The pressure cooker can cook those same foods quickly without the lengthy cooking time. The slow cooker can be loaded up with food before you leave for work and it’ll be ready when you come home. It’s a very “set-it-and-forget-it” method of cooking that doesn’t require you to stand there and monitor it at all times, so you don’t burn the house down. While the purpose for both of these devices is different, the biggest reason to use them is convenience. Why Use a Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker? Some of the things we cook in a slow cooker are tough meats that need a long time to break down, soups, stews, and things we want to keep warm like dips. It’s main purpose is to cook food low and slow over a longer period of time, which allows the food to develop a deeper flavor and softer texture. What is a Slow Cooker?Ī slow cooker is an appliance that’s been around for a long time, like the Crock Pot. They cook in a faction of the time in the Instant Pot, thanks to the incredible pressure and steam that builds up within the appliance. Because of this, it’s a very convenient way to cook things that would take a long time to cook otherwise, like braised meats and beans. Then came along the Instant Pot, which made pressure cooking way more convenient and safe.Īn electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, still uses pressure to quickly cook food, but now it’s contained within a countertop unit that locks safely and doesn’t use the stove top at all.

The pot would hiss and blow steam both as it was heating up and cooling down, which was a bit of a safety hazard and put a lot of new cooks off from using it. The pressure cooker of the past was a sturdy steel pot with a locking lid and a pressure mechanism that was heated on the stovetop. > You might be interested in 6 Must-Know Instant Pot Tips for Beginners. We’ll also explain what the main benefits and uses are for each. While they both offer convenience and the ability to cook food without needing to watch it closely, there are some big differences between these two appliances that we’ll go over in this post. So what are the reasons to use a pressure cooker vs a slow cooker? When you start to look into the benefits of using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, you may notice that there’s quite a bit of overlap with the benefits of using a slow cooker.

Quick notes monthly planner