While purchasing a new smart kitchen appliance, the first thing that comes to mind is which one will provide better features and suit your kitchen Air fryer vs instant pot. Both of these smart appliances are designed to make cooking easy with the touch of a button.
But which one do you need? In this article, we will cover some of the main differences between an air fryer and an instant pot and the way they both cook food. So, you can easily choose the one which is best according to your cooking style.
First, let’s compare the way they both cook so you can get the main idea about the difference. and choose the better one for yourself.
Air fryer vs instant pot how do they work?
While both of them will cook food fast and better, there is a lot of difference between their cooking
What is an instant pot?
An instant pot is basically an electric multi-functional pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker steamer, yogurt maker, and warmer It uses water and produces hot steam, which creates pressure inside the cooker to cook your food.
Many products will provide all these basic functions, but the features may vary from price to price or the model you purchase. Some products also come with other functions like the cake maker; sous vide machine, egg maker, and sterilizer.
By buying an extra lid for your pot, you can even use it as an air fryer.
Things you can cook in an instant pot.
With this great appliance, you can cook a variety of foods. Here we will shortlist some famous and awesome dishes you can cook with the instant pot.
- Rice
- Whole roasted chicken
- Baked potatoes
- Steamed veggies
- Yogurt
- soups
- Hard boil eggs
- Cheesecake
- Any dried beans
- stew
- Popcorn
And much more, with this versatile cooking appliance, endless recipes are available that you can try and enjoy. Because it uses hot steam to cook your food, it won’t lose any of its juices and nutrition.
Pros and cons of an instant pot:
Pros:
- It can perform many functions and are more versatile.
- it is perfect for stews, soups, and broth.
- You can cook food without thawing.
- You can cook large servings at once.
- They keep your food warm after cooking.
- Is convertible into an air fryer with an air fryer lid.
Cons:
- They’re bulky and cover too much counter space.
- You can’t get crispy food in an instant pot.
- It can cause burns from hot steam if you are not careful.
- Costly.
What is an air fryer?
An air fryer is basically the healthier version of deep-frying. With the help of a heating element, it blows really hot air around your food and makes it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
And like deep frying, it doesn’t require any oil it can fry your foods with 70% to 90% less oil with the same taste in a healthy manner. It has a basket where you place the food the basket helps in the equal flow of air on all sides of the food. Hence the food cooks more quickly and evenly from all sides.
Some air fryers like instant pots also come with pre-installed cooking programs, which makes cooking a lot easier. Just place the food inside the air fryer, select a preset and leave the rest in the air fryer. And due to their dishwasher-safe accessories and non-stick coating, they are also pretty easy to clean.
Things you can cook in an air fryer.
As it was designed to replace deep fryers air fryers can do much more than just frying. There are a vast variety of dishes you can cook in an air fryer of them including.
- French fries
- Chicken wings
- Steaks
- Salmon
- Whole roast chicken
- Frozen foods
The list may seem small, but the dishes you can cook in an air fryer are much more. Many air fryers may also come with the feature of a dehydrator and even a rotisserie, so you can dehydrate all the fruits and veggies you want or even roast a whole chicken with its rotisserie function.
Pros and cons of an Air fryer:
Pros:
- Low calories
- Best for fried foods
- Best for crispy results
- Time efficient
- Electricity efficient
- Easy to use
- Compact and beautiful design
- Easy to clean
Cons:
- Can’t cook large servings
- Not as versatile compared to an instant pot
- Food can sometimes burn or get dry if not properly used
- They can get pretty noisy
Air fryer vs Instant pot which one is better?
1. More versatility air fryer vs instant pot?
Since the instant pots are electric multi-cookers, they can perform much more functions than an air fryer. You can make different kinds of soups, rice, yogurt, cheesecakes, and beans by purchasing an extra lid for your instant pot you can even use it as an air fryer and fry things.
On these bases, you can say that an instant pot is much more versatile than an air fryer.
2. which one comes at a better price?
On the price comparison of air fryer vs instant pot. Many popular air fryers can range from 70$ to 300$ the price changes with the extra functions or feature the air fryer provides similarly, an instant pot also ranges from 200$ or above.
Based on which product offers more features at the lowest price then the air fryer is surely the winner. There are a lot of best air fryers under 100$ that even offer digital displays and presets.
3. Air fryer vs instant pot which one is easy to use?
Unlike instant pots, the air fryers come with cooking presets with the help of which you can cook just by a touch of a button. And setting time and temperature is also very easy with their control knobs
So, an air fryer is much easier to use than an instant pot.
4. Which one has more safety?
In air fryer vs instant pot, the air fryers may offer much, but something is still missing on the safe side. because a lot of people have reported some major issues while using the air fryer like overheating, burning plastic, smell and taste in your food, and many other electrical errors.
On the other side, instant pots, if used with a little care, are a lot safer.
5. Which one cooks faster air fryer or an instant pot?
Nowadays, many air fryers come with more than one heating element and rapid airflow technology. therefore, the cooking cycle starts almost immediately as soon as you place the food inside. And some air fryers may not require any preheating time, which saves a lot of time. which makes an air fryer better than an instant pot.
On the other hand, the instant pot will first build up pressure inside and then cook your food.
6. Which one cooks healthily?
Air fryers can be great for people who want to lose weight because they use hot air and very little oil to fry food. Oil droplets and hot air makes the food crispy and taste better, but it may lose some of its important nutrients.
Unlike air fryers, instant pots use steam for cooking which keeps all the juices and nutrition locked inside.
7. Which one is more electricity efficient?
Both the appliances are highly energy-efficient and consume very little electricity, but since the air fryer has a faster cooking time which means, they will cook faster hence saving a lot of time and electricity.
Now, which one should you choose air fryer vs an instant pot?
There’s no doubt that both the products are best in their own way you just have to look for what type of food you eat before choosing between air fryer vs instant pot if you want healthy and more variety of food then it is better to go for an instant pot but if you love fried food then choosing an air fryer will be best.
