Wondering Which Instant Pot to Buy? I will share with you my thoughts after making healthy Instant Pot recipes for 2 years.
If you are new to whole pressure cooker game, you might have heard but not know what Instant Pot is. If so, check out my Instant Pot guide.
What Is Instant Pot?
Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker. It is a small kitchen appliance that cooks food fast under pressure. The end result is tasty and tender food in fraction of time and with minimal effort. It is a multi cooker that can be a slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker and even “bake” cakes. All depends on a model.
But before you blow your mind with a bazillion Instant Pot models out there, let’s decide on a size you need.
And by the way, don’t worry about 10 different models. It is easier than you think to choose one because I “cracked the code” for you. Just watch this video.
What Size?
Instant Pot comes in 4 sizes: 3, 5, 6 and 8 quart.
It is important to know that when pressure cooking you can fill up Instant Pot only 2/3. The other 1/3 should be left for the pressure to build up. So, basically you will end up with maximum of 2/3 of the pot of final meal. Keep that in mind.
3 quart
- For a single person.
- For 2 people who do not batch cook or don’t like leftovers.
5 quart
It just came out and is pricey. I would just get 6 quart size.
6 quart (most popular + I have)
- For 2 people who like to batch cook and enjoy leftovers.
- For a small family of up to 4 people.
- Family of 4 more likely will not have leftovers.
- Anyone who has limited counter and storage space.
8 quart (I have)
- For a family of 5 and more people.
- For 2-4 people families who like leftovers and batch cook.
- For meal prep enthusiasts.
- If space is not an issue, this size is for you.
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Things to Know About the Size
Larger 8 quart Instant Pot takes longer to come to pressure and to bring it down. If making soup with a lot of liquid, larger Instant Pot will take longer to heat the liquid – about 40 minutes. You can always used boiled water to speed up the process. I share about 15 other tips like this one in my Instant Pot guide.
It is really not a big deal in real life. If you make soup, it means you make it beforehand anyways. You throw everything in the pot and walk away. If you need quick soup, you can always make it on the stove in 30 minutes max.
You can also cut recipe in half and use in your 8 quart Instant Pot. Food will cook faster.
Which Model?
This is where most people close Amazon page and give up. There are just so many models and descriptions! I can help you.
Here is what every model of Instant Pot can do:
- Pressure cook any food under high pressure.
- Make rice, slow cook, saute and steam.
- Keep food warm.
- Delay cooking.
Then it depends what extra options you need.
Lux
- The most basic model.
- The cheapest.
- Doesn’t have Yogurt function.
- No low pressure option.
Duo
- The most popular model.
- A step above Lux.
- Yogurt function.
- Low and high pressure.
Duo Plus
- Sterilize function.
Ultra
- Yogurt function.
- Sterilize function.
- Extra options like altitude and cooking temperature adjustments by decimal.
- LCD display.
Smart
Just like Duo but you can control it with an app from your device. See on Amazon.
So Which Instant Pot to Buy?
I own 8 quart Duo and 6 quart Lux. And I would buy either one again. I love them both!!!
Why? Because:
- The only buttons I use are Pressure Cook, Saute and Keep Warm.
- I cook on High Pressure all recipes except Instant Pot quinoa. And yet you can cook it on high pressure too.
- I never used Slow Cook because there is no point if you can Pressure Cook with Delay Start or Keep Warm.
- I use Yogurt occasionally, more in summer. But hey, you can make Instant Pot yogurt without yogurt function.
- 8 quart is perfect for our family of 4 because we are Ukrainian/Russians. We like stew, soup and leftovers. But 6 quart is often enough too.
- 99% you will never use Chili, Porridge, Soup, Meat etc. buttons because they are just presets with different timers. Every recipe you will use will call for different time for different cuts of meats etc. Just a neat marketing trick.:)
Maybe if I had a formula fed baby or was a canning enthusiast, Sterilize would matter to me. Or if I was into the latest and coolest gadgets, Smart model would be important. But keep in mind for every extra option you pay extra. Sometimes, twice more.
