Instant Pot Holiday Gift Guide

Guide to the best Instant Pot gifts for any budget. From our favorite pressure cookers to must-have gift accessories and under $20 steals, these holiday presents are perfect for any cook in your life.

Interested in having us teach you how to start cooking in your Instant Pot?

Our live Instant Pot 30-Day Jumpstart beginners course is OPEN for enrollment! Classes start January 10, 2022.

Click here for details and learn how to register.

Some of the links in my posts are affiliate links.

From first-time pressure cooker owners to home cooks with multiple Instant Pot models, there’s something on this gift list for everyone. Therefore, I’ve divided the Instant Pot holiday gift guide into four categories. Click the link to jump to that specific category:

• Quick Pressure Cooker Recommendations
• Must-Have Instant Pot Accessories
• Best Gift Ideas Under $20
• Top Pressure Cooking Cookbooks

Make your holiday shopping quick and easy this year with this all-purpose Instant Pot gift guide!

Quick Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot Recommendations

Wondering which pressure cooker is the best for you or for a loved one? I’ve tried so many brands and models, and here are quick recommendations for the best Instant Pot / pressure cookers for specific needs. 

✅ If you’re looking for Instant Pot specific recommendations, check out my detailed Instant Pot buying guide.

❤️ All-Around Recommendation: Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 6-Quart Pressure Cooker

The Duo Evo Plus is the model I use most often at home. It feeds my hungry family without taking up too much counter space, and I really love the redesigned handles, cooking pot, and lid. It’s also reliable and an all-around great value. 

🧡 Best Pressure Cook + Slow Cook Function: Zavor LUX LCD 6-quart

If you’re shopping for someone who’s all about efficiency and hands-off cooking, this is your best bet. The Zavor LUX makes both pressure cooking and slow cooking seamless. 

💛 Best for College Students: Instant Pot Duo Mini 3-Quart Pressure Cooker

Compact, easy to store and use, this 3-quart model is perfect for students. It has all the same features as its bigger siblings, in a more manageable size. Plus, it’s surprising what can fit—most recipes on Pressure Cooking Today can fit in the 3-quart.

💚 Best for Large Families: Instant Pot Duo Nova 8- or 10-Quart Pressure Cooker

For meal preppers, entertainers, and big families, the 8-quart Instant Pot is ideal. This model cooks big batches of your favorite meals quickly, without sacrificing flavor. Right now the 8-quart Evo Plus and Duo Plus are available for an all-time low price and are great options as well. If you really feed a crowd, try the 10-quart Duo Nova. 

💙 Best for Tech Lovers: Instant Pot Duo Smart 6-Quart Pressure Cooker

For the gadget-loving cook in your life, the Duo Smart offers a range of techy features, including 13 preset cooking programs for dishes like cake, yogurt, and rice.

💜 Best Two-in-One: Instant Pot 8-quart Duo Crisp or Ninja Foodi Deluxe 8-Quart Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer

Both the Duo Crisp and Foodi are great machines. If you love a crisp, golden top on your lasagna or sweet potato casserole, you’ll love this appliance. It combines the moist heat cooking of a pressure cooker with the dry, crisp heat of a convection oven/broiler to get the best of both worlds.

If you plan to do more air frying, I’d go with the Foodi, if you plan to do more pressure cooking, I’d go with the Duo Crisp. 

💕 Best for Super Fans: There are a lot of options here, including an Instant Pot designed for Star Wars fans (including a BABY YODA version new for 2020), Disney fans (Mickey Mouse), and Pioneer Woman fans.

1. Fat Daddio’s Anodized Aluminum Round 7-Inch Cake Pan is easy to use and fits snugly inside a 6-quart pressure cooker to hold ingredients and mold cakes. 
   
2. Instant Pot Sealing Ring Two-Pack. These sealing rings are a must-have item for regular Instant Pot users. The pot sealing ring needs to be replaced every two years, and they tend to absorb odors. So any avid Instant Pot cook will be thankful to have a spare ring on hand.  
   
3. A good steamer basket opens up a whole new way of cooking with your pressure cooker. (I actually have another two I use: the metal Oxo steamer and the flexible silicone basket). Steam everything from veggie side dishes to tender homemade dumplings. 
   
4. A good trivet is a gift your loved one will be using on repeat. We’re always using our Instant Pot trivet to make everything from lasagna to cheesecake! And this tall Heavy-duty Stainless Steel Trivet is a must-have for cooking pot-in-pot. 
   
5. Nordic Ware Leakproof 7-Inch Springform Pan is another must-have pan to turn your pressure cooker into a little oven. Springform pans make it easy to unmold your pressure-cooked masterpieces, like my favorite Apple Crisp. 
   
