Today I’m sharing a review of my Instant Pot.
I’ve had my Instant Pot for over a year now, so I thought it was time that I finally write an Instant Pot review. Honestly, didn’t think that I would end up using it as much as I do – at least 3 or 4 times per week. I got it on sale for a great price on Amazon, so make sure that you keep on eye on sales. I know a friend of mine got a really good deal on Black Friday. If you’re interested in check out reviews for other things that I’ve shared on the blog, check out my reviews page.
The model I have
Since it was the Instant Pot Duo Plus 8 Quart version (affiliate link) that was on sale (other models weren’t when I bought mine), that’s the one that I got. When I bought it I read some reviews and one of the complaints about it was it’s size. If you’re short on counter space I can see that being an issue, but it hasn’t been for me. I don’t think it’s too big. I only have it out when I’m using it to cook though. When I’m not using it it lives in the pantry. If you have it out on the counter all the time I can see why size would be a concern.
There are a ton of choices when it comes to different models, so do your research and figure out what functions and what size will be important to you. What I like about mine might not be important to you. I’ve never made yogurt in mine but I make hard boiled eggs in it at least once per week.
Instant Pot Basics
The top three things I make in it are hard boiled eggs, vegetables, and meat. Hard boiled eggs wasn’t something that I was expecting to use it for. It’s so easy to put half a dozen in, set it, and then when it beeps just take them out. I don’t have to wait for a pot of water to boil on the stove and keep an eye on it while the water boils. It’s so much quicker and streamlined in the Instant Pot.
If I forget to pull out some meat the day before to thaw in the fridge, it’s not a big deal with my Instant Pot (affiliate link). I’m able to cook everything from pork tenderloin to chicken breasts to sausages straight from frozen. It’s so easy and quick to do. Being able to cook meat so quickly was the thing that I was most impressed with when I first started using my Instant Pot. Cutting out the need to thaw meat means that cooking is easier and more stream lined now.
It’s really quick and easy to add vegetables to dinners. I can put frozen vegetables straight into the Instant Pot and less than 10 minutes later they’re ready to eat. I’ve made everything from carrots to peas to Brussels sprouts to broccoli in it. The only thing that’s taken some time to figure out is how long to have them cook. I like my Brussels sprouts and broccoli to cook for 1 minute, but it can vary from 0 minutes to 3.
There are tons of Instant Pot recipes online. I have a Pinterest board where I’ve been saving some that look good to me. There are also lots of blogs that post exclusively recipes that are for the Instant Pot as well. There’s no shortage of recipes to try!
Accessories
Sealing rings
You Instant Pot will come with a sealing ring when you buy it, but I would recommend buying some extras right off the bat. Over time they’ll pick up smells so you’ll want to replace them. You can get different colored rings so you can designate them for certain things like spicy food, vegetables, or meats. That’s what I do. I tend to get a bit more use out of them this way.
When you order the sealing rings make sure you get the appropriate ones for your size of Instant Pot! Actually that goes for all of these accessories. You can always use accessories for a smaller size of Instant Pit (with the exception of the sealing rings), but you’ll be out of luck if a bigger accessory that’s too big won’t fit into a smaller Instant Pot.
Steaming basket
This is the basket I decided on when I wanted to steam vegetables. The divider is removable so I can leave it in and cook multiple kinds of vegetables if people want different things, or I can take it out and put just one kind it. Here’s a similar one (affiliate link) to the steaming basket I have.
I love that I can use it either way. As far as cleaning goes I simply remove the divider if I’m using it, rinse out the basket, and put it straight into the dishwasher. It doesn’t get much more easier than that in terms of clean up.
Egg holder
Like I mentioned above, I use my Instant Pot a ton for making hard boiled eggs. I bought this one that holds 9 eggs. I ended up buying another one that stacks on top so that I can make up to 18 at a time. The most I’ve ever made at once has been a dozen though.
It’s so much easier than boiling water on the stove top. Clean up is also easy because I can put the egg holders right into the dishwasher. Although it’s not exactly the same, this one (affiliate link) is very similar to the egg rack that I have.
Egg bite mould
Another way that I like to cook eggs in the Instant Pot is with this egg bite mould. I’ll mix up either a carton of egg whites or some eggs with whatever I’m feeling like would be tasty (I add everything from cheese to seasonings to vegetables) and cook it in the Instant Pot.
If I’m using a carton of egg whites I can fit an entire carton into this one mould with a few add-ins. It’s the perfect size. This mold (affiliate link) also comes with a plastic lid. I can put the lid on after it’s done cooking and store it in the fridge. It’s super easy and convenient. Having breakfast ready to go in the morning makes one less thing for me to have to worry.
Do you have an Instant Pot? What’s your favorite thing to cook in it? Favorite accessory?
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