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!
Any difference between using the original lid or the available glass lid in slow cooker modes?
Hi David. The advantage of the glass lid is that it has a small hole to release steam and you can see through it. The glass lid is nice to have, but not at all necessary.
Hi! I’ve never cooked with the slow cooker setting on my instapot? When using the slow cooker can you eel the vent open and take lid off to stir periodically? Or does the lid have to stay on the whole time like when you are pressure cooking?
Hi Madison! You can remove the lid to stir and the position of the vent knob does not matter.
One of my favorite methods to reheat food in smaller quantities is to use the instant pot stainless steel pans with silicon lids, and use the steam setting on high for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on what I'm reheating. You can find a kit on Costco website (I bought two of them in the warehouse). I reheat everything in these. Soups, leftovers, etc.
I have made spaghetti sauce and want to reheat it in the instant pot. I think I can use slow cooker on the lowest heat. When the lid is on do I seal or vent it. Hopefully I can do it this way.
Yes, you can reheat using the slow cooker function. You can leave the vent open, as it does no pressure is being reached.
Thank you for this info. Now to go make some soup
Enjoy so much!
I’m trying to cook hot sausage peppers and onions in red sauce but everytime I click slow cook and enter the time, the “element is heating” icon turns on and off... is this normal?
Hi Natalie. Can I ask what model you have so I can better help troubleshoot? You should be able to hit slow cook and enter time and then it will begin counting the time.
I want to slow cook beef vegetable soup in the instapot I already sautéed the meat. It’s on high, but do I leave the vent open?
Hi Trudy. It will not make a difference in which way your vent knob is pointing. Enjoy!
Thanks Kristen for the helpful information. I love your site! It’s one of my favorites for recipes.
When using my Instant Pot as a slow cooker, I have found that using one of my normal pot lids (instead of the instant pot cover) more closely matches the conditions of an actual slow cooker. Since a slow cooker isn’t airtight, it allows for some evaporation during cooking, which the the Instant Pot cover does not.
Thanks so much Trisha! And great tip--thank you for sharing.
Hi Trisha, We had a regular pot lid (not tempered glass with vent) that fits on the 6qt instant pot. Is this the same as the lid that you used?
Do you think it worth it to buy the "Instant Pot tempered glass lid" or just use the metal lid we have now?
How did your slow cook turn out?
Thanks.
Using as Slow Cooker for Boston Butt, 8 lbs. can I press Slow Cooker and High and it will Cook for 4-6 hours? Is that correct?
Hi Ann, I would need to see the regular directions for the cook time on high, that sound like too short of a time frame for a pork butt that weighs 8 pouds.
Thank you so much for this info. I bought my Instant Pot a few years ago after my husband broke my slow cooker. Then when I read everyone who was saying DON'T use it as a slow cooker, I was heartbroken. Though I have come to love using a pressure cooker, it is nice to know that I can use the slow cook function as well. Knowledge is Power!
I am sorry you were disappointed at first but so glad you have fallen in love with your instant pot now.