You mastered the Instant Pot quick-start guide. You breezed through the water test. You made the most beautiful hard-boiled eggs you’ve ever seen. You cooked frozen chicken breasts in 20 minutes and fed your family a home-cooked meal instead of takeout. You’re hooked, and you’re ready for the next level: Instant Pot accessories.
Having these helpful Instant Pot accessories will make cooking in your new electric pressure cooker even easier and more convenient — and maybe it will even help you pull off a dish you never would have otherwise attempted. Here are 10 must-haves.
1. Extra rings
The silicone sealing ring can hold on to the smell of what you’ve cooked, particularly savory dishes like roasted meats or those with pungent spices like chili or curries. Even after washing, the ring take a day or two to air out. If you want to turn around and make a cheesecake right after you’ve finished pressure-cooking some ribs, this can cause a problem — namely rib-scented cheesecake. Solve this easily by keeping extra rings on hand, using one exclusively for sweet dishes and another for savory. This two-pack of rings comes in red and blue so you can easily keep track of which is which, and keep your original in rotation as needed. These should be at the top of your pressure cooker accessories wish list.
2. Springform pan
Delicious lasagna or decadent cheesecake without heating up the oven? Yes, please! Cook these, and tons of other dishes, in a springform pan sized perfectly for your pressure cooker. Buy it in a diameter at least one inch smaller than the number of quarts your Instant Pot can hold. For example, a 7-inch springform pan is perfect for an 8-quart Instant Pot. To lift it out of the steel liner, either place it on top of a sling made of tin foil prior to cooking or use silicone mitts (discussed below).
3. Silicone egg molds
Egg dishes cook up light and fluffy, never rubbery, in the Instant Pot, and these silicone egg molds are one of the best Instant Pot accessories. They are perfect for making crustless mini-quiches and sous vide egg bites (just like at Starbucks — but for a fraction of the price!). They stack on top of each other so you can make extra and freeze them.
4. Steamer basket
Mashed potatoes are even fluffier when you steam the potatoes in the Instant Pot rather than boiling them on your stove. Chop them into uniformly-sized chunks and set them in this steamer basket that has a silicone-covered handle for easy removal.
5. Stackable steamer insert pans for pot-in-pot cooking
Make dinner even faster by cooking your main dish and your side at the same time with steamer insert pans designed for pot-in-pot cooking. Chicken and rice or beef stew and mashed potatoes are just two examples of the meals you can cook this way.
6. Stackable egg racks
You can easily make 16 hard-boiled eggs at a time with these stackable egg racks. These can also be used in place of the trivet that came with your pressure cooker. This is hands-down one of the best Instant Pot accessories available.
7. Tempered glass lid
Use this tempered glass lid in place of the locking lid while sautéing or in slow-cooker mode.
8. Mini mitts
These small, narrow potholders help you get the steel insert out of the base unit while it’s still hot. These mini mitts are one of the most helpful Instant Pot accessories to have on hand.
9. Steam diverter
Hot steam is terrible for wood, but in many kitchens, the only place to put the Instant Pot is on a counter directly under cabinets. (Don’t even think about placing your Instant Pot on the stove because accidentally turning on a burner and melting the bottom of your unit is ridiculously easy.) Send steam away from your cabinets with this steam diverter. While we’re on the subject of releasing steam, did you know the spoon included with your Instant Pot has a little notch on the handle that’s perfect for turning the steam valve for a quick release?
10. Silicone pot lid
Save your leftovers or prep your recipe early and pop it in the fridge until it’s time to cook using a silicone pot lid that fits snugly over your steel inner pot.
You can absolutely use your pressure cooker without these Instant Pot accessories, but collecting these and more like them as you become more skilled in using your cooker will only make it an even more convenient tool in your kitchen.