One pot instead of four pans: choosing an electric pressure cooker
Electric pressure cookers under €200
An electric pressure cooker is a sealed pot with a heating element under it and a small computer in front. Steam pushes the boiling point above one hundred degrees, so a stew that needs two hours on the hob is ready in thirty minutes, and dried beans stop being a weekend project. All cookers on the shelf do that much. The differences start once the lid is unlocked: slow cooking, browning, rice, yogurt, sous vide, sterilising jars.
That list of extras is where the money goes, and where buyers guess wrong. Cookers promising fourteen functions and cookers promising seven often hold the same size of pot, a heating element of the same class and the same rubber sealing ring. What changed is the software and the panel above it. A few of those programmes really do replace another appliance on the worktop. Others only set a temperature you could have dialled in by hand.
This electric pressure cooker comparison takes four cookers sold across the European Amazon stores: the Crockpot Turbo Express with fourteen presets and a turbo setting, two Instant Pot multicookers — one plain, one connected to Wi-Fi by app — and a NutriChef newcomer that puts a release button where a hot valve usually sits. All four belong to the same class rather than to different budgets: in most stores each one stays under $210, and the group sits near $150. Full specifications and the price in every store are in the cards.
Models in this comparison
Typical price across these models: about €137. Rough figures from store prices converted at fixed rates: what you pay also depends on the store and the region you order from. With our browser extension you can compare every Amazon store at once, right on the product page.
Crockpot Turbo Express, the cooker with fourteen functions
The Turbo Express is the widest function list of these four cookers. Crockpot rates this pressure cooker at 5.6 litres and six portions, and drives it with 1,400 watts, the highest figure here. The presets cover the food people actually put in a pressure cooker: meat, soup, rice and cereals, beans, yogurt and desserts. Beyond the sealed programmes this cooker also slow cooks, steams, sautés, boils, sterilises and runs sous vide at a temperature you set yourself. The turbo option is the headline claim, and Crockpot puts it at forty per cent faster than the standard setting.
Two details matter in daily use. The steam release knob sits on the side of the lid instead of on top, which keeps fingers out of the rising jet. The digital panel uses push buttons and a heating status bar, so the display tells you when the cooker has come up to pressure rather than leaving you to guess. Removable parts are dishwasher safe, the body is metal, the warranty runs two years, and the cooker weighs 5.8 kilograms in a footprint of roughly 34 by 31 centimetres. In Amazon's own chart of electric multi-cookers the Turbo Express holds sixth place. This cooker suits a household that cooks in batches and wants the long, slow programmes as well as the fast ones. Anyone with a narrow worktop should measure before ordering.
Crock-pot TURBO Express MultiCooker 5.6l, 6 Persons, Programmable, 14 Pre-Set Functions, Pressure Cooker, Steam, Slow Cooker, Sous Vide, Boiling, Sterilization, Yogurt, 1400 W, Silver
ASIN: B09CZ41892
- ✓Fourteen preset functions, from pressure and steam to slow cooking, sous vide and sterilising
- ✓Turbo setting that Crockpot says finishes a meal 40 per cent faster
- ✓Steam release knob on the side of the lid, so your hand stays away from the jet
- ✓1,400 W, the strongest heating element in this group of four
- Capacity
- 5.6 litres
- Power
- 1,400 W
- Functions
- 14 presets
- Controls
- Digital push-button panel
- Size (W × D × H)
- 34 × 31 × 31 cm
- Weight
- 5.8 kg
The praise for this pressure cooker is consistent and slightly thin. Behind the average score sit a few hundred ratings, but only seven reviews from the past year, so the evidence is narrower than the star figure suggests. Owners call the pressure cooker useful and easy to handle, and several say the number of dishes it covers is the reason the cooker stays on the worktop. One buyer who has had the cooker for more than a year names long preparations as its strongest side and cooks pulled pork in it. Another describes batch cooking for the week becoming far less of a chore.
One complaint repeats clearly enough to act on: the cooker is bulky. An owner who uses the cooker constantly still advises buying a smaller capacity, because 5.6 litres takes real space in a kitchen. Nothing in the recent reviews points at a fault in the pressure system itself, which is more than can be said for one of the cookers below.
Pros
- Fourteen presets plus manual sous vide, so most one-pot recipes have a matching setting
- The most powerful element here, which shortens the wait before pressure builds
- Side-mounted release knob keeps hands away from the steam
- Strong on long, slow dishes as well as fast ones
- Dishwasher-safe removable parts and a two-year warranty
Cons
- Bulky on the worktop for a household of one or two
- Fewer recent reviews than the alternatives, so less evidence to lean on
- No app or remote control, unlike the connected cooker here
- Fourteen presets take some reading before the first meal
Electric pressure cooker functions: how many do you need
Count the programmes you will cook with on a normal Tuesday, not the ones printed on the box. Four of them carry almost every recipe pressure cookers are bought for: sealed pressure, sauté for browning meat before the lid goes on, slow cooking for the evenings when you are out, and steam for vegetables and fish. All four cookers here do all four things. Everything above that line is worth money only if it saves you another appliance or another pan.
