The very first time we used our Instant Pot, we knew it was Love. She claimed her space on our kitchen bench just moments after arriving, and if she’s been left in ‘off’ mode for a couple of days here and there, she’s more than compensated by firing up two or three times on other occasions. She immediately made it into the ranks of our Essential Paleo Cooking Tools, and not just for her capacity to make incredible bone broth in just a few hours.
If you don’t already own an Instant Pot, and if you’re serious about your health and home cooking, then I fully encourage you to write it down on your Wish List, and manifest one as soon as you can. Here are 11 reasons why you’ll be glad when you’ve made the investment.
11 Reasons To Buy an Instant Pot
- Saves Time. The Instant Pot cooks things fast, and I’m not kidding. A richly flavoured stew needs to simmer away on the stove for a good few hours, but with the Instant Pot it’s ready to serve in just 30 minutes. From sealing the lid to releasing the pressure, it takes just 10 minutes to steam vegetables to perfection. Vegetable soups can be made with 5 or 10 minutes on high pressure, tapioca puddings with just 2. Clear, fragrant fish broth can be made with just 20 minutes of pressure, and Bone Broth, which would normally take between 12 and 24 hours, is on the table in just 5 hours, including the time it takes heating up and the time it takes for the pressure to fall.
- Saves Money. The Instant Pot works through the build up of internal pressure. Once the pressure point is reached, it requires very little energy to maintain it at that level. Instead of burning the gas or consuming electricity at a long, steady rate as happens with conventional cooking, the Instant Pot reaches temperature quickly, and then holds it. There’s a lot less ticking over on the gas and electricity meters, especially when you’re talking about Bone Broth.
- No Stress. Once the lid of the Instant Pot is closed, there’s nothing to think about, nothing to do. No timers to listen for. No periodic stirring so that things don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. No need to watch whether steam is escaping or things are drying out, no need to continually check things. Close the lid. Go do something else. Relax. Even when the time is up, you don’t need to rush back and attend to it – the Instant Pot will very graciously keep your meal warm for you.
- No Mess. It’s amazing, and it’s got something to do with that magic lid. Once it’s on, there are no splatters jumping out of the pot, no liquids bubbling over onto your just-cleaned cook top. It’s hard to explain, because even saucepans have lids, I know. But the Instant Pot is in a league of her own when it comes to kitchen tidyness. Nothing escapes, she keeps everything perfectly contained.
- Fun. The Instant Pot is really fun, especially if you’re into kitchen experimentation. She brings out your Inner Chemist, and has you theorising about how it all works. She also brings out your Inner Steam Train Driver – opening the valve to let off steam with the Quick Release Method is real kitchen appliance excitement.
- Nutritional Density. All foods cooked in the Instant Pot retain more nutrition than when cooked in any other way, and that goes for steamed vegetables as well. Everything cooks much faster under pressure, so there’s less opportunity for the nutrients in vegetables to leek out into the cooking water. We’re talking about 1 or 2 minutes under pressure for carrots, as opposed to 12 – 20 minutes with steam. The cooking liquid can always be used as a flavoursome stock. When it comes to soups, stews and bone broth, on the other hand, the longer pressure time sucks the nutrients out, so the resulting liquids are like a power pack of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients. You can feel and see the goodness.
- Flavour. Yes, the flavour of foods cooked in the Instant Pot is exceptional. Again, it’s got something to do with the fast cooking under high pressure. The flavours in the vegetables are kept in – they’re not escaping through being overcooked, they retain their freshness. In the case of soups, stews and broth, those hard-to-access flavours contained in the bones an joints – flavours that normally take hours to develop, are sucked out through the pressure and are so enriching.
- Multifunctional. The Instant Pot Duo has 12 functions: Soup, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Rice, Multigrain, Porridge, Steam, Slow Cook, Yoghurt, Sautè and Manual. So many that I haven’t got around to trying them all yet, but those that we have used we’re so impressed with. We have basmati rice about once a month (because I forget it’s there), and in the Instant Pot it’s amazing. Banana and Carrot N’Oatmeal using the Porridge function? Beautiful. The stews are brilliant, soups are effortless, and the Sautè function is infinitely useful. I haven’t tried making coconut milk yoghut yet, but once I track down the active ingredients I’ll be giving it a go. Oh – tapioca pudding- fantastic! Just place a heat-proof bowl onto the wire rack which is included, add all your ingredients, pop on the lid. No stirring required.
