Instant Connect ™ Reviews

by Genevieve101

Love the pot, HATE InstantConnect . I am deleting it it is a waste of time and space, I end up looking everything up on their website anyway. If you don’t include a detailed instruction manual in your product, but rather insist on taking up space on my phone with an app, then the least you can do is have a basic time table for basic foods. If you want to know how long to cook plain brown rice, or beans or meat, I do not want to sort through 10 thousand recipes with brown rice or beans or meat in them. I would buy an instant pot for my mom, as I use mine a lot, but without proper instructions, it is way too complicated to recommend. I shouldn’t have to spend a half hour browsing the web to find basic information on how to use an appliance.

by SolarBeagle

InstantConnect and a few web searches helped to become acquainted with the Instant Pot method of cooking (ie how to boil water, make hard boiled eggs.. ). once I was ready to start recipes, I noticed a problem:

NUTRITION INFORMATION IS USELESS
- Only lists calories
- Lists calories per “serving,” but NO serving size is given, neither per person nor per total amount made. Also, changing the number of people does nothing except change quantities need in the recipe (which is really neat), but good luck measuring out however much a “serving” is..
- Calories cannot be selected and copied into other apps for health data collection, (even if they did make sense.)

Once they fix these nutrition content issues and delivery, I will give five stars. The recipe format is great and guides well with timers and such, so that’s pretty cool.

Now onto making soup.

The content of recipes was questionable. Using the example of “Broccoli Cheddar Soup” by Chop Secrets, that recipe says to sauté a half a stick of butter for 30mins! I was afraid to do this because 1) I wasn’t trying to make clarified butter and 2) it just seemed weird.
Later, after reading comments about the soup being “too salty,” noticed that the recipe did not specify to use salted or in-salted butter, and just started wondering.

Soup tasted good though, gonna have to try other recipes.. please devs please fix the nutrition info content thx.

by Chitownflyboy

My overall experience with instantpot has been very good. Their customer service through covid pandemic has been GREAT! However InstantConnect somehow cannot seem to live up to probably one of the most expensive items on their lineup. I have the Instantpot 8 quart duel crisp. You would think that they would have this item listed in the available models of which to get recipes for. Instead however one must use their imagination one coming up with air fryer recipes. Rice? Nothing here for us, (although I’ve found to just use 8+9 nr). The settings on this one are different than the models with tons of presets so you’re up to your own devices to figure things out, almost as if it’s a different brand.

by Castaneda247

InstantConnect is lacking basic features and recipes. For one, there needs to be a section for doing basic cooking, like rice or beans, or types of cooking methods, air frying, dehydrating, pressure cooking, etc.

You also don’t have the ability to add in your own recipes. For instance, no recipe for streaming crab legs exists, but plenty exist on the internet, so I’d like the ability to add in my own recipe instead of going to the internet everything 2 months when I make them. I can’t believe there isn’t a recipe for crab legs?!?!

Outside of this, the Instant Pot we have works wonderfully, but we find we don’t use it as often because we don’t understand the basics and have recipes that we eat frequently.

by Fwoom

I hate that this is locked in landscape mode on the iPad. So much wasted space, and it increases the counter space of my iPad. Drives me nuts. I usually just end up using the web, and will probably delete InstantConnect .

I also hate that I have to create an account in order to save recipes (which I can’t find after saving), when using iCloud could work just as well (I neither care about nor am interested in the “social” aspect of InstantConnect ).

And finally, InstantConnect keeps crashing on me when I open and try to follow a recipe. I finally just took a few screenshots.

by Evanseesred

Let’s get this out of the way. The product is great. But the learning curve is steep, and the entire process of learning it will drive you nuts. Let’s start with what they called simple rice.

First off, the product comes with a handy cheat sheet with different foods and their associated cook times. Cool! Next time white rice? 2 minutes. Open InstantConnect and go to rice. The cook time is 22 minutes. Weird huh? Okay let’s move past that.

After you’ve rinsed the rice as instructed, it tells you to put the water in the pot (never does it say to put the rice in but let’s forgive that). Next, InstantConnect has a helpful timer to start cooking right in InstantConnect . Nice! So you start that. Despite the instructions saying the rice function on the physical IP will detect the amount and auto select the cooking time. So you start the 12 minute timer in InstantConnect ...

10 minutes later, you realize, the IP has just started it’s OWN timer. But it needed 10 minutes to heat up or something? Nowhere is this explained. But now, you have InstantConnect timer nearly finished and the IP one is just getting started.

