An electric pressure cooker operates on a simple principle, steam pressure. A sealed pot, with a lot of steam pressure inside, builds up to high levels and cooks food faster. I don’t know about you, but after a long day at work the last thing I want to do is spend an hour or more standing in front of a stove.
Highly efficient, a pressure cooker uses far less energy than many of the appliances you use now.
You can cook almost anything in a pressure cooker. Rice is done in just a few minutes. It’s excellent for foods that need to be tenderized such as braised meats or roasts. You can even cook hard boiled eggs. It is more common to see people use it to cook beans, stews and vegetables.
Here are some of the best electric pressure cookers in the market.
Instant Pot DUO60
This 7-in-1 multi-functional cooker has the most user reviews (more than 1000+) with an overall rating 4.7 out of 5. It’s probably so because it is the only one shipped and sold by Amazon itself, meaning your purchase is backed by their guarantee and support.
The sleek stainless steel exterior is fingerprint resistant. A few extras included are: low profile stainless steel steam rack with handles, rice paddle, soup spoon and measuring cup. Although it does comes with an instruction guide, according to reviews these are not particularly good.
GoWise Stainless Steel Cooking Pot
This 6 quart cooker includes a removable and durable stainless steel cooking pot as well as a stainless steel rack, plastic cup and spoon. It has cool touch handles and is a breeze to clean up. A few reported minor seal issues which were handled promptly by GoWise. It also does not come with many instructions on how to cook different foods.
Secura 6-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker
This cool kitchen gadget replaces your pressure cooker, slow cooker, food steamer, rice cooker, browning/sauté pan and soup maker. It also has an automatic keep warm feature.
The stainless steel dishwasher safe cooking pot has cool touch handles, stainless steel lid with cool touch finish and has a 24 hour delay timer. On the down side, you can’t just turn it on and cook. You have to set the timer but, with having a 24 hour setting, it is an easy workaround.
West Bend 6-Quart Stainless Pressure Cooker
West Bend not only made the interior non stick but the exterior as well. It comes with 7 built in safety features including a cool touch locking lid and a pressure release dial. The condensation drip cup and removable power cord are nice add-ons as well. It’s nice to not have to worry over the condensation dripping all over you and the kitchen. The biggest complaint would be the size and weight as it runs slightly larger than it’s competitors.
Emeril by T-fal CY4000
With T-fal, you would automatically expect non-stick, which this is. The Emeril not only keeps food from sticking but is also dishwasher safe and comes with a condensation collector. As an added bonus you get a full cookbook, not just a pamphlet as with other cookers. One word of caution: as with any non-stick cooking surface, you should never use metal utensils.
The replacement inserts are on back order for over a year! So this might be the one time you do as your mama told you.
Power Pressure Cooker XL
The interior is non stick and dishwasher safe. Power Pressure has a safe lock lid with manual steam release and also a large and sturdy lid arm handle. Great bonuses are included with this cooker: power cooking recipe book, canning guide, measuring cup and ladle, condensation collector and steamer tray.
At first the cool bonuses looks really impressive, but I was then disappointed at the number of negative reviews. The Power had the most negative user reviews of all. Also, you may have trouble figuring out how to use it since it doesn’t come with any specs on the machine nor information on how to use it.
Fagor 670040230 Stainless-Steel
This is one of the smaller models available, but the Fagor will fit nicely on your counter. The 8 hour delay timer and stay cool handle are great features to have. You can start it before work and the keep warm setting will have it hot for you when you get off work. Along with being smaller in size, it is smaller in functions being a 3-in-1 multi cooker. Most 6 quart cookers have 6-in-1 versatility. Worst of all, the warranty is seriously lacking. You can return it for replacement but you will be paying for the shipping cost.
An electric pressure cooker sounds like an awesome addition to your kitchen appliances and probably would end up replacing some. Of the ones listed above, I have chosen some top picks.
Best Bang For Your Buck
Secura 6-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker wins with it’s 24 hour delay timer. It is the only one of these electric pressure cookers with this feature. All the foodie’s out there will love this in addition to the cool touch handles.
Best Bonuses
Power Pressure Cooker XL has the most added bonuses offered with your purchase. It is especially appealing because of the power cooking recipe book and canning guide.
Best Overall
Emeril by T-fal has left me with the best overall impression. The non stick interior making it easy to clean and adding in a full cookbook are beyond compare. The price is only the second lowest by a few cents. I’m definitely adding this to my wish list.