If you spend any time at all online looking at recipes, I’m sure you’ve seen the buzz about pressure cookers, electric pressure cookers in particular. It took me a little while to jump on the bandwagon, but you could consider me to be fully onboard at this point. Not because everyone else has one, but because they really do help solve some of our common dinner hour dilemmas. The biggest problem is deciding which one to get with so many options on the market. Since I own two of them, I decided it would be helpful to share an honest Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker Review for you between some of the most popular models.
And while we’re at it, I’m including a few things to consider in determining if an electric pressure cooker is even a good fit for you and your cooking routines. So grab a sweet tea and join me for a thorough Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker review. Yes, I live in Kentucky where all the tea is sweet, and we’re more than slightly proud of that fact.
Before we dive too deeply into the review, let me clarify that when I say pressure cooker, I’m referring to the electric pressure cookers and not the stove-top one that many of our mothers owned. It’s not uncommon during one of my Wednesday morning Facebook Lives for a follower or two to chime in saying that pressure cookers make them nervous. We’ve all heard a horror story or two about stovetop pressure cookers that have left us somewhat leery of the electric pressure cookers as well. I honestly don’t have any experience with the stovetop variety, but I can assure you that the new electric pressure cookers are safe and easy to use.
The Pressure Cookers I own:
Cuisinart 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
My first electric pressure cooker was the Cuisinart CPC-600 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker. Like many of you, I have to admit that for the first few years I didn’t really experiment with it too much. Truth be told, I pretty much only used it for Pressure Cooker Mac & Cheese. And even though it is the absolute best recipe for that classic that you’ll ever eat, it seemed a bit silly to own an appliance that I only used for one recipe.
Instant Pot 6 Quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Fast forward a few years, and I decided to purchase the Instant Pot brand electric pressure cooker, specifically to compare the two brands for you. At the time, I figured I could just keep the one I preferred and pass the other one on. But, I now find myself using both of them for the same meal sometimes, so they’ve both found a permanent home in my kitchen.
Having used both of them for several years now has left me with plenty of time and experience to honestly do an Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker review. You may find a few more details here than you had even considered important, but if you’re going to spend good money on a kitchen appliance, it’s always a good idea to make sure it’s the right one for you!
What are the common features in the Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker Review
The best way to compare them is side by side. Since you’re reading this on your phone or computer, I’ll assume that you’re not actually standing in the kitchen section of your favorite store actually looking at these two pressure cookers. So go ahead and click on these links to see the two most common electric pressure cookers on the market today – the Instant Pot 6 Qt. Electric Pressure Cooker and the Cuisinart 6 Qt Electric Pressure Cooker. Go ahead … I can wait.
I’ll actually add in a few other of the most popular models by the end of this review, but not only are these the two that I own, they also happen to be two of the most popular on the market and more of an apples to apples comparison. But first, let’s talk about what these two have in common.
CAPACITY: Both of these models have a 6-quart capacity, and according to the manufacturers should feed 4 to 6 people. I have not had a problem with them being too small for my own family of 6, and most of those 6 are adults.
HOUSING: Both have a fingerprint-resistant brushed stainless steel housing, and we can all be grateful for how easy that is to keep clean!
DISHWASHER SAFE: The actual Instant Pot and Cuisinart housing are not dishwasher safe because of the electrical wiring in each. However, the inner pot is removable and dishwasher-safe, much like the pot of a slow cooker. Most of us would need some serious convincing to invest in a kitchen appliance that isn’t dishwasher safe!
WATTS: They both operate at 100 watts, for those of you who are all into those electrical details.
SIZE: The Cuisinart and Instant Pot are comparable in size with the height, depth and width all coming in around 12” to 13”.
AMAZON REVIEWS: Both models are either rated as an Amazon’s Choice or #1 Best Seller on Amazon with hundreds of reviews. I’m not sure how you shop, but I always find it helpful to read reviews by other users before I purchase a product. Many of them are quite informative about details I may not have considered, and others are just so cleverly written that they’re fun to read.
PRICE POINT: The Cuisinart and the entry-level Instant Pot come in at right around the same price point. Currently, the Cuisinart is $75 on Amazon, while the Instant Pot is $80. The Instant Pot is also available in multiple other models.
