Get 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
The only dish soap I have on hand is regular blue Dawn and I didn’t want to have a foamy disaster but I happened to remember that I have some Dr Bronners so I used that (same amount, 1 tablespoon) and I have to say the whole method was MAGIC. Followed instructions exactly and when it was done “cooking” I was able to wipe off whatever had not already come off the bottom. And it really is more shiny than it has been for a while!! Thank you!!!
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Sarah, so good to hear! It’s pretty magical, right?! Thanks for letting me know what brand you used.
So say we did this and bubbles came out of the steam valve… How do we now clean the soap out of that?? 😅
Kay, dang! I’m not sure why this happens to some and not others! What kind of soap did you use? Did you use the exact measurements? You can simply rinse water through the steam valve and that will be good enough to clean it 🙂
Worked perfectly!! I use Mrs Meyers as well-my pot looks brand new- thank you!!
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Nicole, yay! Feels so good to have a shiny pot, right?!
Worked like a charm! Thank you 🙂
I tried with this dish soap first, suds started flowing out. Started over (after reading others’ comments) with 2c warm water, 1/2 c vinegar, 2 Tbsp baking soda. Three minutes on high pressure. Nada. Nothing. No change. I believe all of you and your results, so I wonder what else I could try? I cooked rice in the pressure cooker for the first time, following the instructions exactly, and now there’s a rock hard layer still stuck to the bottom. It will not budge. Ideas?
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Meg, OH no! That’s not fun at all. Did you let the pressure naturally release when you did it? I’ve noticed if I have a starchy mess, it works best to let it sit for a while after I do the pressure cooking step.
I burned oatmeal. Found your article but had no baking soda. I tossed in a couple of Alka Seltzer tabs, did everything else per instructions and it worked great. Thanks your piece was a lifesaver!
Randy, It’s kind of fun, huh?! I’m going to try your Alka seltzer idea next time!
THANK YOU!!! I had been working on getting it off for two days and then finally searched the internet and found your great advice!!😁😍
It worked like magic. Thank you again!!!
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Ana, it’s a miracle worker for sure :). I’m glad it saved you some stress!
Thank you for this! Worked great after spending 2 days trying to get risotto off the bottom of my IP.
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Nicole, yes it saved me with rice once too!
thank you so much! it worked!!! no scrubing yay 🙂
This is amazing. I had been scrubbing my instant pot the whole day thinking if it will ever get cleaned. This trick is really good. I used baking soda and vinegar and very little dish soap (foaming one, since I had none other) and this was a miracle.
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Prachi, I’m so glad it worked for you! It’s a pretty great trick!
I have done this as per your instructions but using a half cup of vinegar instead of the soap and it worked perfectly.
Derek, I love that idea, I’m going to give that a try as well! That probably helps with the seal smell.
I will try. I’m hoping it will also clean the trivet which is really hard to clean.
I scorched my pan making yogurt and it was impossible to clean. I used this tip and it worked like a charm. Note: read ALL of the instructions. I did a quick release and had a sputtering mess on my hands but all is well now.
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Marissa, that’s the exact situation that led to me figuring this one out 🙂 I’m so glad it worked for you as well!
This worked wonderfully. I burned some tapioca pearls and it looked impossible. I used your same measures in my Instant Pot mini. The residue wasn’t floating at the top but it was completely unstuck so that I could easily clean the pot with a few swipes. Thank you.
Yes, this has been my yogurt situation on several occasions! I’m glad it could work so well for you!
Wow! This worked like a charm. My instant pot is gleaming. I put it through a dishwasher cycle to avoid the remains of soapy residue/baking soda aroma as someone mentioned experiencing above, but it probably didn’t need it. This new instant pot user thanks you!
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Jamie, works so well, right!?
I’m glad it worked for you!
Okay, so i tried your method and it was the best thing ever for removing the scorched, burned mess. The down side? His the heck do you get rid of the soap smell and taste. I made French onion soup and it was like eating soapy water. I was mortified. So now i saved money with not replacing the pot and i have a much larger problem now. Help please. I still taste soap.
Beth, oh wow, I’ve never had that problem with my stainless steel or nonstick pot, that’s so weird! I’m so sad about your soapy french onion soup as well, what a disappointment. Maybe a cycle in the dishwasher would help. I’m curious, what soap did you use? I can’t figure out why it would have left such a permanent smell!
I can not cook, at all, and I managed to burn rice on the bottom, bad. (Forgot to turn off the keep warm..for a few hours). So, I didn’t think this in a million years would work, and it did totally 100% did. Within 5 minutes all the rice came off. Totally never leaver reviews but I had to with this one!!!!
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Ashley, just about the best magic trick ever, right?! Good to know that it can handle even this kind of extreme situation 🙂
Thank you for making this post. So many new to pressure cooking, have this problem. With your method, I would have to buy the dish soap. Have tried so many different dish soap, but always went back to using blue Dawn. I have used a soaking method, that I learned from having European non stick pots and pans. Then in February of 2018, I saw a blog, on using your pot, like a dishwasher. Using his idea, tried my solution in my pot, plus tested some of his just cleaning my pot after using it. I put 1 cup tap water, half cup of white vinegar, 2 Tbsp. of 1 of these; baking soda, Bar Keepers Friend powder, OxiClean powder or Borax, or 1 dishwasher pod. If seal ring is smelly, squeeze juice from half a lemon, then cut into wedges add the rind. Lock lid on pot, set time- 3-5 minutes, with full NPR. When it is done, I rinse off the parts and dry or air dry them. Have a clean pot still looks like new, with No Scrubbing. Had all these products on hand, and have tried each one, whenever I had stuck on food or stains from cooking. I found Bar Keepers Friend worked best with vinegar and boiled water, when my daughter had burnt on food in her pot. When she was first learning to pressure cook. Sometimes I put 2 squirts of blue Dawn in my pot, instead of dishwasher pod. I did the 1-2 hour soaking method, sometimes over night. When I first learned how to use my pots (were non stick), over 17 years ago. Never had to scrub them, to get burnt or stuck on food out. My girls and I, have used our pots, to clean since last year. Saved rooms in dishwasher for more dinnerware.
Susan, your comment is LOADED with good tips! Thank you so much! I’ve never tried the dishwasher pod idea, I love that. I also need to try the Bar Keepers soak. I have yet to find a way to really get all of the smell out of the seal. The lemons definitely help though. Thanks again for writing all of that out!
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!
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!