My Instant Pot Explosion!

Like many new Instant Pot owners, I've wondered, How many Instant Pots have exploded? 

(Eeek!)

I'm happy to report that my research on Snopes and other sites has shown that these do not explode, at least not when used properly. There is a lawsuit between a woman in Texas and the Instant Pot manufacturer, but she admits she had thrown a towel over the steam vent. Do NOT do this. 

Still concerned? Consider that on Prime Day of 2018, Amazon sold more than 300,000 Instant Pots. That's more than a quarter of a million sales in only 1 day! If these things were not safe, you would see news stories every day about someone being injured.

Still, things can go wrong.

We love our Instant Pot, the digital pressure cooker that seems to suddenly be in every home. You can't mess up - just throw in random ingredients and you'll get something yummy every time. It's foolproof. At least, that's how I used to feel about our Instant Pot, until the explosion...

Instant Pot Explosion

Instant Pot Explosion
On a side note, you may recognize my kitchen from other "Instant Pot explosion" sites, as my images have been stolen multiple times.

Ack! We just moved in to our dream home and look what I've already done to my brand new, all-white kitchen!

I tried to re-seal the vent but the pressure was too high to cooperate. I'm honestly not sure what went wrong with this batch of oatmeal. I've made it a million times. The Instant Pot was only about halfway full.

You probably clicked on this link thinking that my Instant Pot really did explode, violently maiming or killing everyone within a 2-mile radius. You wondered if I'd written this from beyond the grave, while your own new Instant Pot sits in your kitchen, unused. 

Don't be afraid to use your Instant Pot! It is in millions of homes and you never hear of it exploding because it doesn't. I own two Instant Pots and use them almost daily and have never, ever had a problem. (Well, other than the one-time explosion of messiness, above, of course.)

Here is the link to my extra-healthy Super Oatmeal Instant Pot recipe, in case you are curious or a fan of the delicious. It probably won't explode when you make it.

Oatmeal? More like a batch of tasty, homemade glue.

I was bummed that my quick and easy breakfast had turned into a gelatinous mess. Looking at my slimy quartz counter, I thought this Instant Pot fail was surely destined for the trash, along with a stack of gooey paper towels.

 But guess what? Remember how I said you'll get something yummy out of the Instant Pot every time? Every. Single. Time.

Explosion be darned.

This is the same batch of oatmeal that was oozing all over my kitchen, stirred. Go Instant Pot!

Our kitchen is fine. Our pups, Pica and Biscuit, loooved helping me clean the floor. They did such a thorough job, I came this close to putting them up on the counters to assist with cleanup there as well.

Update: Since posting this, I haven't had this problem again. I think the important lesson to take away here is that you should not (must not!) manually release the pressure when you are cooking oatmeal. Let it release naturally. 

Actually, with an all-white kitchen, I've found it's best to use the natural release method for most recipes.

Now that you've been reassured that an Instant Pot explosion is most likely not going to happen, check out my popular post, 36 Best Instant Pot Recipes. Each Instant Pot dish has a 4.5-star rating or higher.

(I promise none of these recipes will explode!)