The reviews show how differently people draw that line. One Instant Pot owner says plainly that she needs pressure, sauté and steam and nothing else. Another cooks dough and ferments in the low-temperature setting, which is not what the manual advertises. Sterilising baby bottles and jars comes up as a real reason to buy. Yogurt, by contrast, is a programme many owners never touch. Sous vide sits in between: two cookers here offer it, and it earns its place only if you already cook that way.
Power and litres deserve a second look while you count. The Crockpot draws 1,400 watts and the other three cookers 1,000, and that gap shows up as waiting time before the cooker seals, not as better food. Capacity across these cookers runs from 5.3 to 5.7 litres, which the makers translate as six servings, though owners cooking for two or three people find that size generous. A multicooker for a family of four or more is the same purchase with the pot filled closer to the line, not a different cooker.
Instant Pot 7-in-1, pressure cooking without the extras
The seven-function Instant Pot has the shortest list of these cookers: pressure, slow cooking, browning, steaming, eggs, yogurt and keep warm. Instant Pot claims meals up to seventy per cent faster than the usual method, with risotto in six minutes and pasta in five. The lid is described as leak-proof and the steam release as a switch rather than a valve. The inner pot is stainless steel, and pot, lid and accessories go in the dishwasher. Controls are push buttons, with no screen to learn and no app to install. At 5 kilograms this is the lightest cooker here, and the lowest at 25.6 centimetres, which matters under a wall cupboard.
Owners describe a fast, quiet cooker that is simple to clean. Browning food in the same pot before sealing it comes up repeatedly as the habit that saves washing up. One buyer chose this pressure cooker over the smaller Instant Pot for the extra capacity and a steam vent she finds safer for fingers. Several call this cooker the right size for two or three people, with some dishes stretching to four. Two warnings are worth carrying to the checkout. The cable is fixed and cannot be tucked inside for storage. And the water level really is the key setting: one owner explains that with too little water the cooker vents as soon as it seals, which is a safety system rather than a fault, and that recipes written for six litre cookers need adjusting. One unit arrived unable to hold pressure and was replaced without trouble. Buyers also disagree about the paperwork, since one found a useful manual in the box and another had to look up recipes online.
Instant Pot Multicooker 5.7L 7-in-1 Pressure Cooker, Steamer, Brushed Stainless Steel Food Warmer, Suitable for Cooking Rice, Soup, Vegetables and Slow Cooker Yogurt, Salt White
ASIN: B0DX2MKJSR
- ✓Seven functions and nothing to configure: pressure, slow cooking, browning, steam, eggs, yogurt, keep warm
- ✓Instant Pot claims meals up to 70 per cent faster, with pasta in about five minutes
- ✓Leak-proof lid and a steam release switch instead of a valve
- ✓Stainless steel inner pot, lid and accessories are dishwasher safe
- Capacity
- 5.7 litres
- Power
- 1,000 W
- Functions
- 7
- Controls
- Push buttons
- Size (W × D × H)
- 31.8 × 35.1 × 25.6 cm
- Weight
- 5 kg
Pros
- Reaches temperature quickly, in several owner reports
- Sauté in the same pot, so only one pan gets dirty
- The lowest and lightest cooker here, easy to store
- Steam vent that owners find kinder to fingers than a valve
- Pot, lid and accessories go in the dishwasher
Cons
- Only seven functions: no sous vide, no sterilising
- Fixed cable that cannot be tucked inside the pot
- No recipe booklet in some boxes
- Bigger on the worktop than buyers expect from the photos
Instant Pot Plus 9-in-1, Wi-Fi, sous vide and a split record
The Plus adds two programmes and a radio. Nine functions include rice, sous vide and sterilising, and the Instant Connect app is meant to start and watch the cooker from another room. Instant Pot puts the saving at up to eighty per cent against an electric oven and the time saving at up to seventy per cent. This cooker locks under a sealing lid, holds 5.7 litres and the same 1,000 watts as its plainer sibling, and the inner pot has silicone-covered handles.
Happy owners are genuinely happy. One owner has cooked with this pressure cooker almost daily for months and calls it the most useful appliance in the kitchen, with fewer pans to wash. A detailed review lists pressure, sauté, low temperature, rice and yogurt modes, praises the delayed start and the keep-warm setting, notes that the display switches language and temperature units, and singles out how calmly this cooker releases pressure. That same owner proves dough and ferments in the low-temperature programme, and advises buying a proper steamer basket because the supplied rack is thin.
