I bought an Instant Pot in 2018 like everyone else. Used it constantly for the first month — beans from dry in forty minutes! Risotto without stirring! Then the novelty wore off and I noticed something. The Instant Pot makes food fast. It does not always make food better.

My slow cooker started creeping back onto the counter. Now I use both regularly, for different things. Here is when each one wins.

Slow cookers win on flavor

An Instant Pot cooks with pressure, which is fast but does not reduce liquid or concentrate flavors the way long, slow cooking does. A beef stew that simmers for eight hours in a slow cooker develops deep, layered flavor from evaporation and caramelization at the edges. The same stew in an Instant Pot — 35 minutes at high pressure — tastes good but thinner, less concentrated, like the ingredients have been steamed rather than braised.

For anything that benefits from reduction and concentration — chili, pot roast, bone broth, braised short ribs — the slow cooker is genuinely better.

Instant Pot wins on dried beans and tough grains

Dried chickpeas in a slow cooker take about six hours and you have to remember to soak them overnight. In an Instant Pot they are done in 45 minutes from dry. Brown rice takes about an hour in a slow cooker on high; 22 minutes in an Instant Pot. For anything you want to cook from dry without planning ahead, the Instant Pot is the clear winner.

The combo strategy

I now use them together for big meals. Braise the meat in the slow cooker all day while I am at work. An hour before dinner, cook the rice or potatoes in the Instant Pot. The main dish has eight hours of flavor development. The sides are done in twenty minutes. Best of both.

If I had to own only one, I would probably get an Instant Pot because it has a slow cooker function (it is not great at it, but it technically works). But if you already have an Instant Pot and are thinking about getting rid of your slow cooker — keep it. They do different things and you will miss the slow cooker’s depth of flavor the first time you make chili.