Do you like Instant Pots and multi cookers? Do you like air fryers? I'm a definite yes to both questions, with an Instant Pot Pro on one kitchen counter and a Sage Smart Oven Air Fryer on the other. Wouldn't it be great if I could combine the two into one do-everything kitchen device? With the new Instant Pot Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid, I could. If you're as mad about cooking tech as I am, this is a really big deal.
This isn't the first Instant Pot that's also an air fryer. That's the Instant Pot Duo Crisp + Air Fryer, which we gave the full five stars. But this is the first air frying Instant Pot that only has one lid. With other models, you've needed to store one and use one. Not any more.
What's different about the Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid Air Fryer?
This time, the Instant Pot lid is a 2-in-1. Use it normally and you've got an Instant Pot with all the soup-making, stew-simmering, veg-sauteing, rice cooking prowess of any other Instant Pot. But now there's a removable bit that turns the same lid into an air fryer lid so you can do the fun stuff in a slightly healthier way.
It's also much cheaper than using the oven or the hob, which is one of the reasons why smart kitchen appliances such as Instant Pots and air fryers are selling out everwhere. Instant Brands says you can save about 80% on your energy usage by using this instead of your oven, and that sounds pretty achievable to me: when you air fry you cook much less, and the Instant Pot air fryer warms up much faster than my built-in oven does.
I reckon this is the perfect gadget for my kitchen, and with an RRP of £229 and a current price of £199 it's not hugely expensive by air frying standards – and it's only £20 more than the 8L Instant Pot Pro. It's worth pointing out that it's a bit smaller than the largest Instant Pot Pro, though: that's available as a 5.7L or an 8L model, whereas this one is only available as a 6L model. But unless you're planning to Instant Pot a huge turkey, 6L is more than big enough for pretty much anything you might want to cook – even for the whole family.
