Instant Pot - Worth the Hype?

ChrysalisCove

Is an Instant Pot worth the counter space / price tag? Do you really use it regularly? Does the food come out as well as being cooked in the oven / in the stovetop?

We already own a Crock Pot & a rice cooker.
I found the IP on sale for half off.

SunflowerQueen36

I like my instapot, but honestly don't use it as much as I thought I would. We just got it last Christmas and I feel like with Fall and Winter coming we may use more often for stews and soups.

I'm really more of an air fryer kinda gal.

psuLemon

I love mine. I use it much more often than a Crock-Pot. But i still don't use it as much as the grill or pan.

cwolfman13

I love mine...though we use it primarily in the winter. I'm on the grill most of the spring, summer, and fall. My wife makes these freezer stew meals in winter where she'll prep 5 or 6 different ones...everything is just prepped raw and then frozen...then we just throw the frozen thing in the IP and dinner is ready pretty quick.

She's also made a few chicken and pork meals that were pretty good...but we mostly use it for the above. I also boil eggs in it and use it to make beans from dried. We've also done yogurt a few times and we use it also as a slow cooker.

Basically, it took the place of those other kitchen gadgets for us...it is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker all in one.

psuLemon

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I love mine...though we use it primarily in the winter. I'm on the grill most of the spring, summer, and fall. My wife makes these freezer stew meals in winter where she'll prep 5 or 6 different ones...everything is just prepped raw and then frozen...then we just throw the frozen thing in the IP and dinner is ready pretty quick.

She's also made a few chicken and pork meals that were pretty good...but we mostly use it for the above. I also boil eggs in it and use it to make beans from dried. We've also done yogurt a few times and we use it also as a slow cooker.

Basically, it took the place of those other kitchen gadgets for us...it is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker all in one.

It also makes great oatmeal, albeit it does take longer to cook.

janejellyroll

I use mine allllllll the time. It's in my top appliances, for sure. My most recent things made in it were spicy Thai soup, brown rice for sushi bowls, gnocchi and vegetable soup, curried chickpeas, red lentil soup, rice pilaf, mushroom soup, and collard greens. What makes it worth it for me is that I eat a lot of beans and I love soup. If you enjoy one-pot meals, it's probably a good bet for your eating style. I also love how easy it is to clean.

It took the place of my slow cooker and I do make all my grains in it now - I wouldn't really see the point of having all three.

ChrysalisCove

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I love mine...though we use it primarily in the winter. I'm on the grill most of the spring, summer, and fall. My wife makes these freezer stew meals in winter where she'll prep 5 or 6 different ones...everything is just prepped raw and then frozen...then we just throw the frozen thing in the IP and dinner is ready pretty quick.

She's also made a few chicken and pork meals that were pretty good...but we mostly use it for the above. I also boil eggs in it and use it to make beans from dried. We've also done yogurt a few times and we use it also as a slow cooker.

Basically, it took the place of those other kitchen gadgets for us...it is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker all in one.

How long does it take to make beans from dried? Are they fully tender afterwards, no issues with the texture being gritty at all?

My spouse is... culinarily challenged (though he’s come a long way!) so the idea of him being able to just dump something I’ve prepped & frozen directly into the pot is admittedly pretty intriguing.

janejellyroll

ChrysalisCove wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I love mine...though we use it primarily in the winter. I'm on the grill most of the spring, summer, and fall. My wife makes these freezer stew meals in winter where she'll prep 5 or 6 different ones...everything is just prepped raw and then frozen...then we just throw the frozen thing in the IP and dinner is ready pretty quick.

She's also made a few chicken and pork meals that were pretty good...but we mostly use it for the above. I also boil eggs in it and use it to make beans from dried. We've also done yogurt a few times and we use it also as a slow cooker.

Basically, it took the place of those other kitchen gadgets for us...it is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker all in one.

How long does it take to make beans from dried? Are they fully tender afterwards, no issues with the texture being gritty at all?

