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!
Dear Kristen, maybe I've over read it, but could you kindly add if the steam vent should be sealed or leave open in the slow cooking mode? I've read about both options, and now I'm confused. Thanks in advance and happy holidays
Hi Luna! It makes no difference if your vent knob is opened or closed, as no pressure will be reached.
Thanks a lot, Kristen, and enjoy a beautiful Christmastime!
My wife and I have a frozen bag of cheddar broccoli soup we would like to slow cook in our instant pot while we are at work and have it ready when we get home. I think we should use the normal setting on the slow cooker, what length of time do you recommend. Thank you for your help.
Ron
Hi Ron! You would cook the soup at normal temperature for however long you normally cook the soup on low in the slow cooker.
Thank you! I almost set my boyfriend's birthday roast to low thinking it was equivalent to a crock pot low. You saved me a whole day of cooking on "warm" I'm so grateful!!
Hi Kristen,
I am going to attempt cooking a roast recipe using the slow cook method on my Instant Pot. After reading your instructions and all the resent comments I have decided to use a glass cover instead of my regular pressure cooker cover. I am hoping it will be a success. Thank you for sharing your tips.
I am glad you found these tips helpful, but you may want to try my recipe for Instant Pot Pot Roast...super fast and fabulous reviews.
Thank you I will next time. My roast didn’t cook all the way using the glass cover I had to finish by using the regular pressure cooking option. Now I now next time just use the regular cover instead of glass. It came out delicious it was worth the wait an extra 1 1/2 hour. 😂
Hi There! I am making a cinnamon roll casserole for breakfast and would like to use my instant pot with the slow cooker function. Do I still add the cup of water in the bottom of the pot before adding all of the ingredients? It is a 2-21/2hr low slow cooker meal. Thank you!
Hi Kat! First of all, adding water would make this casserole really gummy and watered down--so I wouldn't do that. As for cooking in the instant pot using the slow cooker function, I don't think this is one recipe that would work well. A crockpot is a lot wider, while the IP is narrow and tall. A baked casserole like this one would need to be spread out closer to the heating element to cook evenly. Sorry to disappoint!
When using slow cook setting for a roast do you place the roast directly into bottom of pot or use the wire trivet?
Hi Becky, you can place your roast directly in the bottom of the pot. I would still recommend adding liquid, as that will help keep the roast moist.
Hi, Kristen, I am using my Instant Pot Duo Plus for the first time right now. I am using it as a slow cooker, and have had the machine on for over 2 hours. The "preheating" light has been blinking non-stop and will not progress to "cooking" It is not set to delay time and it did beep 3 times when I hit start. It just won't go past "preheating" to cook.
Can you let me know the model you have so I can further troubleshoot?
Your explanation is spot on. It’s all I need. I just checked my Instapot and now I can understand the buttons I need to use for slow cooking. I will stay on the “normal” mode and its showing 7 hours. Which is = to the “slow” of the conventional slow cooker. Thank you so much. I will be cooking our popular Asian adobo for the first time on Instapot. I will fry the chicken and pork pieces first on the stove just to make them golden brown. The Instapot can do that but its more convenient on the stove top if you have more meat to cook. Thanks a bunch! I’m sure in 7 hours its going to be smoking yum time.