I'm Marci! Join me here on TIDBITS for healthy Instant Pot recipes and get 10 free recipes from my cookbook, Master the Electric Pressure CookerGet your pot shining and clean again in less than 10 minutes with no scrubbing. Best pressure cooker hack ever!
I've got a tip/hack today that is essential for every pressure cooker in the entire world. It's so important, I decided to make an entire post out of it. IT'S THAT ESSENTIAL! Welcome to my course on How To Clean a Burnt Pressure Cooker Pot (AKA Instant Pot liner).
Oh the bane of my existence is this scorched, burnt, impossible to remove layer of brown cement from the bottom of this pot here. And that isn't even the worst I've ever seen! I've done much, much, MUCH worse damage than this!
Every time I make Instant Pot Yogurt or Skyr I know that this will be the aftermath I deal with because truthfully I'm lazy/busy and don't want to stir it while it's coming up to temperature. But this can be a common occurrence if there's not enough water in the pot for oatmeal, rice, pasta, or just about anything.
Before I learned this trick I tried soaking, scrubbing, soaking some more, dishwasher, Bar Keepers Friend (which works wonders on everything but this scorched mess, FYI!), but I always ended up basically scraping it off bit by bit with my fingernails. Gross, I know, but what else!
My sister Maegan is the one that taught me this trick of pressure cooking baking soda, dish soap, and water. When I first tried it, removed the lid, and saw a nasty brown layer floating in my pots soapy water, I literally squealed with disgusted delight and showed my whole family (who were equally disgusted because it really does look kinda gross, just warning ya).
In minutes it went from that burnt pot above to literally being able to wipe away any extra stuck on residue with a silicone spatula (or a paper towel even).
A quick rinse and a 5 second scrub later, your pot looks like this
Like it's actually glowing with silver sun rays.
Now go burn something! Then you too can discover the utter joy of disgusting brown floaties in your pot! Good times are ahead ????
P.S. Don't actually burn something on purpose cuz I don't wanna be liable for that. I was just being my typical, dramatic, sarcastic self there okay? Okay! But if you happen to burn something, send me a before and after picture when you use this trick! It just never gets old!
Tools Used to Clean a Burnt Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot) Pot
- Instant Pot
- Mrs. Meyers Lavender Dish Soap
- Bar Keepers Friend
- Baking Soda
- Silicone Spatulas (my favorite ones!)
How to Clean a Burnt Pressure Cooker Liner Pot
Easy recipe for a great instant pot cleaner
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 instant pot 1x
- Category: Cleaning
- Method: Pressure cooker
- Cuisine: worldwide
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon liquid dish soap, (not the foam kind) I like Mrs Meyers Lavender Dish Soap
Instructions
- Add water, baking soda, and dish soap to the pressure cooker pot. Slosh the mixture around to combine the ingredients.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes.
- When cooking time is complete, use a natural release.
- The charred residue will now be floating in the soapy liquid. Discard pots contents, give it a quick scrub with a brush if needed, and viola! Pot is like new!
Notes
- Bar Keepers Friend doesn't lift up burnt residue, but it is amazing for removing other stains and making your pot look shiny and new.
- Some readers have had issues with Palmolive and Regular Blue Dawn causing too much foaming and spraying through the valve. Mrs. Meyers is what I use and it works well every time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 0
- Sugar: 0
- Sodium: 00
- Fat: 0
Keywords: instant pot clean, pressure cooker clean, cleaning solution
Hello great tip on brown gunk cleaning from Hot pot. I spray mine with Pam before use also. Did you heat the pot? and how long did you soak it?
Thanks Deb Kaplan
Debra, pam is a great tip! I don’t soak it at all before I do this and I just pressure cooked it like I talk about in the post.
We did this with just soapy Water growing up, it wasn’t quite that effective though so I am absolutely gonna try with the baking soda!!! Thanks!
Lea, you’ve never wanted to burn something so badly, huh?! ????
This has been the BEST thing! It took me forever to clean my pot after doing yogurt. I have put off making it again until today. I used this post to clean the pot, and what a gamechanger! Bonus: made the camper smell pretty nice too! Thank you for this!!
When you say not the foam kind… does that mean not to use Palmolive or Dawn, etc.? What would happen if I did use these, because that’s the kind of dish soap at my house?
