Can you slow cook with Instant Pot? Yes! Learn how to use the Instant Pot as slow cooker, plus 8 tips to convert your favorite crockpot recipes to cook in the Instant Pot.
The slow cooker was invented in 1940, and there are TONS of really great slow cooker recipes out there.
However, the Instant Pot has given the traditional slow cooker a run for its money, thanks to the fact that it cooks many meals faster and (in my opinion) better than the slow cooker. It also comes with the ability to do other cool things too, like make yogurt, sauté ground beef, and prepare oatmeal entirely hands-free!
Whether you want to use your Instant Pot as slow cooker or convert your favorite slow cooker recipes to Instant Pot recipes, I’ve got you covered!
HOW TO USE INSTANT POT AS SLOW COOKER
You can use your Instant Pot as slow cooker. Here’s how!
Step 1: Load the inner pot with your ingredients, but instead of using the lid that comes with the Instant Pot, use the Instant Pot glass lid, or a tempered glass lid from your own cookware that fits on top of the Instant Pot.
Since you are slow cooking the food instead of pressure cooking, you don’t need the tight seal of the Instant Pot lid, and in fact, having a small gap allows steam to release from the pot as the food cooks, much like the slow cooker lid. (If you don’t have a glass lid, you can use the regular Instant Pot lid – just make sure it’s set to vent to allow steam to escape).
Step 2: Press the Slow Cook button and set the time.
Step 3: Press the Adjust button to set the temperature. Your options on the Instant Pot slow cooker settings are “Normal”, “More”, and “Less”. Choose the temperature that you would pick on your slow cooker.
- Normal = Low heat on slow cooker
- More = High heat on slow cooker
- Less = Keep warm setting on slow cooker
Step 4: After the slow cooking time has completed, the Instant Pot will automatically shift to its Keep Warm setting for up to 10 hours, just as it does after completing pressure cooking.
Using the Instant Pot slow cooker function is a great option if you still want to prep food in the morning, and slow cook it all day, but you don’t want to store both a slow cooker and an Instant Pot. Keep the Instant Pot and use one appliance for both!
INSTANT POT VS CROCK POT RECIPES
You’ve probably found some new favorite Instant Pot recipes. But what about all those awesome slow cooker recipes you already have and love? Do we ditch those in search of new favorite Instant Pot recipes instead? Nope! But if you like the speed of a pressure cooker, and don’t want to use the Instant Pot as slow cooker, you can convert your crock pot recipes to pressure cook in the Instant Pot instead.
With converting slow cooker recipes to Instant Pot recipes, you need to know two things:
- How the Instant Pot works the way it works.
- Why Instant Pot recipes work.
PS…If you’re new to the Instant Pot in general, I suggest reading 20+ Things to Know Before Buying an Instant Pot.
8 TIPS TO MAKE SLOW COOKER RECIPES IN AN INSTANT POT
TIP #1: ADJUST THE LIQUID LEVEL
Every Instant Pot recipe must start with at least 1 cup of liquid. This amount of liquid is required to prevent burn and to help the Instant Pot build pressure correctly.
Because the heating is so gradual in a slow cooker, the odds of something burning are slim BECAUSE enough juices from the food have been released by the time the slow cooker has reached its highest heating temperature.
TIP #2: THE INSTANT POT IS DESIGNED TO GET REALLY HOT, REALLY FAST.
This means you have to START with liquid, otherwise your food will burn before it’s had a chance to release any juices.
- With that said, any time you make a regular slow cooker recipe in an Instant Pot, you need to adjust the recipe so that you’re starting with at least 1 cup of liquid. This might mean adding additional liquid in order to reach the minimum moisture needed.
- This additional liquid can be water, stock, or the same liquid that the slow cooker recipe calls for (i.e. beer, apple juice, etc.) – it’s your call. But make sure there’s 1 cup of liquid at the bottom of your Instant Pot before you start cooking.