The 7-in-1 Instant Pot has some extra features and is currently selling for $100 while the 10-in-1 has even more features and a list price of $130. Each Instant Pot is available in an 8-quart model instead of the 6-quart and costs $30 more than the same model in the 6-quart size.
Similar but Different features in the Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker Review
This is kind of like the “same kind of different” category or something like that. There are broad similarities between the Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker by Cuisinart, but when you get down to the details of those similarities, they may actually be more different than similar. Read on and you’ll understand what I mean.
WARRANTY: Both pots come with a limited warranty, though the time on those warranties does differ. The Cuisinart has a 3-year limited warranty, while the Instant Pot is a 1-year limited warranty.
HANDLES: Clearly, both pressure cookers have handles that are cool to the touch. The only difference here is that the handles on the Cuisinart have a lower profile. That may not be a big deal to you unless you only have very limited space in which to store your pressure cooker, then it could be the deciding factor.
POWER CORD: Obviously they both have a power cord, or they wouldn’t be electric. But the Instant Pot cord is attached to the housing of the pot, while the Cuisinart cord is completely removable, making it a little easier to store and harder to damage. Then again, it also makes it a little easier to lose too, so there’s that!
ACCESSORIES AND REPLACEMENT PARTS: You can purchase replacement parts for both the Cuisinart and the Instant Pot, either at their company website or through Amazon. That is something that they have in common, but one difference here is the price points for parts. It seems like the Instant Pot parts tend to be cheaper.
You can purchase 2 Instant Pot brand sealing rings for $8, while the Cuisinart sealing ring is $15 on the Cuisinart site. The Cuisinart replacement inner pot is around $50 while the Instant Pot stainless pot is around $30 and the non-stick is closer to $20. At those prices, I could easily spend that same amount of money but get several accessories for the Instant Pot instead of just one for the Cuisinart.
Different features in the Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker Review
It wouldn’t be a comparison without pointing out the differences between these two popular models, so let’s look at the notable contrasts between these two.
DELAY START: The Cuisinart does not have a delay timer setting, the Instant Pot allows for a 24-hour delay start. This means you could put oatmeal in the Instant Pot at night and set it to be ready when you get up in the morning.
Or put dinner in it first thing in the morning, and set the timer to be ready for dinner. Even if you’re like me and prefer to be home when using your Instant Pot, that means you could walk in the door when it’s about to start but you don’t have to load it up after a long day. That may not sound like a big deal until it’s the end of the day and you’re hungry and tired and just don’t have the emotional energy to set it all up. It may sound a bit ridiculous, but we’ve all been there!
INTERIOR COOKING POT: The Cuisinart comes with a non-stick inner pot while the Instant Pot comes with a stainless steel inner cooking pot. The stainless steel pot is still easy to clean, but not quite as quick and super easy as the non-stick pot with the Cuisinart.
WEIGHT: The two pressure cookers are within two pounds of one another, but the Cuisinart weighs in a little lighter at 12.5 pounds compared to 14.6 pounds for the Instant Pot.
ACCESSORIES: While both of these electric pressure cookers come with a manual and recipe book, the Instant Pot includes quite a few more accessories. Both also come with a steam rack or trivet for cooking things that you don’t want sitting in the liquid, like baked potatoes. But that’s the only other accessory included with the Cuisinart.
The Instant Pot also comes with a soup spoon, a measuring cup and a rice paddle. These are not necessarily essential for every recipe, but they are quite handy and can actually be stored in the pot itself making them easy to find when you do need them.
PRE-SET TEMPERATURES: The Cuisinart has buttons for different types of cooking, we’ll get into those in a bit, but it does not have pre-set temperatures for specific types of food. The Instant Pot, on the other hand, has 7 pre-set temperatures.
PRE-PROGRAMMED BUTTONS: Again, the Cuisinart does not offer pre-programmed buttons, while the Instant Pot does. The buttons included on the Instant Pot are soup, meat, stew, beans, chili, poultry, multigrain, porridge, steam, manual, pressure cook and slow cooking.
These pre-programmed buttons may or may not be a dealbreaker for you. I prefer the manual setting because it gives me more control over how I cook my food. But, for some, this fix it and forget it feature may be exactly what you’re looking for.