- Quiet. There are a few domestic sounds which we love. Those first gurglings of the dishwasher as she prepares to wash our dishes for us. The coffee percolator as our espresso bubbles forth. And that slow hiss – then a sharp click – followed by silence – which indicates the Instant Pot has sealed her valve and is starting to build up pressure. It’s lovely. Peaceful. Every now and again she might release a sigh of steam, but while she’s working, her predominant disponsition is tranquility, which makes for a calm and quiet home.
- Prevents Humidity. This was one of the big call factors for us when we were exploring the concept of the Instant Pot. We’re big on Bone Broth but 12 -15 hours on the stovetop was turning our kitchen into the tropics. Windows were fogging and dampness was building up in the corners. If we’d seen lizards and mushroom, we wouldn’t have been surprised. No more! The Instant Pot keeps it all in. If you use Natural Release not a drop of humidity escapes, and with the Quick Release, just toss a folded teatowel over the valve and the steam is contained. Soups, stews and broth with no humidity – that factor alone made the Instant Pot irresistable for us.
- Bone Broth. Yes, I know I’ve mentioned it in points 1,2, 5, 6 and 10, but the Bone Broth factor deserves a point of it’s own. Bone Broth in about 5 hours from start to finish, need I say more? Oh, alright then. The Bone Broth made in the Instant Pot is better than Bone Broth made on the stovetop, in my opinion. It leaves a lot of the bones all pin-marked and chalky, which means all of those precious minerals and gelatin have leached out into the broth itself. So good for you. Our broth intake has certainly increased since the Instant Pot came into our lives, and our digestive tracts are thanking us for it. Thank you, Instant Pot.
There’s no exaggeration here. If you’re serious about the Paleo Diet, or your gut health, or are healing from illness or are working on putting into remission an Autoimmune disease or if you’re just looking for more ease, fun and satisfaction in the kitchen, then just do it. Order yourself an Instant Pot. If you’re anything like us, you’ll be so glad you spent the money and you’ll never bother putting her away.
Here’s how I make my Lemon Scented Fish Broth in the Instant Pot.
Curious about the Instant Pot but not sure? Shoot me any questions in the comments. Already have one and think I’ve missed out on some of her irresistable qualities? Add them below!
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Looks yummy, I can smell the aromas right now. And I do not have one and there is no one cooking in the house right now. Just thinking of the food you can cook in it is making my mouth water. I am going to have to buy myself one of these pots. Will post my thoughts and opinion when I get it. Thankyou for sharing this info
Hi Janice, yes, get one! And do let me know what you think of it – I’ll be posting my recipes here on the blog, so pop on over if you need inspiration. Best, A
Hi Angie, I followed your link to order one of these beauties but to ship from USA is over $100. I will hunt around and try to source one locally. Are you affiliated with any Australian suppliers?
Hi Marissa, Thanks for thinking of me! No, I’m not affiliated with any Australian suppliers as such, and for some reason Amazon doesn’t seem to have a .au. That’d be politics of some sort, I imagine. However, if Australia normally shops through .com, I imagine there’ll be an Australian supplier who’s selling there. When you click on the product, it’ll take you to the products information page. There, you’ll see a ‘new and used’ heading. Click on that and it’ll take you to all the sellers. They usually say where they’re shipping from. (I shop through .uk, but I always check to make sure it’s shipping from the UK, because if it comes from outside the EU I have to pay import tax when it arrives. Oh, I wonder if Brexit is going to affect my Amazon orders? ?
By the by, the Amazon Affiliate program isn’t limited just to the products I promote on my blog. The commissions are paid for any sales made through the advertisising space. So if you click through any product link or ad on Paleomantic, and then instead of buying that Instant Pot you get sidetracked and end up buying a telescopic camera lens, a washing machine, a new watch and Fly London boots… then Paleomantic is paid the commission on all those sales because that’s where you entered from. It’s pretty slow going with Amazon because the commissions are low, but the idea is that it’ll all add up and make the blog sustainable. ?
Let’s speak soon! XXX A
I have seen so many bad amazon reviews about it malfunctioning after a few months and feel very hesitant to buy one. Have you had any issue with your instant pot?
Hi Sunayana, We’ve have no problem whatsoever with our Instant Pot. Since writing that review, we’re still using ours at least once a day on average. Every now and again I might skip a day, but other days it’ll be used three times. So that’s 2 and half years of constant use so far… and seems it’s still going strong. I wonder if the people who find it to be malfunctioning have read the instructions..? There are groups on Facebook (some specifically focused on Paleo cooking with Instant Pot) which are useful for questions and trouble shooting. But from my experience with it, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Hope you get one! A