The Instant Pot Pro Plus 5.7L is a handy multi-cooker that is sure to expand your cooking potential. Pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, and so much more, this cooker is WiFi connected, providing you access to plenty of recipes and giving you control remotely (always a bonus with releasing steam, I figure!).
I’ve been putting it through its paces, and, admittedly, I’ve only just started to scratch the surface. But, if you’re in need of a multi-cooker, and you have plenty of mouths to feed, this could be one appliance you should seriously consider.
The Instant Pot Pro Plus 5.7L Multi-cooker can make life easy
So, hi, it’s been a while since I’ve been here. Since my mum passed away a year ago, for whom I had performed caring duties, there’s been a lot of changes and readjusting. One of those big changes was cooking for one, especially after a long day at work.
After a recent disaster that saw me literally burn water (note to self: if you’re working from home, don’t put water on to boil and go back to meetings), Kevin suggested I give the Instant Pot Pro Plus 5.7L Multi-cooker a go.
Now, this thing can do a hell of a lot. Basically everything but an air fryer, this multi-cooker is going to give you a range of tools in one (admittedly hefty-sized) package. That said, for me, as an individual (also with limited freezer space so can’t meal prep too much), it may not be so great mainly due to the amount of food you can (and would normally) cook in this. But if you are a family, look no further.
The Set Up
Pull it out the box. Give it a wash. Throw it on a stable surface (I put it on a stone pot holder, but it doesn’t seem to get hot on the outside that would cause any issues to benchtops). And run the initial test runs with a bit of water.
If you want, you can pair with the Instant Brands Connect App. It’s one of the most simple pairing processes I’ve been through.
But just how smart is the device? Well, through the app, you can control it remotely (you know, from the couch if you’re lazy, or from work), or follow along a whole bunch of recipes, which also features a “turn it on to this mode now” through the app.
But you can simply press the ‘buttons’ on the control panel on the actual multi-cooker to run it.
One of the great features of the app, though, is the recipes. But, you don’t need to use the recipes through the app. It’s definitely a handy ‘cook book’ resource, though, providing you suggestions on ingredients or cooking techniques and giving you the range of timings and settings for basics through to more complex meals.
Cooking a few basics
Rice cooker? Yup, it does that. For me, probably a bit much normally, but I did use it to cook some rice I used for fried rice for a family dinner. Add rice, add water, use the rice setting, and it’s that easy. Fold about, perfect rice.
Steaming vegetables like carrots? Easily done with the steam setting and the rack (pictured above).
Potatoes? Yup, simple, too. Score some potatoes, throw ‘em on the rack in the pot, and put in 240ml of water. Pressure cook for 15 minutes, bam, delicious potatoes. Just don’t use too large a potato without increasing your cooking time.
But, my favourite? Boiled eggs. Place your eggs on the rack in the pot, 240ml of water, and pressure cook on low for 3-5 minutes (depending on your preference between soft or hard boiled), and release the pressure. Perfect, every time.
A delicious corned beef in the Instant Pot Pro Plus 5.7 Multi-Cooker
I love some corned beef (or silverside). It is something my Mum used to make and it’s definitely a comfort food. Now, there is a recipe or two in the App that uses only a little liquid in the pot and, well, you should probably follow (for reasons I’ll explain a bit below). But, I read up on pressure cooking in an alternate method which involved submersing the corned beef completely, which is more how Mum used to cook it. Submersing it with the added ingredients helps draw out salt from the meat and instill some other flavours. As such, I took the full submersion approach with mum’s ‘recipe’ (which isn’t really unique, but is just what is homely for me).
The pot has plenty of room to add all the ingredients and cook a decent size of meat fully submersed. Press a few buttons and pressure cook away. What used to take me 8 hours on stove top was done in 70 minutes. It was beautifully flavoured, mellow, tender and melt in your mouth comfort food as winter started to creep in.
HOWEVER, this where I came undone. Forging my own path and doing a fully submersed method resulted in a lot more heat and pressure in the pot. And, what I was expecting for a 15 minute steam release was actually 45-60+ minutes. This, naturally, threw my timing out completely with my mash potato and vegies (which wound up being almost an entrée while waiting to get access to the beef!) all because of that red lock… Just something to be wary of if you aren’t following guides — pressure release can definitely take a while at times. But, I am new to pressure cookers, so, make mistakes and learn for next time!
