You’ve probably heard of Instant Pot and Crock Pot if you’re looking for a good multi-cooker. Both brands have a cult following and are known for their range of benchtop cookers that can help you make great meals with little to no work. Which one is best? Here is what our experts think.
Instant Pot vs Crock Pot
Overview of Instant Pot multi-cookers
Instant Pot has a few electronic multi-cookers that are good for people who are just starting to cook, who love food, or who want to save time in the kitchen. Models in the range are said to cut cooking times by two to six times and save up to 70% of the energy that would have been used on a regular stovetop. Most Instant Pot multi-cookers have sizes that range from 3L to 8L.
Instant Pot multi-cookers combine up to 10 appliances into one and have functions for pressure cooking, sautéing, steaming, stewing, slow cooking, rice cooking, sous vide, warming food, and making yoghurt, just to name a few. Other features that are the same across the range are an LCD screen that shows the cooking status, one-touch smart program settings, a sealed lid, a pressure release button, extra safety features, and timed cooking programs that let you “set it and forget it.”
Review of the Crock Pot multi-cookers
People call any multi-cooker a “crockpot” because Crock Pot was the first slow cooker. The brand has been around for more than 40 years, and in addition to slow cookers, it now also makes pressure cookers and multi-cookers. Crock Pot has slow cookers that are manual, automatic, and even ones that work with Alexa. Its multi-cookers, on the other hand, combine up to nine appliances into one and have dozens of one-touch settings for soups, stews, roasts, and other dishes. Some of the range’s models are:
Which cooks more evenly: an Instant Pot or a Crock Pot?
Because they are oval and have a built-in heating element that starts heating at the bottom and spreads the heat to the sides, Crock Pot multi-cookers cook a little bit better than Instant Pot models. Multi-cookers like the Crock Pot are made to slowly heat food at a constant temperature for a long time, between 30 minutes and 20 hours. On the other hand, Instant Pot multi-cookers cook food faster by using a combination of steam and pressure cooking, which doesn’t always give you an even result.
With a Crock Pot multi-cooker, you can prepare your food in the morning, let it simmer all day, and then have it cooked and ready to serve by the time you get home from work. The best things to make in a Crock Pot multi-cooker are soups, stews, roasts, chili, and risotto.
Instant Pot vs Crock Pot settings
Which has more settings: an Instant Pot or a Crock Pot?
Instant Pot multi-cookers have more cooking settings than Crock Pot models and can do more types of cooking in the same pot, like slow cooking, pressure cooking, steaming, sautéing, sous vide, making yoghurt and bread, and everything else you’d expect from a multi-cooker. All models also have a delay-start and keep-warm function. Most Instant Pot multi-cookers also have smart programs like meat/stew, bean/chili, soup/broth, rice, multigrain, porridge, and more. Instant Pot multi-cookers have up to 10 safety features, such as a steam release, anti-block shield, automatic temperature control, leaky lid detection, and more.
Which one costs less, an Instant Pot or a Crock Pot?
Multi-cookers from Instant Pot and Crock Pot are about the same price, especially when you look at the different models in each line, the sizes of the pots, what they can cook, and other design and safety features. Most Instant Pot and Crock Pot multi-cookers cost between $100 and $300, which isn’t bad for an appliance that can do so many things and is so handy. But if you’re on a tight budget, be sure to look for appliance sales at the end of the financial year (EOFY) and on Black Friday.
Which is better: an Instant Pot or a Crock Pot?
It depends on what you want to find. The Crock Pot is the best choice for homes that want a simple multi-cooker and for people who like to make meals in the morning and then forget about them until dinner time. Slow cooking in a Crock Pot also makes the results more even and gives the food more flavor.
On the other hand, the Instant Pot is great for people who don’t have much time to cook at home. It cooks food faster than a regular stovetop because it uses high-pressure steam in a sealed container. It also has more settings for meats, soups, bread, and even hard-boiled eggs. You get to decide!
