I’ve owned 5 instant pots in 8+ years, here are the best extra tools

Owning an electric pressure cooker or instant pot, I believe, is a shift in lifestyle. It means I can get a meal done for dinner if I walk into the kitchen at any time of day because I can slow cook or pressure cook and set it to be done whenever I need it. But just like any shift in the way we do things, sometimes there’s a learning curve to use something like a pressure cooker and in this case sometimes a few instant pot accessories and tools make life easier.

I bought my first instant pot sometime in 2015 I think. And since then I have acquired 2 more (swapping a couple out), an extra insert for one of them, and an assortment of instant pot tools. Along the way I have bought one for more than a couple of people and convinced others to buy their own along the way.

So I always get asked what the best instant pot tools, gadgets accessories, and add ons are. That’s because most people quickly realize that pressure cooking is inherently different than most other cooking methods and sometimes needs a few handy tools they may not otherwise have.

First let me say that there are a few things that are just regular kitchen or household items that you may or my not have that make life owning an electric pressure cooker easier. The first that comes to mind is a meat chopper. Whether you’re breaking up clumps of frozen veggies or ground beef that you cooked from frozen, it’s very handy.

Other items like a paint brush or sponge brush help clean out the cracks where the lid fits into place. Nice, thick glass leftover bowls are great to cook using the “pot-in-pot” method and automatically have food already in a leftover container.

Long spatulas are super helpful as well, and plenty of other items that are utilitarian in your kitchen and not just for an instant pot.

Alas, that’s not why we’re here.

Let’s talk about actually using accessories inside of your pressure cooker and things that I have found helpful more often than not.

Silicone Instant Pot lid

Hands down this is my most used instant pot accessory. It helps me to quickly put away meals without having to get another dish dirty. I have it for my 6 quart pot and I also have a second liner for my 6 quart. This makes things pretty easy.

Multiple stainless steel inner pots

I am not sure if you could count a second inner pot as an accessory, but if so, then it would actually be my most-used item. There has actually been a time I was cooking so much I had all three of my instant pots cooking and I was preparing food in the extra liner to swap things out. Super handy to have for those times or for when I have leftovers under the silicone lid in the fridge and still want to cook!

Related: List of the easiest side dishes to make in an Instant Pot

Glass Instant Pot Lid {If you plan to do much slow cooking}

I do a fair amount of slow cooking in my IP. I make bone broth often whether pressure cooked or slow cooked. The glass lid comes in very handy for when I slow cook it or a meal. And, I find that slow cooking in the instant pot transfers smells to the sealing ring more; so this helps it to not stink as much. It’s likewise great for storing in the fridge, it’s just that I like my flat, silicone lid better for that.

Related: 7+ ways to deal with your Instant Pot’s stinky sealing ring

A silicone basket

The trivet that comes with the IP is great, but it’s not practical when it comes to lifting out things like whole chickens, a rack of ribs, or layered pans of veggies.

That’s why I highly recommend getting a silicone basket with your pressure cooker. It doesn’t get hot like the metal so it’s not a pain to pull out when everythign else is piping hot.

Egg Trivet

My mom bought it for me and at first I was a little unsure about it. Would I really need or use it?

But the reality is, it does keep my eggs more stable and you can stack the trivets on top of layers of eggs to do a lot at once. I used to have eggs knowing into each other and accidentally cracking while they were cooking under pressure and jostling around. It’s also been handy for keeping eggs from rolling away during not IP cooking endeavors. But really, if you are hard boiling a lot of eggs, staking these is perfect.

Stacking Metal Inserts

I have had these for years! And the Instant pot came out with their own version, which I again snatched up to see if I liked it better. I would say that they are pretty close. I do like the metal Instant Pot brand container that has the bottom plate pop up. I made my husband a fresh lemon curd tart with it.

Related: How to make Instant Pot Tuscan Tortellini that will make you dream of Italy

Other instant pot tools I own or don’t use in my instant pot as regularly

I do have a steamer basket accessory or two and even a little stainless steel insert that has more coverage than the wire one that is sent with the pressure cooker. I like both of them a lot but the truth is I don’t use them much. You might.

The trivets I purchased definitely see more use than the one that came in the instant pot box. And as far as things like the steamer, I just prefer cooking side dish veggies on the stove unless my stove is otherwise occupied. The mitts I also found to be more clunky than my normal oven mitts. Pictured below are a few of such tools on Amazon:

And just so you know, I did try the air fryer lid. It worked just fine, but I simply found that it wasn’t right for my family.

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