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I am having trouble using the Slow Cooker mode on the Instant Pot. I tried a recipe at low, and it was not even remotely cooked...am I doing something wrong?
I've been getting a lot of questions like this recently. And I don't have an answer.
In all my years of using the Instant Pot1, I can count on one hand the times I've used it as a slow cooker. And, well… those times weren't really slow cooking. I was reheating chili I pressure cooked the night before, for my annual chili potluck at work. Low heat is not enough - I need high heat to be ready by lunchtime. I start at "Slow Cook - High" for an hour or two, and then, once everything is bubbling, I turn the cooker down to "keep warm" until it is time to serve.
For all the things my Instant Pot can do - "It's a pressure cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, rice cooker…"2 I really only ask it to do two things. First and foremost, it is my pressure cooker. I use the "Manual" (now "Pressure Cook") mode. I also use "Sauté" mode to saute onions and/or brown meat before turning on pressure cook mode. (And, occasionally, to simmer food after it is pressure cooked.) That's it, I'm done. The Instant Pot is my favorite cooking tool because of how well it does those two functions. 9 modes? 11 modes? Doesn't matter to me, all I want are those two.3
One of the first comments on my Instant Pot FAQ asked about slow cooking mode. (Like I said, I never use it, so I had to look it up in the manual.) According to the Instant Pot manual, the Slow Cooker settings are:
- Normal mode: 90 to 96°C/194 to 205°F.
- More mode: 93 to 99°C/199 to 210°F.
- Less mode: 88 to 94°C/190 to 201°F.
That looked like like "Low" mode lines up with a Slow Cooker set to low, and "High" mode with a slow cooker set to high. But over the last few months, the volume of Instant Pot as a Slow Cooker questions has jumped. More and more, I'm asked: "I set my Instant Pot to Slow Cook - Low mode, came back ten hours later, and the results were not good. Am I doing something wrong?"
Turns out:
- Slow Cook - Normal means "Low" in a traditional slow cooker
- Slow Cook - More means "High" in a traditional slow cooker
- Slow Cook - Less means "Keep Warm" in a traditional slow cooker
I don't know how to answer, yet. I'm going to test out slow cooker mode on the Instant Pot, and I will follow up on this in the New Year, but testing is going to take a while. (Ten hour slow cooks aren't a quick answer.) But, before I start testing,
Updated: Also, the Instant Pot has some limitations as a slow cooker. For more details, see my Update on Instant Pot as a Slow Cooker post. Or the comments on this post, or the Update post.
I want to throw the question to my readers:
Questions about Instant Pot Slow Cooking:
- Are you using the Instant Pot as a slow cooker?
- Is it working?
- What settings do you use? (I saw a Reddit thread that said "Slow cook - medium on an IP is a slow cooker at low. Slow cook - high on the IP is a slow cooker at high. Slow cook - low is a "keep warm" mode. Does that work for you?)
Please answer in the comments below - what are your experiences? (Or, reply by email, on Twitter, or Facebook, or whatever social media platform you can find me on. Frankly, I'd prefer blog comments - I can barely keep up with Twitter as it is, and I've declared Facebook bankruptcy and only check it once in a blue moon.) Thanks!
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PABlues says
My experience is that I only use the “more” setting for the slow cook feature. I have cooked many many pot roasts , pork roasts , BBQ, stews using this setting for about ~ 10 hours at a time. I have the littlest IP and I have shoved pretty big roasts into it. The key is ensuring there is enough liquid and using the glass lid with a vent hole. So nice to leave for the day and have the majority of dinner done when I get home. I would not want the cooker to go less then 8 hrs or risk tough meat.
Rob says
I have the IP Lux model (Pioneer Woman version) which comes with the glass lid option. This model is not good as a slow cooker either.
I make a lot of pot roasts and pressure cook the roast first. When I add vegetables and go into slow cooking mode on the "More" setting, it doesn't get very hot even after 3 hours. To get it going again, I used Saute on the Low setting to get it boiling for about 5 minutes but it didn't seem to help much. I also tried putting a towel over the glass lid to retain heat which helped a little. Next time I will try using the pressure cooking lid.
Hang on to your crock pot because they heat from the sides and do a better job.
Valerie Solis says
I tried to cook a green lentil and veg stew today. I soaked the lentils and cooked them in a pan until soft. I sauteed onion, tomato ,mushroom , veg etc in the IP which works great and added the lentils in their hot water to the mix and set to slow cook. Came back 5 hours later and it was only warm certainly not cooked and the veg were small pieces, It doesn't come to the boil so I will definitely go back to my old slow cooker which is a real shame considering the high price for the IP.
As a pressure cooker it is marvellous - I bought it for the stainless steel insert which is non toxic but I have to say disappointed indeed to have to resort to my old slow cooker which I nearly ditched.
James says
Just to clarify how I was trying to use the slow cooker mode with my Instant Pot. I had the machine on "more" for several hours. It just kept the stew a little more than warm, not cooking at all.
James says
I share the issues with my Instant pot on slow cooker mode. I'm about to get my slow cooker I packed up in the basement to finish the beef stew I've tried to make. A big disappointment on a so called "all in one" cooking machine. PC is fine, but Instant Pot really needs to redo their slow cooker mode.
leesuh says
yes, my first instant pot slow cooker experience was a fail because I didn't understand which was the high setting. It took 3x as long to cook beans in the slow cooker with the regular setting. I figured out that more = high and I also use a glass top from another pan instead of the instant pot lid. This works great for me.
Jim B says
I have the 9in1 6qt. Normal won't cook anything, more (high) takes 10 hours to cook stew, never boils.
Kal says
The temp in slow cook on high is only 155 degrees after 3 1/2 hours of cooking chili. Not the 210degrees I have read that it should reach on more/high setting. Should I cancel and switch to a pressure mode for a short time to finish it off.
Patti LaValley says
This product is Not a slow cooker, plain and simple. They need to stop advertising it as such or fix this issue. Works great as a pc however, don't get rid of your crock pot!!