Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker Review

Compare What is it: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

What is Instant Pot – It is an Electric pressure cooker that claims to speed up cooking by 2 to 6 times while consuming 70% less energy.

What is Crock Pot – It is a cook and carry slow cooker that promises to help you take your slow cooked meals on the road.

What is Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – It is an electric pressure cooker, which asserts that your cooking times will be reduced by up to 70% as you cook efficiently and with ease.

Verdict – Instant Pot not only reduces cooking times but is an energy efficient solution too.

Compare Features: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot Features – It is a 7 in 1 cooker that does the job of pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker/porridge maker, steamer, saute/browning, yogurt maker and warmer. Instant Pot asserts that it has 14 built-in programs that let you make your favourite dishes with a simple press of a button. The steam function allows you to cook veggies from frozen. It has 3 adjustable modes with 3 temperatures in Saute mode for browning, simmering or thickening and 3 temperatures in Slow Cook mode to ensure that Instant Pot can cook depending on food conditions and your preferences.

Crock Pot Features – Crock Pot asserts that it is ideal for your slow cook recipes because of its 6 quart capacity and programmable time settings, which ensure that you have your food exactly according to your tastes. Countdown programmable technology it has makes sure you can set timings from 30 minutes up to 20 hours on the High or Low temperature settings. Once the cooking is complete it moves to Warm setting on its own so that your meal stays at just the right temperature.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker Features – This 6 quart cooker builds up pressure to ensure that temperatures are raised and heat, moisture along with essential nutrients are locked in. As a result, you get flavorsome food that’s nutritious as well. There are programmed settings for high and low pressure, including cooking, warming, browning, sauteing and simmering while the digital thermostat it has can regulate temperature. Some of the other salient features of Cuisinart Pressure Cooker include 99-minute timer with an LED countdown display to make things easier, cool-touch side handles, and a non-stick cooking pot.

Verdict – Cuisinart Pressure Cooker does have some good features but Instant Pot scores higher on this count too.

Compare Benefits: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot Benefits
• It cooks with practically no noise, leaks no steam, traps food aromas, and without heating up the surroundings. Thus it helps you make flavorsome food with complete convenience, according to its claims.
• Instant Pot has a durable 3-ply bottom stainless steel inner pot, which not only makes it sturdy but ensures that you won’t have any concerns regarding non-stick coating.
• It makes the most out of 3rd generation technology with an embedded microprocessor to ensure that pressure and temperature besides time is monitored to make things easier for you.

Crock Pot Benefits
• Using Crock Pot is very easy and you can start with keeping the stoneware in the heating base before putting all the ingredients in. Then plug it in with temperature and time settings to get the job done; it’s that convenient.
• The lid and stoneware is dishwasher safe, making clean-up a breeze for you.
• The hinged locking lids and carrying handles Crock Pot has, means you can carry it on the go without the need for containers. The stoneware also doubles up as a serving dish too.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker Benefits
• Cuisinart Pressure Cooker means effortless cooking as all you have to do is select the cooking function, pressure setting the time and you are ready to go.
• Cuisinart Pressure Cooker is versatile for your cooking needs and can let you make a wide range of dishes based on your requirements. The good thing is that you will be saved time making them on a regular basis.
• The cooking pot is dishwasher safe for your convenience.

Verdict – Instant Pot is the winner here.

Compare Safety Features: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot Safety Features – It has several safety features including Safety Lid Lock that prevents opening during pressurized cycles. Pressure regulator keeps pressure under control while the anti-blockage vent prevents food from blocking the vent. It also has high temperature monitor, Magnetic Lid Position Detection, Automatic Pressure Controller, Excess Pressure Protection, and Electrical current and temperature fuse, which cuts off power in case temperature rises above safety limits.

Crock Pot Safety Features – The lid is only dishwasher safe while the stoneware is dishwasher and microwave and oven safe. But the stoneware is not broiler or stove-top safe.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker Safety Features – Once the cooker is fully locked, it stays locked till the pressure is zero.

Verdict – Instant Pot with its variety of safety features wins this one.

Compare Cooking Programs: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot Cooking Programs
It has 14 micro-processor controlled programs; Soup, Meat/Stew, Bean/Chili, Poultry, Sauté, Steam, Rice, Porridge, Multigrain, Slow Cook, Keep-Warm, Yogurt, Pasteurize and Fermented Rice.

Crock Pot Cooking Programs – It lets you program cook times from anywhere between 30 minutes to 20 hours with 30 minute increments.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – It has different cooking functions for simmering, cooking, browning, sautéing and warming.

Verdict – Instant Pot definitely gives you more options.

