Duo Plus 60 Instant Pot Review
Is the Duo Plus 60 the right instant pot for you?
For a few years now, instant pots have been popular with cooks everywhere. Maybe, you're finally considering adding one to your kitchen or giving one as the perfect gift. But with so many models available, which is the best instant pot? We decided to look closely at the one that Amazon recommends: the Duo Plus 60 instant pot.
A smart multicooker, the Instant Pot® Duo Plus 60, 6 Qt, 9-in-1 integrates nine major cooking functions. It's designed to help cooks eliminate the need for a lot of other kitchen appliances.
Great news if you're budget conscious or don't have a stove.
Need more counter space? With nine cookers in this 6-quart pot, the Duo Plus 60 instant pot solves that problem as well. Now, you can sell or give away many of the other small appliances you use that only do one job.
One buyer described it as "One of man's greatest inventions." Well, that could be taking things a bit too far. Or is it? Let's take a closer look at the Duo Plus 60 instant pot.
What Is the Duo Plus 60 Instant Pot?
So, exactly what is the Duo Plus 60 instant pot?
Well, it's a programmable pressure cooker with built-in preset cooking times and adjustable temperatures.
But it's also a slow cooker.
And it's a sauté pan that browns and sears. And a steamer. And a rice cooker. And …
In fact, the Duo Plus 60 instant pot can replace nine common kitchen appliances, including the:
And if that’s not enough, the Duo Plus can cook a moist cake, cheesecake, and other desserts too!
Review Summary: Want to skip the details? Here you go.
Product Name:
Instant Pot® Duo Plus 60, 6 Qt, 9-in-1
Product Type:
Instapot
Price:
Check Amazon for latest pricing.
Summary:
This 6 quart instant pot combines 9 types of cooking appliances in one, giving buyers a lot of product and versatility for the money. Buyers rate it as a well-integrated cooker that is easy to use. Further, its 15 programmable preset functions take the guesswork out of making a wide range of expertly cooked meals. More than 3000 verified buyers highly recommend it. Amazon highly recommends it. For these reasons and more, we highly recommend it as well.
Rating:
Why This Instant Pot?
The brain behind this hardworking appliance is a microprocessor that controls 15 programs. Its job is to take the guesswork out of preparing meals in this instant pot.
When you cook a meal, the microprocessor:
This powerful instant pot microprocessor makes it possible for even beginner cooks to experience consistently great cooking results.
Based on more than 3000 comments from verified buyers of this model, the ability to take even frozen meat and place it into the cooker, quickly select a cooking function, and walk away is the quality they valued most about the Instant Pot Duo Plus.
Who is this for? New moms, college students, retirees, busy two-income couples, singles and spouses who love to cook, and people who've never had success in the kitchen all raved about the excellent results they achieved consistently cooking in this instapot.
Watch the Duo Plus 60 instant pot in action.
The Instant Pot Duo Plus 9 in 1 Cooking Programs
This Instant Pot Duo Plus 9 in 1 includes 15 microprocessor controlled programs:
If you love yogurt, this Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Qt 9 in 1 model has the perfect built-in yogurt maker. With it, heating the milk needed for pasteurization and fermentation becomes a safe, reliable process. Add your own fruit or enjoy the yogurt in your morning smoothies and other meals.
Three of the programs are new to this model: Cake, Egg, and Sterilize.
The Cake program pressure can produce soft, moist cakes as well as cheesecakes. The Egg program cooks perfect boiled eggs every time, whether you like yours soft or hard. With the Sterilize program, you can pasteurize milk and sterilize baby bottles and some other types of jars and utensils. However, it is not designed to sterilize canning jars. Please do not buy it for this purpose; it has not been certified to do this. According to the manufacturer, no instant pot has been approved for sterilizing canning jars.
The Duo Plus Pressure Cook program allows you to choose between two pressure settings when cooking. You can decide whether to cook with high pressure or to use low pressure. What’s the difference? The high pressure setting can reduce your cooking times greatly and your energy usage by as much as 70 percent. However, it might not be right when preparing more delicate foods. When the possibility of overcooking a food is a concern, use low pressure. Offering dual pressure settings is just one more way the Instant Pot Duo Plus 60 tries to take the guesswork out of preparing meals for you.