Tawna, I was referring to the ones that come in a can or a foaming container. Honestly it would probably work great, I’ve just never tried it. Let me know if you do!
I use a tablespoon or two of washing soda in hot water. Let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Washes right off. Works on all burned on food, in all kind of pots, pans, roasters etc.
Elle, Awesome! Tell me what washing soda is!
I use it for laundry ,greasy dishes, burned on pots etc. As I understand it, it is similar chemically to baking soda (but def not edible) kind of baking soda on steriods.
http://armandhammerlaundry.ca/products/super-washing-soda-detergent-booster?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtZzWBRD2ARIsAIPenY2r505fsxFBhEpyCTsv6p5IvJ2-FbUPCfKdZgHUxrfjo7tMAO_eS3EaAm3rEALw_wcB
Elle, wow! I’m buying this now. Thank you!
This. Is. a. Gamechanger!! I have put off making yogurt again because the pot was such a chore to clean. Tried this tonight, and WOWZERS!! And, bonus…. made the camper smell a bit better! I will be sharing this post with all my friends!????????????????
Cheryl, It really is exciting, the magic of this trick ????. Thank you for sharing your discovery with others!
Well, this did NOT work for me 🙁 In fact, it made things worse! I had some burned pasta on my InstantPot, so I followed the instructions. However, instead of removing the gunk, it made soap/baking soda/water coming busting out of the vent, the burnt food did not come off at all, and it splattered food rements everywhere inside the pot. And it made a huge mess for me to clean up.
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Kelsey, Oh my goodness, I’ve never had that happen. My only guess is that your soap was especially foamy? That’s not fun at all!
Tried this and while some of the burnt bits came out, not all of it did…and the fragrance from the dish soap I used scented the rubber ring in my lid. Not a big deal except that the cheesecake I made in the IP later on came out tasting of dish soap as well (despite having rinsed out all the components after this cleaning cycle). Wouldn’t try this again, or if I do, it’d be with only the baking soda and no dish soap.
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Gin, sorry it didn’t work for you! What food was burned on?
I believe it was residue from initially browning some of the ingredients from a chili recipe
gin, thanks for letting me know. I’ve used it with rice, oats, and yogurt and that layer has always peeled right off with those foods
Worked like a charm tonight with our Fire Roasted Chicken Spaghetti. Gave an initial scrape with metal spatula. Miracle cure. Thanks for the tip! #InstantPotDad
Larry, Ummm, that sounds amazing. How did you do it!?
Shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken
2 cups chicken broth
2 cans roasted tomatoes (or Rotel)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
Seal pot and set manual timer for 3 minutes
Let pressure natural release for 5 minutes then quick release remaining pressure
Remove lid and add 1 package cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded taco cheese
12 oz spaghetti (break noodles into smaller pieces
Set pot to sauté and cook for 10 minutes until it thickens
Eat and Enjoy!
Larry, that sounds so yummy, thank you for sharing it with me!
Marci will this also work on a non-stick instant pot? I’m at my daughter’s home and fixed spaghetti w meat sauce and scorched the bottom of the pan. Have been soaking for 2 days now w no results. Thanks.
Janie, I believe it will work. I’ve had the same scenario. Please let me know!
Worked great for me!! Thanks!!
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I burned some pasta in the bottom of my Instant Pot and needed a way to get it off, tried this method. The pit came to pressure but, after one minute, soap started spewing out the valve. I turned the valve to venting quickly but it wasn’t enough to release the pressure inside. The lid literally popped up and the water, soap and burnt pasta combination came out the top. It made a mess of the ceiling but thankfully the lid stayed on (it’s almost like it stayed in the groves of the pot and it took me a little bit of muscle to get it off. Anyway, if i has been standing close to it it likely would have resulted in some burns and, if the lid hadn’t stayed attached I feel like it would have went straight up into the ceiling. I used Palmolive dish soap and only a tablespoon so not sure what happened. Anyway, I won’t be using my Instant Pot again for fear of inurying myself next time.
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Matt, I have not used Palmolive soap before with this process. I would definitely do a water test on your pot before using it again.
which type of scrub should be used?
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Robin, do you mean the brush or the soap? I love Mrs. Meyers soap and I just use a regular ol’ dishwasher scrubber, nothing special
WOW! Thank you for sharing your DIY instant pot cleaning technique! It worked great! My pot looks brand new now!!!
