I’ve owned a few multi-cookers over the years, but this Instant Pot Pro is the one that finally made me ditch my original. The sous vide function alone is worth it — it holds temperature beautifully, and my steaks and salmon come out perfect every single time. No extra gadgets cluttering up the kitchen anymore. The yogurt feature is another winner. It works like a charm; I make yogurt multiple times a week and it’s consistently thick, smooth, and way better than store-bought. I love that I can go from heating the milk to fermenting all in one pot with zero fuss. Overall, this thing is a powerhouse. Faster preheat, tons of preset options, easy steam release, easy cleanup — it just makes cooking stupidly convenient. The 8-quart size is great for meal prep or feeding a crowd. If you’re on the fence, just go for it. It’s easily the best Instant pot ever! Read more
I have been thinking about getting one of these for a couple of years now, being that I am in my 60s. I am like most people my age who are trying to size down and get rid of the excess, not wanting to add yet another appliance that sits in cupboard and you have the read the directions again by the time you finally use it again or you don't use it at all. So, it took me a bit before I took the plunge, AND I AM SO GLAD that I did! I am very pleased to report that this appliance is WONDERFUL! I am especially enjoying it for making Indian curries. I have for decades, stood over the stove, for hours at a time, doing the necessary process for making the rich delicious curries handed down to me by my Indian family and now I can get the same results in just minutes. I have always loved cooking, but with the family gone and now it's just the two of us, I have lost some of the joy, I am slowing down and would rather spend less time in the kitchen but still desirous of good food, the kind that usually takes effort. The Instant Pot is cutting that time down by hours. What took 4 hours is now 40 min and that includes only 10 minutes of my standing over the pot adding and sauteing. The rest of the cooking time is done by the Instant Pot. My husband is so pleased as he loves Indian food and now, we can have it more often. This appliance is easy to operate; the size is ample for the two of us but also to feed company. It is easy to store, and best of all clean-up is a breeze! Read more
I upgraded from an older, smaller Instant Pot to the Instant Pot Pro 8 QT, and it’s a huge improvement. The extra capacity is perfect for cooking larger meals, and the new features make it so much easier to use. It heats evenly, cooks quickly, and the controls are more intuitive than my older model. Cleanup is simple too. Overall, this is a big step up — faster, more versatile, and perfect for family-sized meals. the best part is the easy pressure release switch feels safer to use and more intuitive. Highly recommend! Read more
I upgraded from Instapot Duo to the Pro. The fact the Instapot Pro has handles makes a world of different. On the Duo it is was a pain pulling the pot out and straining it while hot. On top of that it inner-pot of this "Pro" has a heavy bottom making a great is steel pot, so it just work like a normal pot on the stove top giving me the options in using either the electrical device or on the stove top. When in doubt get the 6 qt, is fits most things for a 1-4 person household (I'd argue even 6). Might not hold a Large whole chicken, but I manage by being able to breakdown a whole chicken (it isn't hard, just watch a video) I cook professionally. But at home the Instapot is the best appliance I've gotten. I make Bean from dried at a fraction of the time, amazing quality fresh stock that doesn't require me to to wait 8 hours on a stove top, it takes the place of crockpot, rice cooker (*), and a normal pot. Stews, Gumbo, Chili, and Braises are done greatly when you are pinch for time making what would normally for 5 hour is only an hour or two and near same quality. Which has saved me during a dinner party where my sous dropped braised short ribs 2 hours before plating. It is an investment but if you eat (or plan to eat) legumes/beans, and you use stock/broth occasionally or consistently in your diet. This will save you some money and time while giving you a better product than store-bought stock/broth and canned beans. Both the beans and stock you make freeze well, and cooked frozen bean reheat/thaw fast. And if you freeze veggie scrap (like onion skin, carrot/parsnip peel, celery tops and bottoms) as well and save bones from you chicken (rotisserie, chicken thigns, or whole chicken) you can make stock with all the stuff you were going to throw way anyway. Better than store bought while also being basically free. Lastly it is great for meal prep and you can set it to have your ingredients in it before leaving to work and being done by the time you get home from work. If you cook consistently for yourself and/or for loved ones, or want to cook more at home. An Instapot makes thing easy at a press of a button, and the Pro has very convent features (like HANDLES I cant praise enough!) that make life much more easy. When you get one you will ask also ask "Why didn't I get one sooner?". I work late nights and early morning, this gives me more time and saves me from eating out. ~*I've mentioned "rice cooker" and I want to expand on this.~ The Instapot works great as a rice cooker but compared to an actual rice cooker, it is a little slower to cook (20min vs 30-35min) and the rice (especially short-grain/sushi rice) builds starch and stick to the stainless steel pot, requiring a slight bit more finesse to clean. I personally eat rice (and grains) consistently and i like saving 10-15min of what little time I have at home, so i have both a cheap rice cooker and instapot. However if you want to minimize your appliances (i.e. have less "appliance clutter") and need to conserve space in your kitchen, then having just an Instapot will work well enough and do every thing a rice cooker can, plus much MUCH more. Read more
This thing is amazing. So far we have cooked rice and refried beans. Both came out perfectly and works fast. I really love that the inner pot has handles with rubber on them so taking the pot out is easy even when still hot. A good number of presets and easy to adjust settings. This is my first Instapot, but I've used my mom's lower quality Instapot, and this one is so much better. A little pricey, but worth it. Read more
I have had two other pressure cookers in prior years. The first one was a Presto electric pressure cooker and I had that one for 40 years then then when they came out with the multi cookers, I got an offbrand for Christmas in 2019 and was using it, but was never really satisfied with it. On the America’s test kitchen, I saw them reviewing multi cookers and this one won is being the best. So I got it this year just before Christmas and I have used it six times already. It is so easy to work and it performs wonderfully. I have made spaghetti in it, beef, stroganoff, stew, roast beef, which was to die for, and meatloaf. Read more