The Duo Plus Remembers Your Personalized Settings
There are 15 cooking programs available, and each offers three preset modes for customizing that program: Less, Normal and More. Better, each program actually remembers your mode choices, personalizing the cooking experience based on your past preferences.
Like your rice al dente? Choose the Less mode. Prefer a normal texture? Select "Normal." Maybe you like your rice softer. Choose "More." The next time you cook rice, the Rice program will remember your preference from the last time.
Maybe you prefer brown rice. Use the Multigrain program. You still get to choose between the Less, Normal, and More modes to ensure it cooks your brown rice just the way you like it every time.
Similarly, you can use these three modes to adjust the temperature for the Sauté, Slow Cook, and Keep Warm programs to get what you want:
Need your meal to start cooking at a time when you’ll be away? No problem. The Delay Start feature allows you to push back the start of cooking up to 24 hours.
Then, the automatic Keep Warm feature can maintain your meal’s temperature until you’re ready to sit down and enjoy it. You can also turn on or adjust this feature even after cooking has started to choose how long your food should stay warm. Perfect if you need to run errands before serving dinner. It will keep your meal warm based on your personalized setting.
Status Icons Make the Instant Pot Duo Plus Easy
All the Instant Pot Duo Plus programming functions are neatly packaged and showcased in its large display, featuring a blue LCD. It’s a user-friendly design that helps cooks easily navigate the instant pot functions.
First, the blue LCD face features four status indicators across the top:
These four icons are new to this model.
The LCD face also highlights the:
Down the left and right sides of the display, you'll find the buttons for each of the cooking programs (Soup, Slow Cook, Rice, Yogurt, etc.)
Below the blue LCD face, four Operation keys appear:
Also, you can use the plus and minus keys to adjust the cooking time. The Less, Normal, and More mode settings automatically set the time for each dish, but you can adjust this with these two keys. Each click alters the time by one minute.
How to Use the Instant Pot Duo Plus
Wow! There's a lot here, but using the Instant Pot is actually pretty straightforward.
Watch.
You have only a few decisions to make:
Easy. And really powerful. This instant pot lets each cook decide how much control he or she wants to take in preparing any meal.
The included User Guide provides a good overview of how to use the unit. YouTube has numerous videos on using the Instant Pot. Facebook has its own Instant Pot group, which shares tips, recipes, solutions, and more.
It's really quite amazing to see the community that has sprouted up around this product.
The Duo Plus 60 Instant Pot Uses Solid Construction
Food-grade 304 (18/8) stainless steel is used to construct all materials in the Duo Plus 60 instant pot that come into contact with food. That includes the lid, the inner cooking pot, and the steam rack. Also, the Duo Plus 60 uses no chemical coatings.
The number 18/8 means that 18 percent of the content is chromium and 8 percent is nickel. Each helps make the stainless steel rust-resistant, which helps it last longer. The nickel also helps give the steel its shiny appearance.
The inner pot is made with a 3-ply bottom to distribute heat more evenly when cooking.
The exterior is constructed with brushed stainless steel that resists fingerprints.
For safety when using the Pressure Cook program, the inner pot also contains markings at the ½ and ⅔ measurements. The latter signals that food placed into the inner pot should not surpass the ⅔ line when using the Pressure Cook program. For foods that expand, like rice or beans, that limit should be the ½ line.
If you ignore these limits, the instapot’s steam release can become clogged and build up excess pressure. This can damage the pot or cause it to leak. These fill level warnings apply only to Pressure Cook programs.
Another nice touch is the addition of steam rack handles. The steam rack sits inside the pot and the handles provide extra protection for your hands from the heat.
Similarly, the outer pot features a lid holder for both left- and right-handed users. When you remove the lid, you can slide it into lid holder slots built right into each side of the pot. So you don't have to search for a safe place to set down a hot lid while you make change inside the pot. Handy. Safety conscious. A very nice extra touch.
