How To Clean Instant Pot Pressure Cookers
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It only takes one or two spicy meals before you find yourself wondering how to clean an Instant Pot. Fortunately, it’s a very simple process — yet another reason to love this incredibly versatile, multi-function cooking machine!
What is an Instant Pot?
Simply put: it’s a busy home cook’s best friend!
This multifunction appliance can serve as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, and food warmer in which you can also saute and brown foods. (No extra pots to clean!) The Duo also makes yogurt.
Modern Pressure Cookers Are Much Safer
This isn’t your grandma’s pressure cooker — the one that sat on the stove hissing and jiggling, and which she worried might explode and send a spray of boiling food everywhere if she didn’t continuously monitor the pressure.
Nope, this one is practically silent. Just like your slow cooker, it’s electric, so it constantly monitors and adjusts the pressure to cook food safely and correctly.
Why Would You Want One?
With an Instant Pot, you don’t have to remember to defrost meat before making dinner. That’s right: you can put frozen chicken, roasts, or chops straight into the pot, add some liquids, turn it on and go do something else. Within 30-40 minutes (even faster with defrosted meat) you’re sitting down to dinner!
Meat isn’t the only thing it cooks, though. Add pasta, sauce, and a bit of water and go do something else. After 5-8 minutes at full pressure, your dinner is ready and perfectly cooked: all you need to do is stir.
It’s brilliant at making tender, perfectly cooked rice, beans, and legumes, too.
It’s so versatile that I use mine every single day. But, because it gets so much use, I’d only had it for a few days before starting to wonder how to clean an Instant Pot. Well, here’s how.
How To Clean Instant Pot Pressure Cookers
You’ll need about 20 minutes to clean the four main parts of the Instant Pot: the outside, the inside, the lid, and the silicone ring. Fortunately, it’s a super easy task.
The Exterior
Unplug the appliance and wipe the exterior with a microfiber cloth using soap and water. Avoid getting the multifunction button panel very wet. Buff dry.
The Interior
Pull out the high-polish stainless steel insert and trivet. These can be washed in the dishwasher or with soap and water.
Remove stubborn spots by scouring with baking soda or Barkeeper’s Friend.
Use a damp microfiber cloth to remove any spills within the housing unit or around the appliance rim.
The Lid
Gently remove the silicone ring from the lid and set it aside. Wash the lid in hot, soapy water or run it through the dishwasher.
Some models have a removable anti-block valve. If yours does, gently pull it off and wash it by hand. Inspect the valve after it’s dry to make sure there is no dried food in the bottom which could cause clogs.
The Silicone Ring
This part is dishwasher safe, so you can wash it by hand or put it in the top rack of your dishwasher.
To remove odors, soak it for 15 minutes in a bowl filled with 4 cups hot water and either 1 cup white vinegar or 2-3 denture tablets. Rinse it well and let it fully dry before inserting it into the Instant Pot lid again.
Want Instant Pot recipes? Follow my ever-growing collection of Instant Pot Recipes on Pinterest!
Thanks for the tips. the one piece that seems to be overlooked is the condensation collector on the back. Apparently something got in there and now it looks a little nasty in the bottom. Have tried putting soap and damp paper towel in there, but am not getting enough torque on the towel to get to the bottom corners. Any ideas? Thanks,
Ah, that condensation collector is a pain, isn’t it? I use a chopstick or butter knife and a damp paper towel to give mine a scrub.
Hi…just made my 3rd batch of yogurt in my new instant pot! This time, though, i have a layer of baked on ‘milk’ that wont come off. Any tips?
Thank you.
I’m going to assume you’ve let it soak and it still didn’t come off. 😉 There are a couple of things you can do to fix it: (1) try scrubbing the inside with Bar Keeper’s Friend (here it is on Amazon) or Bon Ami and COLD water since hot water makes proteins, including milk, tougher to clean. Remember, scouring powders like that aren’t soap so you basically want to sprinkle it on a mostly dry surface liberally then scrub with a barely damp sponge or cloth. Rinse and repeat as needed.
Alternatively, you can try filling it with water and adding a dryer sheet then letting that soak overnight. The surfactants in the dryer sheet will loosen the milk grime.
Good luck!
Katie, thanks for this great little article. can i use the powder form of bar keepers friend on the stainless steel pot, or only the foam spray form?
The powder kind works great. It’s the only one I have. Just be sure to rinse well because that grit loves to stick around.
I’ve been curious about Instant , a great tutorial on how to clean them. You have me wanting to add one to my Christmas wish list!
I absolutely love my Instant Pot. Wasn’t sure that I would, but after just a few uses I fell in love. It’s so fast and easy to use!
So happy to know another Instapot lover. 🙂 It has taken the lengthy chore of preparing two meals to be served at the same time and made it actually fun. Joe and Nate don’t have dietary restrictions. However, I am on a diabetic-wheat free-warfarin friendly low calorie diet. My meal is cooked in 5 minutes. Then I quickly clean the pot and load it with whatever I have planned for the guys. in timespan of 30 minutes everyone’s meals are cooked and the Instapot is cleaned and ready for the net meal. Best Christmas gift ever!
Yep, they’re great for busy families!
I can’t find “HOW TO CLEAN A KEUIG”
The missing R is probably why. Here you go: How To Clean a Keurig.