TIP #3: NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE VS. QUICK PRESSURE RELEASE
Anytime you make a recipe, the Instant Pot must build pressure, then cook your food, and then release the pressure. The pressure is typically released one of three ways:
- Natural Pressure Release: This happens when the timer for the food goes off and you do nothing. The pressure will naturally release in about 10-15 minutes.
- Timed Natural Pressure Release: This is where the timer for the food goes off, but you set a kitchen timer – usually for 5 or 10 minutes – AND THEN do a quick release.
- Quick Pressure Release: This is when you manually turn the valve from “sealing” to “venting.” It’s like flipping a switch, and doing so will immediately release the steam that’s been building inside the Instant Pot.
The type of pressure release you choose for your slow cooker turned Instant Pot recipe matters, because anytime there is pressure inside the Instant Pot, your food is cooking.
That means, if you choose the natural pressure release, your food will cook for another 10-15 minutes. Granted, the temperature will gradually come down and the food will be cooking at a slower rate, but the food is still cooking, nonetheless.
TIP #4: WHEN YOU’RE COOKING MEAT IN THE INSTANT POT, THE NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE OPTION IS BEST.
This helps the meat to retain its juices and produces a better texture in the end. A perfect example of this would be my Slow Cooker Carnitas. I would use the natural pressure release when making that recipe in the Instant Pot.
If you’re making something that can overcook easily, like vegetables, you will want to choose the quick pressure release to avoid overcooking the food.
TIP #5: SLOW COOKER INGREDIENTS THAT DON’T WORK IN THE INSTANT POT
- Milk and most dairy products (like sour cream or cheese) don’t work very well in the Instant Pot. The Instant Pot gets too hot, too fast for these foods and will likely cause a burn error.
- Cornstarch or arrowroot powder should also be added after the pressure is released, for the same reason as dairy products.
- Cream-based soups, like Cream of Mushroom or cream of broccoli soup, and it doesn’t matter if they’re homemade cream-of-soups or store-bought. These can be added to the recipe; just add them after the pressure release.
OTHER INGREDIENTS THAT MAY CAUSE ISSUES:
- If your slow cooker recipe calls for flouring and searing meat, skip the flour part and just sear the meat in a bit of oil in the Instant Pot. The flour will prevent your Instant Pot from correctly building pressure.
- Tomato paste. Don’t mix it in with your liquids before cooking. Add it to the very top of your food, cook as directed, and then mix it in after the pressure release.
- Wine. You will want to add it after the pressure release AND leave the lid off so that the alcohol burns off and the flavor deepens. The flavor of wine doesn’t change under pressure, so the end result could be tart and likely undesirable.
TIP #6: MIXING MEAT WITH VEGETABLES IN THE INSTANT POT
Many slow cooker recipes have you put the vegetables in with the meat at the very beginning, and they all cook together. If you do this with the Instant Pot, you’ll end up with mushy vegetables.
If you’re starting with a big cut of meat (like Slow Cooker Pot Roast), here’s a simple work-around to that problem:
- Prepare the recipe as directed, leaving out the vegetables.
- Set the Instant Pot to the desired setting and cook time, EXCEPT reduce the cook time by 10 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, switch the valve for a quick pressure release.
- When the steam is done releasing, add the vegetables. Reset the Instant Pot to the desired settings (same as before) and set the cook time for 10 minutes.
If you’re starting with smaller cuts of meat, like a stew or soup (say no more than 1” chunks) you shouldn’t run into the problem of mushy vegetables. You can add everything at the same time, at the beginning.
TIP #7: COOKING MEAT IN GENERAL
Most meat recipes take 6-10 hours in a slow cooker but using the Instant Pot means having your meat ready in under an hour.
- For red meat recipes, use the “meat” function on the Instant Pot. This will automatically set the control to “high” pressure and the time between 25 and 30 minutes.
- For white meat recipes, use the “poultry” function. This will set the controls to “high” temperature as well, but the cooking time will be around 15 minutes.
- If you have an older model and/or your Instant Pot doesn’t have either “meat” or “poultry” function, use the “manual” or “pressure cook” function and adjust the controls accordingly.
