Anyone have an insta-pot? Thoughts?

NoxeemaJackson · December 2017

Do you use it? What for?
Do you prefer it to oven/slow cooker etc?

wizzybeth · December 2017

I have one on the way it's coming tomorrow.

lucys1225 · December 2017

I have one and use it all the time for stews, soups and braised meats. I prefer it over the slow cooker simply because it takes less time, especially for broth. I too have never used the slow cooker function on it.

janejellyroll · December 2017

I have one. I love it. I use it for vegetables, rice, beans, and stews. I have used the slow cooker function and it works fine, but I find I really love being able to cook things quickly with it.

aaronagostini · December 2017

I've used mine for all sorts of rice, grains, and spaghetti. Very quick, I like it a lot!

Cat3141 · December 2017

I use mine for dried beans, and rice. I also use it to make steamed sweet potatoes. I keep trying to make spaghetti in it, but it never quite works out right. It's edible, but kinda fussy.

cookster82 · December 2017

I have one and I love it. I've convinced many people in my life that they also need one - haha. I make things like pulled pork, beef stew, sweet potatoes, and risotto. Pinterest has a ton of recipes.

JoshLikesBeer · December 2017

It's great. It's one appliance that can sauté, steam, slow-cook, and pressure cook. I use mine all the time. I pressure-cooked a bone-in turkey breast on Christmas. While I was waiting for it to cool down a little, I used the sauté function to turn the drippings into gravy. It only took about an hour and came out much juicier than any turkey I've ever had from an oven.

lemurcat12 · December 2017

I just got one and am hoping it can replace my slow cooker, pressure cooker (which I never used), and rice cooker.

MelanieCN77 · December 2017

I've had an Instant Pot for about a year now, I use it a lot, probably 4-5 times a week. I use it for any meat or dish that would take more than 10-15 minutes on the stove top, so all stews, soups, chilis, roasts or braises. Lentil soup is a go-to: with red lentils it's under half an hour start to finish for a really well developed soup.

extra_medium · December 2017

I love it. Great for meal prep.. can be used as a slow cooker or a pressure cooker and does a great job at both

deannalfisher · December 2017

i made a pretty decent farro and butternut squash risotto last night in mine - although i needed more farro when all was said and done - total time/life saver

Francl27 · December 2017

It DOES have a slow cooker option but from what I hear, it cooks so slow that it's still raw after 4 hours, lol. Never tried that option though because I don't need it either. But if you don't have one hour to babysit your pot at night for the same results, you're probably better off with a slow cooker (Instant Pot makes one by the way. My friends have it - it's nice because you can sautee your meat straight in the pot first).

I use it for hard boiled eggs, chili, stew, risotto, mashed potatoes, beans, steaming veggies, making rice. I see no point in doing things like lasagna or cheesecake in them because it's easier in the oven. I'm going to make pulled pork in mine for New Year's Eve. I still don't like the texture of chicken in it (or the slow cooker).

karahm78 · December 2017

I find that it is best for soups, stews/roasts/whole chickens, etc. There are some people that try to do all kinds of stuff (cheesecakes, etc) but to me that is not using it for what it is best for. Also, sauces that usually cook a long time (lots of Indian receipes are great. It does have a learning curve.

Skinnytaste has a chicken and lentil soup that is great (she also has several other Instant Pot recipes that have all been good: https://www.skinnytaste.com/instant-pot-pressure-cooker-chicken-and/

Pressure Luck is another blog/site/Facebook page that posts lots of good recipes. http://pressureluckcooking.com/

There is also a Facebook group that is very active, Instant Pot Community, that is worth checking out.

Azdak · December 2017

Mine predates the instant pot- it’s a Lux Multicooker that does the same things. I use it regularly, maybe 2-4 times per month. Definitely my most-used cooking appliance.

