Duo Nova Series Another thing that’s worth bearing in mind is the fact that the Duo Nova is a newer product than the Duo, and hasn’t yet been put under the same scrutiny. The device has a fraction of the customer reviews that the Duo has, so it’s not as clear how the pressure cooker has been performing. Each Instant Pot model combines multiple kitchen appliances into one, saving you counter and storage space. You also save money by using one appliance for multiple cooking methods. The biggest difference between the Instant Pot Duo and Duo Nova is the Duo Nova is the first Instant Pot model to be offered in a 10 quart option. If you frequently cook for larger groups of people or regularly batch cook for meal prep, take a closer look at at the 10 quart model. Although there are cook times and plenty of recipes available online, they don’t always work the same for all the Instant Pot models. They’re a good starting point but you’ll need to be comfortable with a bit of trial and error in the first few weeks of using any Instant Pot. Please visit /support/register to register your new Instant Brands™ appliance. Although the price difference between the Instant Pot Duo and the Duo Nova isn’t huge, it’s still worth remembering that the Duo is going to be the cheaper option. Another huge benefit of the Instant Pot Duo, and Instant Pots in general, is the easy cleaning process. Since everything is contained in a single pot, there is hardly any mess created whilst cooking. Since the Instant Pot Duo Nova features an auto-sealing lid, the designs here are slightly different. Anyone who has used other Instant Pot models in the past will feel at home with either of these devices. As you might expect, the Instant Pot Duo comes in cheaper than the Duo Nova across all the different pot sizes. We used the Instant Pot Duo Nova for several recipes to try out its performance across different functions. First up, slow cooked chili, the sauté function comes in handy here, allowing you to brown your meat and soften onions in the Instant Pot instead of having to use a separate pan or stove top. Despite the pot not having a non-stick coating there was no sticking during the sauté stage. We slow cooked our beef chili for six hours on the ‘more’ setting and the result was a delicious meaty chili with soft beef. The Instant Pot beeps to alert you that cooking has finished and the temperature of the chili at the end of cooking was 176 F/ 80 C. As with the chili ,we used the saute function to brown chicken legs before adding all the other ingredients and pressure cooking on high for 20 minutes. Add to that the seven-and-a-half-minute heat up time and we were pleased with the fast cooking time which produced perfectly cooked chicken that fell off the bone with a temperature of 198 F/ 92 C. The pressure release was a slightly louder 79dB and while the sides of the pot and all the handles stayed cool, the metal part of the lid reached a high temperature of 187 F/ 86 C. Every Instant Pot has different cooking programs, but you can typically expect to see features such as a slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, and more. An Instant Pot has the ability to replace a number of the appliances in your kitchen. For many people, cooking can be an overwhelming, time-consuming, and generally unrewarding process. An Instant Pot can help you fall in love with cooking again, by ensuring your food is quick, easy, and most importantly, delicious. Even though the Duo Nova is more expensive, the price difference isn’t that stark. For many people, the extra features that the Duo Nova offers might well be worth the extra expense. However, this is a decision you’ll have to make for yourself by thinking about how you’ll use your Instant Pot, and which functions you really need. Let's help you find the right sizes kitchen appliances for your small kitchen so it can live up to its full potential. Additionally, we found many meat-based pressure cooker recipes suggest significantly longer cooking times than Instant Pot suggests for the same cut of meat. In those situations, we generally found Instant Pot's recommendations to be more on point, with the longer cook times bringing about slightly drier and tougher results. The pressure release button makes depressurizing the cooking chamber feel much easier and less stressful. Helen is a freelance writer who specializes in kitchen appliances and has written for some of the biggest home-related titles around. Sure, you can find some models that sell for less, but those models generally lack a saute function and thus, sacrifice quite a bit of the convenience that makes pressure cookers so attractive. Instant Pots are smart multi-use electric pressure cookers designed to be dependable, convenient, and most importantly safe kitchen appliances. Not only are you saving counter space, but you’re also spending less money on electricity too. If you love having leftovers, are feeding a big family or entertaining, then the 10-quart option is a good choice for you. The most obvious advantage of the Duo Nova slow cooker is that it’s available in 4 different sizes, rather than the Duo’s 3. The Duo Nova is available in a larger 10 qt size, which wouldn’t be an option if you picked the Duo. Aside from the 7 base cooking modes on the Instant Pots, they are each packed with a range of additional features to improve the user experience and make food even tastier. For example, the Instant Pot Duo Nova and the Duo both have 13 “Smart Touch” customizable programs for bespoke pressure cooking. Preheating took five minutes and after the four minute cook time we used the quick release pressure button so that we could get the broccoli out immediately. Some of the larger florets had a good texture but the smaller ones were overcooked. It’s pretty simple to figure out the settings and get cooking shortly after removing it from the box and the preset programs are a good starting point for common foods and meals. There’s no recipe book or cooking charts included though, so you’ll have to head to the website or app for these.