We're a virtual company made up of tech experts from across the globe. We love cooking with our Instant Pots, so we know the ins-and-outs like our own kitchens! Here's the best inner pot to use for your Instant Pot cooking.
The Genuine Instant Pot Ceramic Non-Stick Interior Cooking Pot is the best replacement inner pot because the non-stick ceramic coating on top of the aluminum pot ensures no food gets stuck and it's super easy to clean.
The Instant Pot already comes with the stainless steel liner by default. The stainless steel is great, especially for browning meat, but it's annoying when food gets stuck to it as you cook. You know that dread you feel when you're browning food or trying out a new recipe and you get the dreaded "BURN" display? That means you're going to have a tough time cleaning later.
Fortunately, the folks at Instant Pot know exactly what problems may arise, and understand that many people want non-stick inner pots for a variety of reasons. The Genuine Instant Pot Ceramic Non-Stick pot is made of aluminum and coated in a ceramic non-stick material. It's smooth to the touch and you can tell from a glance that nothing's going to be sticking on to this surface.
With the non-stick ceramic pot, your rice won't be sticking to the bottom. Browning food before pressure cooking won't result in pieces clinging on to the sides or bottom of the pot. When it comes time to clean, you won't have to be scrubbing vigorously to get rid of those stuck-on bits of food, or clumps of cheese from mac-n-cheese (I know!).
The only thing that you'll need to be more cautious of is making sure that you use wood, plastic, or rubberized utensils rather than metal. Since the ceramic is a coating, it could scrape off if you use metal utensils, like spatulas. But this is a generic rule-of-thumb for all non-stick cookware.
The only drawback to the ceramic non-stick pot is the fact that browning food won't be as good as with stainless steel. So if you're preparing foods like a chuck roast or chicken pieces before pressure cooking, then it may not have as much flavor from the Maillard Reaction. But if you don't mind that and prefer the ease of use, then the ceramic non-stick pot is the way to go.
The stainless steel version is what your Instant Pot came with. Stainless steel cookware in general is durable and provides great flavor when it comes to browning your food, and it's relatively easy to use and clean.
Having a second stainless steel pot readily available for your Instant Pot means you can transfer your food over if something gets burned in the first one, so you can still salvage it. It's also useful to have in case you want to cook two dishes with your Instant Pot without cleaning the first pot.
Regardless of your pot choice, you may want a glass lid to cover and protect your food after it's done. The tempered glass lid lets you see your food when you sauté, make yogurt, or steam food, or just cover your food as you serve.
The Tempered Glass Lid is see-thru so you can see your food at a glance (not for use during pressure cooking). It's also is a good way to cover your food when it's done cooking but still out for people to serve themselves.
The bottom line
Finding a good replacement for your Instant Pot is easy and difficult. It's difficult because there isn't a lot of choices out there, but it's easy because Instant Pot supply exactly what you need to replace the inners.
The Genuine Ceramic Non-Stick Interior Cooking Pot is the best choice for your Instant Pot. No food will stick to it, cooking rice won't cause you a fuss, and cleaning it becomes effortless compared to the stainless steel pot.
