15 Comments
Most of us have at least a few different small appliances in our kitchens. While almost every small kitchen appliance does something you can do on your stovetop or in your oven, we buy them because they offer added convenience that traditional methods can’t match. But after a certain point, those convenient appliances start to become an organizational nuisance. After all, each of those “small” appliances takes up a certain amount of room!
That’s one of the reasons why the Instant Pot makes such a valuable addition to any kitchen. Because you can use this one appliance to replace at least seven of those other small appliances that are taking up your valuable storage space. And that’s exactly what we’ll be exploring in today’s blog post! Find out how your Instant Pot can streamline your kitchen storage, and help you make the absolute most of the time you spend in the kitchen. :-)
And to learn even more about this incredible cooker, check out my eBook Everything Instant Pot! This handy reference guide is packed with tips and tricks for both beginners and experienced users alike. You can find it in my shop, or get it for free if you’re an OGT Plus member!
7 Appliances You Can Replace With Your Instant Pot
1. Pressure Cooker
The Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker, so the most obvious tool it can replace in your kitchen is your old stovetop pressure cooker! With 10 safety mechanisms, the Instant Pot is much safer (not to mention more consistent and user-friendly) than the stovetop variety. Pressure cooking is one of the best ways to enjoy deliciously tender foods in a fraction of the time of other methods!
2. Slow Cooker
The Instant Pot is so much more than just a pressure cooker too. You can even replace your crockpot with it! The “Slow Cook’ program works just like your crockpot, and has Low, Medium, and High heat settings. (The default heat setting for “Slow Cook” is Medium. To change the heat setting, adjust to More for High heat, or Less for Low heat.)
I highly recommend investing in a glass lid like this one to use when slow cooking in your Instant Pot. It works just like any other crockpot lid does, releasing excess steam while retaining as much moisture as possible during cooking.
Want a more thorough explanation about how the Instant Pot differs from a crockpot? Get all the details at the link below!
Related: Instant Pot vs. Slow Cooker – What You Need To Know
3. Rice Cooker
Rice is the one food I cook most frequently in my Instant Pot, by a long shot! Rice is a great side dish for many of my family’s favorite dishes, and cooking it in my Instant Pot takes next to no effort. And the best part is that the rice is perfectly cooked every time! And while you can also make perfect rice in a rice cooker, it takes longer to cook than it would in an Instant Pot.
Related: This One Added Ingredient Makes The Best Rice Ever
4. Yogurt Maker
If you’ve never tried homemade yogurt, you are in for a treat my friend! It’s so delicious, and you don’t need a bulky yogurt maker to do it. You can make it right in your Instant Pot with the “Yogurt” program! While the process isn’t hard, it does require some specific steps to get it right. (It is a fermentation process, after all!)
To get the full step-by-step instructions on how to make delicious homemade yogurt in your Instant Pot, read my full post on the topic at the link below.
Related: This Is The Easiest Way To Make Delicious And Healthy Homemade Yogurt
5. Steamer
Replace any steamer device with the Instant Pot, the perfect tool for quickly steaming vegetables and fish. It’s really quick, and can perfectly steam even the most delicate foods! There are a variety of steamer baskets you can buy online to use in your Instant Pot, like this mesh steamer basket. There are also stackable steamer baskets that allow you to cook steam multiple foods at once!
More Ideas You'll Love
6. Warmer
Your Instant Pot can replace anything you might use to keep food warm, whether it’s just until dinnertime or throughout a whole party! The Instant Pot has a “Keep Warm” function that turns on after pressure cooking, but you can also turn it on manually any time you want. Keeping soups, dips, and other foods warm is a breeze with this handy function!
7. Sauté Pan
The “Sauté” program on your Instant Pot is such a brilliant addition to the versatile machine. While you can pressure cook raw meat as is, searing it beforehand helps to give it a deeper flavor. The “Sauté” program allows you to sear your meat right inside your Instant Pot so you don’t have to use one of your clean pans doing it on your stovetop!
You can also use the “Sauté” program to thicken sauces and soups after pressure cooking, or even to make stir-fry!
… And More!
I based the list above on the capabilities of the the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1, their most popular model and the one most frequently purchased on Amazon. But other models have different capabilities and features. For instance, the Duo Plus 9-in-1 models have three additional programs: “Sterilize,” “Egg,” and “Cake.”
And the Instant Pot 8-quart Aura Pro model is shaking up the game even further! If pressure cooking isn’t your thing, you can grab this multi-cooker that includes a super useful a “Sous Vide” program! Cooking sous vide yields some of the most tender, perfectly cooked foods you’ll ever taste with zero guesswork required on your part.
So no matter what model you own or are looking to buy, rest assured that your Instant Pot can replace many of the small kitchen appliances that are cluttering up your cupboards! :-)
What’s your favorite way to use your Instant Pot?
