Instant Pot - Vortex 6QT

Getting a pull-out style with a ceramic dishwasher safe basket is the way to go. I have a teflon coated one that isn’t that difficult to clean. Still, using disposable parchment paper liners save a lot of time. The oven style just has many more places that crumbs and oils can gather, whereas the basket is only cooking food in… well the basket.

I’ve had the Instant Pot Vortex 6qt for almost 5 years. It’s not much effort at all to clean. Usually a single half sheet paper towel is enough after 10-15 minutes of cooling off. Usually all there is a little oil and some crumbs. If you’re going to be fully cooking meat there might be a little more cleaning, but shouldn’t need much effort. Spraying it down in the sink and wiping with a soapy sponge or rag will work fine.

It’s one of the better ones I’ve had outside of an original vortex when the instapot stuff was made in Canada.

Instant Vortex 6 qt. I have cooked a whole chicken, wings, and they have come out delicious. They also excel at reheating frozen foods. A comment above also reminded me that my MIL was so excited to get an air fryer and she did not believe me that her CONVECTION OVEN already did the same thing 🙄She also doesn’t understand how the thanksgiving turkey gets done so much faster when I do it (I use the convection oven)

It's a small convection oven and you can have mine when you pry it from my cold, dead hands. My regular oven does not have convection (I'm one of the poors with one of those ghettoass stoves with the broiler on the bottom), so having my air fryer (instant vortex 6 qt) has been a major quality of life improvement. About the only thing I use my microwave for now is to reheat my meal preps. Anything frozen that can fit in there, gets cooked in there. And it makes some great chicken wings too.

I’ve had the Instant Vortex 6 Quart for years and it’s worked great, but recently the price changes haven’t made it worth it anymore imo. I would recommend the ninja brand, if you’re on a budget the 4 quart is on sale on Amazon right now I believe. If you’re not on a budget the dual basket model could be your friend

I've been using the Instant Vortex 6qt since Nov 2022 and it's awesome. I use it a few times a week at least. Several months in i dropped the basket onto concrete and the handle broke. When i contacted Vortex to find out where i could buy another one they sent me a new basket for free.

I like my InstantPot Vortex 6qt basket. 7 different functions. I use it nearly daily.

I have a 6 quart basket style vortex from instant pot. It is the perfect size for one or two people. I have never had a problem with food coming out “dry“ as long as I’ve prepped it properly. One of the things that I probably cook the most are chicken thighs (bone in skin on). The only prep I do with that is to season them before putting them in. When I cook pork, I do pork loin and sometimes brine it first. I love doing steak bites in mine. One of the things I find the basket style perfect for is “baking sheet meals“. But I also do veggies, potatoes, desserts. I don’t recall ever having a problem with the food being dry.

I have an IP Vortex 6-qt basket. About 5 years old I think. I use it for salmon, pork, beef, and especially chicken. I bought it specifically for chicken, and the good news is that it works for so many other things, as well. I use garlic salt on bone-in, skin on chicken thighs with the roast feature at 3:50° for 25 minutes. I throw in a couple of small red skin potatoes with the chicken, and if I’m having a root vegetable, I throw those in as well. I do not turn or flip the meat. The air fryer is a convection oven with good airflow and the meat gets cooked. If I’m doing asparagus or summer squash, I prep them while the chicken cooks and then those cook in the five to ten minutes while the chicken rests before eating. Brussel sprouts I time a little differently. For salmon, mahi-mahi, swordfish, etc. I also use the roast function and may (or may not) flip the meat during the cooking process. I have done pork loin and tenderloin in the air fryer, but have discovered that I prefer pork bites more than just the loin, or tenderloin. I use a smoked salt on the meat about an hour before cooking. I cook the bites in a mesh basket, spray them with a little bit of oil before cooking. I use the air fryer setting. I do something similar for steak bites . This is purely my preference. I have cooked sausage and peppers in the air fryer with excellent results. The sausage isn’t the healthiest of choices, but I feel it’s offset by the peppers, onion, and garlic. I also use my air fryer for desserts. Using it as an oven. Mine has a “bake“ feature. I mix up a batch of cookie dough, I have a small 4 1/2 inch cast-iron cookie skillet. I bake one cookie at a time which allows me portion control. It is a large cookie. I have also used my air fryer to make fruit, crisp, bread, pudding, pumpkin, custard, all in individual ramekins. I have pretty much not used my oven and barely my stove top since getting my air fryer and coupling that with my IP pressure cooker for soups, stews, chili, etc. I still use my stove top and my toaster. I use my microwave/convection oven for some things, but not as many as I used to.

The Instant Pot Vortex won the ATK comparison. I bought one on that recommendation, but bought two sets of pot grabbers like you take camping to retrieve the disposable aluminum dishes I use for freezing meal preps.

ATK= America's Test Kitchen. I'll see what I can find on pot grabbers. Stay tuned. I have the six quart Instant Vortex. I did have the air fryer adapter for my six quart instant pot, but it was way too small for two of us. If you're cooking for more than two people, I would get an eight quart.

You could get a very fancy rice cooker for several hundred. Goodwill is full of basic ones that just click on. I've cooked curry in these ones. It shuts off automatically. I'd recommend one of these and if you really want to invest in something better after using a goodwill one after awhile you. For more rice cooker recipes there's a reddit community too. For an airfryer I like the Instant brand. I think mine is 6 quart and I can get a pound of chicken in there. I love it and cook a lot in it. It doesn't heat my house up the way the oven does.

Kettle: Xiaomi We've had ours for 2 years, used everyday. No issues. Airfryer: Instantpot Vortex Used regularly for months now, works great. I like the oven style and tray vs basket style because easier to clean. I just pop the trays in a dishwasher along with the dishes. It also automatically preheats and dings to remind you the preheating is done.