How to Use Your Instant Pot as a Slow Cooker
Updated Jun 18, 2024
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It is not as straightforward as you would think to use your Instant Pot as a Slow Cooker. However, with these tips, you CAN use your Instant Pot for slow cooking.
Many people purchased an Instant Pot to make their lives easier and to cut down on appliances. While the Instant Pot does a wonderful job making Instant Pot Rice, replacing the need for a rice cooker, and is superb at making yogurt, replacing the need for a yogurt incubator, an Instant Pot DOES NOT make a great replacement for a Crockpot.
While the slow cook function on a pressure cooker is not a useless Instant Pot Setting, like Porridge or Beans, it requires modifications.
Important to Remember When Using an Instant Pot as a Slow Cooker
- You must still have thin liquid in the inner pot. For the Instant Pot to reach and maintain a consistent temperature, it is crucial to have at least 1 cup of thin liquid in the inner pot. The slow cooker function will not work without the addition of thin liquid (water, broth, juice, etc).
- Layer correctly. Just like pressure cooking, be sure the thin liquid is on the bottom of the inner pot. If you have a thick sauce, such as BBQ sauce or tomato sauce, your pressure cooker will struggle to reach and maintain temperature.
- You have to modify the setting and time. The heat settings of low, normal, and high do not equally equate to the keep warm, low, and high settings on a slow cooker. Use my guide for converting recipes below.
- It shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes to heat up. If after 20 minutes your Instant Pot is still heating, rather than counting down the cooking time, it is likely struggling to reach temperature. To override this, you can take the lid off your pressure cooker, press saute, and saute for 2-4 minutes. Hit cancel, and then reset the cooking time using the slow cook function.
- No pressure will be reached. When using the slow cook function on your pressure cooker, pressure will not be reached. Therefore, you don't need to worry about locking your lid or vent knob into place and you can remove the lid to check on your dish as desired. If you would like, you can use a glass lid, which will allow some of the liquid to evaporate, as a traditional slow cooker lid does.
Instant Pot Slow Cook Temperatures Explained
The Slow Cook Function on the Instant Pot can be adjusted to Low, Normal, or High Temperature.
- Low on the Instant Pot Slow Cooker Function is like the keep warm on a traditional slow cooker. The low setting reaches about 170 degrees F.
- Normal on the Instant Pot Slow Cooker Function is equivalent to low heat on a traditional slow cooker. Normal reaches 200 degrees F.
- High on the Instant Pot Function does not get as high as high heat on a slow cooker, but by adding 15 minutes per hour of slow cooking, you can experience similar results. High reaches about 210 degrees F, which is 10-20 degrees less than a slow cooker on high.
How to Use the Slow Cook Setting on the Instant Pot
Below this explanation, you will find a printable chart you can keep on hand to help you quickly remember how to slow cook your favorite slow cooker recipes using the Instant Pot.
- To turn on the slow cook function, hit the slow cook button on your pressure cooker.
- Hit adjust/pressure or toggle your knob to select between low, normal and high temperature.
- Use the knob or +/- buttons to adjust the cooking time, which should be able to be set in 30 minute increments. Remember to add 15 minutes of cooking time per hour if cooking on High.
- Once the cooking time is set, the Instant Pot will heat and once fully heated, the cooking time will begin.
- After the cooking time elapses, most models will default to keep warm (be sure it is selected by hitting the keep warm button if not lit up.)
Click on Picture to access the DOWNLOAD and print.
Should I Get Rid of My Slow Cooker?
NO! If you have space for both a traditional slow cooker and an Instant Pot, I would highly recommend keeping both, as both serve their purpose. A slow cooker will produce more consistent results for crockpot recipes and you don't need to worry about adding thin liquid.
However, if you only have space for one appliance, I would still recommend purchasing the Instant Pot and with this guide, you CAN slow cook using your Instant Pot.
Slow Cooker Recipes to Instant Pot Recipes
While this post was designed to teach you how to use your pressure cooker as a slow cooker, the whole purpose of the Instant Pot is to SPEED up cooking.
Here are some of my favorite Slow Cooker Recipes that I have used as inspiration to create Instant Pot versions.
- Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas to Instant Pot Pork Tacos
- Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas to Instant Pot Steak Fajitas
- Slow Cooker Baked Ziti to Instant Pot Creamy Pasta
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork to Instant Pot Pulled Pork
If you still have questions, please leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer!
Also you should never use your pressure cooker lid when you are slow cooking. You can use any pot lid or a plate that fits over the Insta pot liner but I ordered a slow cooker lid for my Insta pot and it works perfect as a slow cooker.
Most people do not have an issue using the lid the Instant Pot comes with. No pressure is reached so the lid will not seal, but a clear lid is a great thing to have for using the slow cooker function and for making yogurt.
Thanks for the help using slow cooker on instant first time was wondering though can I use the slow cooker liners in my instant pot?
Hi Kathy! I personally have not tried this, but a reader did share they used a Reynolds liner on slow cooker function with success. I would be VERY cautious though.
HI Kristen,
I appreciate your conversion table. I have used a slow cooker for many years, and have a new instant pot. I have not used the instant pot yet and am reading about how to use it and watching videos..
I do want to use it as a slow cooker often, I work all day and like having dinner ready for my family when I get home.
Thank you.
Terry
I am so happy this chart may help make your life easier Terry!
My slow cooker is a year old. I am not able to adjust the temperature. once I push slow cookerbutton all the control does is increase the time. I was going to use it to heat up some soup. So I put it on saute but that doesn't work it gets too hot. Any advice would be appreciated
Hi Martha! What model Instant Pot do you have? You should be able to hit a slow cooker and then adjust to adjust the temperature.
I also have a brand new one I got a few days ago. If you press the slow cook button repeatedly it goes from normal low and more. Not sure if more means high. Just put chicken thighs in 4 hours on more. Let see what happens. Also have pressure cook lid on.
Hi Christina. More is most like high, but you will need to add 15 minutes per hour from the original recipe. Hope that helps clarify.
Same with mine! Maybe it’s an older model thing! I think mine is two years old or so.
Which model is it?
Thank you for this post.
Though it may seem counterintuitive to use the Instant Pot as a slow cooker, there is a good reason I prefer using its slow cooker function instead of my old slow cooker. I like that the instant pot is stainless steel. I never felt good about those ceramic glaze pots made overseas. I have no idea what heavy metals or other carcinogens may be lurking in those.
I appreciate the conversion times here.
That is a great point!
Hi
I don't have either - slow or instant cooker.
Looking to make broth, and probably other recepies as well, but broth was got me interested in the first place.
Would you recommend to then only buy a Slow cooker, and not an instapot?
Hi Martin! If you are looking to make broth, you can make that easily on the stove. Here is my recipe for stove-top stock. If I had to choose one appliance for myself, it just depends on what you want to make in it and the time you have to make it. For broth, either works great. It just is different timing.
Hi i am wondering how i can transfer a recipe i saw being cooked in a pressure cooker on the flame, to an electric ninja pressure cooker? The recipe on the flame had no water, just chicken in oil, which required cooking for 4 minutes on a high flame, then cooking 6 minutes on a low flame, then cooking back on a high flame for 4 minutes. The end Result is that the chicken should be dry in a gravy (no water). The aim is that the chicken does not release its own water.
Hey Bushra. Electric pressure cookers need liquid to cook, so this would be one recipe that would not translate well to the Ninja cooker. Sorry!