Instant Pot Lux Mini 6-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Sterilizer Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, and Warmer, 3 Quart, 10 One-Touch Programs

IF you are a single person that needs a meal in a hurry this might be the greatest product you have ever bought. Yes, I've jumped onto the Instant Pot (IP) craze. So has my son. So when he went to college he mistakenly thought he'd take my IP off to the college apartment with him. Ha. But I did take pity on him and buy him this smaller version. One breast of chicken, a few chicken tenders will fit in here and cook perfectly. You can do things like cook your chicken breast in a few minutes, shred the chicken and toss it in barbecue sauce and now you have barbecue sandwiches. You can toss your hamburger, your pasta and some other ingredients in there and have a spaghetti in a few minutes. So. Be warned. You still have to do some meal prep. You will have to wait for the thing to heat up and cool down. But I have found my meals to be significantly shorter when using this instant pot. I picked up this smaller one for my son and he agrees that this is the tool to have in the kitchen. He makes cheesecake in it. One of the things I like the most is that it's safe. You latch it easily and it makes a little sound when it's latched. It won't seal if it can't because of food stuck on the bottom or the sealing ring not being installed correctly etc. IT's also fairly intuitive to use.

This is the first kitchen appliance that has gotten me excited about cooking since I don't know when. I am not a morning person, and will never remember to take something out of the freezer early in the day. However, come 6pm, if dinner is not immediately apparent, I tend to order take-out, which is expensive and gets old. With the Instant Pot, I have made bean soup from dried beans in an hour. I have made beef stew from frozen-solid chuck in 35 min. It takes me about 15 min to chop mirepoix, add broth, a bit of tomato paste, and whatever herbs I want, and within 30-60 min I have something that tastes like it cooked all day. I have cooked halved squash in 10 min. I still use the oven for roasting things (dry heat), but for almost everything else - soup, stews, hard-boiled eggs, squash, etc - I am using the Instant Pot. I like to saute the mirepoix/veg while I am preparing the rest of the ingredients. I feel like it helps the whole pot come up to temperature more quickly. When I have vented the valve by hand, it takes less than 5 minutes for the pressure to go down enough to open the lid. The 3-qt is perfect for one person - I have plenty to share with the neighbors and still have leftovers. I think I am saving money and I am not throwing as much food out. Fresh, decent food from real ingredients has to be better and less expensive than take out/fast casual. I love it.

I bought the 3 quart Instant Pot a month or two ago, and didn't know what to do with it at first. I just stared at it. Gradually I got into it and found a lot of normal, daily uses for it. There are MILLIONS of ways to use an Instant Pot, and you don't have to use it like everyone else. You will be able to find Instant Pot uses that are perfect for the way that you cook, whatever that is, because it is so versatile. Browsing the videos on youtube helped me to think of how I might use it in ways that appeal to ME, and fit into my lifestyle and cooking. By now, I use it probably 3-4 days a week for very simple, plain cooking because that is what I prefer. I even use it to defrost things if I forget to do that (it's easier than the microwave for that IMO). Here are some things that I like about my Instant Pot: 1. I am single and I really appreciate that once I start it, it doesn't need my constant attention, stirring, and so on. I can just play my video games, or clean the kitchen, or whatever, and ignore it until it signals that it is done. BTW, for a single person cooking 1-2 meals at a time, the 3-quart version is definitely big enough. It really seems pretty huge to me. 2. Clean up is quick and easy. I just remove the food, and then rinse the bowl as well as the wire thingie that the food may be placed on inside the bowl. Done. 3. I don't know why, because honestly I am not much of a cook, but for some reason everything I cook in it is really good. Maybe I have been lucky. 4. I don't have to worry about burning the house down if I get distracted by something else. It just goes into "warm" mode or shuts off. The Instant Pot seems to go on sale quite a bit, so if the cost is a hardship you might want to keep an eye out for sales.

Excellent, love it! I do have one huge caveat though. My Instant Pot LUX Mini 3 Qt 6-in-1 Multi- Use came with the expected accessories including the Instant Pot Recipe Booklet, 4th Edition. The 4th Edition has some glaring omissions. On page 17 there are three recipes, PERFECT BASMATI RICE, PERFECT JASMINE RICE and PERFECT BROWN RICE. All three recipes omit the Cook time, e.g., PERFECT BROWN RICE should include Cook time: 22 minutes, however, it does not and neither do the other two recipes listed on this page. The only thing it does say in step 3. is ..."[Pressure Cook] or [Manual] and then adjust the [+] or [-] button to set 4 minutes of pressure cooking time." If one is unfamiliar with pressure cooking, let alone Instant Pots, this causes no end of confusion and problems, because I guarantee you, if one sets the time to 4 minutes, nothing will be cooked. I have not researched the other recipes in this booklet, however, don't have a lot of confidence they may have omissions too. I did go on the internet and found the actual cooking time to be 22-25 minutes. I also called the Instant Pot company and after some explaining and the person there who was using the 3rd Edition of the above booklet, we figured out that the 3rd Ed. does list the actual cooking time in these three recipes and that it is indeed omitted in the 4th Edition. I have opened a 'trouble ticket' with the company, asking that they send me a copy of the 3rd Edition booklet and we'll see how that sorts out. I did get a preliminary response that says if it's under warranty to contact the company I purchased it from which in this case is, of course, Amazon. I truly doubt that Amazon will consider themselves to be in this loop. I will try to update this as it unfolds.

