I have a kitchen full of appliances, so I wasn't sure that I needed one more thing. But....I had seen people online raving about these and I thought maybe I could get away with getting rid of at least a slow cooker and a pressure cooker from my cabinet, so I asked for this for my Mother's Day gift. I was actually a bit surprised that I got it, but I've been having fun with it ever since!
There are certain things I have really liked about this. I liked the ease of use, and cleaning. The insert pops right out, you wash it and you're good to go. I think you can throw it in the dishwasher if you want to, but I've just been handwashing it, and it's not that big of a deal. I also like that it doesn't heat your house up, although you do have to be careful not to have it directly under cabinets for the venting so you don't damage them with the steam.
I like that you can take meat (roast, chicken, pork roast, pretty much whatever) and throw it in (either frozen or thawed) and have it come out perfectly tender, fall apart in a fraction of the time you're going to take with a slow cooker. And mashed potatoes, hard boiled eggs, macaroni, rice, yogurt, and I've even seen baked potatoes, although I haven't tried them yet.
I don't think it completely replaces a slow cooker. There are recipes, things like breakfast casseroles that you actually want the whole oval when you make them versus just the small circle. And I used it in slow cooker mode for a roast and for some dry beans, but I didn't feel like the slow cooker mode was actually as good as just using the slow cooker. The food didn't come out as tender as I would have liked.
That being said, I really like my instant pot and I'm always looking for a new use for it! I'm including a list of the recipes I've tried that I liked the best. And I'll try to add recipes as I find them.
Mel's Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
A Bountiful Kitchen Instant Pot Now What
A Bountiful Kitchen How To Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot
Six Sisters Sweet Pork
365 Days of Slow Cooking Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Hard Boiled Eggs
I was in no way compensated for this post, all opinions are my own. This post includes an affiliate link, which simply means that I get small percentage of your sale if you click the link and make a purchase.Labels: appliance review, Cooking, Favorite Friday, Instant pot