Royalty Fast Food

Looking for the finest Instant Pots for a beginner? This useful guide will assist you in finding the ideal multicooker to help you beat the winter blues.

If there was ever a time for the popular Instant Pot to shine, it’s now. With little effort, you can cook quick and soft beef stews, chilis, pulled pork, and other recipes, which are ideal for these cold winter days. We offer a useful tutorial to using your Instant Pots if you’re not sure how to use one of these multifunctional kitchen contraptions. However, you must first determine which Instant Pots is appropriate for you and your cooking requirements. Don’t worry, we can assist you with it as well.

The popular multicooker series began with a single model and has since grown to include a fleet of more than a dozen types. There are Instant Pots specifically designed for Star Wars fans. There are air fryers, sous-vide cookers, and multicookers that link to Wi-Fi and can be controlled with a mobile device or smart home integration like Google Home or Amazon Alexa. The majority are available in three sizes: 3, 6, and 8 quarts, each with its own set of features, programs, culinary capabilities, and pricing.

The 6-quart models are the most popular for families, and they’re ideal for cooking for three to five people. You could easily get away with a 3-quart for a single person or perhaps a couple and save some money in the process. If you frequently cook for a large company, the larger 8-quart cooker would be a better option.

On the outside, these handy kitchen cookers appear to be similar, and they all perform the same basic activities of pressure cooking, slow cooking, warming, and sautéing. If you’re looking for Instant Pots that can do specific things like boil eggs, make yogurt, or even can fruit, you’ll need to know which models are capable of doing so. For different types of cooking, such as precision programs, air frying, yogurt making, and sous-vide cooking, different models perform better.

We’re here to assist you in choosing the right Instant Pots for your cooking needs. To help you pick the right Instant Pot, we’ve compiled a list of our top models. This list is updated on a regular basis.

Best overall and for beginners: Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1

The company’s most popular series is the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 and with good reason. It has seven cooking functions: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, sauté, yogurt maker, and warmer. It is really easy to use. The Duo comes in three sizes: three quarts ($68), six quarts ($89), and eight quarts ($99).

It’s also the cheapest model, including yogurt and poultry programs as well as the option of high or low-pressure cooking.

Rice, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Meat/Stew, Multigrain, Porridge, Soup/Broth, Steam, Manual, or Pressure Cooking were among the programs available.

What it lacks: cake, sterilization, egg, and canning.

Best for slow cooking: Instant Pot Ultra 10-in-1

The Ultra series has improvements over earlier models. Delicious foods like Instant Pot chicken breasts, mac & cheese, and mashed potatoes may be cooked for up to 6 hours under high and low pressure, which is 2 hours longer than the Lux and Duo series. It comes in three sizes: 3-quart ($99), 6-quart ($125), and 8-quart ($160). For slow cooking, it’s the greatest Instant Pot.

The Ultra moniker refers to the ability to fine-tune characteristics such as temperature. From 104 to 208 degrees Fahrenheit, you can set the temperature to a single degree. Cooking time, pressure level, and delay time can all be set to particular values.

Rice, Bean/Chili, Meat/Stew, Multigrain, Porridge, Soup/Broth, Cake, Sterilize, Steam, Egg, Manual or Pressure Cooking, and Ultra.

Poultry and canning are two things it lacks.

Best for air frying: Instant Pot Duo Crisp

Yep. Just when you thought the Instant Pot couldn’t get much better, they came up with a way to make it air fry. The Duo Crisp includes all of the features of the traditional Instant Pot Duo, plus a second air fryer lid for blasting fries, wings, and other foods with extreme convection heat. It’s easy to get into the habit of air frying if you’ve never done it before. The best part is that you only need a small amount of oil, if any, to produce fried-like bliss with a crispy exterior and moist interior.

If you already own an Instant Pot, the air fryer lid may be purchased separately for roughly $75.

Air fry, roast, bake, dehydrate, pressure cook, slow cook, rice, yogurt, steam, sauté, sterilize, and warm were among the programs available.

Cake, egg, porridge, soup/broth, and canning are not included.

Best for an expert user: Instant Pot Pro

Because the Instant Pot Pro is one of the line’s more complex models, it might not be the greatest choice for a first-time pressure cooker. With a few extra features like changeable custom cooking plans and a precision temperature dial, it’s still simple to use. Along with 28 other cooking programs, the Pro includes a sous-vide cooking function (low and slow water bath).

The inner pot features easy-grip handles, a huge LCD display, an enhanced steam-release valve, and an auto-sealing lid on this model. The 6-quart Pro will set you back $130, while the 8-quart model will set you back $150.

Pressure cook, slow cook, Sous vide, Sauté, Sterilize, Yogurt, Warmer, Cake, and Steamer were among the programs available.

Air fry, roast, and egg are not included.

Best smart home integration: Instant Pots Smart Wi-Fi

You might recall the original Bluetooth-powered smart Instant Pot, the Instant Pot Smart. That model has been phased out and replaced by the $150 Instant Pot Smart Wi-Fi.

This cutting-edge multicooker links to the Instant Pot control panel app on your phone for remote monitoring, recipe tweaking, and notifications. Both Alexa and Google Assistant can manage the Instant Pot Smart Wi-Fi using voice commands. It’s worth noting that this model is only available in a 6-quart capacity. So if that’s not a good fit for you, it might not be the best Instant Pot for you.

Rice, Bean/Chili, Meat/Stew, Multigrain, Porridge, Soup/Broth, Cake, Steam, Egg, and Manual or Pressure Cooking were among the programs offered.

Poultry, Canning, Ultra, and Sterilize are not including. Read our review of the Instant Pot Smart WiFi.

Which Instant Pots is right for you?

When it comes to choosing the best Instant Pot for your cooking needs, food-specific modes and choices will make all the difference. If you want to make your own yogurt or prefer hard-boiled eggs. It’s worth it to spend a little extra money on an Instant Pot model that can do both.

Instant Pot suggests a 3-quart model for one or two individuals when it comes to picking the proper size. The 6-quart multicooker will generally suffice for families of six or fewer people. Consider investing in an 8-quart model if you have a large family or frequently entertain large crowds.

There are also possibilities from other manufacturers. ChefIQ just released a fantastic Wi-Fi multicooker, which we recently tested. It has a built-in scale, a nonstick pot, and a handy iOS or Android app. So it does more than the Instant Pot Wi-Fi model. If you’re not ready to invest in a high-end model, the Instant Pot’s more cheap models are ideal for beginners.

If you’re still undecided about which Instant Pot model is best for your kitchen, check out Instant Pot’s product comparison chart or its guide to picking the correct cooker. At the end of the day, all of these Instant Pot models include basic pressure cooking. And slow cooking modes that the company is known for.