Best Instant Pot 2026: Which Pressure Cooker Is Worth Buying?
The Instant Pot made pressure cooking accessible to millions of home cooks who would never have touched a traditional stovetop pressure cooker. The 2026 lineup is more capable and easier to use than ever. Here are the best options.
Best Overall: Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1
The Instant Pot Duo remains the benchmark — and for most home cooks it is still the right choice. Seven functions in one appliance: pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, saute pan, food warmer, and yoghurt maker. The 6-quart size handles meals for two to six people comfortably. The learning curve is gentle and the results — fall-off-the-bone ribs, perfectly cooked beans from dry, whole chicken in 30 minutes — genuinely transform weeknight cooking. The most sold kitchen appliance on Amazon for good reason.
Best for Families: Instant Pot Duo Plus 8-Quart
The 8-quart Duo Plus adds a larger capacity for batch cooking and family-sized meals, plus a cleaner control panel with pre-set programs for the most common pressure cooking tasks. The sous vide function is a useful addition for anyone interested in precision temperature cooking. If you regularly cook for more than four people, the larger capacity is worth the additional counter footprint.
Best Smart Model: Instant Pot Pro Plus
The Pro Plus connects to the Instant Pot app via WiFi — allowing remote monitoring, recipe guidance, and automatic programme adjustment. The inner pot has a non-stick surface rather than the standard stainless steel. Useful for tech-forward cooks who want guided cooking experiences rather than manual programming.
Best Budget: Instant Pot Duo Mini 3-Quart
For singles, couples, or anyone with very limited counter space, the 3-quart Mini delivers the full Instant Pot experience in a compact footprint. Perfect for small batch cooking, single serves of soup or stew, and cooking rice. Not suitable for large roasts or whole chickens but covers the vast majority of pressure cooking use cases at an accessible price.
What to Cook in an Instant Pot
Hard boiled eggs in 5 minutes — consistently perfect and easy to peel. Dried beans from scratch in 25 minutes with no soaking. Whole chicken in 30 minutes from frozen. Beef stew in 35 minutes rather than 3 hours. Pulled pork in 60 minutes. Rice perfectly every time. Cheesecake in 25 minutes. The Instant Pot eliminates the most time-consuming aspects of from-scratch cooking.