topic Re: Instapot Size Question in Kitchen

Instapot Size Question

Moonchilde — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 22:47:39 GMT

I’m thinking about purchasing a 3-qt Instapot Mini. Every time I’ve bought a 6-qt anything I can’t eat all the food I make and it’s hard to halve recipes all that well. But so many reviews say the 3-qt size is only good for a single side, making me think it’s totally dinky.

Anyone here have a 3-qt size? This really is for feeding 1-2 people, very occasionally 3 people. We don’t want large amounts of leftovers.

My main questions are: Will I have trouble finding 3-qt recipes in all the Instapot cookbooks? Is everything geared for the 6-qt ones? Can I cook a whole chicken, or a small pot roast, potatoes & carrots in a 3-qt, or would that need the 6-qt.

I can’t afford to waste space, and I don’t like wasting food.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Instapot Size Question

brandiwine — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 23:13:18 GMT

I got my DIL and INSTANTPOT for Christmas. I also got her the cookbook. The book is geared to the 6qt according to her. I saw the tiny 3qt and it would not be worth it for my DH and myself. If I'm going to the trouble to chop, peel, etc. I want enough for a couple of meals. Love to freeze leftovers for a quick meal on a busy day. Good luck with your decision.

Re: Instapot Size Question

OKPrincess — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 23:20:32 GMT

I don't know the difference between instapot and pressure cooker but I have the 4 qt PC and use it regularly for DH and me. I am seriously wanting a 6 qt for roast and small turkey breast. IMO I would not size down.

Re: Instapot Size Question

Thats Me — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 23:21:30 GMT

Hi Moonchilde,

it depends on how you want to use it. For pressure cooking, the typical use of Imstant Pots, you can only fill them half full, max. So in that sense the 6 qt isn't so crazy. You can freeze leftovers, or you can make a smaller amount still. You can fill it more If slowcooking, but I have never used mine that way. And, most recipes out there are geared toward the 6 qt size. And, last but not least, the obvious is that you can make less in a larger pot, but obviously not more in a smaller pot. So personally, I'd get the bigger even given your concerns. Hope this helps.

thats me

Re: Instapot Size Question

Moonchilde — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 23:58:41 GMT

Thank you, ladies. I had a suspicion that I’d have trouble finding 3-qt geared recipes. That always seems to be the way with multi-sized device cookbooks, something is always a step-child.

I will probably use it as a slow cooker as much as I will as a pressure cooker, and I will steam/steam bake, and rice cook too. We have a 6 qt pressure cooker that always seems to feed us for days (when we’re so over whatever it was), and we honestly don’t want days worth of food - maybe one “leftover meal” for two.

But OTOH, there isn’t any point to having one so small that a pot roast, potatoes & veggies for four won’t even fit in it, or a chicken or turkey breast.

Yes, I know that since the household has a pressure cooker already we don’t “need” this, but - the pressure cooker isn’t mine and I don’t want to mess with it because it isn’t mine. I’d rather get my own & learn from the ground up.

Good point about being able to put less food in the 6 qt. You can’t do that in a crock pot because of the way it heats and cooks. They always told you to ideally fill a crock pot 3/4 full at least or the food wouldn’t cook right. I’m guessing that’s no longer true with instant pots, because they heat/cook in more than one way?

Re: Instapot Size Question

Kachina624 — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:09:12 GMT

@Moonchilde. I live alone, cook just for me and would have nothing smaller than a 6 qt. I can cook a small amount in a 6 qt (you don't have to fill it), but I can't cook a large amount in a small cooker. I do enjoy cooking and eating for several consecutive days, or freezing meals to eat later. I will say for years I used a stove-top 4 qt model for a family of 3. It was adequate but I never got to have left-overs.

Re: Instapot Size Question

Moonchilde — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:19:33 GMT

Thanks, @Kachina624.

I think a 4-qt would be perfect, but given that there is only 3 and 6 as my choices, I guess it had better be 6 qt if I take the plunge.

Three people in my household. I will of course like anything I choose to make in it, since I’m choosing the recipe. One person is guaranteed not to want to touch anything I’d make, and the third might want to eat a little, sometimes. So however much there might be as to leftovers, mostly I’ll be the one eating them. It’s not like feeding a group where everyone will like it and everyone will want to eat it. So I didn’t want to be in a situation where I had huge bowls of leftovers I get sick of. And I’m not big on freezing. Every time I’ve done it, I haven’t eaten it, it just stays there until I throw the frozen brick out ;-(

As I said in an earlier post, I keep remembering the “you have to fill it for best results” for crock pots. So it’s a good reminder that these pots aren’t like that.

