Is The Instant Pot Worth It?

I often get asked by family and friends if the Instant Pot is worth it, and I wholeheartedly believe it is.

A while back, my mother-in-law bought an Instant Pot. It sat in the box for about six months before my husband finally asked if we could use it.

My husband and his parents love their old-school pressure cookers. But me? I’m scared of them. I don’t know whether it’s the rattling and shaking of the valve like it’s about to explode, or the fact that I’m unsure about whether it’s up to pressure and when to start the cooking timer.

So let’s just say that I was a bit skeptical of the Instant Pot. But Ryan was so excited about it that I said I’d give it a try. And O.M.G., it’s so super easy! That’s pretty much the only way I cook meat anymore, other than in the oven or in the slow cooker (and I use the slow cooker setting on the Instant Pot).

So, here are the top five reasons that I love the Instant Pot, and they might not be what you’re thinking.

1. I can clean up BEFORE dinner.

I love that using the Instant Pot reduces the amount of active cooking time. I can set it and forget it for about 20 minutes. Because I’m not standing at the stove, I can clean up the kitchen any of the prep dishes before we eat. Then all that’s left is the actual dishes we eat from, and the one Instant Pot bowl.

2. It’s pretty foolproof.

I’m not a very good cook, so I love how simple the Instant Pot is to use. Dump and go is my kind of meal. Plus, it keeps the meat warm without drying it out when I don’t time my side dishes correctly. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who’s terrible at this!)

3. Reduces the amount of kitchen stuff you need.

My slow cooker stoneware developed a small, hairline crack several months ago. Rather than buy a replacement bowl, I just use the slow cooker setting on the Instant Pot. The Instant Pot is perfect for small kitchens and motor homes.

4. It helps me narrow down the overwhelming number of dinner recipes available for me to choose from.

Finding new recipes is a time suck. Just think about how many options come up if you type “chicken recipes” into Pinterest or Google. YIKES! But if I type in “Instant Pot chicken recipes,” the options are considerably less. Plus I know they are going to be fairly simple and the cooking method is one I can handle.

5. I don’t need to turn on the oven or stove during the summer.

Our house doesn’t have air conditioning. We live in Southern California, less than two miles from the Pacific Ocean, so we don’t need it much. (Except for when I was nine months pregnant in August! That was awful.) It still gets hot here during the summer and the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven or the stove. This summer I plan on feeding my kids a lot of sliced veggies with an Instant Pot main dish for dinner.

So is the Instant Pot worth it? For me, most definitely!

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