Is the $40 Instant Pot actually a money saver or a shelf hog?

I grabbed one on a Black Friday deal, like $39 at a Walmart in Ohio. For two months I used it every week for beans, rice, and tough cuts of meat. Then the novelty wore off and now it sits in the cabinet. The math: it did cut my electric bill maybe $8 a month versus slow cooking in the oven, but I also dropped $15 on a silicone sling thing and $10 for a spare sealing ring that I have not opened. Friends swear theirs pays off because they batch cook on Sundays, but I just do quick weekday meals. Does the upfront cost plus the random accessories actually beat a regular pot for most households, or are we all just telling ourselves we need one? Anyone else find their pressure cooker became a glorified paperweight after 6 months or did you figure out the routine that makes it worth keeping?

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alexc9316d ago

The math you're doing is off imo because you're only counting electricity, but the real savings come from what you stop buying. Dried beans instead of cans, chicken thighs instead of takeout when you're too tired to cook, that kind of thing. I'm at like 3 years with mine and yeah there were a few months it sat there, but once I started doing big batches of shredded chicken and freezing it in bags, it became the main thing I cook with. Honestly the accessories are the trap, not the pot itself, you really just need the one ring that comes with it.

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margaret_gonzalez2516d ago

Dried beans still need electricity to cook though, that part isn't free.

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