Use this Slow Cooker to Instant Pot Conversion Calculator & Cheat Sheet to easily convert your slow cooker recipes to cook faster in your instant pot!
Slow Cooker to Instant Pot Conversion
Slow cookers have been around for a long time. However, now that there is a quicker way to make food with the instant pot, you may be wanting to convert your old, slow cooker recipes to be able to cook them in the instant pot much faster.
A slow cooker is great for home cooks who have a busy day with work or school and don't want to spend a ton of time cooking. You can slow cook a meal overnight or during the day while you're away from home, and it will be waiting for you when you get back!
Instant pots are also great for people on the go who don't have time to slow cook their food. These appliances also have a slow cooker function, but they can also be used as pressure cookers or rice makers.
Slow cookers are slow-cooking appliances, as the name states. They can be used to slow cook food for a long time and still maintain the quality of the food.
Slow cookers do not generally have high temperatures like an oven or stove. Instead, they use moist heat to slow cook food. If you're looking for delicious slow-cooked dishes that don't take up much time in your day, then slow cooker recipes might be what you need!
Instant pots cook food by pressurizing it. This allows the food to cook a lot quicker. It also turns out extraordinarily soft and tender, so it is perfect for cooking meat. So if you're looking for yummy pressure-cooked meals that can be cooked very quickly, then instant pot recipes would be great for you!
Can I Use an Instant Pot Instead of a Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can! Both slow cookers and instant pots are great for making easy dinners. With both appliances, you basically just "set it and forget it." However, if you don't have time to make your favorite slow cooker recipe, it can be a pain to try and find the same recipe for the instant pot.
That is why it's easier to just covert your cooking times and follow some general rules in order to make any slow cooker recipe with your instant pot!
How Do You Convert Slow Cook Time to Instant Pot Time?
You can easily convert slow cooker cooking times to instant pot cooking times with our slow cooker to instant pot conversion calculator above. Simply choose your slow cooker time, and the calculator will instantly convert to instant pot time for you.
Be sure to read the tips and tricks for converting your slow cooker recipes to instant pot in this article. You can also print off the free slow cooker to instant pot conversion cheat sheet below!
General Slow Cooker to Instant Pot Conversion Rules
Did you know that almost everything you make in your slow cooker can also be made in your instant pot for just a fraction of the time? Get your favorite dinners on the table in no time with these simple slow cooker to instant pot conversion rules!
Use our slow cooker to instant pot conversion calculator at the top of this article for quick conversion. If that is not handy for you, you can just do some simple math to convert your recipes easily.
| Look at your slow cooker recipe and see what time you should cook your recipe on high. Then, take that number and multiply it by 6. That number is the amount of time you can cook your slow cooker recipe in your instant pot in minutes. |
| Example: Slow cooker recipe calls for 5 hours on high. 5 x 6 = 30. So you will want to cook your recipe in the instant pot for about 30 minutes. |
When planning your instant pot meal, make sure to add some extra time to allow the instant pot to build pressure. You'll also need to add some time for your instant to release pressure naturally after cooking.
Some instant pot recipes can take up to 20 minutes to build pressure and about 15 minutes to release the pressure after cooking.
The times included on our cheat sheet and our conversion calculator are JUST the cooking times. It does not include the time allotted for pressure building and release, so just keep that in mind.
| Important Tip: when cooking a slow cooker recipe in your instant pot, you will want to make sure to add extra liquid. Your instant pot requires a minimum amount of 1 cup of liquid in order to have enough steam and prevent burning, so you don't want to skip this step! |
How Do I Convert a Slow Cooker Recipe to The Instant Pot?
If using a calculator or doing math isn't your thing, you can print out a cheat sheet below. The cheat sheet will give you standard times to cook specific types of recipes. This will provide you with an easy guide to help you decide how to convert your slow cooker recipes to the instant pot.
We have included some of the information from our cheat sheet in this article as well. If you do not want to print out the cheat sheet, be sure to bookmark this article in order to come back for the information you need when cooking.
Liquids
Your instant pot must have liquid to cook properly. In order to make sure the instant pot has enough steam and to prevent burning, you will need to have at least 1 cup of liquid added to your instant pot before pressurizing.
What liquids are ok to use? You can feel free to use many different types of liquids for cooking food in your instant pot. This includes water, broth, fruit juice, and even beer or wine.
You can also use slightly thicker liquids such as heavy cream, milk, etc. However, anything thicker than that probably won't be liquid enough to build steam.
If you are cooking foods that may soak up some of your liquid, you can use the trivet to elevate your ingredients above the liquid.
Grains and Beans
Did you know that grains and beans tend to expand quite a bit during the cooking process?
Due to the expansion, you will want to make sure never to fill your instant pot's inner pot more than halfway when cooking beans or grains.
You will also want to keep in mind that dry, unsoaked beans will take a bit longer to cook than beans that have been soaking for 24 hours.
Stews, Meat, and Poultry
Here is a general list of rules for cooking stews/soups, poultry, and other meat:
- Use the 15-minute poultry setting when cooking chicken, turkey and other poultry.
- Cut large roasts and other hunks of meat into smaller chunks before cooking.
- Add about 10 minutes of cooking time for frozen cuts of meat.
- Make sure meat reaches the proper temperature. Beef should be no lower than 130 degrees F. Ground beef should reach a minimum of 160 degrees F, and poultry should reach at least 165 degrees F.
- If your meat does not reach the correct temperature, cook it for an additional 5-10 minutes until it is completely done.
- Most soups can be cooked on high pressure for as little as 0 minutes. One trick is to cook the meat for your stew/soup on the sautee setting of your instant pot. Press cancel once fully cooked, pour in the rest of your ingredients, and cook on high pressure for 0-1 minute.
What You Shouldn't Cook
While the instant pot is very versatile and can cook just about anything in a fraction of the time it would take using other appliances, there are some things that just don't work well under pressure.
For instance, you cannot use your instant pot to fry or bake foods. You also shouldn't pressurize dairy products such as milk and cheese. These are best being added to your hot food after pressure cooking or even while using the saute mode.
You will also want to make sure to add any thickeners you may be using for foods such as gravy, soup, etc., after pressure cooking. This is because your instant pot may not build the proper amount of pressure if the thickeners are soaking up some of the liquid in the pot.
While the instant pot uses pressure to cook, you, unfortunately, cannot use it for pressure canning. So be sure only to use an actual pressure canner to ensure that it's done safely.
Make Dinner Time So Much Easier
Slow cookers and instant pots are both great for slow cooking your food, but they serve different purposes.
Slow cookers take the guesswork out of slow cooking by providing a set time where you don't have to worry about adjusting temperatures or adding more liquid as needed. This is perfect if you want to make an entire meal ahead of time without much effort!
On the other hand, Instant Pots can be used in three ways: slow cooker, pressure cooker, and sautee. This means that this appliance may work better for certain types of dishes because it gives you multiple options.
The good news is that both slow cookers and instant pots offer versatility depending on what type of dish you're making. So whichever one suits your needs, this slow cooker to instant pot conversion will make getting dinner on the table even quicker.
Slow Cooker to Instant Pot Conversion Cheat Sheet
Click the button below to print out a free copy of our Slow Cooker to Instant Pot Conversion Cheat Sheet. Hang it on your fridge for easy conversions!