I’m sure these discrepancies are something a more experienced chef would have no problem deciphering, but if you are new to IP, you will surely find this confusing. Good luck!

by DavisAli1

InstantConnect has a lot of recipes in it, but the only ingredient filters they offer are vegan and vegetarian. At the very least, they need to add in filters for gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. Better yet would be to add low-carb, low-fat, etc.

Sure, many of us know how to swap out ingredients to adjust for allergens or other dietary needs, but many others don’t. And not all swaps work well in the IP even if they work for stove-top cooking. Hopefully over time InstantConnect will expand to cover more ground so that more folks can enjoy it.

by M In Usa

I saved and tried 8 recipes after getting my IP. Several I’ll make again and again. Wish there were more. The list and quantity of ingredients at the beginning and the step-by-step, tap-to-advance instructions which include the quantity of ingredients again are genius: easy to use. Though new to an IP the recipes were easy and helped me feel very confident in using it.

by Jonnycage

I read other reviews and added 10 minutes to the cook time for the beans and it came out great. I had also switched out the water for chicken broth to give it some more flavor. For the amount of liquid that’s put in I would have added more beans and meat. Also, the serving size is off. It says that it makes a lot more than what it actually does. We made just enough for our family of five and I doubled the rice because I knew one cup wouldn’t be enough. All that being said, it wasn’t bad with some minor mods.

by Whyisthiskat

InstantConnect is great overall! However, the recipes I’ve tried so far give time estimates that do not appear to include either preheating time or (when applicable) natural pressure release time. This means for an 18 minute recipe it can actually take over an hour between sealing the lid and getting the food out. It also makes the timers in the recipes not very useful (if I have to wait till preheating is done before I start the timer in InstantConnect , that is actually not easier than just babysitting the pot the whole time). It would aid my planning a lot if time estimates included both pre- and post-cooking time.

by Losing My Love

...it glitches and you can’t organize your favorite recipes
The glitch: if says that you can modify ingredients w substitutes by clicking on a pencil icon which would be GREAT, except it doesn’t always work and when it stops working the only fix I’ve found is to delete InstantConnect and reinstall and log in again—it’s annoying because it happens A LOT. when it IS working, you are very limited w the ingredients it allows you to substitute, which is fine but let me know which ingredients can’t be switched. As a matter of fact if they would do away w the pencil and just write the possible substitutes w each ingredient, even better!

The other functionality it lacks is the ability to organize my favorite recipes in a way the makes sense to me—not everyone wants their recipes in alphabetical order.

The recipes themselves are great though and they do stay true to their level of difficulty and number of servicing. Aesthetically, InstantConnect is pleasing and super easy to navigate. It’s the best lay out and information. I would recommend it to new (me) and veteran instant pot owners.

by Kay-K21

I love how InstantConnect walks you through every step with very simple easy directions. Only 1 thing missing in my opinion it is a want to try or save for later list. I see a lot I want to try out but I don’t always remember the recipe i thought would be good so I have to try to search for it. I only want the heart for recipes my whole family enjoyed & that I will make again so I know for sure that it was that particular recipe variation that was liked

by Thediscovery

Received my Instant Pot Ace Plus model. Really stoked to get started on some of the recipes. A little misleading when selecting your appliance because in InstantConnect it only lists the Nova model which some settings may not apply directly to the Ace or Ace Plus. I do like how at the top search bar it is already categorized by appliance and I am assuming when searching it has defaulted to the appliance registered (not sure how that would do if you had multiple product lines). Maybe adding a little symbol showing what appliance the recipe is meant for so you don’t have to open it and scroll to the very end to see what is necessary for the recipe? Some recipes displaying on the main page will say for Blender but you go to the inspired recipe link and it is for the pressure cooker. Just a thought.

by Tom T. Riffic

Literally. I have never been accused of being a cook 😂 Ask my wife and six kids. Well I started this healthy lifestyle through a A Faster Way. This has helped me immensely in addition to Ofcourse getting an instapot in the first place. I find the recipes super easy to follow and dumbed down for me that can follow directions but not just cook from skill.

Most recipes have been delicious and easily integrate with the My Fitness Pal app. I’m not really a review person.

If you’re like me, a dad with a select amount of time and not much culinary experience that wants to make quality meals, I think you’d benefit from InstantConnect for sure.

