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Instant Pot Problems
I had some Instant Pot problems at first. I’d read all about dinner in minutes and was disappointed my first meal took way longer than I initially expected.
I’d read a post about a ten minute pasta dinner on the Facebook Instant Pot community group (which has FORTY THOUSAND MEMBERS and counting!). I decided that would be my first meal.
A ten minute pasta feast sounded fantastic! I had all the ingredients on hand, plus a hungry family.
I followed the poster’s instructions. I dumped in a bag of frozen meatballs, a box of uncooked pasta, a jar of sauce and a jar and a half of water. I put the lid on and set it for ten minutes of high pressure.
But I didn’t realize the ten minutes wouldn’t start until the pot came to pressure. I’ve never used a pressure cooker before. This “come to pressure” thing was a new concept.
It took about half an hour to come to pressure.
This means the meal took forty minutes to cook.
I could have boiled pasta, defrosted meatballs in the microwave and warmed the sauce on the stove top TWICE in forty minutes.
My kid swears she nearly DIED of hunger.
Yes, it tasted it good. But no, it wasn’t worth waiting that long, she said.
I was frustrated with the time it took to get to pressure for the next few meals I made as well. Yeah, the food tasted good, but what was the point of calling the thing an “Instant” Pot if it took half an hour before the magic timer kicked in?
How I Fixed It
After a bit of reading I saw I wasn’t the only one frustrated with the time it took their Instant Pot to come to pressure. I saw a simple suggestion given several times.
Click next to find out the simple advice that makes cooking in the Instant Pot so much faster!
Karen says
February 4, 2016 at 8:33 pmSo I got my Instant Pot less than 24 hours ago. Got home from work and boiled water for the initial test that the manual recommends.
Then was hungry. So I made 2 soft boiled eggs. Which were not perfect, but they never are when I make them on the stove and at least with these I set it and left it rather than babysat it on the stove.
So I got up this morning and made perfect steel cut oats–again, without the babysitting.
And then I wanted to try a veggie. So I sliced up some baby carrots (I didn’t have regular ones) and they were divine.
So I looked around in my fridge and grabbed some broccoli. Steamed that…..perfection!
Prepping for making mushroom risotto tonight and was seeing how you can saute, then add things, then pressure cook. All that research made me hungry so I just sautéed some onion, then browned 1/2 of a seasoned chicken breast. Then added some broth, cooked up that breast and at the end thickened the juice that was left with some Wondra. Sliced up the breast, poured on the sauce and….Oh.My.GOSH! I’m just super glad no one else is home so I’m not forced to share.
So less than 24 hours and I’ve used it 5 times if you don’t count the initial test.
(and I totally agree with you–after my sautéing, my pot came to pressure rapidly! Good tip!)
Barbara Fonseca says
February 4, 2016 at 9:21 pmSo true! I have had wonderful results when I remember to start out in Saute mode.
Jeanette says
September 14, 2018 at 10:27 pmI have an Instant pot and love it, when it works! Let so many others, I have problems with the seal button. It doesn’t lift & seal like it should. This is the third time it has happened. I’ve tried everything suggested . I’ve had to take the lid off twice and push the button. It finally caught, however my food wont be ready for an hour bc of this problem. I’m not happy!
Michelle says
September 24, 2018 at 4:54 pmI have the same issues. I have tried all the tricks–I even grabbed a new lid from my mom’s house, to no avail. The first time I hit manual, the pot doesn’t even try to heat up. Super frustrating =(
Eileen says
October 22, 2018 at 8:12 pmHi,
I’m having the same problem with the float valve sealing. Do you have any idea what’s causing the problem?
Vickilynn Haycraft says
February 5, 2016 at 1:57 pmHi,
I wanted to respond to the author and point out that it’s not the Instant Pot that had the problem as the title and article state, but it’s the user’s misunderstanding of how a pressure cooker works.
It’s the same principle as preheating an oven to bake something (no one ever factors that in and it can be a LONG time) or how long it takes a pot of water to boil for pasta or potatoes (that too can take a long time). What is factual and not a “problem” is cook time vs cook time. And yes, the Instant Pot cook time is faster. Once the author understood that she was able to understand the popular tip to put the IP on Saute to heat up the IP to reduce preheating time.
I feel that the article is misleading by saying the Instant Pot had a problem when it was simply user misunderstanding is really misleading.
Debbie Clews says
December 12, 2017 at 3:52 pmAs I read the original posters tip, I realized it was not the IP fault but my mid-understanding of how the IP works. I also was perplexed on why people were saying it cooked in 10 minutes but I wasn’t able to achieve the results in the same way and time.
Most oven recipes start with “preheat oven to 350” but none of the recipes I read about the IP started with “wait 30 minutes for the IP to pressurize” then cook for 10 minutes. It just never occurred to me that there would be a waiting time on something they called an INSTANT pot. I get it now!