The only slightly negative comment I have is that the cooking times advertised do not include the time it takes for the machine to get to pressure. For example, it takes 18 min to cook a particular grain dish. That soesnt include the 5-10 min takes to reach the right pressure. And if you do a natural release, that can add 5-10 min at the end.

Because of that I often don’t bother to take it out for shorter dishes. But for longer ones, it does a great job.

middlehaitch · December 2017

Our son does a wonderful cheesecake in his, Christmas desert. He also did the turkey breast followed by gravy for Christmas dinner. Oh, and the mashed potatoes.

It was a good example of what could be done- he'd bought us one for Christmas.

Cheers, h.

canadianlbs · December 2017

i have a some-other-brand pressure cooker, not an instant pot. but having given that disclaimer, i do use it a lot; more than i expected i would.

but the really huge revelation for me was stock. i've made stock since idek when, and it's always been perfectly fine in the slow cooker or on the stove. but for some reason i don't understand, the stock that comes out of the pressure cooker isn't just 'fine'. it's incredible.

not even factoring the takes-less-time aspect.

chellekoren · December 2017

I agree with most posts on here. I have a faberware brand multicooker. I love it for: making bone broth! All soups especially a veggie lentil tortilla soup and rice dishes. One trick with say chicken and rice dishes is immediately release the steam and remove the lid when it is done so it doesn’t get gummy then let it continue on warm or turn on the sauté function(for quicker browning) and let the rice get crispy. It’s delicious.

All meats taste steamed if Cooked with lid so if I want baked or roasted flavors, I use oven with a digital timer.

MelanieCN77 · December 2017

canadianlbs wrote: »

i have a some-other-brand pressure cooker, not an instant pot. but having given that disclaimer, i do use it a lot; more than i expected i would.

but the really huge revelation for me was stock. i've made stock since idek when, and it's always been perfectly fine in the slow cooker or on the stove. but for some reason i don't understand, the stock that comes out of the pressure cooker isn't just 'fine'. it's incredible.

not even factoring the takes-less-time aspect.

Can you please share your stock recipe? I've made stock a handful of times on the stovetop and it's been so underwhelming I never wanted to try again.

Shoechick5 · December 2017

I got one for an early Christmas present. So far I've done three cheesecakes (didn't eat them all) , chicken stock, pulled pork, baby back ribs. Tonight I'm doing a smoked salmon risotto. There's a really good instant pot community on Facebook.

MelanieCN77 · December 2017

Oh I also use mine for frozen fish fillets. Something like cod or halibut will cook nicely in 7 minutes, a fatter tuna steak in about 12. I put half a cup of water or so in the bottom and put the fish on foil on the trivet.

canadianlbs · December 2017

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

Can you please share your stock recipe? I've made stock a handful of times on the stovetop and it's been so underwhelming I never wanted to try again.

honestly, it's embarrassing how much of a not-recipe i have. i just do bones and water, and that's it. the only remotely fancy thing i do is cool it afterwards and skim off all the fat.

so maybe my standards are just lower than yours? to be clear, i make most of my stock to use as exactly that: stock. so i'm not very fussy about it because no matter how unimpressive it is on its own, it's still a step up from water. and for my preferences, better than storeboughten stuff because i'm not a big fan of salt.

but i'm going to stand by the pressure-cooker version. that's still just a bag of chicken bones and water, and that produced something i would drink from a mug. could just be a matter of higher concentration since the pc holds less volume than my crockpot. but idk, there's just something richer and silker about it that makes me think the pressure gets something special out of dem bones.

karahm78 · December 2017

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

canadianlbs wrote: »

i have a some-other-brand pressure cooker, not an instant pot. but having given that disclaimer, i do use it a lot; more than i expected i would.

but the really huge revelation for me was stock. i've made stock since idek when, and it's always been perfectly fine in the slow cooker or on the stove. but for some reason i don't understand, the stock that comes out of the pressure cooker isn't just 'fine'. it's incredible.

not even factoring the takes-less-time aspect.