Compare Low Pressure Cooking Range: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot – Does not have low pressure cooking option.

Crock Pot – Yes. (5.8~7.2psi).

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – Yes, it features low pressure cooking option.

Verdict – Cuisinart Pressure Cooker and Crock Pot are even on this count.

Compare Manual Keep-Warm feature: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot – It is programmable to 99 hours 50 minutes.

Crock Pot – It shifts to warm setting once you have completed cooking.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – It holds food warm up to 12 hours.

Verdict – All three have the feature but Instant Pot allows you to keep it warm for the longest amount of time.

Compare Cooking Pot Capacity: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot – 6-quart

Crock Pot – 6 quart

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – 6 quart

Verdict – They are all equal.

Compare Heating Element Power: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot – 1000W.

Crock Pot – 240 watts.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – 1000 watt.

Verdict – Cuisinart Pressure Cooker and Instant Pot have same wattage.

Compare Delayed Cooking: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot – Yes. A 24-hour timer allows for delayed cooking.

Crock Pot – Yes.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – No.

Verdict – Instant Pot wins in this category.

Compare What do I get and Price: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot
With your Instant Pot you get steam rack, condensation collector, rice paddle, soup spoon. and measuring cup. It is available for $135.52.

Crock Pot – $49.00

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – $99.00

Verdict – Although Crock Pot is the cheapest, Instant Pot brings a lot more to the table.

Compare does it have Auto Keep-Warm feature

Instant Pot – Yes, up to 10 hours.

Crock Pot – Yes.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – Yes.

Verdict – All three cookers are even on this front.

Compare does it make Yoghurt

Instant Pot – Yes.

Crock Pot – No.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker – No.

Verdict – Instant Pot is the only cooker that can make yoghurt.

Compare Complaints and Reviews: Instant Pot vs Crock Pot vs Cuisinart Pressure Cooker

Instant Pot Pros and Cons

Not long lasting – Josie who bought Instant Pot complained in her review that it worked well initially but stopped working after a point. It was a big nuisance, especially since she had received her delivery a couple of months later than expected. She also said that the sauté option is not hot enough.

Difficult to get used to – Maureen who reviewed Instant Pot revealed in her review that she and her family had a tough time trying to get it work. She found all the controls intimidating and tricky and wished that it had come with better and clearer instructions. She also hoped to get a good quality recipe book with it.

Meat is rubbery – Anastasia who bought Instant Pot claimed in her review that it does work alright but the problem is with the end result. According to her, you just can’t use this cooker for meat because it comes out rubbery and chewy. She had similar problems when trying to make rice with this cooker. She says that it does save you time with cooking but it’s not big enough and then there are these limitations that you have to deal with.

Crock Pot Pros and Cons

Doesn’t last long – Martin who used Crock Pot complained in his review that the biggest problem with it is the stoneware. While it’s efficient it definitely isn’t long lasting according to him. In little over a year the stoneware cracked, making it completely useless for him and that was a big disappointment.

Not well made – Lisa who reviewed Crock Pot exposed in her review that it isn’t well made at all. She had serious problems while locking the lid in place as the locking mechanism broke off. She was left with a metal washer and a bolt in her food. She wants to warn others that these metal pieces can be usually easily missed.

Has many flaws – Russell who bought Crock Pot claims in his review that though the cooker has its advantages, it also has some serious drawbacks. One big problem for him is the fact that it is very hot from the outside. Another problem is that it doesn’t cook hotter on low heat, which is something your regular cooker can do with ease. He also lamented the fact that he bought the cooker because it is portable, however you can’t really carry it when it’s hot because it’s hot on the outside too.

Cuisinart Pressure Cooker Pros and Cons

Not easy to use – Sheldon who reviewed Cuisinart Pressure Cooker claimed in his review that he bought the cooker for his family because he expected it to make things easier for them. But that hasn’t happened at all and they were left struggling with getting used to working with it. The controls are quite tricky and unless you are extremely tech savvy, you will find it hard to make the most out of all the features it has.

Breaks often – Glynis who bought Cuisinart Pressure Cooker exposed in her review that it is too heavy to begin with. She struggles lifting it, and moving it around, when needed. But the bigger problem according to her is the fact that it breaks very often. It just means that the cooker hasn’t been well made. The only consolation is that they honor the warranty but these breakdowns shouldn’t be happening so frequently.

Has serious issues – Sara who used Cuisinart Pressure Cooker complained in her review that there are several problems with this cooker including lack of pressure build-up. She also noticed corrosion on the side of the device and things like steam pouring out from the side of the lid, red pressure button not rising, happen way too often.