The way in which the post was named, encouraged me to find out why and without reading the post I wouldn’t have learned the “tip” of using the sauté first.
Yes it is misleading but as for me (and probably others like me) I very quickly learned a valuable and time saving lesson.
Andie says
January 9, 2018 at 2:50 amThat’s funny. I didn’t get that at all. It seemed to me from the get go it was operator error lol. I just got my instant pot for Christmas and I’ve been terrified to use it. I promised my husband I’d make a stew tonight and finally break the thing in. I did the water test earlier I do have to admit that I popped the pressure valve to see what it would do. It was like the first time I ever popped a clutch in a car to see what would happen. Scared the crap outta me. My son was laughing from the living room. When my husband got home from work he and I both prepped my own recipe for stew. The house smells wonderful but the time is getting longer eve since it got to 3 minutes. I’m confused haha it says 23 minutes right now.
Anonymous says
July 2, 2018 at 1:49 pmAfter your food finishes cooking the timer starts counting up saying how many minutes it’s been done for
Fred Rezvani says
July 14, 2018 at 10:10 pmInstant pot definitely has problem as a slow cooker and many people testify to that. I have a crockpot that cook stew in 8 hours whereas our IP can’t cook it in 12 hours and I have to pressure cook it which is pain in the neck p
shrinkingmomster says
July 23, 2018 at 10:38 pmI don’t use it as a slow cooker. I like the fast cooking.
Sherry says
September 17, 2018 at 5:33 pmI’be also found an issue with the slow cooker mode. I’ve made my fantastic chicken and dumpling recipe in the slow cooker mode and it did not come out how it usually does. Today I put ribs in the slow cooker mode and cooked on high for 2 hours then turned down to low for 4 hours. The meat was still RAW! I had to put it on pressure cooker to finish it and am currently waiting for it to be done. Very disappointed right now.
Steve says
December 13, 2016 at 11:42 amI always start out in saute mode as most of the meals that I cook in it need sauteing, as far as I am concerned depending what I am cooking it still comes up to pressure in an amount of time that begs to be noticed…I don’t know what you mean it comes up to pressure so fast, what do you consider fast?? What is normal for you to get with a cooked dish and then how much time do U save, between the saute mode and without, maybe we just measure the noticing of time going by diffrently. 🙂
Keep up the pressure!!
Susanne says
December 31, 2016 at 2:26 pmI am the Mama of a 3 year old, I work full time in a busy Emergency Department, and my time is short. Being new to the Instant Pot I really appreciated your blog on starting with Saute, instead of starting cold using the manual, or one of the other buttons. Being a Newbie, I have not seen the “popular tip to put the IP on Saute to heat up the IP to reduce preheating time”, so you have been a blessing to me.
It was very helpful for me to understand that it wasn’t a problem with me, or with the Instant Pot, it was just a misunderstanding of the glowing comments written by others that confused the issue. I do understand now, that the cook time is much less once the timer starts, and that if I start in the Saute’ cycle, and then switch to whatever cycle I need for my particular food item, it will come to pressure much faster, and I will be a happy Mama!
It would be nice if some of the Old Hands at using the Instant Pot would be more understanding of the Newbie! Thanks for posting for the Newbies in the Instant Pot world!
shrinkingmomster says
December 31, 2016 at 10:05 pmI’m so glad the tip helped!!! I have some other recipes and tips if you search “instant pot” here on the blog.
Jodie says
January 4, 2018 at 9:54 pmI used IP for the first time last night I ran into a slight issue. I was making a dish that had me saute some veggies first and then I was to add chicken and sauce and cook on chicken mode for 12 minutes. The issue I ran into was once I sauteed the veggies and then put the rest of the ingredients in and changed over to chicken mode, it appeared the IP wanted to pre-heat again for 15 minutes (which I found odd). So I just let it cook in there for the 15 and then took out the chicken. To my surprise it wasn’t cooked all the way. So, I cut up the chicken and put it back in the IP for 10 minutes (after it appeared the IP was done pre-heating for chicken mode) and it was all cooked. My question is, once I’m done sauteing the veggies, do I just switch the mode over to “pressure cook” instead of one of the other pre-set selections? Or am I doing something wrong?! Would love some help!
Alana says
March 8, 2017 at 4:25 pmWhat I don’t understand about the instant pot is how long it takes to let me open it after I turn it off. It takes 30 minutes or more. I usually do sauté first and then put the lid on and set it to whatever (usually soup) but just why? Is there something wrong with it?
Anonymous says
November 5, 2017 at 1:54 amYou can use quick pressure or natural release..
