Air Fryer vs Instant Pot Which One is a Must?

New small kitchen appliances have been introduced like crazy over the last few years. We have seen instant pots, air fryers, convection toaster ovens that also air fry, the list could go on and on. While you may think you need to purchase them all, you actually don’t. You can easily do a little research to see which of the small appliances will be the most helpful for you.

We have recently seen people buying both the instant pot and air fryer. And we have heard from others that they are trying to decide between the two.

So, that made us ask the question, “Air Fryer vs. Instant Pot, which one is a must?”.

The Air Fryer

An air fryer utilizes hot air to fry foods without using a lot of oil. While many people think of this appliance as a fryer, it can actually do so much more. It is easy to bake, grill, and roast foods. This means you can have fried chicken, grilled fish, and even roasted vegetables without turning on the oven or the grill.

When you place food inside, hot air circulates at a high speed. It is best to do small batches of food in air fryers or your foods won’t get as crispy as you would like them. Air fryers are simple to use, because they don’t have a lot of buttons. They are also easy to clean, because there isn’t a lot of oil to deal with.

It is best to consider what you will use an air fryer for before you purchase one. The reason for this is air fryers come in many different sizes and you will want to make sure you get the right one. Unfortunately, they do not come in a large size that is practical for larger families, so you will want to keep that in mind if you are thinking about purchasing this appliance. In those scenarios, you may be making your food in batches and either keeping it warm in the oven or having people eating in shifts.

The Instant Pot

An instant pot is a small appliance that works as a multi-cooker. This one machine can act as a pressure cooker and a slow cooker all in one. The goal of this machine is to cook foods in a shorter amount of time. People who have embraced their instant pots have created all types of recipes, so it is now easier to prepare foods in them without worrying about how the food will turn out. You can even cook yogurt and hardboiled eggs in this small appliance.

You will quickly see there are a lot of buttons on the front of the instant pot. It really isn’t difficult to use, but you might be intimidated by all those buttons at first. When you are preparing foods, you must remember that liquid must be added each time. If you forget to add liquid, the pot will not pressurize.

While an instant pot can cook foods a lot faster, you must make sure you account for the time it will take to pressurize the pot and depressurize as well. Most of the time, it can take twenty-five minutes for the instant pot to completely pressurize. As for depressurizing at the end, that is dependent on the recipe you are using. Some recipes will allow you to release the lever and let the steam out, while others will recommend letting the pot depressurize on its own. If you do the latter, it could take up to thirty minutes.

There are more pieces to an instant pot, which means more to clean. However, cleanup is still fairly simple. You must make sure you remove the condensation collector and clean that regularly to prevent finding it full of bacteria at some point.

There are many different accessories you can purchase to go with your instant pot. These accessories are not necessary, unless you want to prepare special foods like cheesecake. You will also discover that the instant pot is available in many different sizes. However, larger families may still see that they cannot fit complete meals in even the largest option.

The best feature of an instant pot is you can select the delay cooking feature for most recipes. That will allow you to have this appliance turn on during the day when you are at work and come home to a fully cooked meal.

Air Fryer vs Instant Pot Which One is a Must?

There are a couple similarities between these two small appliances. There are a ton of recipes you can use with either one and they both are available in multiple sizes. However, that is where these two kitchen items stop being the same.

As for the differences, there are quite a few. An air fryer can cook foods a lot faster than an instant pot. This is due to the time it takes for the instant pot to become pressurized. Of course, the methods of cooking are different, so you may prefer one over the other simply for that reason.

The instant pot is more versatile than the air fryer and it travels better too.

We can tell you that both these small appliances are affordable. Unless of course you spend extra money on all the accessories for the instant pot. They are also both safe when it comes to providing safe cooking experiences in your home. If you are truly struggling with which one is better for you, it may come down to space.

An air fryer will take up much more room than an instant pot. So, if you are lacking space in your kitchen, you may want to choose the instant pot due to its smaller size.

It is not easy for us to determine which one of these kitchen small appliances is a must. Honestly, it is going to be your personal preference as to whether you want to use an air fryer or an instant pot. We recommend going over the pros and cons for each one when it comes to preparing meals for your household. Then you can see whether the air fryer or instant pot will fulfill your needs better.