It even has timers built in and you can scale most recipes to the servings size as needed.

by PJMrich15

My husband and I really enjoyed the instant pot app. We recently have started cooking more with our Instant Pot and we enjoy it. The only thing I suggest is to please be more accurate and careful of the measurements when it comes to figuring out how much you need for certain amount of people. There’s been a couple of times that we followed the recipe exactly as it said but it was not nearly enough or it was too much.

by Gigwi

Absolutely amazing!!! One thing I would do differently is I would get everything cut up and ready to go before I even started cooking. Also, and this is just my preference, I am going to sear the meat in a frying pan instead of a frying pan. It is a big pain scraping the bottom and dealing with burn notice.
But overall this is the best recipe I have ever made. It is even better than the stew recipe I have used for the last 40 years. Definitely changing to this one.

by Blind_access

I absolutely love my new Pro Plus, and InstantConnect and Smart settings make it a breeze to use. InstantConnect improvements, Instant Pot improvements make a huge difference.
I’m a blind individual who has used a Duo for years. I passed on the Smart and initial Bluetooth models, mainly due to the awfulness of previous apps.
The Pro Plus is a beautiful machine. InstantConnect is basically a mirrored version of Instant partner Drop own app. Less clunky than previous apps and fully accessible. Thank you!!!

by Director_Mouse

If you own Instant Brand’s appliances, then InstantConnect is a must have! Think Allrecipes but tailored specifically to the Instant Brand appliances. My favorite is the recipe for peanut butter in the Instant Ace. InstantConnect even allows you to filter by the appliance so if you don’t have all 3, you can tweak your results to show recipes using just the one(s) you do have. Easy adjustment on the recipes for the yield so you can make the perfect amount plus you can save your favorite recipes to reference later.

by Johnny Jumpjump

I made my first recipe from InstantConnect, Better Butter Chicken, last night and absolutely loved it. The only other appliance/cooking app I’ve used is for my Joule immersion heater and this one is infinitely better. I like to review new recipes before starting to cook and you can do that to your heart’s content here. Not so with the Joule, which is so intimately tied to its app that neither can be used without the other. I also like the timers integrated into it. Whenever a recipe says to do something, like simmer, for a certain period, there’s a timer button right there in the recipe that’s set to that amount of time for you to click on. While this is less useful when a step uses the Instant Pot’s timer, it is often very helpful. Recommended!

by Sleepless Record Simone

I was very impressed with the ease of using InstantConnect. I’m an avid home chef and usually prefer basic cooking methods - no fancy gadgets here. I bought the Instant Pot Duo when the stove I purchased had been back ordered several weeks. The Instant Pot is new to me, but after following one recipe through InstantConnect I feel much more confident using what can be an intimidating kitchen appliance.

This is the best cooking app I have used and I’ve only cooked with InstantConnect once! It’s not cluttered with annoying ads, hub ub of someone’s blog or unnecessary details. It’s very straightforward and clearly states what to do and how to use that device. The game changer here is an included timer within recipes where needed. Win-win-win!

by Letmebjuli

Unfortunately, InstantConnect doesn’t even deserve 1 star. I am VERY disappointed!
The description said something about being able to get tips?/ideas for using Instant appliances— I didn’t see anything like that. I just received my Instant Pot for Christmas & am excited about trying it out & learning to use it and thought InstantConnect would be a teaching tool AND recipe source — NOT!!
When I looked at the first recipe, I was excited to see that you could edit, change serving size, etc — but you CAN’T....

by SuneeSequim

Come on guys! Millions of users use InstantConnect. You need to get all the bugs out before you release an app. Who did you use to test InstantConnect? I downloaded the new version twice and couldn’t get past one of the permissions pages. I reached out to IP via the FB group and was told I downloaded the wrong app. So they aren’t even in the loop because I downloaded InstantConnect you released to Apple. I certainly hope whom ever is responsible for this release is held accountable.

by Breck Birder

The other negative reviews about sum it up. InstantConnect is basically worthless and since the fryer doesn’t come with actual instructions, it is nothing but a useless space taker. Worst gift I received in recent memory. As there are no real directions or usable recipes, I ruined the buns I wanted to serve with our Christmas meal. I hope it can be returned. My old, cracked, other brand still works better and at least came with a decent set of instructions. Honestly I expected better.