My spouse is... culinarily challenged (though he’s come a long way!) so the idea of him being able to just dump something I’ve prepped & frozen directly into the pot is admittedly pretty intriguing.

You can pre-soak or go straight from dried. When I pre-soak black beans, it takes about 4 minutes (includes a couple of minutes for the pot to come up to the sealing level). If I'm cooking from dried, it's more like 18. I have a cookbook that has a chart for various types of grains and beans -- it has led me to success so far. They are fully tender, no grit at all. Once or twice, I tested a bean and it was a little firmer than I would like and I just resealed the pot and gave it another 2 minutes or so and it solved the problem.

springlering62

I got an instantpot and loved it, but then got a Ninja Foodi at the beginning of quarantine and it is a life changer.

The Foodi is an instant pot/air fryer/crockpot/yogurt maker/dehydrator all in one and is about the same size as an Instant Pot.

I find we use the crisping function more than the pressure cooker, because, while a nice soft roast or good chicken and dumplings are great, nothing beats grilled, crispy food.

I can throw a couple of eight ounce steaks in and have a delicious grilled steak in under twenty minutes. We cut pork tenderloin into medallions and baste with teriyaki or peanut sauce and they are moist and grill up delicious.

Air crisp fries, air crisper battered shrimp and fish cakes are fantastic. I’ve only done salmon once but it turned out well, too.

In fact, if I remodel my kitchen, or ever go all “tiny house”, I would seriously consider eliminating the stove top and oven and replacing with a Foodi and a couple of plug-in European style induction hobs that slip in a drawer after use. I so seldom use more than one stovetop burner, I’d rather have the counter space.

ChrysalisCove

springlering62 wrote: »

I got an instantpot and loved it, but then got a Ninja Foodi at the beginning of quarantine and it is a life changer.

That sounds great & I’m glad you love it. That said, the IP was a bit rich for my blood as it was... I’m definitely not interested in shelling out double that for a Ninja. 😬

ChrysalisCove

Thanks for all of the comments! I managed to grab the InstaPot Aura Pro for $75 (half off) with a gift card I received for my birthday. Hopefully we’ll enjoy many delicious recipes from it!

azkunk

Try hard boiled eggs. They slide right out of the shell. I also make chicken tortilla soup often ... so easy.

yirara

With less than 1m of worktop space I could not have such an appliance in my kitchen. The only electronics I have are actually my kettle (I drink masses of tea) and a tiny rice cooker. To be honest, my home insurance doesn't allow for appliance to run unsupervised, thus preparing food on a timer and keeping it warm is a no anyway. I use pots and pans, and might cook more complex things during the weekend.

Geneveremfp

springlering62 wrote: »

I got an instantpot and loved it, but then got a Ninja Foodi at the beginning of quarantine and it is a life changer.

The Foodi is an instant pot/air fryer/crockpot/yogurt maker/dehydrator all in one and is about the same size as an Instant Pot.

I find we use the crisping function more than the pressure cooker, because, while a nice soft roast or good chicken and dumplings are great, nothing beats grilled, crispy food.

I can throw a couple of eight ounce steaks in and have a delicious grilled steak in under twenty minutes. We cut pork tenderloin into medallions and baste with teriyaki or peanut sauce and they are moist and grill up delicious.

Air crisp fries, air crisper battered shrimp and fish cakes are fantastic. I’ve only done salmon once but it turned out well, too.

In fact, if I remodel my kitchen, or ever go all “tiny house”, I would seriously consider eliminating the stove top and oven and replacing with a Foodi and a couple of plug-in European style induction hobs that slip in a drawer after use. I so seldom use more than one stovetop burner, I’d rather have the counter space.

Interesting... I love my ninja bullet blender. I never used to bother with blending things and with smoothies in my old blender but the ninja is so convenient.

I also like the multi functional aspect.

