I bought an InstaPot Duo Evo Plus 5.7L, 2020 June. I have used it most days since then. In fact I've stored my induction hotplate because I can fry as well as pressure cook in the InstaPot. I only use a few of the many cooking methods that the InstaPot provides. I'm impressed with the InstaPot. I find myself cooking at home more than I used to using the InstaPot to prepare my meals easily and quickly.
TL;DR
I think that the InstaPot Duo Evo Plus 5.7L is a really useful kitchen tool for frying, stewing, pressure cooking, and slow cooking. It has worked for me without problems for over 6 months. Food cooks quickly, the InstaPot is easy to clean, and it is easy to operate.
Pros
- Cooks food quickly:
- I use Pressure Cook set to 1 minute for frozen veg and release the pressure as soon as the time is up.
- For most fresh vegetables 2 minutes of Pressure Cooking is enough.
- Adaptable:
- Pressure Cooking.
- Frying.
- Stewing.
- And all the other stuff that I don't need it to do.
- As compact as it needs to be.
- Easy to operate.
- I have not needed to operate most of the pre-programmed cooking settings.
- Really easy to clean: I tend to wash up as I go along and it only takes a minute to clean this up.
- Not too heavy for what it is.
- The way we can secure the lid open when not in use is really handy.
Cons
- I needed to buy a basket for steaming, and a lid for slow cooking because these were not included.
- Not an issue with the InstaPot itself but the Manufacturers guidance on cooking times leaves vegetables a bit soggy for my tastes.
Sorry, I wanted to write more here, but the Instapot just works so well that I really couldn't think of many Cons.
Depends
- Size may not fit your needs: depends on what you need.
- It is best to remove the seal from the lid when we clean the lid. The seal allows the InstaPot to pressurize when pressure cooking. I've seen reviews with comments that the seals can discolour, or take on food odours: I have not found this myself yet.
- Beeps if we turn off the power, but I can see the benefit in this as well as a sign that we've removed the power.
I use it for:
- Pressure Cooking Vegetables: my main use.
- Frying meats and browning vegetables.
- Stews.
- Eggs: so dependable for boiling (pressure cooking in fact) eggs.
- Making Ghee (from butter, not youghurt).
- I have made Ghee in Pots, and Slow Cookers before. I make Ghee quicker and easier in the InstaPot.
- Testing Annealed Plastics for temperature and pressure tolerance. I understand that the temperature rises to about 120 C in these types of pressure cookers. A good test for Annealed PLA! No plastic was harmed in these experiments. This is a niche use and almost certainly not an intended use by the manufacturer, so don't try this at home. Only Crash Test Dummies do this.
As usual with my reviews: I'll update this InstaPot review after a few more months use. I've made a note to do this, honest!