To date, though, it brings me my only item on the wishlist of improvements. It’d be great if there was an estimated time on how long until the pressure release would be complete, so you could time other things around your meal. Perhaps in a later model they can add something like this.
(Also, not including a photo of the finished meal because, well, it’s corned meat and mash — plus, the delays meant it wasn’t served at the same time.)
Quick Spaghetti and Meatballs
On a time crunch? Using the Instant Brands Connect App with the Instant Pot Pro Plus 5.7 Multi-Cooker can help with that.
I know I’ve definitely been using pressure cooking more than slow cooking, but, well, it’s quick and easy.
I had some friends pop around, and it was close to dinner. Thought, why not? Following the app, we made meatballs in no time. 500g of mince, an egg, some seasoned bread crumbs, garlic and herbs, and a bottle of pasta sauce, and some pasta, and we were eating within half hour.
Mixed all the ingredients (except the sauce) together in a bowl and made some meatballs. Threw the pasta sauce into the pot. Added the meatballs and stirred carefully to coat and soak. Pressure cooked for 8 minutes and released. As it was pressure cooking, pasta was cooked. And, done. Easy dinner.
Something a little savoury
I also made some savoury mince in the Instant Pot Pro Plus 5.7 Multi-Cooker, which were later turned into homemade pies. Again, this made it all simple (and quick).
I prepped my ingredients, and then I used the sauté feature to brown off my onion and then threw in my celery and carrot to soften. Pulled them out and again used the sauté feature to brown my mince. Then I simply threw in the rest of my ingredients (except the flour) and put it on pressure cook on high for 10 minutes, then released, added the flour, stirred about, and just kept on heat until the right consistency. With the ability to sauté in the pot before you put to pressure cook or slow cook, this adds just that nice versatility, which saves you using another fry pan to do things before starting the pressure cooking process.
Slow Cooking
Look, you can slow cook in this thing a whole range of things! (Check the app). Curries and stroganoff and, well, anything you can slow cook.
But, without going into detail, I’m going to just leave this here…
When I say slow cooked, I mean seven and a half hours.
When I say whisky bacon-onion jam, oh, you better believe it.
Recipe is in the app. I just added a decent splash of whisky on top.
Yup.
Forgot to take photos. Didn’t last long enough.
Cleaning the Instant Pot Pro Plus 5.7L Multi-Cooker
This thing is a breeze to clean. As always, definitely have a read of your instructions. But, let me boil it down (see what I did there?).
The inner pot lifts out and can be thrown in the sink or dishwasher. The steam rack is the same. And even the lid is dishwasher safe in the top rack.
That lid? The inner-rim seal pulls out easily for cleaning. Just make sure you put it back in, or your next pressure-cook won’t be so pressurised and you’ll vent all the water out of your pot and cause a ‘food burn’ warning (uh, not that I burned water again…). You can easily pull apart the steam release assembly, the anti-block shield (inside the lid and the quick cool protective colour on the lid. If needed to eliminate any lingering odours, you can throw a cup of water and a cup of white vinegar into the pot and run on pressure cook for 5-10 minutes and then quick release the pressure to clean out the whole venting system.
Simple.
Overall Thoughts
For me, as an individual, am I going to use this a lot? Maybe not. But, if I have company coming over (or later when I have more freezer space with the ability to meal plan a bit), this is a great tool that will definitely continue to be used to produce a whole range of delicious meals. And I do love slow cooking a ragu Bolognese sauce. And, honestly, as overkill as it seems, boiling eggs in this thing is a breeze and it does them perfectly.
Now, if you’re a family, this thing is a beast. Especially for the busy world. Throw on a slow cook in the morning and come home to delicious food. Or follow some instructions, pressure cook the hell out of something, and get something delicious in a fraction of the time that it would take if you were to cook it the ‘normal’ way.
Definitely recommend. You can pick one up over at Amazon (using our affiliate link will help a little, so please consider!), but also Myer and a few other handy places.