Great product - perfect for one or two people. My only disappointment is - I can't figure out how to make brown rice - or blend rice - the setting is for white rice and the button for brown rice (which is multigrain) is not on the 3 quart and there are no directions how to make it. Other than that - it makes great white rice (but I usually don't eat white rice) and I've used the pressure cooker for chicken breasts - excellent. It is on the small side - so if you're needing it for soups and stews, I would recommend the larger model.

I have the larger instant pot 6 quart model, this Mini was purchased as a gift for my mother. My mother was impressed with my instant pot Paella, and instant pot chicken stock, so I got her one for Christmas. She was very happy with the gift. The smaller size is perfect for her. I use mine a few times a week, at least - and have had it for two years. It still looks and performs like new. The stainless steel liner will last a long time and it is easy to keep clean in the dishwasher. I use the IP to par cook potatoes for use in home fries, or fully cook them for mashed potatoes and potato salad. Why the IP instead of boiling them? Consistency. Same goes for rice and risotto. The unit seals tight during cooking, so there is no liquid loss and temperatures and pressure are electronically regulated. With rice, you use 1.25X of water to rice (by weight) for perfect rice that is cooked and fluffy, not mushy - every time. That same formula seems to work with packaged rice and seasoning mixes. Just use a digital kitchen scale to measure the rice and seasoning packet, multiply by 1.3 and add that amount of water. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and let rest for another 10, releasing any residual pressure. Fluff and serve! This formula works for Zatarain's rice and rice and bean mixes, Goya mixes, and pretty much any other commercial mix we've tried. Once again, very consistent. Tomato sauce made in an hour that tastes like it was cooked all day. Chili with dried beans (not mushy canned beans) in an hour. There are tons of recipes to try on the internet. If you don't have one, I highly recommend the instant pot or the Crock Pot Express (6 qt.) - which is their version of an electric pressure cooker with the main difference being the inner liner of the Crock Pot Express has a non stick coating. (replacement liners are $15 if you wear one out)

I love this pot! I purchased it about 6 months ago and can’t say enough about it! One of the first things I cooked was fresh green beans and potatoes-wow! They were so flavorful cooked in the instant pot! Also, I love cooking rice in the instant pot; you don’t have to watch the pot for boil overs like you would a pot on the stove. And the machine is QUIET! It just does it’s work and you get beautiful tasty food! I’ve become more creative in figuring out new ways to use the pot and converting recipes. It’s not foolproof, but so far, my mistakes have been easily corrected. One time I didn’t use enough liquid and I got a flashing warning from the pot that my food may burn. So I turned it off and added more liquid. Another time I forgot to turn the dial from vent to pressure but I noticed and fixed that when I came back into the kitchen. Usually I turn the pot on and walk away. It’s so easy and so fast. I’ve used it to sauté, slow cook, and pressure cook.

I did not want the large 6 quart size, as I wanted to be able to take it traveling with me. It’s just fine for my husband and I. I didn’t need all the bells and whistle‘s either, due to having the ‘high’/pressure mode available on the ‘Meat/Stew’ button. Libbey.com sells a 1 quart glass mixing bowl for $10, that fits PERFECTLY in this pot! Pyrex and other companies sell 1 quart mixing bowls that are too WIDE for this pot. I put the trivet in the pot, add 1 regular sized cup of water to the pot, and perfectly steam any vegetable in this glass bowl! If I have hardy grains OR sticky rice, I again follow the SAME procedure & add 1 regular sized cup of water TO the dry (UNSOAKED) grain or sticky rice In the GLASS bowl/on trivet, and turn on the Meat/Stew button (HIGH) for 12 minutes with 7 minutes natural release. Comes out perfect, EVERY time! I have just ordered three more 1 quart mixing bowls from the Libbey company. Sorry, Amazon doesn’t sell THIS brand on their website and like I said, the other brands are 1 inch wider and would be very difficult to use. Amazon DOES Sell a set of TOPOKO bowl retriever tongs that works GREAT in removing this 1 quart bowl from the pot! I have used this without any problem about a year now, TREMENDOUS!