Instant Pot Duo Nova Pressure Cooker 7 In 1, 8 Qt, Best For Beginners

In what we’ve found to be the most differentiating of our cooking tests, the saute test; the DUO Nova performed wonderfully. It got hot enough to easily brown eve hearty veggies like carrots and made quick work of diced onions. We believe this ability is crucial; to effectively saute right in the pot vastly increases the number of meals you can make with only one dish to clean at the end. For the most part, we found the differences in cooking abilities to be minor between the models in our fleet. That being said, we thoroughly enjoyed the food made by the DUO Nova, with it earning superlatives in most of our cooking tests. While it isn’t a budget appliance, this Instant Pot is a great price when you take into account all the different uses and the other appliances it can replace.

It also upgrades the number of cooking programs to 28, the most of any Instant Pot family. The Instant Pot Duo Plus is a step up from the regular Duo, and those who make recipes like yogurts and desserts will probably appreciate the Plus. It adds in a few extra programs and features over the Duo. Anti-block shield prevents food particles from coming up through the steam release pipe, assisting with pressure regulation. While float valve is up, the contents of the cooker are pressurized. Refer to the “Venting Methods” section in this Guide for information on releasing pressure.

The pressure multi cookers all pressure cook, slow cook and saute’. They all also have a “manual” program, this is important because it means you can tap in your own pressure moosoo air fryer cooking time and pressure, . All of the Instant Pots with pressure function come with a stainless-steel cooking surface and, most importantly, the same safety features.

instant pot duo nova

The Instant Pot Pro Plus is the only other model that is able to do canning. The trade-off is that the Max doesn’t do Sous Vide, while the Pro does. You’ll need to weigh your priorities moosoo air fryer to figure out which feature is more important. The Instant Pot Pro also comes with 28 one-touch smart cooking programs, which blows the 15 of the Max out of the water.

But they’re also wildly popular, in part, because they’re true multi-cookers that can be used to braise, sauté, steam, and so much more. But all Instant Pots are not created equal—er, not every model can perform every function, and they’re billed accordingly (7-in-1, 9-in-1, etc.). All Instant Pots can pressure-cook, slow-cook, sauté, and keep warm, and fancier models tack on additional cooking methods like yogurt-making, sous vide cooking, broiling, and air-frying. Though every Instant Pot has the same basic multi-cooking functionality that made it a household favorite, some are more versatile than others. Most of the models are very similar in terms of pot size, wattage, and voltage; where they differ is mostly in the software—how many “smart programs” are built in with preset heat, time, and pressure levels. Combining the function of seven appliances in one, they both perform well an extensive variety of cooking tasks, all at the touch of a button.