SLOW COOKER FUNCTION: The final, and quite possibly the biggest, difference in the whole Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker Review rundown is the fact that the Instant Pot has a slow cooker function that the Cuisinart does not have.
You can use the slow cooker function with the lid that comes with the Instant Pot, or for $15 you can purchase a glass lid for your Instant Pot. And, if you’ve ever joined me on facebook live or spent any amount of time reading here on Eat at Home, you know being able to see my food in the pot is kind of a big deal to me.
For those of you limited on space and finances, being able to purchase one kitchen appliance that does double duty instead of purchasing two appliances is a win-win. And when the price point for the entry level Instant Pot is around $80, that’s a great deal.
And the winner is ….
Well, that’s really up to you, based on what you need. If you’re going for a more minimalist, easy to learn and smaller pressure cooker, then the Cuisinart may be the best fit for you. If you’re more about the bells and whistles and multi-tasking appliances, then the Instant Pot just might be the one for you.
And then that brings us to yet another question …
Do you even need a pressure cooker?
Yes, they are quite popular right now. Yes, there are many who count on them to get dinner on the table. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone needs one. Here are a few guidelines to know if it would be useful to you:
Do you have 30 minutes before dinner to cook? Pressure cooker meals – even the fastest that only require 12 minutes of cook time – take at least 25-40 minutes to cook, including the time it takes to reach full pressure.
Some recipes will include the time it takes for the pressure cooker to come to pressure, and the time allotted for the release, whether that’s a natural release or quick release. Many will not, which may be why this has become a bit of a soapbox issue for me.
If you’re cooking a large cut of meat or a full pot of something else, it could take longer. Of course, it’s all hands off cook time once it’s in the pot, so you can go do something else while it cooks.
If you don’t own a slow cooker and want to invest in a multi-function appliance, then an electric pressure cooker may be the best option for you. Though you’ll need to opt for one other than the Cuisinart because it doesn’t have the slow cooker function.
If you don’t mind, or if you just really enjoy learning to use a new kitchen tool, then an electric pressure cooker is a fun opportunity to learn something new. It does have a small learning curve though.
Many of you have talked about having to get past the fear of those pressure cooker horror stories you’ve heard over the years. Mostly for me, it’s been getting used to it so I can know what it can really do for me. I had the same experience with the slow cooker. The more I used it, the more I understood how to cook with it and the more helpful the appliance was to me.
My Winner in the Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker Review Debate is …
Though I get plenty of use out of both my Cuisinart and Instant Pot, I would have to say the Instant Pot is the winner in my book. It just outperforms the Cuisinart with all of the extra features, cheaper replacement parts and accessories, a delay timer and the fact that it comes in a variety of sizes and models.
So there you have it! Every detail that you could ever want in the Instant Pot vs. Pressure Cooker review debate. And now it’s your turn. Do you own an electric pressure cooker?
If you do, which make and model did you choose? And while we’re at it – why did you go with that particular pressure cooker? If you had it to do over again, would you choose the same one?
A few more resources for your electric pressure cooker …
Regardless of the pressure cooker you choose, you’ll also enjoy my picks for the 10 Best Instant Pot Accessories to get the most out of your appliance. Once you add the Instant Pot or Cuisinart to your kitchen, you’ll be completely amazed by all the things they can do. Adding a few accessories can bring this kitchen appliance from helpful, to downright necessary and pretty amazing.
One of the most-asked questions I get is about cooking rice in an electric pressure cooker. It’s a great place to start when you want to eat healthy and learn how to use your Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Check out the Home Cook’s Guide to making Instant Pot Rice for recipes to cook every type of rice I could think of – white, brown, basmati, jasmine. It’s all there!
And to speed up the Instant Pot learning curve and get dinner on the table, grab your copy of the Free Instant Pot Meal Plan. That’s right – free! You’ll get 6 dinner recipes complete with side dish suggestions, a color-coded shopping list and even an Instant Pot dessert recipe.
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Thank you!! this was extremely helpful to in deciding whether or not our family would benefit enough from this to make it worth the investment. With my young adult son’s physical disability, it’s not safe for him to use our stove. Now, I’m confident that he can learn to cook using the Instant Pot. I’ll of course enjoy using it as well.