by 2busy2readDirections

Just bought the Duo Crisp 8 qt which came with almost zero instructions. I’ve had a 6qt original for a couple years and am fine with most pressure cooking recipes. However, this new one not only has the air fry but also the sous vide settings. There’s no guidance with the appliance how to use those settings so I downloaded InstantConnect (as suggested on the box) in hopes this is where I’d find it. Nope.
I’ll be deleting this until it’s updated to genuinely help users get the most out of their specific appliances.

by Sad And Sick

I was excited to get our new instapot and downloaded InstantConnect , couldn’t navigate without creating an account? Next day I realized I was charged $9.17 from a third party company without any type of authorization!! And that there is no contact info for this company .... looking into this I found a phone number for 123healthtoday and have called multiple times with no results, the first thing the message tells you is they will refund your money but want your card information ?! How do they have my bank information? Why was I not emailed a receipt for a transaction? Why was I not informed on InstantConnect that it cost to sign up for account?? None of this makes sense other than instapot corporation is taking full advantage of its customers!!! And I have to give 1 star of cant post review, only reason I gave it a star should be 0!!

by Gunnar70

How can you have an app that doesn’t even have all of your products listed? Very disappointing to see. I was lead to believe that there would be all kinds of recipes specific to the unit we purchased. Not the case at all. Great product but I guess we’re on our own trying to figure out what we can cook in the new 9 in 1 convection oven/fryer/rotisserie I bought my wife for Christmas. You have a rotisserie listed but it’s tiny, the unit we bought is much bigger and I’m certain we can cook a bird larger than 4lbs in this beast. We have a family of 6 a 4lb bird isn’t gonna cut it here lol

by Itskdaws

I expected more from InstantConnect seeing as how people rave about the instant pot. They do not allow you to search for recipes by appliance type. So you have to scroll through Ace Blender and Vortex recipes with the Instant Pot ones (which is the only appliance I have). Also not super friendly to allergens/alternative diets. They allow You to search by vegan or vegetarian, but not diary free or pescatarian, which happen to be the two I need. Very underwhelming app.

by ARM.116

InstantConnect could have blown my mind...but alas I deleted it. I have an Ultra Mini (3qt) and I was really really hoping that Instant Pot would understand that the mini owners need support!! Everything is geared towards and portioned for the 6qt. When i saw they had a button to choose your product i was delighted! I thought it was going to go:
-----Instant Pot
'----->Ultra
'----->3qt...boom!
And the recipes for my pot would be singled out.
That didn't happen so i thought i could just search for only the mini recipes and that also wasn't available so i thought for sure their recipes would include conversions but alas, not that either.
Come on guys, you are leaving us stranded. It's so much extra self-education to own a 3qt. I still love it though. Maybe when I'm a master i will write my own book or make my own app.
I.still think you guys should throw some love our way though.

by ChimaeraLaurie

I like that you can click on Instant Pot and see those recipes, but when you do a search, ALL recipes show up. I don’t own either of the other appliances (I don’t have a lot of space) and am actually now far less inclined to buy an ace blender or an air fryer because I find this so irritating. I would like an Instant Pot ONLY app.

by Bail E

I wanted to love InstantConnect but unfortunately it was just a waste of space. You can’t change the number of people eating, you have to go through recipes for all products, InstantConnect doesn’t do anything Pinterest or Allrecipes doesn’t do honestly. Just spare yourself and buy a cook book or search Pinterest and Google...

by Shorevirw

It seems like a number of recipes and search options that are available on the website aren’t available on InstantConnect . Additionally, I would like to be able to add recipe ingredients to a continual list using InstantConnect (that ideally would sort the list by grocery store department). Without these features InstantConnect isn’t really that useful.

by Wmska

Docking two stars for taking down my favorite recipes, which I saved on my profile. How can you call that an "improvement" to your app??

by Ainomibako82

I have a family of six and loved the idea of the serving size + and - buttons to adjust the ingredients needed. I was sad to find out this functionality is not working at this time unless I missed something.

All in all the recipes are great and most of my favorites from the old app are in there already. Please review as test all of the functions of InstantConnect to ensure it works prior to releasing it.

by TechGuy219

Unable to sort recipes I’m searching for, I love how the other app I can sort by ratings. Needs ability to be used in portrait or landscape, currently you can only use in landscape. Developers: please consider integration with “google keep notes & lists”

by Bobology

The new app is much improved easier to see ingredient lists and with the built in timer function.

I may not be looking in the right place but I would
like to see recipes organized by categories much like cookbooks. Search is good though.