The complaints explain why the Plus holds the lowest average of these four cookers. The app draws steady criticism: recipes in the wrong language, no way to add your own, and one buyer whose Wi-Fi never connected at all. Worse, two owners report the pressure system failing. One met a persistent lid-not-closed error during the first water test and was offered only a refund. Another had steam leaking after two weeks, with a new sealing ring making no difference. Sixty-eight ratings is a small crowd, so a handful of bad units moves the score a long way, but this is the one cooker here where the core function has visibly failed for more than one buyer.
Instant Pot Plus - 9 in 1 Multicooker 5.7L Brushed Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Sauté, Yogurt Maker, Warmer, Steam, Sous Vide, Sterilise
ASIN: B0DMWK3RDV
- ✓Nine functions, including sous vide, rice and sterilising bottles or jars
- ✓Instant Connect app starts and monitors the cooker from another room
- ✓Stainless inner pot with silicone-covered handles, plus a calm pressure release
- ✓Display language and temperature units can both be changed
- Capacity
- 5.7 litres
- Power
- 1,000 W
- Functions
- 9
- Controls
- Digital panel and app
- Size (W × D × H)
- 35 × 33 × 32.5 cm
- Weight
- 5.9 kg
Pros
- Nine functions, including sous vide, rice and sterilising
- Low-temperature mode that owners use for dough and ferments
- Delayed start and keep warm, with a calm pressure release
- Display language and temperature units can be changed
- Removable inner pot is easy to clean
Cons
- Two owners report the cooker failing to hold pressure
- App recipes come in the wrong language and cannot be added to
- One buyer never got the Wi-Fi to connect
- The supplied rack is thin, and a steamer basket is missing
- The lowest average rating of these four cookers
NutriChef, a release button instead of a valve
The NutriChef is the newcomer, and the cheapest cooker of the four in most stores. This cooker offers sealed pressure programmes, slow cooking, rice, steaming and keep warm, on a touch LCD with a timer, an alarm and adjustable temperature. The body is stainless steel, the inner pot non-stick, and there is automatic shut-off protection. A rice spoon, a measuring cup and the power cord come in the box. One number needs care: the listing headline says six litres while the specification table says 5.3, so treat this pressure cooker as the smallest of the four rather than the largest.
Early owners are warm about this cooker. They describe even, fast results, presets that guide someone with little kitchen experience, and a lid that seals tightly enough to keep the flavours in. A German buyer has cooked rice and soup in this pressure cooker for several weeks with no trouble, and an Italian owner had a beef tongue done in an hour with none of the cooking smell that a hob produces. A Spanish review names the two details that separate this cooker from the others: pressure is released with a button rather than by turning a valve near the hot steam, and the cable detaches, which makes storage easier and replacement possible. Instructions arrive in the local language, which is not a given in this class. The honest caveat is the number of voices: a perfect average built on eight ratings is not the same evidence as a four and a half built on three hundred. Two mild criticisms are there already, namely programmes that could be more adjustable and a manual that could say more.
NutriChef Electric Pressure Cooker, 6 Litres, 1000 Watt Multicooker, Rice Cooker, Slow Cooker, Electric Steamer, Stainless Steel, LCD, Timer, Keep Warm, Black
ASIN: B0GMRNLCV2
- ✓Pressure released by a button, away from the hot valve
- ✓Detachable power cable, easier to store and to replace
- ✓Touch LCD with timer, alarm and adjustable temperature
- ✓Non-stick inner pot inside a stainless steel body, with automatic shut-off
- Capacity
- 5.3 litres (6 l claimed)
- Power
- 1,000 W
- Functions
- Pressure, slow, rice, steam, keep warm
- Controls
- Touch LCD
- Size (W × D × H)
- 33 × 30 × 29 cm
- Material
- Stainless steel, non-stick pot
Pros
- Pressure released by a button, not by a valve near the steam
- Detachable cable, which stores and replaces more easily
- Presets that owners with little kitchen experience follow easily
- Even, fast results and a lid that seals without leaks
- Instructions printed in the buyer's own language
Cons
- Only eight ratings so far, too few to prove anything
- The smallest pot of the four, whatever the listing headline says
- Programmes could be more adjustable, two owners say
- Thin manual beyond the basics
Electric pressure cooker specifications side by side
The numbers behind the four cookers sit in one table, so the trade-offs are visible at a glance.
