Instant Pot Duo

The Instant Pot Duo offers stanless steel compartments that are easy to clean and dishwasher safe.

The Instant Pot Duo offers a large and clear display for ease of use.

Editor rating: 9.4 / 10

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By NicoleK

Instant Pot Duo Review Facts

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What is one thing that busy people struggle with? Those of us who are busy all day long often struggle with coming up and doing anything else. But the laundry list is piling up and sitting down is often not an option. The worst thing people can do is feed themselves junk that is easy just because we don't have the time to cook something nourishing. And though it may sound like an easy item to add to our list of the already huge pile of items we need to accomplish before we let lay down for the night, it includes several steps including prep, cooking, and cleanup. It's easy to see why so many people aren't feeding themselves correctly. So we settle for the aforementioned easy snack and continue our nights so that we can rest comfortably knowing things got done. The only issue with these types of snacks is that they typically are high in sodium, don't hold enough nutrients to feed our brains or (and sometimes, and) are full of fats. This means we end up sluggish, tired and often times we don't sleep well as a result.

How do we fix this issue? Well, the cooking process needs to be minimized. This is where small kitchen appliances like slow cookers and pressure cookers come in handy. These appliances can cut down the work associated with the cooking process as well as the cleaning process down considerably. The benefit of a slow cooker or pressure cooker is virtually no mess. You prep your food, you put it in and you let it cook without having to touch the food until it's done. In addition to that, the capacity of these types of cookers are typically quite large and therefore, leftovers are typically in abundance which means dinners and/or lunches for several nights after. And the best part of all is that this whole process offers nutrient, fresh and tasty food that won't take up too much time but can also nourish the body and the mind.

Our website offers in-depth reviews on different products in order to help narrow down the buying process for you and your family. This article specifically is on the Instapot Duo- a pressure cooker offered by the now popular line, Instapot. We looked and what people are saying about this pressure cooking and we also tried it out ourselves in order to see what all the fuss was about. This article goes deep into the product in order to see its features, its reliability, and its overall quality. This is our review of the Instapot Duo. We hope that this review helps you with your next pressure cooker purchase while also helping add some ease to your life. Happy cooking!

Editor's Pros & Cons

Pros

Offers lots of interesting cooking options
Is made of quality materials
Has a large cooking capacity
Offers nice stainless steel design

Cons

Some recipes are a little complex
Large body takes up a fair bit of counter top room

FEATURES

The Instant Pot Duo offers numerous options for all different meal types. It also offers a 7-in-1 feature that essentially allows the consumer to perform 7 functions in the one device. This includes features like pressure cooking which is the obvious one. It also allows for slow cooking, eliminating the need for a slow cooker. It also doubles as a rice cooker which, again eliminates the need to own both appliances. It can steam as well as saute. It offers searing features as well as a warming feature.

Finally, and oddly, it also offers a yogurt making function. This product also offers numerous smart functions which allow the consumer to cook different types of foods that one might not expect in a pressure cooker. This includes soups, brothers, meats, chilies, rice, porridge, and pasteurizing functions. It offers dual-pressure options for more flexible cooking options and can hold about 6 quarts which roughly equates to 5.7 liters of food or liquids. It is also machine washable to an extent. It offers a stainless steel inner pot for easier clean up as well as durability for this device.

ACCESSORIES

The Instant Pot Duo comes with a couple of additional accessories including a steam rack with handles that sits inside the device and allows consumers to steam veggies with the lid is on the Instant Pot. It also comes with a recipe book which reviewers found very handy, with all sorts of Instant Pot specific recipes. It also comes with a serving spoon and a soup spoon for easier serving. It also comes with a measuring cup to help with more exact measuring.

The Instant Pot Duo also comes with manuals that are offered in both French and English. One note that reviewers made is that though the cookbook comes with all sorts of interesting recipes, the majority of the recipes are either complex or require a lot of prep work. That, of course, sort of diminishes the advertised time savings that appliances like slow cookers and pressure cookers offer. For those looking for another method of cooking and are less concerned about time, these recipes were a perk to them and they found it allowed them to be a little more creative which is positive.

STYLE

The Instant Pot is fairly unique in design, offering the classic comic sans 'Instant Pot' logo across the front. It offers a large display that is partially a display and partially buttons. The body is all stainless steel which would suit kitchens specifically with stainless steel appliances.

One item that may not be realized when ordering online is the pure size of this device. It holds about 6 quarts of liquids or foods, this is discussed in more detail below, but this means that the device itself is quite large and a little on the bulky side. Reviewers did note that they didn't realize how big this device is and mentioned that it took up a fair bit of countertop room. Outside of this note, reviewers were happy with the brushed stainless steel exterior noting that it helps the device look more modern in design which is positive.