Re: Instapot Size Question

wagirl — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 17:13:08 GMT

Of course you can cook less in a bigger pressure cooker--I have a 4qt P/C that I use all the time that feeds my fam of 3 just fine with leftovers but am thinking about the Instant Pot and would get the 6qt. But boy is it hard to find one. Found many sites that had $99 sales on them, but all sold out. AMZ has them for alot more. Guess I will wait awhile

Re: Instapot Size Question

Tyak — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 17:29:42 GMT

There are 2 of us and I just got the 6 qt. for Christmas. I've only tried hard cooked eggs in it so far. Turned out fine and they peel so easily I was amazed. I usually have a heck of a time peeling eggs. You can fill the pot 2/3 full when pressure cooking so if I were you, I'd recommend the 6 qt. I wanted to have leftovers and I think the 3 1/2 qt. would just have been too small for us. I hope this thing ends up being as good as I hear it is and not just taking up space on the counter.

Re: Instapot Size Question

Tyak — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 17:31:42 GMT

@wagirl wrote:
Of course you can cook less in a bigger pressure cooker--I have a 4qt P/C that I use all the time that feeds my fam of 3 just fine with leftovers but am thinking about the Instant Pot and would get the 6qt. But boy is it hard to find one. Found many sites that had $99 sales on them, but all sold out. AMZ has them for alot more. Guess I will wait awhile

They sure are hard to find. Mine was a Christmas gift and it didn't come in until last week. Mine was purchased at Williams Sonoma and they are backed up again on orders after just fulfilling those for Christmas gifts.

Re: Instapot Size Question

momtochloe — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:23:14 GMT

@Moonchilde wrote:
Thanks, @Kachina624.

I think a 4-qt would be perfect, but given that there is only 3 and 6 as my choices, I guess it had better be 6 qt if I take the plunge.

Three people in my household. I will of course like anything I choose to make in it, since I’m choosing the recipe. One person is guaranteed not to want to touch anything I’d make, and the third might want to eat a little, sometimes. So however much there might be as to leftovers, mostly I’ll be the one eating them. It’s not like feeding a group where everyone will like it and everyone will want to eat it. So I didn’t want to be in a situation where I had huge bowls of leftovers I get sick of. And I’m not big on freezing. Every time I’ve done it, I haven’t eaten it, it just stays there until I throw the frozen brick out ;-(

As I said in an earlier post, I keep remembering the “you have to fill it for best results” for crock pots. So it’s a good reminder that these pots aren’t like that.

@Moonchilde I'm like you. I don't even kid myself anymore that most of what I put in the freezer ever makes it out in edible form because it's been in there so long but I too would recommend the 6 qt.. I bought mine a few years ago and I just love it. I am not a great cook and yet everything I toss in there comes out great.

Re: Instapot Size Question

thechedda — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 15:30:51 GMT

I've got the 3qt and absolutely love it. Like others have said, you might want to go the 6qt route just for the fact that you want to do larger roasts and such. If I may, please check youtube. There are a ton of videos that explain how the pot works and differences in sizes. It's a fun rabbithole to go down, let alone the recipe vids. I've had no problems at all finding recipes specific to the 3qt.

Re: Instapot Size Question

Monketoes — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 17:59:56 GMT

Just got my mini 3 qt yesterday and will love it. I had another brand in a 4 qt. that stopped working....so I Know I will like this too. I have the mini, the 6 and the 8

Did I say I like PCooking? LOL Alot more goes in the smaller one than lyou think.

Re: Instapot Size Question

Moonchilde — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 02:29:43 GMT

@thechedda wrote:
I've got the 3qt and absolutely love it. Like others have said, you might want to go the 6qt route just for the fact that you want to do larger roasts and such. If I may, please check youtube. There are a ton of videos that explain how the pot works and differences in sizes. It's a fun rabbithole to go down, let alone the recipe vids. I've had no problems at all finding recipes specific to the 3qt.

@thechedda, where have you found the 3 qt sized recipes?

Re: Instapot Size Question

Anita Hug — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:37:46 GMT

I have the mini and it makes more than you think it would. My biggest problem with it is adapting recipes for it. Some don't work because it is too small. But I did just make a cheesecake in it. A 6" push pan or baking dish WILL fit in the mini, so recipes that call for a 6" dish or pan for pot-in pot cooking or baking WILL work in the mini. The Cheesecake turned out perfect.

