Kitchen

[Moonchilde]

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.

[brandiwine]

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.  

[OKPrincess]

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.

[Thats Me]

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

[Moonchilde]

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?

[Kachina624]

@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.

[Moonchilde]

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.

[wagirl]

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

[Tyak]

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.  

[Tyak]

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@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

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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.