SETTINGS

The Instant Pot Duo has a ton of different setting options, including some that are a little surprising. Firstly, it offers the most obvious which is the soup and broth option where it can make soups and broths either quickly or over time (not all options require pressurized cooking). It also offers meats and stews, again either shorter or longer depending on preference and time required. It offers bens and chili options as well.

One highlight offered by this device is that it can cook poultry in under 10 minutes, however, the pressurization and release do take some time so it takes closer to 20 minutes. This is still impressive considering how long chicken can take to cook. It offers a nice option as well which may be appealing to those who eat rice often. Rice is hard to perfect and this device offers specific proportions to help make the perfect batch of rice.

The most interesting features are its porridge, saute and yogurt functions which aren't standard with pressure cookers. The yogurt setting works by actually offering incubation type properties. Both cultures and chilling is required but it's interesting that you can make yogurt at home with milk and whatever flavors you want to make an interesting morning breakfast.

DURABILITY

This device is fairly heavy duty and if taken care of the device can last a long time. Reviewers were happy with how well-made this device is. Due to the amount of pressure that accumulates within the cooker, it requires proper and high-quality latching and sealing properties. Luckily, this device offers both of those features.

CAPACITY

This pressure cooker offers up to 6 quarts of either liquids or solids which is a fair amount of food considering. The primary intention of the Instant Pot Duo is to offer a large quantity with less work. This allows for larger quantities to be cooked with less fuss. This also means that due to the pressurized system and its ability to keep steam within the device, less moisture is lost. This along with the more equally distributed heat feature means that the device doesn't need to be frequently stirred the way a classic pot would need to be.

Though the capacity is quite large, as mentioned earlier, the size of the physical device is a little large as well which means more counter space is taken up. Some didn't like this and felt that they needed need that big of a device. This needs to be decided before buying the device. It comes down to if the consumer has the counter space or storage space and how much they want to make in one sitting.

USE

The Duo is a multi-purpose kitchen appliance. It is great for families and people on the go. It allows those who maybe don't cook as often to make the perfect piece of chicken- a food that is hard to cook correctly. It also offers long term cooking times for those who want something ready when they get home from work or pressurized cooking for professional chefs.

It is a pressure cooker, though, and this means that when used on the pressurized system that the pressure needs to be released which means hot steam exiting through a small spout for a period of time. This means that burns are likely to happen if the spout is not used correctly. This also means it may not be the best gift for teenagers and certainly should not be used with young children. Though this is the case, it is great for simple recipes and can offer more precise cooking as well as some really interesting options like yogurts and searing.

CLEANING

This is another perk of the Duo, it offers easy cleaning. Once all the prep is complete the device does the rest of the work. This means no additional spatulas or lids. The device only requires itself to cook a full meal. The inner pot is also machine washable meaning that a quick rinse out and place into the dishwasher is all that is needed for clean up. Those who bought this device found that to be the best part of the Instant Pot, no mess. This also means no splashing of liquids on countertops, stovetops, and walls which is positive.

PERFORMANCE

This product works extremely well as both a pressure cooker and a slow cooker. It has some additional features that are nice but are probably better suited to other devices. This is like the saute and sear feature. Though the feature works it doesn't work as well as a cooktop and pan would. The yogurt feature is also nice but probably more work than most people would desire.

Reviewers were very happy with this unit and it shows considering the popularity of the device, the primary issue with this device is the steam which is common with pressure cookers. The steam that is released when the pressure is is quite loud and hot. As long as the device is used correctly there shouldn't be any issue with an injury.

KEY FEATURES

- 7-in-1 cooking features
- Stainless steel cooking pot for durability
- Dishwasher safe for easier cleanup
- Brushed steel exterior for a more stylish design
- High capacity, better for families
- Pressure cooker and slow cooker options
- Additional cooking accessories like steamer rack and spoons
- Dual-pressure cooking for more flexible cooking options

BOTTOM LINE

The highlights of the Instant Pot Duo are that it offers both pressurized cooking as well as slow cooking. It also offers a high capacity which is great for families. It is partially machine washable as well which is much easier cleanup. The downfalls of the device are its size. If countertop space is limited then storage is going to be required which might not make this ideal for single people in a smaller apartment. The device is quite reasonably priced when looking at others on the market and those who bought it had more good things to say about it than bad. Overall, this device is definitely worth considering for your next pressure cooker purchase.