The cooking pot, lid, and steam rack are all dishwasher safe.
The Duo Plus Takes Safety Seriously
Long ago, pressure cookers were considered dangerous kitchen appliances because cooks could not control the pressure or steam that built up inside. The Duo Plus instant pot was designed to alleviate those fears. It’s UL certified with 10 built-in proven safety mechanisms. It’s designed to emit no steam when cooking and to be energy efficient.
Did You Know?
UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories, a product safety organization. It’s the largest not-for-profit quality and safety testing laboratory in the world. When a product bears the UL mark, it means it has passed this organization's stringent safety standards and tests.
- 1Pressure Regulator ensures working pressure is under the safety limit of 15.23 psi (105 kpa)
- 2Anti-Blockage Vent design prevents food debris from blocking the vent
- 3Safety Lid Lock prevents accidental opening while the cooker is pressurized
- 4Lid Position Detection monitors whether the lid is in an unsafe zone for pressure cooking
- 5Automatic Temperature Control regulates temperature based on the type of program being selected
- 6High Temperature monitoring minimizes chances of food burning
- 7Automatic Pressure Controller keeps pressure always in the safe range
- 8Electrical current and temperature fuse cuts off power if the current or internal temperature exceeds safety limits
- 9Excess Pressure Protection releases excess pressure into internal chamber in a dangerous situation
- 10Smart detection of leaky lid (e.g., steam release is at open position)
As you can see, multiple features were put in place to prevent users from taking actions that could create unsafe situations. For example, the Safety Lid Lock prevents you from opening the cooker while it's pressurized. The Lid Position Detector signals when the lid is in an unsafe position during pressure cooking. Multiple features work to ensure the pressure stays within a safe range and that the power automatically cuts off if it is not.
Also, certain foods, such as some cereals, split peas, and noodles, can clog the steam release. Do not used the Pressure Cook program to cook these foods. Follow the User's Guide for directions and recipes.
This is not your grandmother's pressure cooker. The Instant Pot Duo Plus is designed with safety first in mind.
Specifications
A short power supply cord (35 inches) is provided to reduce the hazards resulting from entanglement and tripping.
Features
What's in the Box?
The main Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Qt package includes:
Accessories in the box include:
A user's guide and recipe book are also included.
Duo Plus 60 Instant Pot: Highly Recommended
Rarely have we seen such enthusiasm from people about a product long after the purchase. People who bought the Duo Plus 60, 6 Quart, 9-in-1 instant pot simply love it. One described it as a "no-brainer" for getting delicious food to the table. Many said this was by far the most used appliance in their kitchen. Most simply described how useful, how flexible, and how much fun this instant pot is to cook with. Buyers called it "as good as advertised." And those who had been gifted with the pot loved their gift.
4.7
Pros:
- Buyers love that they can make a whole meal in one pot with just a few steps.
- Directions are easy to follow.
- It's easy to clean and dishwasher safe.
- It's a versatile, fun cooking appliance that saves time and takes the guesswork out of cooking meals.
- It integrates 9 different cookers into 1, eliminating the need for those other cookers in your kitchen. Great for the budget conscious and people with small kitchens.
- It travels well for campers and others on the go.
- It's safe with many built-in safety features.
- It's fun exploring all the things you can make with one appliance.
- It saves energy.
- It lets users buy cheaper cuts of meat and still make delicious meals easily.
- It places tremendous flexibility and confidence into the hands of cooks from beginners to experts.
- It helps busy people have home-cooked, nutritious meals.
Cons:
- With 9 cookers and 15 programs, it has a learning curve for some users.
- Some had problems with the lid sealing properly. (There is a test described in the User's Guide for ensuring the lid is working when you get your instant pot.)
- The cord is intentionally short for safety reasons. Some wanted a longer cord.
- Some wished they had bought the larger 8 quart size. When cooking for 5 to 6 people, they did not have leftovers with the 6 quart size.
- Some cited poor customer support from the Instant Pot manufacturer. For any problems during the first 30 days, simply return the product to Amazon for replacement or a full refund. The product has a 1-year warranty.