| Parameter | Crockpot Turbo Express | Instant Pot 7-in-1 | Instant Pot Plus 9-in-1 | NutriChef |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 5.6 l | 5.7 l | 5.7 l | 5.3 l (6 l claimed) |
| Power | 1,400 W | 1,000 W | 1,000 W | 1,000 W |
| Functions | 14 presets | 7 | 9 | 5 modes |
| Controls | Digital push buttons | Push buttons | Digital panel and app | Touch LCD |
| Sous vide | Yes | — | Yes | — |
| App control | — | — | Instant Connect | — |
| Pressure release | Side knob | Switch | Valve | Button |
| Size (W × D × H) | 34 × 31 × 31 cm | 31.8 × 35.1 × 25.6 cm | 35 × 33 × 32.5 cm | 33 × 30 × 29 cm |
| Weight | 5.8 kg | 5 kg | 5.9 kg | — |
| Rating | 4.5 (310) | 4.4 (134) | 3.7 (68) | 5.0 (8) |
Read the table together with the number of ratings, because that column changes the weight of every score. The Crockpot rests on the widest base of opinions of these cookers. The NutriChef leads the star column on eight votes, which is encouraging rather than proven. The Instant Pot Plus carries the lowest average of these cookers, and the reasons are specific: the app and a few failed lids, not the cooking.
How to choose an electric pressure cooker for your kitchen
These cookers differ in ways the packaging does not spell out. Weigh several things at once instead of reading down to the biggest number of functions.
- Count your real programmes. Pressure, browning, slow cooking and steam cover nearly everything, so a multicooker with slow cooking on board already does most of the job. Pay extra for yogurt or sterilising only if you can name the dish you will cook with them this month, and buy an electric pressure cooker with sous vide only if you already cook that way.
- Measure the space before the litres. All four cookers hold roughly the same amount of food, yet they differ by seven centimetres in height and by several in width. The lowest of these cookers slides under a wall cupboard; the tallest may not.
- Watts decide the waiting, not the flavour. The 1,400 watt cooker reaches pressure sooner than the 1,000 watt cookers. Once the lid is sealed, the recipe time is the same.
- Look at the pressure cooker steam release. A knob on the side of the lid, a switch, or a button on the panel all keep your hand further from the jet than a valve you turn on top. Owners notice this every single time they open these cookers.
- Treat the app as a bonus. In this group the connected cooker draws more complaints about its software than praise, mostly about recipe language. Buy the cooker, not the phone.
- Remember the sealing ring. It is the part that wears out and fails, and a cooker that stops holding pressure is finished until you replace it. Check that rings for these cookers are sold separately before you commit.
- Check the manual language and the cable. A booklet in your own language saves an evening of searching, and a detachable cord stores more neatly than a fixed one.
Frequently asked questions
- How much faster is an electric pressure cooker than a pan?
- Instant Pot puts the saving at up to seventy per cent against the usual method, with examples such as pasta in about five minutes, and Crockpot claims a further forty per cent from its turbo setting. Owners confirm the direction: one reports a beef tongue cooked in an hour.
- Is 5.6 litres too big for two people?
- It is more than two people need, and one Crockpot owner says exactly that after living with the pot. Buyers of the 5.7 litre Instant Pot call it right for two or three people, so the practical answer is that these sizes suit batch cooking and small families rather than single portions.
- Do I need the app version?
- Only if remote starting genuinely helps your day. In this group the connected model attracts steady complaints about recipes in the wrong language and one buyer whose Wi-Fi never worked, while the plain push-button cookers get none of that criticism.
- Why does my cooker vent steam right after sealing?
- Usually because there is too little liquid inside. One owner explains it as a safety system rather than a fault, and adds that recipes written for six litre pots need their water adjusted for a smaller one.
- Can one pot really replace several appliances?
- Within reason. These cookers cover pressure, slow cooking, rice, steaming and browning, and owners report fewer pans to wash. They do not brown food dry the way a fan oven does, so crisping still belongs elsewhere in the kitchen.
- What usually fails first?
- The sealing ring in the lid. Two owners of the Instant Pot Plus report steam leaking and pressure never being reached, and in one case a new ring did not fix it. Treat the ring as a consumable and check that spares exist for your model.
Verdict
Every model on the same criteria
Score against price
- Crockpot Turbo Express4.4 at about €157
- Instant Pot 7-in-14.4 at about €120
- Instant Pot Plus 9-in-13.8 at about €170
- NutriChef4.2 at about €100
The overall score divided by the typical price, with the best in the group as the full bar. A rough guide, not a verdict — a cheap model that misses the feature you need is no bargain.
Read the bars as trade-offs, not as a ranking. The cooker with the longest function list is also the bulkiest and the one that reaches pressure soonest. The plainest of these cookers does less and stores better, and it costs less than the two above it. The connected cooker is the only one here where the sealed system itself has failed for more than one buyer, and its app draws more complaints than its cooking does. The newcomer has the friendliest release button and the smallest pot, on a rating base of eight votes that proves very little either way.
Buy an electric pressure cooker for the four programmes you will use every week, then let the worktop decide the size. Get those two right and the cooker earns its place. Get the size wrong and it will live in a cupboard, which is where good cookers go to be forgotten.