Ronnie says
January 10, 2018 at 1:35 pmI have the same question. I have used different pressure cookers for years, and always used the natural release method, which would usually take around 15 minutes. However, the Instant Pot takes forever, and still won’t depressurize. It forces me to to use the quick release, which can make the food tough.
Ronnie says
January 10, 2018 at 1:34 pmI have the same question. I have used different pressure cookers for years, and always used the natural release method, which would usually take around 15 minutes. However, the Instant Pot takes forever, and still won’t depressurize. It forces me to to use the quick release, which can make the food tough.
Michael W says
November 14, 2018 at 9:58 pmPlace a cool damp towel over the lid. The silver parts of the lid are there to diffuse heat so by putting a cool wet towel over the lid, it will help to cool the inside and lessen the steam production and allow you to remove the lid. Be careful though…the cool damp towel becomes a steaming hot towel quickly so no bare-handed removal of the towel!
Sharon says
March 15, 2017 at 10:59 amJust a question I have had my instant pot for a couple weeks now and it seems to leave no juices in the pot. What am I doing wrong? I followed the directions . I am wondering if there is something wrong with my pot.
Nancy Gilles says
March 22, 2017 at 7:29 amI’ve been using pressure cookers my entire life and I do love the ease of not having to monitor my pot and the pressure with the jiggling valve, especially now that I no longer have a gas stove. My only issue with my brand new Instant Pot, is that I am having trouble changing the time value for pressure cooking from the preset 10 minutes after pressing the manual button. I haven’t been able to enter the time I need for my meal to cook either before pressing manual or after the ON signal goes off. My manual says to push the adjust button and the + or -. I usually end up having to turn the cooker off and start again after pressure has built up. Any suggestions on how to solve my problem would be greatly appreciated.
Jeanne Sinclair says
March 24, 2017 at 1:21 amHelp I plug in my pot, second time using it. Push manual it says 19 , I want 12, but numbers don’t move. Why? Thank you p.s. last time worked great.
Jeanne Carpenter says
July 30, 2017 at 1:39 amThe recipe calls for you to add a certain amount of water….just make it HOT water, and the IP will come to pressure super quick.
Andrew says
October 30, 2017 at 12:08 amI got my instant pot to replace my slow cooker. I like the pressure cooking feature but the slow cooker function is awful. It doesn’t cook with anywhere near the efficiency of a slow cooker even on the highest settings.
Has anyone else found this and is there a fix?
Jo says
March 10, 2018 at 1:19 pmam having the same problem even on high for 8 hrs, stew is hard leather! Tried three times, veal and beed shanks, same result
Did u find a fix?
Sandi says
October 29, 2018 at 2:08 pmYes I used mine for the first time to cook an 8 lb bine in pork butt roast. I cut it in half to fit and set it on the highest slow cooker setting which seemed to be more like a.low setting on a crockpot. I ended up having to cook it over night. It was approx 20 hrs later that it was fork pulled tender. I was disappointed because I assumed this pot would replace my slow cooker (which btw has no lid) so I have to use foil on it. I have not yet tried but will attempt to pressure cook a roast and hope that the end result is fall apart meat for great pulled pork or beef sammies.
Anonymous says
December 15, 2018 at 12:24 pmWhat is a beef sammie?
Terry says
November 1, 2017 at 6:05 pmI can’t seem to have my sound. No beeps. Turned the sound off and on. Still no beep when I press any button. Help
Neha says
December 2, 2017 at 11:36 pmHelp my instant pot is not heating .It stops at preheating mode.
I made dry vegetables in it few minutes ago.
It is just 2 days old
Adele says
December 18, 2017 at 3:53 pmMy IP (lux60 v3) doesn’t have an option of low pressure and high pressure. I just bought it . Should I take it back and get another model?
Adele says
December 18, 2017 at 3:56 pmI’m new. I set the “manual” mode and used the arrow to time up to 20 min. My ip cooked for 40 min and I had to turn it off manually. What did I do wrong?
Linda says
January 2, 2018 at 2:09 amim haine same issue.
Linda says
January 2, 2018 at 2:08 amI just got an instant for Christmas. Was so excited and now I’m ready to throw it against the wall. The timer keeps changing. Ill press a preset button and the time climes, than lowers, than climbs. OR is manually set and it does the same. I follow the recipe by the clock and still same thing. I have the instant 6 quart duo. Im ready to return.
George Lentini says
July 19, 2018 at 8:47 pmWhat does code S on. I did not hear the beep.
Eva Backus says
October 10, 2018 at 5:46 pmI am also having trouble with the slow cooker function. I even bought the special instant pot slow cooker lid. I double checked the directions since the first two times I tried this function my good never cooked. As of right now, my insert is barely warm on high for 2 hours. I’m glad I never got rid of my slow cooker. 7 in 1 appliance and all I use it for us sauté and pressure cooker.