TIP #8: HOW LONG TO SET THE INSTANT POT TIMER
Most models of the Instant Pot come with settings that make choosing the cooking times and pressure levels painless. But what if you’re cooking something OTHER than what you have a button for? (Or you have a different brand of electric pressure cookers!)
Hip Pressure Cooking has a great online chart to help with cooking times, but you can also check some of your favorite bloggers’ recipes! I personally test every recipe AT LEAST 3 times before publishing, so if I say brown rice takes 22 minutes, then set your timer to 22 minutes.
SLOW COOK WITH INSTANT POT FAQS
Can I use the Instant Pot as slow cooker?
Absolutely! You can use the slow cook function or convert slow cooker recipes for the Instant Pot. I still have my slow cooker for now. But it’s been demoted to the basement. I am completely in love with my Instant Pot and am excited to see how I can use it in place of my slow cooker.
Do you seal the Instant Pot when slow cooking?
When using the Instant Pot as slow cooker function, you don’t use the original Instant Pot lid. Instead, use a glass lid like this one or from your own cookware, which provides a bit of a gap for steam to escape. Only seal the lid when pressure cooking.
Can I leave my Instant Pot on slow cook all day?
Yes, if you use the slow cook function and set the timer for a long enough period of time. After the cooking time is up, the Instant Pot will switch to the Keep Warm setting for up to 10 hours, just like after pressure cooking.
What size Instant Pot do you have?
I have the 8-quart DUO 7 in 1 Instant Pot. I chose the larger Instant Pot for a few reasons. My slow cooker is 6 quarts and can barely fit some of my favorite recipes. Having the larger Instant Pot gives me more room to double recipes, too. Cooking once and eating twice is key for saving time in the kitchen.
You also have to leave a certain amount of space in the pressure cooker when using it. There is a max fill line for liquids. And the general rule is to not fill the Instant Pot more than 2/3 full. The 8-quart gives me more room to cook.
Note: One Instant Pot hack I learned is to use a 6-quart pot on a trivet inside of an 8-quart pot to cook two elements of one meal. You can read how that works HERE.
How do I know what size Instant Pot to buy?
There are a few things to consider when you choose an Instant Pot. When it comes to size, think about how many people you typically feed, if you want to cook large batches of food, and if you will be cooking meals or staples (like beans).
Besides size, the different models have different functions. The LUX models have the cake and egg functions, the DUO has the yogurt, bean/chili and poultry functions, and the SMART model is blue-tooth compatible.
While the 6-quart Instant Pot is very common because of the lower price point, I recommend the 8-quart since you have more options with it down the road. You can easily cook a 6-quart Instant Pot recipe in an 8-quart pot. It’s better to have a little extra space than wish you had a bigger Instant Pot.
Is there a texture difference between slow cooker meals and Instant Pot meals?
I found the taste and texture of Instant Pot meals to be so much better than the slow cooker. The whole chicken recipe that I use tastes much more like a roast chicken in the oven. There’s no mushy meat with the Instant Pot!
MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
- Easy Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
- Instant Pot White Rice
- Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
- Instant Pot Steamed Vegetables
- Instant Pot Ground Beef
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
I plan on buying an instant pot for more space and more options since my rice cooker only fits 3 L of water and I want to cook more curry simultaneously. Do I still have to follow the max fill line if I have the pot on the “slow cook” function?
Hi Robin,
Instant Pots require less liquid than crockpots. Make sure not to pass the “Max Fill” line on the pot. The rule is, reduce the liquid by 1/2 to 1 cup. Hope this helps!
The temperature settings on an Instant Pot aren’t exactly the same as on a slow cooker. The brand lists the following temperature ranges for each setting:
Less: 180-190°F
Normal: 190-200°F
More: 200-210°F
On a standard slow cooker, the low setting is generally around 190°F and the high setting is around 300°F. As you can see, the settings between the two appliances don’t match up precisely, so it may take some trial and error to recreate your favorite recipes.
For these reasons, slow cooker recipes often take a bit longer to make in an Instant Pot, and you’ll want to check the inner temperature of your meal to confirm its reached a safe temperature before you dig in.
Thanks for the info Pan!
