Instant Pot Lux Mini 6-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker Sterilizer Slow Cooker Rice Cooker Steamer Saute and Warmer 3

IF you are a single person that needs a meal in a hurry this might be the greatest product you have ever bought. Yes, I've jumped onto the Instant Pot (IP) craze. So has my son. So when he went to college he mistakenly thought he'd take my IP off to the college apartment with him. Ha. But I did take pity on him and buy him this smaller version. One breast of chicken, a few chicken tenders will fit in here and cook perfectly. You can do things like cook your chicken breast in a few minutes, shred the chicken and toss it in barbecue sauce and now you have barbecue sandwiches. You can toss your hamburger, your pasta and some other ingredients in there and have a spaghetti in a few minutes. So. Be warned. You still have to do some meal prep. You will have to wait for the thing to heat up and cool down. But I have found my meals to be significantly shorter when using this instant pot. I picked up this smaller one for my son and he agrees that this is the tool to have in the kitchen. He makes cheesecake in it. One of the things I like the most is that it's safe. You latch it easily and it makes a little sound when it's latched. It won't seal if it can't because of food stuck on the bottom or the sealing ring not being installed correctly etc. IT's also fairly intuitive to use. Read more

This is the first kitchen appliance that has gotten me excited about cooking since I don't know when. I am not a morning person, and will never remember to take something out of the freezer early in the day. However, come 6pm, if dinner is not immediately apparent, I tend to order take-out, which is expensive and gets old. With the Instant Pot, I have made bean soup from dried beans in an hour. I have made beef stew from frozen-solid chuck in 35 min. It takes me about 15 min to chop mirepoix, add broth, a bit of tomato paste, and whatever herbs I want, and within 30-60 min I have something that tastes like it cooked all day. I have cooked halved squash in 10 min. I still use the oven for roasting things (dry heat), but for almost everything else - soup, stews, hard-boiled eggs, squash, etc - I am using the Instant Pot. I like to saute the mirepoix/veg while I am preparing the rest of the ingredients. I feel like it helps the whole pot come up to temperature more quickly. When I have vented the valve by hand, it takes less than 5 minutes for the pressure to go down enough to open the lid. The 3-qt is perfect for one person - I have plenty to share with the neighbors and still have leftovers. I think I am saving money and I am not throwing as much food out. Fresh, decent food from real ingredients has to be better and less expensive than take out/fast casual. I love it. Read more

I bought the 3 quart Instant Pot a month or two ago, and didn't know what to do with it at first. I just stared at it. Gradually I got into it and found a lot of normal, daily uses for it. There are MILLIONS of ways to use an Instant Pot, and you don't have to use it like everyone else. You will be able to find Instant Pot uses that are perfect for the way that you cook, whatever that is, because it is so versatile. Browsing the videos on youtube helped me to think of how I might use it in ways that appeal to ME, and fit into my lifestyle and cooking. By now, I use it probably 3-4 days a week for very simple, plain cooking because that is what I prefer. I even use it to defrost things if I forget to do that (it's easier than the microwave for that IMO). Here are some things that I like about my Instant Pot: 1. I am single and I really appreciate that once I start it, it doesn't need my constant attention, stirring, and so on. I can just play my video games, or clean the kitchen, or whatever, and ignore it until it signals that it is done. BTW, for a single person cooking 1-2 meals at a time, the 3-quart version is definitely big enough. It really seems pretty huge to me. 2. Clean up is quick and easy. I just remove the food, and then rinse the bowl as well as the wire thingie that the food may be placed on inside the bowl. Done. 3. I don't know why, because honestly I am not much of a cook, but for some reason everything I cook in it is really good. Maybe I have been lucky. 4. I don't have to worry about burning the house down if I get distracted by something else. It just goes into "warm" mode or shuts off. The Instant Pot seems to go on sale quite a bit, so if the cost is a hardship you might want to keep an eye out for sales. Read more