Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, and in their wake, thousands of new Instant Pot pressure cookers are now out in the world. While they come with all the basics you need in the box, we’ve rounded up some additional accessories that can greatly improve your pressure cooking experience.
Every Instant Pot includes one inner pot, but you’ll probably want a second to use when your main pot is dirty (this will happen, because you’ll use the Instant Pot every night). You can just straight-up buy a duplicate, or get Instant Pot’s nonstick version, which we’ve covered here.
You should replace your sealing ring every 12-18 months regardless, but in-between, they have the unfortunate habit of absorbing food smells. Literally holding back an explosion (of flavor) will do that, I guess. Instant Pot sells a two-pack of red and blue rings, so you can use one for sweet dishes, and another for savory. Using third party rings can void your warranty, and it’s not like these are expensive, so it’s probably better to stick to the Instant Pot brand here.
Why dirty up a leftover container when you can just slap a lid on your Instant Pot inner pot and throw it straight into the fridge? Instant Pot makes one designed for every size of inner pot.
A glass lid is more of a “nice to have” than a “need to have,” but you’ll probably want it if you use your Instant Pot as a slow cooker. The regular Instant Pot lid works fine for this purpose IF (and it’s a big “if”) you remember to open the pressure valve first, but the glass lid is idiot-proof. It can also block splattering when you’re using the Instant Pot to sauté.
Let’s be honest here, you’re never going to wait for the “natural” pressure release. You’re going to hit that quick release button, and an alarming amount of steam (seriously, you’ll never get used to how violent it seems) will be forced out of your pot over the course of several minutes. It’s best to direct the it towards a vent hood, but if that’s not available to you, a diverter can at least keep it from ruining the underside of your cabinetry.
This one’s a little cheaper, but only directs steam in one direction, so be careful where you point it.
Fast and easy hard boiled eggs are an Instant Pot specialty. The tiny wire rack that came with your Instant Pot can hold a few eggs steady if you’re very careful and recite the correct incantations, but if you want to cook a whole dozen or more at once, this two tier rack will be your new best friend.
There’s a whole host of Instant Pot accessories that are available both in both metal and silicone versions, and the choice should be obvious. Silicone cools down faster, it’s easier to clean, and takes up a lot less space in your cabinets.
Instant Pot makes its own line of silicone accessories: A cake pan, a loaf pan, a steamer basket, and a steam rack, and they’re all affordably priced.
And as you’d expect, third parties have filled in the gaps as well. Most notably, OXO makes its own steamer basket, as well as a bakeware sling, a roasting rack, and a (single tier) egg rack.
For extra credit, grab this clip-on silicone strainer and an egg bite mold. The former is will come in handy a lot—pressure cooking requires liquid, which you don’t always need at the end—while the latter can be used to make facsimiles of Starbucks’ sous-vide egg bites in a fraction of the time.