I bought the Instant Pot Duo on a Tuesday night after a particularly rough weeknight when I served my kids what I can only describe as "mystery chicken." It was technically cooked. I think. The point is, I was guessing, I was tired, and I was out of ideas. My coworker Lisa had been talking about her Instant Pot for three months straight, and I finally broke down. That was eight months ago. I now use it four nights a week, and I want to tell you exactly why.
This is not a list of features from the box. This is what the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 actually does for a real family dinner schedule, from someone who works a full day in accounting and does not have two hours to stand over a stove.
Tired of 6pm panic? The Instant Pot Duo handles dinner while you decompress.
Over 184,000 reviews and a 4.7-star rating. See today's price and delivery options.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →Dinner in 30 Minutes, Start to Finish, on a School Night
Chicken thighs from frozen take about 25 minutes at high pressure. Beef stew that normally needs two hours on the stove takes 35 minutes total. I set it before I help my daughter with homework, and it is ready when we are. That is not an exaggeration. I have timed it with my phone.
It Replaces Four Appliances You Are Probably Already Crowding Your Counter With
The Duo is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, saute pan, yogurt maker, and warmer. I got rid of my separate rice cooker and my slow cooker after month two. That is two appliances back in a drawer and one counter that now feels like it belongs to me again.
You Can Saute Directly in the Pot Before Pressure Cooking
This one took me by surprise. I brown my onions and garlic right in the inner pot on Saute mode, then add broth and protein and lock the lid. One pot. One dish to wash. I was prepared to hate cleaning it, but the inner pot is dishwasher safe and rinses clean in about 20 seconds when I do it by hand.
Pulled Pork Without Babysitting a Grill for Eight Hours
I know that sounds like heresy to the low-and-slow crowd. But on a Wednesday, I am not running a barbecue competition. Pork shoulder at high pressure for 90 minutes gives me fall-apart pulled pork that my family devours. I shred it in the pot with two forks while the kids set the table. Done.
Dried Beans From Scratch Instead of Canned, With Almost No Extra Effort
I used to buy canned beans out of pure convenience. Dried beans are cheaper and taste better but take three hours on the stove. In the Instant Pot, dried black beans go from unsoaked to fully cooked in about 30 minutes. I make a big batch Sunday afternoon and use them through the week. My grocery bill noticed the difference.
Perfect Rice Every Single Time, Without a Dedicated Rice Cooker
I ruined a lot of rice before the Instant Pot. Scorched bottoms, mushy centers, mysteriously crunchy grains. Now I put in the rice, add the water at the right ratio, hit the Rice button, and walk away. Fluffy every time. It sounds like a small thing until you think about how many weeknight dinners rice is the foundation of.
Hard-Boiled Eggs in Five Minutes, Peels Slip Right Off
This is the reason half my coworkers bought one after I mentioned it in the break room. The 5-5-5 method: five minutes at high pressure, five minutes natural release, five minutes in ice water. The shells practically fall off. I do a dozen at a time for school lunches and snacks. My kids peel them themselves, which is not nothing.
You Can Set It and Actually Leave the Kitchen
With a stovetop pot of soup, leaving the kitchen feels like a gamble. With the Instant Pot, once the lid is locked and the time is set, the machine handles it. I fold laundry. I help with math homework. I take the dog out. The pot beeps when it is done and holds the temperature on Warm until I come back. That uninterrupted 25 minutes is not a small thing on a Tuesday.
Soups and Stews That Taste Like They Simmered All Day
Pressure cooking does something to a pot of chicken soup that slow simmering takes four hours to match. The flavors concentrate faster. The chicken gets tender faster. The vegetables stay intact instead of turning to mush. My mom's chicken noodle soup recipe takes 45 minutes in the Instant Pot and I have never had a single complaint from my kids, which if you have kids, you know is the only review that actually matters.
The Learning Curve Is Real But Short, and Then It Becomes Second Nature
I will not pretend there is zero learning curve. The first time I pressure cooked, I was convinced the valve was about to launch off the lid. It did not. By the third use, I stopped hovering. By week two, I was just using it the way I use a microwave. There are 184,000 reviews on Amazon because enough people stuck with it through that first week and discovered it was worth it.
What I Would Skip
The yogurt function. I have made it exactly once, and while it worked fine, it takes eight hours and I can buy yogurt at the grocery store without eight hours of planning. Same goes for the Delay Start feature. The idea of raw chicken sitting in a pot for six hours before it starts cooking does not sit right with me, and food safety experts generally agree. Stick to fresh ingredients you pressure cook right away and you will be fine.
The Instant Pot is also not great for small batches. If you live alone or cook for one, the 7-quart model is genuinely overkill. The 6-quart is what most families of three or four actually need. That is the version linked throughout this article and the one I use.
Eight months in, I use this four nights a week. My slow cooker is in the back of a cabinet. My rice cooker went to a neighbor. The Instant Pot does the job of both and does it faster.
Ready to stop guessing at chicken temps and start actually finishing dinner on time?
The Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 has 4.7 stars from over 184,000 home cooks. Check today's price and see if delivery gets it to you before the weekend.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →