We all know that the crock pot or slow cooker liners make our cooking experience less messy and more enjoyable. But can you use crock pot liners in the instant pot for the same thing?
That is right. To avoid getting caught up with the nasty cleaning process after cooking something delicious, we use crock Pot liners.
And the great news is, we can use crock pot liners in the instant pot as well. But only when we use the slow cooker mode in your instant pot.
Otherwise, you will end up with the crockpot or slow cooker liners melting and damaging food and pot.
Therefore, it is possible to use crock pot liners in the instant pot under certain conditions. Let’s know about all the specific conditions to use cooker liners for further acknowledgment.
What Are Crockpot Liners Made of?
We all know that crock pot liners are super heat resistant. As well, these cooking liners are quite sturdy in holding onto the dishes till Cooking is complete.
Therefore, the remarkable qualities of the liners make us think about what the liners are made of. Regarding that, crock pot liners are developed using temperature-resistant nylon resins.
Although the liners are heat resistant and super durable, they are thin plastic sheets. So, you must use them for cooking under low heat. In case you are wondering whether the slow cooker plastic sheets are safe or not.
Even if they are plastic material cooking sheets or bags, they do not pose any sort of threat to your food or environment. Further, they are free of BPA.
According to several tests and studies conducted to check the cooking liners’ credibility, they do not pose chemical threats. Thereby, they are safe for your healthy cooking environment.
Now, you know what are crock pot liners made of and what it is. It is high time you know how it will help you with your Cooking.
Facts to Know: Nylon resin is not just simple plastic; it comes with boasting heat resistance and super sturdiness. And so are the slow cooker liners.
How Do Crock Pot Liners Work?
Crock Pot or slow cooker liners are placed inside the base of the container to avoid the greasy or sticky foods dirtying the inside of the container.
After you place the liner and line the base of the crock pot container, you can pour ingredients and water inside the liner. And then, you can turn on the crock pot to cook your food.
Further, the crock pot bags are safe and harmless to cook on high or low and keep warm functions regarding the food you are cooking. So, please do not fret about it may bring a chemical hazardous component.
Well, you can also use slow cooker bags to prevent messes in the instant pot in the slow cooker function. Moreover, the crock pot liner bags usually fit 4 to 7-quart oval or round crock pots.
Also, the slow cooker liners are for one-time use purposes. That is why, if you use it once to cook one meal, dispose of it afterward. Thereby, you will only require to wipe and wash the slow cooker container without any hassle.
Furthermore, you will be able to save both time and effort from soaking and scrubbing all the greases and so on. Not to mention, it will not hamper your cooking method or the taste of the food.
Caution: Never use crock pot liners in pressure cooker mode in an instant pot.
Can You Use Crockpot Liners in the Instant Pot?
Sure, you can use crock pot liners in the instant pot without a hassle. However, you must know about some particular things to use it safely and avoid any hazardous incidents.
First things first, you must always use an instant cooker in a slow cooker function. Well, instant cookers are way too hot as they are meant to cook ASAP. Secondly, you do not always need to use crock pot liners for a few cooking types.
For example, you do not need to use liner sheets while boiling water, milk, or other liquids. Rather, it will cause a mess while taking the liquid out of the container.
Also, cooking rice or other starch ingredients does not need the assistance of slow cooker liners. That is because cooking these ingredients in instant cookers will require high heat. As well, this may melt the crock pot liner or damage the device.
Therefore, the only safest way to use a slow cooker liner in an instant cooker is with the slow cooking mode. Also, the slow cooking mode works the same way as a slow cooker or crockpot works.
Well, the slow cooker mode cooks the food slowly at a lower heat for a long period.
Tips: Most of the high-quality slow cooker liners are BPA-free. And although it is ideal to use liners in lower heat, they can easily withstand a bit higher temperatures up to 400 °F or 205 °C.
Why Should You Use a Liner in an Instant pot?
We all know that the only thing that is not identical between a slow cooker/crock pot and an instant pot is the high heat functions.
Well, a crock pot or slow cooker only cooks food using a relatively lower temperature. On the other hand, the instant cooker comes with functions to cook food in both higher and lower heat.
So, any reasons why you should use a crock pot liner in an instant pot are quite the same as for the slow cooker.
Therefore, there are a lot of reasons for you to use slow cooker liners in an instant pot. I will tell you all about the considering facts in detail:
Keeps You Stress-Free from Messy Preparations:
Preparing and storing meals using liner bags makes food very much neat and free of messes. You only need to do a few things, like prepare all the ingredients, put them in the liner bag, and refrigerate them.
Therefore, you can simply take the liner out of the fridge and start cooking anytime you want. After you take out the liner bag of ingredients from the fridge, you can place it inside the crock pot or instant pot.
Afterward, start the cooking device, set it to the slow cooker function and wait till your meal is ready.
Yes, it is indeed as smooth and easy as it seems. You do not need to trouble yourself to use a whole pot or container to store food. As well, there is hardly any necessity to wash them painstakingly.
Helps You Cook Different Meals at The Same Cooker:
Cooking two different foods in a single slow or instant cooker at the same time sounds astonishing, right? Well, it is certainly possible to use liner bags for each food in the slow cooker or instant pot and place them alongside each other to cook.
By using liner bags this way, you will not only secure some time but also save your energy and bills.
Saves Water from Wasting in Washing:
Nobody misses a sweet opportunity to save water bills in one of the most effortless ways. That is, using less water for washing dishes and appliances.
You know the answer is crock pot liners! You can Marin at and store food ingredients inside crock pot liner bags. As well, using the loner bags on a slow cooker or instant pot saves the pot from getting greasy or dirty.
Therefore, liners also secure the excess water or liquids seeping through corners and building up.
Thus, after you finish cooking, just dump the liner bags and wash the pots like usual. No more need for soaking pots and containers in excess water to deal with nasty residues.
Makes Meal Transportation Easier and Faster:
Meal preparation is more of a hassle than one can imagine. Thereby, slow cooker liners are already one of the greatest ways to make cooking clean-up a breeze.
As well, it ensures the meal transferring from the instant pot or crock pot to the plate is a breeze. Sounds news to you, right? Well, it is possible and very simple.
When you cook well in the slow cooker liner, take the crock pot bowl beside the plates you are going to serve on. And then, take out the food in the liner from the bowl and transfer it right away onto the plate.
Now, you can easily serve the food on the dishes and plates as you prefer.
Caution: Do not try to carry the food using a liner and take it beside the venue. As the liners are hot, they might expand or burst to make you drop the food.
Make Delicious and Nutritious Meal without a Hassle:
First of all, if you are still concerned about cooker liners being unsafe, just don’t. They are very safe and good for your cooking experience.
I know it is even more confusing. Now, I am even saying that cooking foods using liners helps your meal get more nutritious. Well, it is possible cause the liners are capable of locking the moisture and nutrient values in the food better.
As no nutrients or mineral values get wasted, the food inside the liners gets better, healthier, and tastier. And you get to offer your family some healthy diet food by using slow cooker liners while making an everyday meal.
Saves Cooking and Cleaning Time:
Most of the time in the kitchen goes towards cleaning up appliances and ingredients for a healthy outcome. Moreover, a lot of us feel lazy in cooking dishes which ends up giving us too many cleaning chores.
We already use a slow cooker, crock pot, and sometimes an instant cooker to spend less time cooking and cleaning. But how about I tell you there is another method to decrease Cooking and cleaning time further?
It is the slow cooker liners that make everything about Cooking and cleaning simpler. Therefore, using Crockpot liners, you can easily store many seasoned food ingredients for a while. As you get to make all the food preparation altogether, it saves up a lot of time.
On the other hand, I already said that using liners helps your cooking messes get less messy. And you save time and water bills from cleaning up dirt and grease.
Dishwasher Economical:
Yes, crock pot liners are super-efficient for dishwashers. It does sound a bit odd, but it is indeed right. As the liners save you from the trouble of washing the lid and pot intensely, it puts a great impact.
Therefore, the impact is you will not frequently use the dishwasher, and you will get enough space to wash other appliances.
Makes Cooking Enjoyable without Extra Efforts:
Most of the people using a crock pot, slow cooker, or instant pot are office workers. Or the people who are too busy to waste time on Cooking.
Therefore, using crock pot liners on an instant cooker is just a fancy way to get an easier experience.
Well, you already know that using liners aids in cooking preparation hassles. As well, as cleaning and carrying the crock pot to serve, and all also become so smooth with liners.
Further, if you are facing physical health issues, liners will help in many respects. Not to mention all the individual reasons I said above, also include helping people with physical drawbacks.
Pro Tips: In case your cooking liners keep on melting even in slow cooker mode, you need to do this. Simply spray some cooking spray on the slow cooker pot and then place the liner with food in it.
Can You Use Plastic Instead of a Slow Cooker Liner?
In case you are thinking of using a simple plastic bag instead of a liner bag, that’s a big NO! You cannot, and you should not do that in the first place.
A normal plastic is bound to melt when it comes across high heat. Therefore, it will spill all the food into the plastic bag and mix it up with your food.