Athijade

I enjoy mine but atm it is pretty much a rice and hardboiled egg cooker lol. I really need to branch out with it some more, especially this fall and winter when I want stuff like soup all the time.

NovusDies

I am not sure I would use it. I hate the crockpot aside from cooking beans. I seldom eat rice. Most of my soup recipes are more hands on because I want to develop more flavor in my broth.

ritzvin

ChrysalisCove wrote: »

Is an Instant Pot worth the counter space / price tag? Do you really use it regularly? Does the food come out as well as being cooked in the oven / in the stovetop?

We already own a Crock Pot & a rice cooker.
I found the IP on sale for half off.

If you cook with beans a lot, or bulk cook things like soup, stew, chili; a pot roast/entire package of chicken breast/pulled pork; lightly mashed potatoes in bulk to just microwave later; hard boiled eggs;..

I use mine a lot, but.. I batch cook, and don't mind repetition for a few days.
You'll have to decide based on whether foods and quantities that work well for an instapot are things you like.

ritzvin

springlering62 wrote: »

I got an instantpot and loved it, but then got a Ninja Foodi at the beginning of quarantine and it is a life changer.

The Foodi is an instant pot/air fryer/crockpot/yogurt maker/dehydrator all in one and is about the same size as an Instant Pot.

I find we use the crisping function more than the pressure cooker, because, while a nice soft roast or good chicken and dumplings are great, nothing beats grilled, crispy food.

I can throw a couple of eight ounce steaks in and have a delicious grilled steak in under twenty minutes. We cut pork tenderloin into medallions and baste with teriyaki or peanut sauce and they are moist and grill up delicious.

Air crisp fries, air crisper battered shrimp and fish cakes are fantastic. I’ve only done salmon once but it turned out well, too.

In fact, if I remodel my kitchen, or ever go all “tiny house”, I would seriously consider eliminating the stove top and oven and replacing with a Foodi and a couple of plug-in European style induction hobs that slip in a drawer after use. I so seldom use more than one stovetop burner, I’d rather have the counter space.

Now I want one of these magical appliances.

moonangel12

I use mine so often my husband had his mom get me a second for Christmas! Sometimes I cook 3 or more elements of dinner in then (beans and rice, meat, veggie, and starchy side, etc). Rice and hard boiled eggs are fantastic. I do beans a lot (I quick soak for an hour in hot water, then cook for 30 minutes, but they are more for refried beans so mushy is what we are looking for). I haven’t touched my crock pot in years. I have a mental block to think about dinner at breakfast, no matter how hard I try, so having a quick cook option is perfect for me! There are some recipes I still prefer in the oven (cilantro lime chicken, baked potatoes, a couple others), mainly because of texture differences (crispy skins on both chicken and potatoes).

ritzvin

ChrysalisCove wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I love mine...though we use it primarily in the winter. I'm on the grill most of the spring, summer, and fall. My wife makes these freezer stew meals in winter where she'll prep 5 or 6 different ones...everything is just prepped raw and then frozen...then we just throw the frozen thing in the IP and dinner is ready pretty quick.

She's also made a few chicken and pork meals that were pretty good...but we mostly use it for the above. I also boil eggs in it and use it to make beans from dried. We've also done yogurt a few times and we use it also as a slow cooker.

Basically, it took the place of those other kitchen gadgets for us...it is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker all in one.

How long does it take to make beans from dried? Are they fully tender afterwards, no issues with the texture being gritty at all?

My spouse is... culinarily challenged (though he’s come a long way!) so the idea of him being able to just dump something I’ve prepped & frozen directly into the pot is admittedly pretty intriguing.

I'll frequently throw the dried beans, as is, right in with the rest of the soup ingredients. So far, the giant dried corn is the only one that seems to need more cooking (the beans have always been fine).

ritzvin

I still use my rice cooker if making rice. Mostly because the interior markings are convenient and I'm almost always using the instapot at the same time. Caramelizing sweet onions is probably about the only thing I still use the slow cooker for.