Instant pot overall opinion

I have been using a traditional pressure cooker for more than 3 decades. Someone persuaded me to try the instant pot because of the rave reviews, ease of use, programable features etc. I gave it a shot for a few weeks. While it does work as fast as described, I found that the finished cook cycle retained most of the liquid of the meats/ingredients and ended up like a soup. Steam is not released during the cook cycle unlike a traditional pressure cooker so all the liquid is retained within the pot. I have since gone back to a regular pressure cooker.

WoW! Love it!

We use this a few times a week, for any number of applications. I love the delay feature. I can set up a full meal before I leave the house in the morning and come home to a full meal. It's great for corn on the cob, slow cooking, pressure cooking, sauteing. Love it.

Instant Pot Fan!

I just became familiar with Instant Pots this Christmas. I now have a 6 qt Ultra and a 3 qt mini. I love them! Quick tasty meals are a snap. And clean up is a breeze.

works great

i always go over to my friends house and shes was always going off about this product. I finally went out and bouthg one myself and fell inlove with it instantly

Save on Takeout

Last year on Black Friday, we were flipping through the flyers and came across the Instant Pot on sale. My boyfriend and I had both never heard of it before and started to do some research. Found out it was a Canadian who invented the product and it took the place of many kitchen appliances (slow cooker etc). Always wanting to try new things, I was very happy when I received one for Christmas. Since then it has become a weekly staple. From soups, to pastas, to chicken, to beef it makes healthy meals in very little time. Ribs are ready in less than half an hour and are fall off the bone delicious. Pasta cooks in 4 minutes. No need to stir and dirty other pots. I highly recommend!

Love my instant pot 😁

Food cooks fast, so I can cook meals for the family more often. It was easy to learn how to use it, and there is A LOT of help online in their website. There are also many recipes and books about it. So far I have cooked beans and beef stews, soups, and pre-cooked ribs for the grill. All has come out great. I had to adjust the timing on the ribs the second time, because the first time I overdid the cooking a little, my mistake. I love this machine, and the size is perfect for my family.

Amazing!

I bought an instant pot for my bday. I absolutely love it!! Best purchase I have every made. Cooks things so fast. It’s great for last minute meals.

Love, love, love it!

I bought this for about 40% off and I am in LOVE with it. I've tried almost every setting and it cooks perfectly. I can cook dried beans in 30 minutes! No soaking overnight or for a few days which I always forget to do. You almost don't need a stove anymore with this thing. I can make one pot dishes in less than an hour. Rice comes out nicely cooked and I even tried pasta. Amazing!

How Did I Ever Live Without This?

I received the 8 quart Instant Pot as a Christmas gift as my husband thought it would be useful for cooking on my Keto diet.

I can say this pressure cooker has been life changing and I absolutely LOVE this pot!!!

First thing I made in the IP was roast chicken (before crisping in the oven for a short while) which would take me hours before. It was so juicy and tender. Second thing I made was hard boiled eggs - I've never had an egg peel so easily before!!

Using this, there is a learning curve though. First of all it takes a while for the internal pressure to build up BEFORE the timer starts ticking. And trying to understand how much water to add or time to set will take some learning. Luckily I am in a Facebook group which helps immensely with questions.

Pros:
-Very easy to use. Just put your ingredients and water in and press some buttons and leave. Come back and get cooked food.
-halves the cooking time. I made a lot of beef stew in 50 minutes, on the stove it takes at least 1.5-2 hrs.
-no mess or splattering like on the stove.
-1 pot means less dishes and cleaning up
-1 the quick release option for depressurizing is very fast unlike a traditional manual pressure cooker
-so many uses like saute (like a normal stove or electric cooker), rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer (good as a double boiler for cheesecake), and more

Cons:
-takes time for internal pressure to build up before the timer actually runs and can take time to depressurize if not using quick release option
-if you need to add veges to your meat/lentil stew in the middle, you have to depressurize then lift lid and add. This empties the pressure inside and then you start over again... But i honestly dont mind all this given the overall convenience of this

Figuring it out!

I recieved this as a Christmas gift and am just starting to figure it out! Now that I have found some recipes to follow I am really impressed; and can see myself continuing to use it. It is easy to clean and so far has worked really well. I did learn that using hot water / liquid in recipes that need it will really cut down on the time to reach pressure, and if cooking pasta a good timing tip is half the time it would normally cook.