Instant Pot Pro cooker review

If you’re a keen cook or foodie and after one of the best Instant Pots, the Instant Pot Pro will do all the hard work. 

The Instant Pot Pro is one of the more premium models in the company’s range of pressure cookers. In addition to a  stylish makeover, it comes with 10 cooking functions including pressure cooking, slow cooking, sauté and yogurt maker and has 28 handy presets. Plus, you have the ability to preset five of your favorite recipes. 

Available in a 6 or 8-quart size, it’s big enough for a family of six or for batch cooking. The only downsides are that it’s quite heavy and can take up room on small countertops. Read our Instant Pot Pro review to find out if this is the best Instant Pot for you.  

Instant Pot Pro review: Price and availability

The Instant Pot Pro is available in two sizes: the 6-quart model is $129 and the 8-quart model costs $149. It’s widely available at online retailers and often on sale below the list price on Amazon. 

Since the Instant Pot Pro is one of the ‘high-end’ models, the price is reasonable for what you’re getting. However, if you’re looking for a cheaper and more basic option the Instant Pot Duo Nova 7-in-1 Cooker can do everything apart from air fry and starts from a reasonable $99.99 depending on the size. 

Instant Pot Pro review: Design 

Instant Pots are not usually known for their attractive design. However, the Instant Pot Pro has a stylish, black and stainless steel finish, making it look more premium than its counterparts. This upgrade is also reflected in the large LED display with a chrome control dial. The one-touch control panel has the standard presets including Slow Cook, Pressure Cook, Saute, Steam and Sous Vide; you can select one of the 28 presets on the large display. You can also manually adjust the temperature and cooking duration should you choose not to use a preset. 

Another difference to other models is there are five ‘favorite’ buttons where you can program your own recipes. This is handy for cooks with regular, signature recipes. With everything displayed on the screen though, it can look a bit overwhelming. However, it’s easy to read.

The 8-quart size provides a generous capacity for families or cooking up large quantities. However, it is quite large and bulky for small countertops, in which case, the 6-quart capacity might be the better choice. For those worried about the weight, the inner pot comes with ‘Easy-Grab’, silicone handles so you can lift it safely out of the base with ease. Plus, it comes with an upgraded steam release switch that makes it easier to change from sealed to venting, with a handy cover to reduce inevitable splashes and noise.

The box also contains a steam rack and an extra sealing ring for the lid. While there are no recipes or charts detailing cooking times, you can find these online or on the app.

Instant Pot Pro review: Cooking performance

During our tests, the Instant Pot Pro performed well when pressure cooking meat stews and cooking rice, but steaming vegetables were not as successful. This was possibly due to the fact that it came with an  impractical steaming rack, rather than a basket. 

Our first test was to cook a beef stew using the Pressure Cook preset. Before doing so, I browned onions and seared the meat using the Saute program After adding my other ingredients to the pot, I pressed the Pressure Cook button, before being prompted to select your type of meat (in this case, beef). The time defaults to 30 minutes on a high temperature, but you can manually adjust to your preference. Once cooking has finished, the Instant Pot Pro alerts you to vent the steam, which is a quick and easy process. Cooking results were impressive, resulting in tender and succulent beef texture. More importantly, the taste was rich in flavor, while the sauce had the ideal consistency without being too watery. 

To accompany this, we tested out cooking rice using the White Rice option in the Rice/Grain program. Once complete, the rice was cooked well with a fluffy texture. The only disappointment was that it had stuck to the bottom of the inner pot, due to the fact that it’s not non-stick and stainless steel.

Steaming vegetables on the other hand, wasn’t as successful. First, the vegetable rack isn’t as sturdy as a basket, which made it it tricky for us to fit a portion of broccoli and green beans.

The default for the Steam setting is 30 minutes, but I reduced this to five minutes. While the broccoli was the ideal texture, the green beans were a little undercooked. You’ll need to experiment with timing to perfect this.

Instant Pot Pro review: Ease of use and cleaning

Similar to other Instant Pots, it’s worthwhile reading the manual first just to get familiar with the settings. The Instant Pot Pro has a more advanced control panel display than other Instant Pots, which can seem overwhelming at first glance. However, once you get the hang of it, you can easily navigate around the settings. The one-touch buttons are straightforward to use, and the progress bar is handy for monitoring your cooking. Like all Instant Pots, the cooker automatically sets to Keep Warm once your dish is ready. 

Perhaps the only downside is the stainless steel inner pot isn’t non-stick, which was evident after cooking rice. This can take much longer to clean, but can be removed when soaked in warm, soapy water. Nevertheless, the lid and cooker exterior are all easy to clean with a damp cloth.

Instant Pot Pro review: Verdict 

If you enjoy experimenting at mealtimes, this 10-in-1 Instant Pot Pro is the ideal pick. Not only does it have 10 cooking functions and 28 presets to suit every cooking need, but it also gives you five favorite presets for your own signature  recipes. What’s more, it comes with an advanced, LED control display, and looks sleek in an upmarket, black stainless steel design. Granted, the display itself looks a little overwhelming with all the different functions, but it’s easy to navigate around with the control dial. 

The 8-quart capacity is a decent size for large families and for batch cooking, but can take up some space on small countertops. The Instant Pot Pro isn’t the cheapest model in the range, so this may not be ideal if you’re only going to use a few programs. However, if you’re a keen cook and will utilize most of its 28 programs (and some), this is a worthwhile investment. 

If you're interested in multi-functional cooking appliances, you might also be interested in what Our Place's 5-in-1 Perfect Power Pot has to offer.