock, too. Rice pudding.

@gaggiagirl hhhhhmmmmm all the things I want to cook in it!!!!! I think I may be persuaded.

@FinallySomeNormality 6 mins?! Now THAT is impressive. Could be a game changer for us.

I have this one ninja instant pot and I love it, especially as you can switch between types of cooking really easily.

So did some ribs tonight, slow cooked them at first and then finished them off on bake.

Don’t waste money on Instant pot specific Indian cookbooks. In India 90% of food is pressure cooked & recipies can be lifted and shifted to work in the Instant Pot (provided you use low pressure for creamy / thick sauces; use sautee a lot and and keep high pressure to a minimum) - look up vegrecipesofindia, tarla dalal, and food.ndtv.com for the authentic stuff.

I love my instant pot!

You can't cook with booze in it, it goes funny. So, like a stew needs to be finished off on the hob if you're adding beer and wine. But I think it explains all of this in the little book that comes with it.

I love starting tough joints of meat in it. We've had some great Sunday roasts that are a bit different and dirt cheap because of my instant pot.