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Kelly, works like a charm, doesn’t it 🙂
I had the same problem as Kelsey and Matt. Please talk me out of returning this beast. Today was my first time using it. Started with something easy, Mac n Cheese. pretty basic 4c water, box of elbow noodles. My pot got a burn error before it came to pressure. Then everything scorched. Followed this formula (using Dawn original/blue) and foam came spewing out before it got to pressure and started countdown. When I released the valve foamy steam all over the place. I’ve washed my floor twice, scrubbed and scrubbed pot but still looks like I’ve had it years. Luckily I was working on my island and only took 2 floor washes and an hour of wiping down stools and everything within 3 foot area. Is it possbile for these IPs to heat up pressure too fast? I really want it to work but as a first time user, well; I’m glad I didn’t throw out the box! PS: By the time I got back to the pot I was able to clean the scorch easily (wasn’t floating as advised) and finish up with Barkeepers.
Judith, Oh goodness, I might have thrown my pot out the window as well! I’m trying to figure out if there is a common theme with people having this problem. Obviously, it must be the brand of soap that is sudsing too much, I’ll add a note about your Dawn experience. If you’re willing to give mac and cheese another try, the recipe on my blog is a family favorite and is a healthier version as well. I’ve made it more times than I can count and have never had a problem with it.
It’s been suggested that I watch over and manually release venting during the un-scorching cleaning process and that might help. It could also be the Dawn. I definitely made sure the pot cooled all the way down (cancel and unplugged) before this process. I’m not quitter so I’m not giving up. Bottom line is not to scorch the bottom and I need to make sure I deglaze anytime I use saute before proceeding. I appreciate your timely reply. Figured you would want to know if folks are having unsuccessful attempts with these instructions. Please don’t take any of this personally. I’m glad I found your site.
In addition, wondering if for an 8 Qt I should add more water ratio. I think the suggested min water for 8 Qt is 1.5 cups. Just a thought.
UPDATE: Ended up being a user error. As a first time user I was pushing the valve a little too hard to seal and that was creating the problems. I just tried this method again and it worked like a charm. Thank you and I’m sorry for the prior remark. I hope folks can see this update. Only scorches I get are user errors, not the pot. But when I get them this is the method I will always use.
Judith, thanks for the follow up! That’s is so incredibly helpful, I appreciate you taking the time to do that. I’m glad it worked.
This saved my Instapot! Thank you! I look pictures of the before and after!
Trisha, it’s pretty amazing, isn’t it! Shocks me a bit everytime 🙂
I’m a brand new IP user and scorched the bottom of my liner last night. I let it soak in the sink all night with dish soap. This morning still couldn’t get a single bit of the mess off. Tried this method and I’m in awe. The liner looks brand new and I didn’t even have to break a sweat to clean it! Thanks a ton!!
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Aimee, it’s pretty shocking, isn’t it!? I’m glad it could save you some time 🙂
This worked great! Blue dawn works fine. Really helps to get the pot nice an de clean without scrubbing it forever. I us this all the time!
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Jillian, thanks for letting me know! I’ve never had problems either so I’m grateful for the feedback
The easiest way to clean ANY burned food out of ANYTHING is with a dishwasher pod in hot water. Let it soak and wipe clean. No need for all of those ingredients.
This is the best thing I’ve ever seen for cleaning the pot! I’ve used it so many times and never had a problem. I use the yellow dawn dish soap and never had an issue with it sudsing too much. I even use this as a way to just give my pot a quick clean and make it like new again even if I haven’t burnt anything on the bottom.
Lauren, I agree, I love this trick so much! It’s saved me a lot of serious scrubbing.
Omg.. I made couscous and it stuck so badly on the bottom of my pot that i really thought i ruined it. My pot beeped saying food burnt so it didnt go to pressure but i did npr for whatever pressure it did have and thank goodness it came right off. This trick saved me and my pot. I was having anxiety lol..
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Daisy, it’s pretty amazing, isn’t it! I’m glad it worked for you!
Instead of dish soap, if you a dishwasher, maybe try a little dishwasher detergent. Powder, liquid or pod (if you break off a bit) should work. Dishwasher detergent is designed not to make suds.
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Lawrence, smart! What a great idea, thanks!