I Finally Got Rid of My Instant Pot After Years — Here’s Why I Don’t Regret It

When I first started living on my own, one of the very first splurges I made was on the 11-in-1 Duo Crisp Instant Pot Air Fryer. I got it shortly after I moved into my tiny one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn, and it made me feel like I had my life together. It could truly do it all! Although, full disclosure: I really only used it to air fry.

For the last four-plus years, I used my Instant Pot almost every single day. While it obviously has 11 features — from pressure cooking to dehydrating to slow cooking — air frying was its primary purpose in my home. And it worked like a charm! Typically for salmon, crispy tofu, chickpeas, or veggies, I used it to cook or reheat everything in lieu of a microwave. Believe it or not, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve turned my oven on in this apartment. (I actually use it for storage for my bulkier pots and pans!). 

But all good things must come to an end. After four years, it finally gave out last month when the air-frying lid wouldn’t connect to the sensor, even after a deep-clean. The other functions still worked, so I gave it away with that caveat on my local Buy Nothing Facebook group. I took this photo just before it got picked up. It served me well, and I hope its new owner loves it just as much as I did!

In searching for my Instant Pot’s replacement, I had a few considerations: I only ever used it to air fry, so I really didn’t need an appliance that did anything else (the other functions were nice to have, but they weren’t necessary). Additionally, it was big, bulky, and heavy with too many inserts and attachments that I wasn’t using for my teeny kitchen. Lastly, I would always burn myself when going in to retrieve my food because you had to grab it from the top. 

I was looking for something lighter, smaller, that only air fried, and had a roomy drawer with a handle for easier access. And luckily, the perfect solution entered my life at just the right time: the Kalorik Air Fryer VIVID TOUCH Series.

This sleek stainless steel air fryer comes in both 5-quart and 7-quart sizes, each with a large high-resolution touchscreen that offers more than 200 cooking and reheating presets with 12 different food categories. While you can choose one of the custom settings, you can also adjust it to your liking by food type, cut, weight, time, and fresh vs. frozen. It goes up to 400°F, and the larger 7-quart version that I have serves up to six people at a time.

It’s super easy to use and cooks food evenly, making it perfectly crispy every single time (without any excess oil!), whether I’m reheating wings or cooking a half chicken or a block of seasoned tofu. The appliance is so smart, it beeps to give you a “shake reminder” about halfway through depending on how long you’re cooking something, and a ready alert for when it’s good to eat. I love giving the drawer a quick, easy shake to make sure everything’s perfectly cooked — something I could never do with the Instant Pot!

If you’re opting for a preset setting, simply choose your food group (from veggies to pizza and pastries) and get as specific as you want. For example, if I want to reheat some frozen dumplings, I can tell it how many I’m cooking to determine the length of time and temperature, and then I can adjust from there. 

Just like with the Instant Pot, I like to line the bottom with aluminum foil to make cleaning it easier. While I don’t have a dishwasher, the basket is dishwasher-safe! Other features I don’t use but are so smart: You can choose between English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin; and °F or °C settings.

Like any good home cook, I always set it for a few minutes less than I think it’ll need to make sure everything is cooking as it should. Here’s where my favorite feature comes in: The Kalorik is so smart, after it tells you the food is done, it always lets you add two minutes with the touch of a button. 

And unlike most air fryers with drawers, the Vivid Touch allows you to actually watch while your food is cooking via a view window behind the handle. Not only that, but there’s a button that flicks a light on in the basket that makes ensuring it’s cooking correctly even easier. And lastly, something small kitchen girlies who hate cord clutter will appreciate: It has a wrap on the back where you can wrap and tuck the cord to keep it tidy.

So yes, I totally understand the hype around the beloved Instant Pot, and I loved mine while it lasted. But if you’re on the market for a smaller air fryer for less, the Kalorik Vivid Touch is the perfect solution, especially while it’s on sale. 

Buy: Kalorik Air Fryer VIVID TOUCH Series, $159.99 $129.99

This post originally ran on The Kitchn. See it there: I Finally Got Rid of My Instant Pot After Years — Why I Don’t Regret It