Thank you, very informative
I feel like the instant pot has unnecessary buttons. Beans etc. My Cuisinart will do everything the instant pot will do. Things either cook on high or low. And of course it has brown, sauté, simmer and keep warm. I love it so much I just bought a second one!
I agree with you about the extra buttons. I don’t use most of them. The one thing the Instant Pot does that Cuisinart doesn’t is the delay timer which is perfect for oats. And having two pressure cookers has come in handy several times for me too!
You need to look at the Fagor Lux which has all the features of the instant pot except for the buttons.
I have a friend who bought the Fagor Lux from Bed, Bath and Beyond. She absolutely loved it with one big exception. She had cooked one meal with onions, cleaned it thoroughly, and then made yoghurt which smelled of onions. She complained that the gasket doesn’t release the odor of previously cooked food. She called Fagor who told her to clean it with bleach, vinegar, baking soda, all of which she had tried prior to that call. She returned her purchase. I personally have a Cuisinart electric pressure cooker which I’ve used for years, and the silicone gasket never holds cooking odors.
Maybe keeping two gaskets on hand would help with this problem.
I got me one I use it for meats. I don’t understand why people use it for Mac/ cheese and oatmeal. I can cook them on the stove top faster than waiting on the pressure to build up. I love it for meats but I really wish I hadn’t spent 90$ on one for just my husband and I.
I use it for mac and cheese because it’s simply the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had. The oatmeal is just convenient because I can time it to be ready when I walk in the kitchen in the morning.
I love my Instant Pot. I have a lot of food allergies and I think I’ve used all but the settings for oatmeal. I am going to tackle yogurt in it soon. But I love that I can cook a frozen chicken whole in less than an hour and it produces lots of broth which I can then use for other cooking uses. I use the bean setting to make myself cooked beans in less than an hour or two depending on the size batch I make. I also love that I can cook a roast and leave it on keep warm and 9 hours later I still have tender warm roast but not the watered down kind like a crockpot does. I can make rice in very short time and then in less than 10 minutes have a traditional rice casserole made by just blending in the rest of the ingredients and shutting it back up and hitting manual for like 5 minutes. For me this appliance has been a lifesaver because it mean I can eat the same food as my family on short notice. I even take it with me on quilt retreats and such.
I hear the instant pot is also suppose to make the best hard boiled eggs. Super easy and the shells come right off. I personally haven’t used mine yet but it is on my to do list this week to get it out and learn how to use it.
Any pressure cooker is perfect for soft, medium or hard boiled eggs. Not just the IP.
Is it possible to do canning in either? I would use it for that, for sure.
I believe the instructions say not to use for canning as the temperature reached is not hot enough. I googled that question and across the board advise was NO.
My mother worked full-time when I was growing up and she always had a 5 course meal, plus dessert, every night. Looking back, I realize how extraordinary she was. She used her pressure cooker often. She would cook a roast at least once a week…on a weeknight, in her pressure cooker. I’m sure there were plenty of other things she used it for that I don’t remember. I have a pressure cooker but haven’t used it in years. I’d love an Insta-pot for my bone broth…..that I normally cook for 24-36 hours. But I’m not sure it could take the place of my slow cooker, which I also enjoy using. They both ….or all three, have their place in the kitchen…;) imo
I thought this review was on the use of pressure Cooking, what i read is based on functions.
I have the Cuisinart for a few years and i would not exchange it for any other,, never failed me and everything has turned out wonderful from it. It does exactly what it was made for, Pressure Cooking. One day i put together a recipe and after mixing all the ingredients except the meat i poured it all into the pressure cooker and immediately realized as the liquid started draining out i had forgot to insert the inner pot i had taken out to rinse and not put back in. I ran water through it, sat it outside (arizona) in the sun for the entire day to “dry out” . It did and still works perfectly. Love my Cuisinart. .Just saying! They have tried to get people to buy and use pressure cooking and for some reason the Insta pot did that, it’s just a craze as many things go through until another company comes along and offers the same thing with additional features. My response to that is if it quits working for any reason all the additional functions also quite, so i have all the appliances that was made to do a function and have had them for many years and still going strong. I can also do more things cooking at the same time with the many appliances but with just one that does many functions i would have to wait to do the next thing i want to make. So it’s just a matter of what you like. However this is not a review of pressure cooking. Otherwise you would have read which one made what better or did they turn out the same and do they both cook at the same rate? Guess we won’t know.