It will also hold a full 16 ounce box of penne, whole jar of pasta sauce, half pound of ground beef, and some onions and peppers sauteed - still enough room to add water to the halfway line and have it all cook up perfect. (Just to give you an idea of capacity for an easy meal)

It makes plenty for cooking for two, with some leftovers. But if you want to make larger pots of stuff, go with the bigger model. Or if you want to follow most of the recipes out there without having to adjust things down a bit, go with the bigger one.

As an empty nester, I'm happy with the mini, but someday I would like a larger model so I can cook larger things such as whole chickens.

Re: Instapot Size Question

Moonchilde — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 20:12:36 GMT

@Anita Hug wrote:
I have the mini and it makes more than you think it would. My biggest problem with it is adapting recipes for it. Some don't work because it is too small. But I did just make a cheesecake in it. A 6" push pan or baking dish WILL fit in the mini, so recipes that call for a 6" dish or pan for pot-in pot cooking or baking WILL work in the mini. The Cheesecake turned out perfect.

It will also hold a full 16 ounce box of penne, whole jar of pasta sauce, half pound of ground beef, and some onions and peppers sauteed - still enough room to add water to the halfway line and have it all cook up perfect. (Just to give you an idea of capacity for an easy meal)

It makes plenty for cooking for two, with some leftovers. But if you want to make larger pots of stuff, go with the bigger model. Or if you want to follow most of the recipes out there without having to adjust things down a bit, go with the bigger one.

As an empty nester, I'm happy with the mini, but someday I would like a larger model so I can cook larger things such as whole chickens.

@Anita Hug, thanks for your input, it’s been very helpful :-)

I’ll have to have a talk with my niece as to whether she and her hubby would ever want what I might be cooking. If my indication is no, then I think I’d go with a mini, OR a Ninja cooker, which is everything BUT the pressure cooking.

I’m checking out the contents of recipe books to help me decide which is most practical for me - good pressure cooking but mediocre slow cooking, or the best slow cooking/baking/steaming.

I know it doesn’t always work well to simply halve a recipe. What do you NOT halve - liquid or solids or spices?

Re: Instapot Size Question

Anita Hug — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 22:31:33 GMT

It depends on the recipe and how much it makes. But, in general, if I halve a recipe, I halve all ingredients equally.

If it is a pot-in-pot type of recipe, I just find recipes that use a pan or casserole dish that is 6" or smaller because I know it will fit I usually need to add less water to the instant pot under the trivet than the recipe might instruct, though - so the water does not come up above the level of the trivet. Especially if i'm using a springform/push pan. I don't want to soak my crust, lol.

The instant pot for two" cookbooks have recipes that usually work as is, or with little adjustment. I have two slow cookers already, so I don't use the instant pot for that unless I want to start a recipe in one mode, and then finish it off in another.That, I think, is the real beauty of the instant pot - that you can do more than one thing all in the same pot - for the same meal.

I see the mini is on sale on Amazon right now for $60! It was $65 a couple hours ago so if yu want it on sale, you might want to hurry, lol. The 6 qt is finally available again for 99 for Prime members. If you think you might want to do roasts or whole birds in it, I'd go with the bigger one.

Re: Instapot Size Question

ptagirl — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 01:19:48 GMT

I have the 6 qt. 7-in-1 Instant Pot...Love it!! I wanted to get the larger one because I make yogurt quite often (does a great job!)...

I've had mine for over 3 yrs. and I've used it for many things... It's just the two of us here, but I like having a larger pot for when I do get company...Nice for racks of ribs, roasts, whole chickens, large batches of soup, etc.... I, myself, wouldn't go smaller.....

You can half your recipes with no problems, but it's nice to have that option to go bigger if you want to.. plus I only have to store one appliance...

I do freeze a lot of things...just recently I froze turkey and gravy...took it out and had it over fresh bisquits...hubby loved it!!

So there are options while using a larger pc....

Good luck finding your Instant Pot and have a nice evening!

Re: Instapot Size Question

jackthebear — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 21:08:51 GMT

just an example I had a 16 oz container of frozen marinara sauce I used my 6 quart IP to thaw it out last night,

you can really put any size in there but not the reverse

Re: Instapot Size Question

thechedda — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 16:47:27 GMT

Basically all the recipes I've used and/or plan to use are usually servings for around 2 people, hence, it fits the 3qt. I should have been clearer in my post. I think the true test will come when I want to make soups/stews. If I run into any issues when I make those, I'll update. BTW, this thing is dynamite for making hard boiled eggs too.