We are looking at a multi cooker (instant pot, ninja) primarily to make meals easier/ faster. In your experience do multi cookers actually help with this or do they become a forgotten appliance after a few uses?

I use my Instant Pot all the time.  I really like using it to steam leftovers.

My wife bought a mac-daddy InstaPot and the few times we used it, the food (meat) came out rubbery.  We thought it would make cooking quicker, but in reality, it doesn't.  Maybe I am just an old school idiot, but I cook a lot and have yet to have any true success using them.  My friends rave about them, but when you eat what they brag about, I wonder if they just don't have high standards for food.

I think it comes down to personal preference and technique.  I'm willing to bet if you get one and dedicate your time to using it and learning on it, it will probably serve its purpose.  But for me, I have a $180 ornament sitting on top of my fridge collecting dust.  Haven't used it in years.  I see way too many kitchen gadgets that just take up counterspace and add one more thing to clean when cooking.  If you have room to store one, go for it.  You may have better luck than I did.

I use my Ninja at least once a week, usually twice a week.  Usually in air-fryer mode but the pressure cooker function makes beans, chili and stews much faster than on the stovetop.

This

I had one, and it was not as great as I hoped. Every "easy 20 minute meal" included 20 minutes of warm up and 20 minutes of cool down/depressurize time. That's an hour by GJ351's math. I can cook chicken in the oven in an hour - or in 15 minutes in a pan.

Also, no matter how much I scrubbed, soaked, or otherwise tried to clean the damned thing, it still smelled like food. I couldn't get past thinking it can't be clean if it still smells like things I've cooked in the past. I gave up on it and gave it away. I can cook whatever I need on the stove or in the oven more easily, with confidence that my cookware is clean.

We use ours a lot.  Definitely speeds up cooking in some cases and clears space on the stove when you're cooking a bunch of stuff.

You can pretty much do anything you'd do in a slow cooker but faster.  we have some regulars:

easy chicken verde
hard boiled eggs
pot roast if time is tight
kalua pork and cabbage
collard greens

We have one and it is great for certain things. Basically, wet foods.

Chilis, stews, curries, etc. when you'd rather not have it cooking and smelling up the house for hours at a time. Downside is you occasionally have things stick to the bottom and burn and won't find out until it's too late (sometimes it'll trigger the burn sensor, sometimes not).

As mentioned above, there's nothing really "instant" about it. It takes time to pressurize and depressurize, cleaning the vents and gaskets doesn't always remove the smells, and even the sear function for putting a bit of texture on meats doesn't really work so well in a deep pot that doesn't get quite hot enough.

It hasn't earned a spot on the counter with the rice cooker and toaster oven.

agree on the curry.  I use this recipe as a base:  https://twosleevers.com/instant-pot-butter-chicken/

I have two Instant Pots, one has the air fryer attachment.  I use them so often, that one remains on the counter top and never gets put away.  

If you do hard boiled eggs and baked potatoes, these are worth it for that alone.  Air frying wings puts it right over the top for being a necessary tool.  

Steaming vegetables is stupidly easy.

These use induction to transfer heat in the standard mode, in case you need that level of feels for the design.


Making bone broth/stock is an effortless hands off operation, no fluid loss like with boiling and simmering.

I used to use it for all kinds of things from borscht to sweet and sour chicken.   After awhile, I quit using it for most things.  But it is still my go-to for chicken noodle soup (best in the world according to my wife), hard and soft boiled eggs, and butter chicken.

Sooo... I'm not saying I'm doing it the best way, but I prefer to reduce stock down. I usually boil up 2 chicken carcasses at a time to make stock, and the amount of water needed to cover all that makes for a fairly weak stock. It's better when reduced down.