Have you ever had a problem with your Cuisinart not reaching pressure? I have cooked two recipes this week where the pressure cooker never reached full pressure and clicked right over to “keep warm”.
I haven’t had this with the cuisinart, but the instant pot has done this a couple times. It’s usually because there isn’t enough liquid in the pot.
I have the cuisinart and have had this trouble. I find when this happens the silicone ring is worn out. Order a new one and your good to go. I used to put the lid and ring in the dishwasher and I think this shortens the silicone rings lifespan significantly. I have owned my cusinart since 2007 and the last time I replaced my silicone ring was in 2012. You can order on Amazon:
I’ve had this happen also and realized I did not have enough liquids in the pot to produce the steam needed to reach pressure.
I’ve had this with my Cuisinart when it doesn’t reach pressure and goes directly into ‘keep warm’. I add a little more liquid and it cooks just fine. I agree with the above comment if there isn’t enough liquid it wont produce enough steam to reach the pressure. I’ve used Stove top pressure cookers before where it would burn the food if there wasn’t enough liquid inside so I like that the Cuisinart just changes to ‘keep warm’ when there isn’t enough liquid.
I have done pork roast in both my pressure cooker (cuisinart) and my slow cooker and found the roast more tender in the pressure cooker. I would love to see if the your two pressure cookers cook meat similarly. I recently dropped the lid of my cuisinart and will need to replace it. I have loved it and am curious how the two compare, but I mainly use them for frozen meat, or large amounts of fresh meat.
Do you cook frozen roasts in your pressure cooker?
You can cook a frozen roast but you’ll need to add some time to make sure it’s done. You can also thaw it a little in the microwave first if you want to speed up the process.
I have been very pleased with my Cuisinart, and figured I didn’t need all those buttons….however, I now want to make yogurt and though I might be able to use the “keep warm” setting to do so, I don’t know and hate to experiment. Has anyone tried making yogurt in the Cuisinart?
never tried the instapot because I have the Cuisinart.
I love it for soup. I think they are honestly the same thing with really minor differences like buttons and one being non stick and the other not. They work exactly the same way as far as pressure cooking goes.
I use my Cuisinart for the best green beans ever. I use Hanover Blue Lake cut green beans. Drain, add on onion quartered, 2 chicken bouillon cubes. and about 1 1/2 cups water. Cook on low for about 50 minutes. I like them a little soft. You can cut the time. Also good with quartered Potaties. Try it.
That sounds great!
I want that recipe for Macaroni and Cheese that you make in your Cuisinart. Please??!??!
Hey Edye – You can click here for the Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Let us know what you think of it too!
I really enjoy my Instant Pot. Love making hardboiled eggs in it. I was just about to purchase a glass lid for when I used it as a slow cooker, but found that I had a glass pot lid that fit … Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
I have a weird question — I have the cuisinart cooker myself, but would love to get a stainless steel pot as well…..does the instant pot cooker pot fit in the cuisinart?! Loved this side by side comparison! One day I’ll
Switch to the instant pot to get rid of the slow
Cooker too!
Lindsay – Interchanging the two is not something we’ve tried, but just looking at them they don’t seem to be the same size, so I would guess the answer is no. I’m glad you enjoyed the side-by-side comparison and as much as we love the instant pot, the slow cooker is a good one to hang on too as it can cook some things that you can’t do in an instant pot. Let us know what you decide to do!
I’ve had my Cuisinart for 4 years and it never failed me…until I dropped the insert. The dent prevents it from fitting into the pot. Totally my fault, of course. I’m looking at the Instant Pot, but I read a review that said the Saute setting doesn’t do a good job browning meat. I regularly used the Browning setting, which gave a very good sear. I’d be interested in any comparisons on browning if anyone has something to say. Thanks.
Sue – I asked Tiffany about this and she said though she doesn’t do a lot of browning in her instant pot, it does seem to do a decent job of it. Hope that helps!