I am new to the Instant Pot (mine is a Mini) but not to pressure cooking. I have been using my 2 pressure cookers for years. I also have a slow cooker and use it only for 2 or 3 recipes. I would like to test the mini Instant Pot’s slow cooker function. I have found your article both helpful and confusing. When you refer to using the Instant Pot it is not clear to me where you mean using it as a pressure cooker or using it as a slow cooker. It appears that most of the time you mean using it as a pressure cooker and converting recipes written for a slow cooker to making the recipe in the Instant Pot using the pressure cooker function. Can you clarify for me?
Hi Ileen!
I am happy to clarify for you. Yes, you are right, this post is about using the Instant Pot (as a pressure cooker) for some recipes that were originally made for a slow cooker. Using the Instant Pot as a pressure cooker (which it is mostly intended for) can be more convenient and time effective for some recipes that would otherwise take longer in a slow cooker. Hope this helps. Let us know if you try any slow cooker recipes in your Instant Pot (as a pressure cooker). 🙂
Hi there – thank you for this helpful post. I’ve actually run into an odd problem using my Instant Pot as a slow cooker and wonder if you can help. I bought it thinking – great, it will replace my crock pot because I can sauté directly in the pot, then add everything in and slow cook. But I find that, using the slow cooker function, and even increasing the time by an hour or 2 from what the slow cooker recipe dictates, my vegetables (like butternut squash), come out undercooked. So – using it as a pressure cooker I run the risk of overcooking vegetables, and using it as a slow cooker, the vegetables come out undercooked! Can you help with the question of how to not have undercooked vegetables when using the Instant Pot as a slow cooker? Thank you
Interesting… Are you using a regular pot lid, rather than the IP lid when you cook vegetables? Another option is that if they’re undercooked at the end of cooking time, use the “steam” function for 5-10 minutes (with a pot lid) and that should help!
I also have had the issue with my vegetables coming out under cooked the past couple of times when using the slow cook function. My carrots and celery were both still crunchy. I’m making chicken and rice soup tonight and I will try the “steam” function you mentioned if they come out that way again.
So informative! Thank you! Question, I used the “slow cooker” setting for my Pot Roast in my instant pot, it was so moist but overcooked and the bottom of my stainless steel liner looks messed up. I only put 1/2 cup of liquid as that’s how I do in my slow cooker. Should I have used the liner? There was SO much liquid leftover (I think it’s seal is much better than my old slo cooker). Maybe I should have added more liquid. Thanks for any insight you have!!
Hi Andrea! When you use the slow cooker function on the IP, you have to use a glass lid, like you would for a slow cooker. That allows moisture to evaporate. Did you do that?
BTW – you don’t need a ‘special’ lid for this. If you have a 5-6 quart pot (the kind that typically comes with a cookware set), check to see if it fits – mine does!
OK, I’m a retired guy with a technical background and recently introduced to the joys of Instant Pot cooking. My wife is interested in trying some of her Slow Cook recipes in our 6-quart Duo pot. Here are a few “guy comments” (could have been “gal comments”) I suggest making your postings even better.
Editorial comment:
In the introduction section, under the sentence that reads, “So your best bet to convert slow cooker recipes to Instant Pot recipes is to know two things”
Delete the 3rd bullet that reads,
• “How to make your slow cooker recipe work the same way.”
For completeness and clarity:
On various pages the terminology “at the end.” is used. This terminology is most often found in the section addressing “Slow Cooker Ingredients that Don’t Work in the Instant Pot”. This is confusing especially when multiple pressure release “events” are called for. I recommend that you tie-down the meaning of “at the end”. We have interpreted “at the end” to mean following the last pressure release in the recipe which may not be your intent. Similarly, we have interpreted the meaning of “at the beginning” to mean before the first lid-on pressure cycle.
Also, in the section “Slow Cooker Ingredients that Don’t Work in the Instant Pot”. the rationale given for not using flour when searing meat in the Instant Pot is that, “The flour will prevent your Instant Pot from correctly building pressure.” Since all the temperature and pressure sensors/regulators in the Instant pot are located outside the inner cooking pot under the heating element I don’t understand the relationship between flour in the cooking pot and Instant Pot pressure regulation. Could it be that the cooked flour coating serves to insulate the seared meat and might result in undercooked meat?