Because of that mess, your food will be ruined, and you will need to wash your cooker meticulously. Another reason you must not use polyethylene bags on the instant cooker or slow cooker, they aren’t BPA-free.
On the other hand, slow cooker liners are specifically made using high-grade nylon resin plastic, which is durable, BPA-free, and heat-resistant.
Thus, now it is time you know about how can you use crock pot liners in the instant pot.
How to Use Slow Cooker Liners in an Instant Pot?
Are there liners for instant pots? Yes, but it is not that tricky to use a slow cooker or crock pot liners in an instant pot. Well, you may need to be very careful and thorough about some factors. Therefore, here are the guidelines about using crock pot liners in the instant pot.
Things You Need to Cook Using Instant Pot with Liners:
- Crock pot liners.
- Instant pot.
- Ingredients of the food you are going to cook.
Now, let’s go ahead to see the steps of how can you use slow cooker liners in the instant pot –
1. Set The Liner in The Instant Pot:
To begin the procedure, you should start by lining up the instant pot container. Thereby, take a liner and spread it in the instant pot’s container smoothly.
After that, even out the placement of the liner so there are no gaps left both vertically and horizontally. Also, ensure that there are no air gaps between the container and the slow cooker liner.
However, do not tuck the slow cooker liner into the instant pot heating element portion. That surface can produce high heat exceeding the liner’s limit of 400 °F temperature. Well, this will melt the liner and ruin your Cooking.
2. Put The Ingredients on The Liner:
After you set the crock pot liner on the instant pot container, you are all set. Now it is high time you add your food ingredients to the instant pot lined up with a liner.
Place the ingredients on the cooker liner. However, you should not use liners to cook liquidly foods, as they may spill all over.
3. Cover The Lid and Start Cooking:
As you are over with positioning your liner and placing your food, you may proceed to cook. Thereby, cover the instant pot with the lid and seal it securely.
Next, turn on the instant cooker, select slow cooker mode, and start cooking.
4. Let The Pot Cool Down to Remove the liner:
After the Cooking is complete, you can serve the food on the plates or venues. And then, you can remove the liner and dispose of it. Well, you should not take out the liner when the instant pot is still very hot.
Therefore, give it some time and let the instant pot cool down a bit. Later on, when the instant cooker is not that hot, you can easily pull out the crockpot liner and trash it in the bin.
Also Read: Why Instant Pot Slow Cooker Stuck On Preheat?
What Should You Avoid When Lining a Pot?
You need to consider some factors while lining an instant pot or using a liner in the instant pot.
So, follow through on these things below to avoid accidents while lining an instant pot –
- Do not place the liner on the heating element portion.
- Try to make sure the cooker is turned off, or you may burn using your hand.
- Make sure the bottom of the inner pot is debris free.
- If the surface of the pot feels sticky, spray some water, or it will burn.
- Make sure the liner bag’s opening is on the top while placing it on the pot.
- Line up a crock pot or instant pot to boil liquid food or ingredients.
Frequently People Asked Questions (FAQ)
No, not at all. You cannot and should not reuse a slow cooker or crock pot liner in an instant pot. The liners are specifically designed for one-time use. And after using a liner once, it becomes soaked, soggy with food residue, and may even discharge chemicals if overused.
The FDA stated that slow cooker liners are not harmful at all. Rather, the liners are quite harmless and helpful in making your Cooking less messy. As well, the liners are durable, heat resistant, and BPA-free to provide quality safety.
Yes, you can certainly use a cooking bag in an instant pot. However, you must ensure you only use the slow cooking mode. If you use the pressure cooking mode, the bag may not be strong enough to withstand the pressure and could split, resulting in hot food and liquids spraying all over the place.
Although crock pot liners and oven bags are made using similar materials and work similarly, they aren’t the same at all. They are developed to be specifically used in the slow cooker and oven, respectively.
Depending on what you cook, you can use parchment or aluminum foil instead of a crockpot liner. Also, you can coat the slow cooker with oil to make the cleaning process easier.
The very first difference between oven bags and slow cooker liners is the heat-resistant limit. Oven bags can withstand more heat than liners. Another difference is the liner opening. In the slow cooker liner, the opening is wide, whereas the oven bags have a shallow opening at the end.
Last Remarks
Now you know whether can you use crock pot liners in an instant pot. I suggest you follow through with the things I said to get rid of even tiny possibilities of messing up.
Like, you should always set your instant pot to slow cooker mode. Cooking for a bit more time in less heat will keep your lined-up food safe and healthy. Lastly, you can also follow my lead about using slow cooker liners in the instant pot.