I have to replace the pot again in my Cuisinart CPC 600 pressure cooker due to the interior coating chipping.. This will be my third pot in 6 years. I complained to Cuisinart about the chipping inside the pots but they would do nothing, that I would have to purchase another pot for over $50. The pots have to be defective or not designed for pressure cooking. I am exploring other options.
Can you use an Instapot/Power pressure cooker cookbook for a traditional pressure cooker? I have a Cuisinart pressure cooker and am looking for a good healthy cookbook for it that gives calories counts. I can’t seem to find a good rated one except for one that is for a Power pressure cooker. Help would be appreciated. Any suggestions on a good healthy and well rated cookbook would be appreciated too. If you have used a cookbook and love it, please let me know.
I have a Cuisinart PC and have used it for many years!! LOVE it, but it finally cratered on me, I make my own yogurt (or have) and was looking at the Instant Pot for the yogurt feature….but then ran across a Cosori brand (never heard of it) but it gets good reviews. Anyone have experience with this brand? The thing that turned me off about the IP is that I am already familiar with cooking in an electric PC but to get the “set your own time” feature you have to upgrade to the $350 model!! That’s ridiculous, so I am looking for an economical alternative….any help would be greatly appreciated.
I’m most interested in browning function: which does the best job?
Both of them have a browning or sauteeing function and I’m not sure that there is a difference between the two on that. The biggest differences are in some of the other features.
I already posted earlier but do not see it….long story short, I have a Cooks Essential Elec. Pressure Cooker…has all those features you said the IP had, like keep warm, beans, soup, etc…..so should I still go ahead an order an IP I saw on QVC or is this pressure cooker the same thing??
The biggest difference between pressure cookers are the manufacturers and features. It sounds like yours will work just fine and you shouldn’t need to order another one!
Karen, I also have the Cook’s Essential pressure cooker/slow cooker combo. A neighbor gave me an IP, but I’m going to sell it on Ebay, because my Cook’s Essential does everything the IP does except make yogurt (which I don’t care about). It can pressure cook and slow cook, has delayed cook feature, keep warm, several preset cooking buttons (rice, chicken, soup, beef, brown, steam, beans, and more).
Here’s my question…I have had my cuisinart pressure cooker for over a year and have used it twice. I keep looking for recipes, but all I find are ones for the IP…with certain buttons to push. Where can I find recipes for my cuisinart? I don’t want to waste food by making a mistake and ruining a meal. Can anyone help or explain how to use the IP recipes? Can you tell I have a fear of failure?!?! 🤦🏻♀️
Great question, Karen! The IP has more buttons than the Cuisinart, and it may depend on what each specific recipe calls for. The recipes here on the blog and in our meal plans specify either high or low (if they don’t specify then I usually go with high). There are plenty of brands out there making electric pressure cookers, each with their own special feature, but I’m a big believer in using what you already have! You can also sign up for our free IP School right now and that will help move you past the fear of failure that we all struggle with. Hope that helps!
Great comparison on both pots. Your article told me exactly what I wanted to know. One thing I would like to know is are most recipes able to be used for both pots? I’m a newbie here so I dont really know much.
Thank you
The cook times will apply to any brand of Instant Pot. Most of the variations in cook times will be due to how full the pot is, if it’s frozen when you put it in or what type of meat you use – big pieces of chicken or chicken tenders, for example. You may find a little variation from pot to pot just as you would from oven to oven, but it it’s not cooked enough, you can just set the pot for a few more minutes. It won’t take near as long to heat up for a few extra minutes, because it’s already warm too.
You can check out my free Instant Pot School here too, if you want free recipes, a meal plan and a nice little giveaway too 🙂
I’m a visual learner. I don’t understand how to set the IP for minutes. After pressing Pressure, I don’t know how to set the minutes. Nothing changes when I try to push the minutes. What am I doing wrong? Help!
Each model is a little different, but there should be some up and down arrows that you can use to adjust the time setting. If that doesn’t work, I would check the troubleshooting section in your manual. Hope that helps!
Do you know if the inner pots are interchangeable? I’d like to buy the stainless steel instant pot liner for use in my cuisinart pressure cooker.
Great question, Zeena. As far as I know, the only way pots are interchangeable is if they’re made for the same brand. The Instant Pot brand can handle the IP brand non-stick or stainless pot, but they don’t work for Cuisinart or other brands. They’re all shaped a bit differently
I was reading about how you can set the Instant Pot to start cooking before you get home from work. But isn’t it bad to leave your food out unrefrigerated all day?