Can you please share your stock recipe? I've made stock a handful of times on the stovetop and it's been so underwhelming I never wanted to try again.

This one has been the favorite I've tried: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/03/make-instant-pot-chicken-stock/

rheddmobile · December 2017

I got one for Christmas - it's an off brand from Costco and I may return it for an instant pot one, since reviews indicate mine breaks easily.

So far I am not impressed. I made steel cut oats in it, and it took forever. Twenty-one minutes to pressurize, eighteen minutes to cook - not even slightly cooked - so I tried it for another cycle - ten minutes to pressurize six to cook - not cooked - tried it for a third cycle, ten and six - cooked but still soupy. Turned it to sauté with no lid and cooked the water off it for about five minutes while stirring to keep it from burning. And that's not including the time spent for the stupid thing to release the pressure. I could have cooked on the stove in half the time.

sunfastrose · December 2017

My sister-in-law got one for Christmas and made the potatoes with rosemary recipe that was in the instruction book. They were wonderful, so infused with flavor and perfectly cooked. Made me want to get one.

MelanieCN77 · December 2017

canadianlbs wrote: »

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

Can you please share your stock recipe? I've made stock a handful of times on the stovetop and it's been so underwhelming I never wanted to try again.

honestly, it's embarrassing how much of a not-recipe i have. i just do bones and water, and that's it. the only remotely fancy thing i do is cool it afterwards and skim off all the fat.

so maybe my standards are just lower than yours? to be clear, i make most of my stock to use as exactly that: stock. so i'm not very fussy about it because no matter how unimpressive it is on its own, it's still a step up from water. and for my preferences, better than storeboughten stuff because i'm not a big fan of salt.

but i'm going to stand by the pressure-cooker version. that's still just a bag of chicken bones and water, and that produced something i would drink from a mug. could just be a matter of higher concentration since the pc holds less volume than my crockpot. but idk, there's just something richer and silker about it that makes me think the pressure gets something special out of dem bones.

karahm78 wrote: »

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

canadianlbs wrote: »

i have a some-other-brand pressure cooker, not an instant pot. but having given that disclaimer, i do use it a lot; more than i expected i would.

but the really huge revelation for me was stock. i've made stock since idek when, and it's always been perfectly fine in the slow cooker or on the stove. but for some reason i don't understand, the stock that comes out of the pressure cooker isn't just 'fine'. it's incredible.

not even factoring the takes-less-time aspect.

Can you please share your stock recipe? I've made stock a handful of times on the stovetop and it's been so underwhelming I never wanted to try again.

This one has been the favorite I've tried: https://www.budgetbytes.com/2016/03/make-instant-pot-chicken-stock/

Thank you both! I'm not a recipe follower usually, just wondered if I was missing something with how bland mine have turned out over the years. I'm gonna assume salt and time.

andfivesixseveneight · December 2017

I don’t have the insta pot brand, but definitely use my cooker a lot. It makes great soups and curries. It’s convenient for batch cooking beans and pulses to freeze for later use.
The steaming under pressure is a very versatile cooking method. Put winter squash and beets in whole- they peel and cut so easily once they’re cooked. It’s the best for tamales, much quicker than a regular steamer. Just recently started making khaman and dohkla (steamed Indian breads) in it too.

whavens2w2 · December 2017

My husband loves ours. He likes the simple way most recipes are written out for it. We use it 3-7 days a week. I’d say soft boiled eggs are what we make the most. Also great for stock, rice, legumes, grains, stew, soup. One of my favorite features is being able to cook meats from frozen. I am guilty of forgetting to take meat out of the freezer for a planned meal way too often. I’ve used it for slowcooking and it worked perfectly.

illusion2269 · December 2017

I've had one for a couple years now. I've made many things with it like others have mentioned. But the thing I make most in it is yogurt. I have the version with a Yogurt program on it, and it works amazing for it.