6. Instant Pot Mini Mitts. Adorable and functional! Instant Pot users will be relieved to have a pair of these perfectly sized and grippy mitts designed to firmly grasp the pressure cooking pot for easy and safe removal at any temperature. 
   
7. The Thermapen Mk4 is my absolute favorite instant read thermometer, and worth the expense. I’ve had my Thermapen for almost a decade now, and it still works as well as the day I got it. (For a budget option, try this one.)
   
8. A good air fryer lid. You can’t go wrong with either the Mealthy CrispLid or the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid. The CrispLid is my preference for finishing dishes with melted cheese or breadcrumbs because it has a see-through design that lets you watch your food while it cooks. For air frying things like french fries or even just cooking frozen chicken nuggets, I prefer the Instant Pot Air Fryer Lid.

1. Silicone Egg Bite Molds for Instant Pot are the best way to make perfectly cooked egg bites and adorable mini cheesecake bites in a pressure cooker. 
   
2. Instant Pot Extra Float Valve and Mini Gasket might not be the most glamourous gift, but it’s certainly practical and one that any Instant Pot lover will be relieved to have on hand when the need arises. 
   
3. OXO Good Grips Ground Meat Chopper is the key to perfectly cooking ground beef in a pressure cooker or any pot. I recommend testing it out with our American Chop Suey recipe. 
   
4. Fox Run Tart Tamper is another handy and inexpensive cooking tool that goes beyond pressure cooking. Help your loved ones make perfect cheesecake and tart crusts every time. 
   
5. Nordic Ware 6-Cup Half-Size Bundt Pan. For adventurous cooks looking to expand beyond one-pot dishes, a half-size bundt pan fits perfectly into a 6-quart pressure cooker. Plus, it ensures an elegant presentation every time.
   
   I recommend making our festive cranberry jelly first! We also use it many times in our Instantly Sweet cookbook to make amazing “baked” sweet treats.   
   
6. OXO Good Grips Sling is for the Instant Pot user with a sweet tooth. A sling is essential to make perfect cheesecakes and much more in the pressure cooker. 
   
7. You need a good strainer set for making yogurt, and this Euro Cuisine Greek Yogurt Maker is my favorite I’ve tried.
   
8. A Microplane zester is so useful for adding citrus flavor to any dish. I love adding lime zest to dishes like cilantro lime rice and lemon zest to my lemon steel cut oats. I also love to use it for adding grated cheeses to soups like my minestrone.

These are the volumes we use again and again:

1. The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook: 200 Fast and Foolproof Recipes by Barbara Schieving is our first cookbook, designed for cooks of all levels. This book includes everything a new Instant Pot user needs to know to get started and expert tips from our careful recipe testing. Read more about this cookbook…
   
2. Instantly Sweet: 75 Desserts and Sweet Treats by Barbara Schieving and Marci Buttars is our sweeter take on must-try Instant Pot recipes. Even seasoned pressure cooker users might be surprised by how many delicious desserts they can make! Read more about this cookbook…
   
3. Know a new mom or mom-to-be? The Instant Pot Baby Food & Toddler Food Cookbook by Barbara Schieving and Jennifer Schieving McDaniel takes baby from first foods to eating with the family. (The 3-at-a-time lunch section is a lifesaver.) Read more about this cookbook…
   
4. Master the Electric Pressure Cooker by Marci Buttars is a fantastic all-around pressure cooking cookbook. If you’ve followed us, you’ll know how much we love Marci here, including her healthy recipes and big heart.
   
5. Vegan Under Pressure by Jill Nussinow is perfect for the plant-based or vegetarian eater in your life. All of the recipes are dairy-free, egg-free, and meat-free. 
   
6. The Gluten-Free Instant Pot Cookbook by Jane Bonacci and Sara De Leeuw shows how easy and delicious it can be to make gluten-free breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and dessert in the Instant Pot. 
   
7. The Electric Pressure Cooker Soup Cookbook by Karen Lee Young is a new one I reviewed a few months ago, and it’s a great option for cold winters. 
   
8. The Keto Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre offers incredible recipes that anyone––keto or not––will happily devour.

I hope this Instant Pot holiday gift guide helps you find the perfect gifts for your loved ones this year. (Or helps you pick out something fun for yourself!) Have fun shopping and happy holidays!

FOR MORE FROM PRESSURE COOKING TODAY

🥘 Browse our collection of the best pressure cooker / Instant Pot recipes.

💬 Follow Pressure Cooking Today on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.  

👥 Join our Electric Pressure Cooker Facebook Group. Our positive community of pressure cooking fans use all brands of electric pressure cookers, so it’s a great resource if you have questions about your particular brand.

🥧 If you’re interested in more than just Instant Pot recipes, follow us at Barbara Bakes. There we post amazing breakfasts, breads, and the best dessert recipes!