I personally think if you are on a budget, Lux will do just fine.
So, here is my 2 cents on which Instant Pot I would buy today. Got one? Check out my most popular collection of 30 healthy Instant Pot recipes.
What do you think?
More Instant Pot Resources
Did you know we have entire Youtube channel dedicated to healthy Instant Pot recipes and tips? My goal is to help you become confident with your Instant Pot by demonstrating each delicious foolproof recipe in step-by-step videos.
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HI,
I have the LUX and it doesn’t have the “pressure cook” button. So what do i do when I’m following a recipe that calls for the “pressure cook” button?
Should I return the LUX and get the Duo?
No. Press Manual. It’s Pressure cook on high pressure. I have Lux too.
Thinking of buying one. I’m in Denver and trying to decide whether the altitude feature is worth paying the extra $$ for?
Maybe because you are high altitude. How much extra $$ do they want?
Can you make 1 gallon of yogurt in a 6 qt.-sized Instant Pot? While one gallon is only 4 quarts, I’ve been reading that the 6 qt. size instant exactly 6 quarts. Thank You.
Yes you can. You do not use Pressure Cook mode when making yogurt in IP, so you can fill it to the brim.
I have a Max instapot and I’m wondering how it differs from the ones you’ve already mentioned. Thanks.
Sounds like it offers fermentation and sous vide.
Hi Olena,
Love your site!!! Noticed when you steamed the chicken breasts on your IP(instant pot). You had a stainless steel insert. So the chicken is raised in the IP. Does that gadget come with the IPs? If not where do I look for it.
Thanks for sharing your recipes and experimenting on your kids too !!!
You have made my family happy again.
I would recycle the same recipes.
Cooking got tedious ?
Thanks again,
Matty
Hi Matty. It’s a trivet that came with my Instant Pot. You can buy it on Amazon separately too.
Awe, you are so welcome! So happy to hear you are enjoying my recipes! Please don’t be shy to leave me a comment with a star review once you make any recipe. Have a great week!
Great advice as usual, Olena. I’m single with limited counter and so-so freezer space so 6-quart works for me. So you don’t use steam, huh? I use it for heating up leftovers and cook more leftovers that original dishes, so use steam the most. The question is is there any difference between 2 minutes steam and 2 minutes high pressure? I don’t know! All I know is my microwave died well over a year ago and there’s no reason in the world for me to replace it. Between steaming in IP and toaster oven for certain leftovers (and for cooking frozen spinach puffs, for example), I’m covered and will never buy another microwave!
I reheat on saute with a splash of water or on the stovetop in a skillet Alex does. It’s faster. I wanna say steam and high pressure is same stuff. It comes to pressure on Steam.
Hi Olena,
I have a 6 qt Ultra I love. You didn’t mention Ultra can do sous vide. This makes cheaper top sirloin steaks as tender as fillet mignon!
Perfect! I am not familiar with sous vide so didn’t want to mention smth I’m not sure how it works. But now I will add that.:)
Thanks for this post. I’m starting my Christmas list(I know it’s July) but if I don’t, I’m stumbling for ideas for my family ?. You compiled all the necessary info into such an easy format. Thank you! Also, love your new studio.
Thanks so much! And by the way, tomorrow is prime day. Just saying.:)
I came to this page after giving up reading reviews on Amazon page 😀 Sadly, they only have a 6-quart on Prime deals. So I may just have to wait a bit and get a nice 8-quart Ultra another day.
Thank you for a wonderful write up on all of them.
Really? I saw 8 quart for 69 today. R u in the US?
Don’t they all have a “non-stick” coating? That worries me.
No. Instant Pot is stainless steel inside. Don’t worry. They started selling extra non-stick inner pots now but original comes with stainless steel.
This post couldn’t be more timely as I’m exactly wondering which Instant Pot I need. Thank you so much, Olena, for sharing these guidelines! I think I’ll go with 6-qt Duo 🙂
Perfect! Good choice! I need 6 quart too for the studio and testing purposes ( have other brand 6 quart now), so I’m thinking Lux will do me.