Instant Pot Pro Plus review: connected cooking

This smart Bluetooth-enabled electric pressure cooker comes with 10 functions, including sautéing, slow cooking, steaming and yogurt making

T3 Platinum Award
Instant Pot Pro Plus
(Image credit: Instant Brands)
T3 Verdict

The Instant Pot Pro Plus is a feature-rich and highly functional electric pressure cooker perfect for the tech-loving home cook.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Bluetooth compatible

  • +

    Easy to use touch screen

  • +

    10 built-in cooking functions

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Only available one size

  • -

    No crisping lid included (the model is compatible with the Instant air fryer lid)

Why you can trust T3 Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Instant Pot is the leading name is the pressure cooker space, with a cult following and entire food blogs dedicated to the brand. So it’s no surprise that its newest electric pressure cooker model, the Instant Pot Pro Plus is one of the best Instant Pot multi-cookers on the market. 

This pressure cooker is a step up from other models, thanks to flashy features like a compatible smartphone app, 16 one-touch cooking programs, an anti-spin cooking pot with handles, and a sleek touchscreen control panel. If you’re on the market to upgrade your pressure cooker or want a top-of-the-line appliance for your first foray into the world of Instant Pot cooking, the Pro Plus is a smart choice. 

Instant Pot Pro Plus review: price and availability

The six-quart Instant Pro Plus Multi Cooker costs $170 in the US. It is not yet available in the UK or Australia. 

Instant Pot Pro Plus

(Image credit: Instant Brands)

Instant Pot Pro Plus review: design 

The Instant Pot Pro Plus has a similar shape and size to its cousins in the Instant Brand family. The machine is a squat cylindrical electrical house for the interior stainless steel pot with a heavy-duty twist-on lid. However, the Pro Plus has some handy design upgrades you won’t find on earlier Instant Pot models. 

First, the all-digital touchscreen is a flashy addition that gives the appliance a sleek, futuristic look. True to form for Instant Pots, there are plenty of buttons and a lot of information on the display. Each of the primary cooking functions has its own button. In addition, you can control the style of steam release (natural, puff or quick), as well as toggle on and off the NutriBoost function from the touch screen. All of these options are also available on your smartphone if you connect to the Instant Pot via Bluetooth. 

The inner pressure cooking pot, where the cooking happens, has extended handles on either side that make the pot easy to grab and prevent it from spinning inside the housing. The handles also have stay-cool plastic covers to protect your hands. 

The Instant Pot lid also has some innovative design features that make pressure cooking even more hands-off and safer. On earlier Instant Pot models, you are in charge of the venting. At the end of pressure cooking, you had to manually flip a switch to release the steam, which could be a dangerous task if your wrist got in the way of the extremely hot, pressurized air rushing out of the machine. 

The Pro Plus steam release is controlled on the touch screen or your phone. The vent has a plastic cover that prevents hot steam from releasing too quickly and even offers a pulse steam release option, which is handy for cooking dishes that produce starchy foam, like pasta. 

Instant Pot Pro Plus

(Image credit: Instant Brands)

Instant Pot Pro Plus review: functionality

This Instant Pot has 10 primary cooking functions, many of which are useful for home cooks. They are: Pressure cooking, slow cooking, rice cooking, seaming, sautéing, yogurt making, food warming, canning, sous vide and NutriBoost. 

The lengthy list of functionality paired with the handy smartphone app makes this one of the easiest to use Instant Pot pressure cookers. The app catalogs over 800 recipes and allows you to control the appliance from the other room, so you can rest assured that dinner will take care of itself. 

Instant Pot Pro Plus review: performance

I tested multiple functions on the Pro Plus, including pressure cooking and slow cooking. As I expected based on previous experiences with Instant Pot machines, the appliance is highly reliable at pressure cooking. In one of my tests, I made one-pot pureed cauliflower soup that took less than 30 minutes. 

I first steamed cauliflower florets with a bit of chicken broth for 8 minutes at high pressure. The machine has a progress bar that indicates preheating, cooking and keeping warm, so you easily keep track of the process and plan the rest of your meal prep accordingly.

Because I set the steam release to quick, I didn’t even have to be around when the cook time ended. The machine did its thing to release the pressure. When I removed the lid, the cauliflower was totally tender and ready for pureeing.

When I finished making the soup, I kept dinner warm right in the pot and served up hot bowls a half hour later. The soup was good, but the best part was how few dishes we had to clean after eating.  

Instant Pot Pro Plus review: verdict

The newest electric pressure cooker from Instant Brands is an all-around winner. While it’s not the cheapest on the market, the ease of use, multi-functionality and smartphone compatibility make it one of the best options for the home. If you’re someone who loves a multi-use appliance but doesn’t want to get bogged down in the complexity, the smooth functionality and user-friendly design of Pro Plus makes it easy to get the most out of your electric pressure cooker. 

Instant Pot Pro Plus review: also consider

If the six-quart pressure cooker is larger than you need or can store in your kitchen, the three-quart Instant Pot Duo is a more compact option that’s also easier on the wallet (but not as feature-rich). 

Or, for a pressure cooker that does it all, the Ninja Foodi adds air frying to its list of cooking functions (in addition to steaming and pressure cooking). The price is nearly double but you’re getting two devices in one here. 

Lizzy Briskin

Lizzy Briskin is a food and health writer and editor, chef, runner, recipe developer, and photographer. She regularly contributes to Runner’s World, Popular Mechanics, Insider, and the Chicago Tribune, among other outlets. A Boston native, she now lives in New York, where she can be found exploring, tasting and enjoying all that the city has to offer, that is when she’s not chasing the sun in Los Angeles.