We ordered the Instant Pot 8-Qt Duo Crisp Pressure Cooker with Air Fryer Lid for ourselves and our son and daughter-in-law on sale during Amazon Prime Days this year. We thought about saving it for Christmas, but we decided to open it up and start using it. Probably the number one item I wanted to try in it was our marinated and air-fried teriyaki tofu because we probably make that at least once a week or once every other week. We also air-fry the tofu in our Cosori convection oven on the air-dryer setting. They come out really nicely there; but sometimes, I need the Smart Oven for something else at the same time. So, I felt like it would be awesome to be able to make the tofu in another appliance, like the Instant Pot!
The tofu came out AMAZING! Absolutely PERFECT! I set the IP at 365 degrees for 18 minutes. (I tried a batch at 375, but it got a bit too black along the edges.) The appliance beeps once in the middle of the cooking time, so you can open the top and stir the pieces around for perfect browning. They were lightly crispy on the outside and soft-firm (NOT jiggly) on the inside!
Here are my pros and cons about making air-fried tofu in the Instant Pot 8-Qt Duo Crisp Pressure Cooker with Air Fryer Lid.
PROS:
- Quick air-frying to the perfect texture and color
- No need to waste parchment paper or nonstick foil (environmentally friendly!)
- Easy clean-up (if you rinse the pieces right away)
- If you need to air-fry, you can use other appliances (like your toaster oven or oven) for other uses while still being able to air-fry.
- You don’t have to have two appliances on your counter — a pressure cooker AND an air fryer. Both features are together in one!
- It’s not greatly bigger on the counter than the 6-qt size, but it gives you a lot more space for air frying and making a big pot of soup or chili!
- Includes other special features like the ability to dehydrate and roast! I am thinking about marinating a half of a head of cabbage and roasting it in this at Christmastime!
- The best part is the ability to do OIL-FREE cooking but get the benefits that cooking with oil offer (crispiness, etc.).
This batch was air-fried at
375 degrees, which was a little too high. I’d say, it would have been just right at 365 degrees F.
CONS:
- If you are cooking on one level in the smaller, upper section, you can only air-fry about 3/4 of a package of tofu at once on a single layer. It does allow you to air-fry a larger portion (like potatoes) in the full pot without the top shelf added in. I will be writing a review on this soon!
- You will have to clean the metal cooking “shelf” and the pot below after you are finished
- You have to have a place to store the air-fryer lid and cover/trivet if you mostly use the IP for regular pressure cooking. It’s large–about 12″ in diameter.
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