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!
Uggh, I can't get it to move out of preheat when slow cooking. I have the Duo Plus 3 QT
Hi Kaya! That is NOT Normal. For this model, after you hit slow cook and select the time and setting, after 10 seconds the cooking should start and you should hear 3 beeps to let you know it has begun. I would check to be sure you have not set the delay start on accident.
Hi,
Same here, with the Instant pot pro… preheating lasts for 3h out of 4 and the actual cooking happen during the last hour. This is not slow cooking!
And I’m sure we haven’t used delay…
If someone had any suggestion, it would be appreciated ! Thanks.
Hi Cecile! Thank you for telling me your model. That will help me troubleshoot or determine that this model specifically is not good at slow cooking.
I have the same problem with my IP 8 quart. It just stays in preheat mode.
Try turning to saute for a minute and then switching to slow cooker.
I have the same problem with my duo plus 6qt. I'm doing a Tuscan chicken slow cooker recipe and it was set to slow cook on high for 2.5 hours. It sat on preheat for over 1.5 hours and finally just into the cooking status during the last hour. I have no idea if the dish will actually be cooked. This is super frustrating.
Hi Genene! That is frustrating! It really is a lacking feature on the IP.
Hi,
I found this very helpful
I was trying to render tallow and didn't have crockpot. So after reading this I set the instant pot to slow cook "Normal " for four hours added water and salt to render tallow hopefully it goes well in four hours or I will do it again for 2-4 hours.
Some people suggest 1 hour to render some suggest 8-12 hours no idea guessing its a taste difference but nothing scientific will see thank you.
Thank you for this informative post. I am learning how to use the slow cook function on my insant pot and this has been sooo helpful to me, thanks again.
Why is it that the instapot slow cooker Temps don't corresponding with other slow coojers; its kind of confusing to always have to keep all the conversations in mind.
I understand the frustration. While I can't explain, why there are differences, I hope my explanation helps you have success using the slow cooker function if you opt to do so.
Hi, I just came across your post, thank you so much for writing it! I have had chicken bones and water in my Instantpot since last night. I pushed the slow cook option and closed the lid. The "keep warm" light was on as well. When I woke up this morning I opened the lid and the broth doesn't look that much darker. Was it on "keep warm" temp if the "keep warm" light was on along with the "slow cook" light? I want to put it on high now but want to know if it would be ok after a night of "slow cook/keep warm." Not sure if that makes sense? Thanks!
Hi Gina! Did you set the slow cooker time to a certain amount of time? It should default to keep warm AFTER slow cooking, not prior to it. Let me know what model you have, but it sounds as though it may not have cooked.
I decided to try this as a slow cooker for the first time today. I’m currently in the ER. I set the time for 6 hours. Is this going to turn off or set itself to “keep warm” mode or should I go ahead and sent the fire department to my house???
Oh my goodness. I am so sorry to hear you are at the ER. I hope you are okay and all is taken care of quickly. It should default to keep warm or turn off eventually. The food may not be ruined, but your house will be fine. Sending you best wishes.
A tip for everyone running into the same issue:
I have the Instant Pot Cuisine 6-Quart Multi-Use Pressure Cooker, and have tried adjusting the slow cooker low/med/high settings with the 'adjust' button, and all that changed was the time. On this specific Instapot pressing the slow cooker button switched between the temperature modes.
Hello. On my instant Pot I need to push the "Slow Cook" button to adjust the levels and not the "+" or "-" buttons..