I’d be very interested knowing exactly what problems you saw when you used flour coated seared meat during your test trials.
Dear Patrick, I too am very technical, & had all of the same thoughts & questions that you had. I wonder why Tiffany never responded to you?! She seems to have responded to everyone else. I was interested in what answers & thoughts she had about what you wrote. The flour thing is perplexing. My first thought was that the flour may absorb too much liquid for the IP to have enough in it to produce enough pressure.
Thank you for your questions & observations. Tiffany’s article is very good, but it could definitely be made clearer.
Hi Kathleen, You’re right about the flour absorbing. The IP needs the full liquid to create pressure and steam the food, and the flour prevents that from happening.
How do you convert 6 quart Instant Pot recipes to properly fit an 8 quart Instant Pot? Is there a simple conversion to use that fits all recipes across the board? It seems like most recipes are designed for 6 quart.
As long as the food fits, there’s no conversion necessary! For example, one potato takes just as long as 5 potatoes. Pressure cooking is unique – and pretty awesome – that way!
You absolutely can use your Instant Pot as a slow cooker. Get their slow cooker lid & it is pretty much the same. No real adjustments necessary other than changing the temperature to “more.”
Hello, I’m thinking all this information is wonderful for Slow cook recipes to convert for Instant Pot doneness(cooking Instant and not slow cook) ? It took me awhile to see that you were talking just that Slow cook recipes to Instant Pot use and not the SLOW COOK function. I was getting a little confused at first. 🙂 This will be the first time to use the SLOW COOK function in the Instant Pot, for me. I want to see if it works. My problem is wondering which setting to push, for timing, after you set slow cook., Thought I would find it here. I’m surprised Instant Pot doesn’t explain slow cook method very well either. I would guess the High setting to be at least 275 degrees. Any thoughts on that? Thank you for the great information to convert slow cook to the instant cook.
Me too. I wanted to find that here…
Hello Elizabeth, I was hoping that Tiffany would give you an answer to your question. I too was wondering the same thing.
Hi Kathleen & Elizabeth,
It really depends on your model. I’d check out your owner’s manual (Google it if you don’t have a paper copy – they’re easy to find!)
After some googling I found that on a standard slow cooker, the low setting is generally around 190°F and the high setting is around 300°F. Since, the settings between the two appliances don’t match up precisely, so it may take some trial and error to recreate your favorite recipes. I’d start with recipes that take 2 hours in the SC so you have plenty of time to watch in the IP. If the temps vary greatly from model to model, then experimenting and taking notes will be your best bet. Let us know how it goes!
You quick release meat and then add veggies? Doesn’t that dry out the meat? You pretty much should always let meat release pressure naturally.
Ideally you want to use natural pressure release for meat otherwise you “risk” drying the meat, but I’ve successfully done the quick pressure release method with meat without any problems. Also, if you’re making a recipe that includes vegetables, you have to decide if it’s worth the extra time for NPR OR if you need to get those veggies in quick for dinner. It will be a give and take. This is just a guide, and it should work for most recipes. You might have to adjust to your liking, depending on what you make.
I love my Instant Pot but there are still some things I use my crockpot for. If I am not going to be home all day and want dinner ready right when I get home, I still use the crockpot. I know there’s a way to set the IP to start at a certain time but I don’t want my chicken sitting in the pot for 6 hours before it starts cooking.
I actually read in the users guide that it’s better to cook the chicken and keep it on warm, then let it sit all day uncooked. But depending on the recipe, you might have overcooked chicken… If you already have a slow cooker, no need to get rid of it entirely just yet. 🙂
You wrote: One Instant Pot hack I learned is to use a 6 quart pot on top of an 8 quart pot to cook two elements of one meal. You can read how that works HERE.
Is there supposed to be a link on the “HERE”? If so, there isn’t
Yes, and fixed – thank you!