Looking to upgrade your kitchen arsenal or find a gift for someone that makes meal planning a snap? An Instant Pot may be the best way to do both. They call them multicookers for a reason: With pressure cooker, slow cooker, steamer, warmer and sauté functionality, the trendy kitchen appliance has become a favorite of home cooks and holiday hosts looking for quick ways to get dinner done. Instant Pot deals and discounts come in fast and furious this time of year, so we’re keeping track of the absolute best deals on Instant Pot, quality knock-off brands and other multicookers for holiday 2020. That way you can focus on, well, everything else.
Speaking of holidays: The Instant Pot is a dependable kitchen sidekick for fast main courses, such as short ribs or pot roast, that taste as if they took hours. There are also countless easy recipes for hearty soups, stews, chilis, party dips and a whole bunch more. You’ll get a lot of value from a multicooker, especially if you pounce on one of these Instant Pot deals available from top retailers such as Macy’s, Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy.
Read more: The best foodie gifts to give for 2020
And that, of course, is the challenge. Instant Pots come in more variations than laptops, it seems, and pricing is often all over the map. The good news is that the holiday season is the best time to buy, whether you’re getting a real Instant Pot or one of the many (still capable) knockoff brands.
The main rule: $50 to $70 is the sweet spot for a 6-quart Instant Pot. Most Instant Pots come in 3-, 6- and 8-quart sizes, with the 6-quart models being the mainstay for most families. The best deal on that size is the 6-quart Duo Nova which just dropped to $60 on Amazon (today only), as well as the 6-quart Viva for $40 at Walmart
If there are any better Instant Pot sales or discounts between now and the end of the year, we’ll be sure to root them out, so check back here for the best deals on Instant Pots for the 2020 holiday season.
Instant Pot
This is the update on Instant Pots’ all-time best-seller, the Instant Pot Duo. It may not have all the bells, whistles and cooking presets that the brand has added to premium models, but it will absolutely do everything you expect your Instant Pot to do. It has seven main functions including slow cooker, pressure cooker, sautè, warm, rice cooker, steamer and yogurt maker. Perhaps most importantly, it has the necessary safety functions to ensure there are no unexpected kitchen fireworks or appearances on the evening news. The 6-quart is ideal for couples and families of four or five.
Instant Pot
The Viva appears to be an offshoot of the popular Duo model with the addition of sous vide and cake-making (!) options, according to Instantpotology. This Instant Pot does just about everything you’d want or need a multicooker to do and under $50 is about as low as you’ll see it go. It features 15 cook settings including soup, meat/stew, chili, cake, egg, slow cook, pressure cook, saute, rice, multigrain, steam, sterilize, porridge, warm and yogurt. Six quarts is the most popular size: It’s large enough to cook for groups but not so huge that you’ll find it difficult to store. It also has OverHeat Protection, a safety lock to ensure safe pressure cooking
Insignia
This Insignia multicooker does all the key things an Instant Pot does, but you’ll pay a third of the price. It also scores super high marks in a whopping 3,000-plus verified purchase reviews, so don’t stress if you’re not as familiar with the brand name. We’ve done the digging and this discounted multicooker checks out. This large 8-quart size is great if you’ve got a lot of hungry mouths to feed and need a serious shortcut.
Instant Pot
The Duo Nova is an updated version of the Duo and is considered one of the best models for beginners. It has all the important cooking functions including pressure cooking, slow cooking, steaming and sauteing but also has an easy-seal lid that automatically seals the Instant Pot without you having to flip a toggle (one of the more annoying nuances of the original Instant Pot). It also has 14 one-touch Smart Programs for making specific foods such as ribs and chili.
Read more: Best Instant Pot accessories for 2020
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