Or am I overlooking something?
Thanks.
Good question Trish – I would say it depends on the ingredients in the recipe. I wouldn’t want to leave meats or dairy products out all day, but rice certainly wouldn’t be a problem. The other option would be to cook the food and let the keep warm feature keep it from cooling off too much – the issue with that one is that you wouldn’t want to do keep warm all day too. Not the most straightforward answer, but that’s how I handle it!
As a professional cook that 24 hr preset is a concern, including oatmeal. Ur dealing w/ moist foods, bacteria starts growing at room temp in less then 3 hrs. If u do choose to eat foods cooked this way make sure they reach an internal temp of 165 degrees F. When possible place ur prepared dinner in the insert and in the fridge then when u come home start it up. Run start laundry, help w/ homework or what ever u do, knowing that dinner is cooking.
I have a slow cooker that makes yogurt, Sears, rice, soup, chili and pressure cooks. I paid $69 at Walmart.
My son put frozen chicken breast in and is so pleased he wants one. I make soup in it. He made a roast. Seared it and pressure cooked it. Melted in our mouths. So I thought I should be a sheep and follow the trail of instant pots but I will keep what I have.
How do you make the yogurt or a bread?
Since the Instantpot is a pressure cooker I was thinking you were going to review an old style pressure cooker and an instapot. I had one for thirty years and loved it but have to replace it. Was hoping to find info on a non appliance type pressure cooker. The less buttons the better for me.
Camille – I can surely understand that too! One of the perks of the electric pressure cooker is that you can always just use the manual setting and put in the time you want to cook something. That’s about as close to the old style pressure cooker that I know of 🙂
I agree. I googled instant pot vs pressure cooker and u popped up. I thought this would be about the electric ones vs old stove top style. Ur title says IP vs pressure cooker then right below it says IP vs Cuisinart. I read it anyway. In the 1980’s I had 2 pressure cookers (wedding presents) I think they we’re Mirror brand. A 4 & 6 qt. I absolutely loved them. However they both exploded one w/ beans and one w/ peas. That’s a lot to clean off the ceiling. After reading this I was sold on the electric I was leaning towards the IP then started reading the responses now I’m not sure. I like the stainless better but the lesser settings on the cuininart. I’ve had good luck w/ this brand. I have several different size slow cooker but have become aware of the lead content in the pottery inserts so the stainless IP that doubles as a slow cooker is intriguing. Great comparison but left me uncertain the 1 & 3 yr warranty is an issue but could be solved by the less expensive replacement parts. U have my head spinning what could be the deciding factor?
I have made many pot roasts in a stovetop pressure cooker.
It always takes 35 minutes, no matter what size the roast is or how full it is. It doesn’t matter, seemingly.
I have the Cuisinart CP600, and I haven’t used it much.
My Cuisinart instruction book says 99 minutes for a pot roast. I have not had the guts to make a pot roast in that thing.
And why should I if it really takes triple the time?
They come out so great in the stovetop pressure cooker.
Now the Instant Pot is all the rage, I looked at the book for that and it says 35 minutes for pot roast, same as all the stovetop pressure cookers I have used, and I have had more than a few.
I have been thinking of getting rid of my Cuisinart and buying an Instant Pot. But this is pressure and heat, physics should be the same.
I contacted Cuisinart and they just say that 99 minutes like the book says is how their unit is designed. Has anyone who has both tried this, and does the Cuisinart really take longer than the Instant Pot? I can’t see why it would.
Odd, huh?
Electric pressure cookers have a high and a low psi setting normally 6 to 13 psi plus some claim 15 psi on the high setting. The lower the psi the longer it will take to cook. They can make pressure cookers cheaper the lower the psi is.
Stove top pressure cookers cook at 13-15 psi on high & 6-8 psi on low.
When you buy an electric pressure cooker you need to know the psi so you can figure the cooking time.
The 100 Watt number is wrong and should actually be 1000 watts. At 100 watts it would be even slower than a traditional slow cooker.
Has anyone used a presto electric pressure cooker trying to get some more information on this brand