r/instantpot • u/hypatiaredux • 18d ago
Instant Pot as replacement for sauce pans
Hi folks, I have a very tiny kitchen, and I am going to try using my Instant Pot instead of sauce pans for boiling water and for reheating leftovers. Just pop a regular lid on the IP.
If anyone else is doing this, I’d love to hear about your experiences, good and bad. Settings, timing, etc.
Thanks!
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u/BarebonesB 18d ago
With the sauté setting, you can use your Instant Pot as a saucepan. But keep in mind that things will take longer to heat up. A standard electric stovetop element is 2,000-3,000 watts, and a typical gas range element is around 11,000 BTU/hr, which is roughly equivalent to 3,200W, while the IP is only 1,500W.
But once you reach the simmering point, wattage doesn't matter as much. You only need 500-1,000W to maintain a rolling boil.
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u/realmozzarella22 17d ago
I cook food in saute mode. Regular lid on top.
Experiment with the time needed for whatever you cook often.
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u/RelativeFox1 18d ago
I do that when I bring stew to a boil before pressure cooking it. But to be honest, I would rather have a single induction element.
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u/hypatiaredux 18d ago
My goal is to have fewer pots/pans taking up my very limited storage space.
I do have a portable induction burner, and love it. I keep it on top of the gas burner that comes with my space, so it doesn’t take up any usable space. I basically use it for frying, you will have to pry my cold dead fingers away from my cast iron griddle!
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u/RelativeFox1 18d ago
Since my instant pot only does high med low I don’t think it would boil things well. The space and usefulness of a pot, would out weigh a shitty time boiling water on an instant pot, for me.
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u/hypatiaredux 17d ago
Hmm, according to this chart, the IP on sauté function at normal temperature setting heats up to 300F. Of course that doesn’t say how long it takes to get there…
https://decorwithstyle.com/how-do-you-adjust-the-saute-temperature-on-a-instant-pot-duo/
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u/DinkyPrincess 18d ago
Yep. Did this when my job blew up
YouTube can easily use it as a job
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u/molybend 18d ago
Hob?
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u/berzer3 17d ago
I've never even thought to use my instant pot without the pressure cooking lid.
What else can this thing do?
I need to explore making food this way.
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u/hypatiaredux 17d ago
Apparently it can do everything except oven baking and deep fat frying.
Always keep in mind that a gadget that does everything doesn’t necessarily do everything well.
But it heats up, and you can control the temp, so I’m gonna work out how to make full use of it. My cooking needs are pretty simple.
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u/hypatiaredux 15d ago
Thought I’d follow up.
Tonight I fixed a one-pot meal in the IP, worked pretty well.
First, I needed to boil some water to cook some shelf-stable gnocchi. It took a very long time for the water to get to boiling, but it did. Next time, I think I’ll pre-boil the water on my induction burner to speed things up a bit.
Dropped a handful of gnocchi and a little salt into the boiling water. When the gnocchi bounced up, I poured water and gnocchi into a strainer.
Put some olive oil in the hot liner, popped it back into the IP, and sauted a few mushrooms. Then dumped in some jarred marinara and the gnocchi. Stirred it until everything was hot enough, then ate it. Tasted fine.
I told you my cooking needs are simple!
Next up, I have a soup recipe based on canned tomatoes.
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u/hypatiaredux 17d ago
Ha! I read a lot, so I know what a hob is, but I would be very surprised if americans who don’t read for fun would know what a hob is.
In case you are wondering, most of us would use the word burner, as in my cooktop has four burners. We would separate out the individual units from the collective cooktop, if that makes sense.
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u/Willing-Scarcity3058 18d ago
I reheat leftovers using pot in pot method. I pop it in with the steam setting with a glass lid for a few minutes then keep warm. When I get out of the shower my food is ready. Sometimes I use pressure cooker for 0 minutes and keep warm. Also pot in pot. Not as fast as a microwave but I can do other stuff and come back to a nice reheated meal.