Your loving grandparents may swear by those traditional pressure cookers because of their incredible longevity. But now in 2020, it’s not so easy to ignore more than 35 thousand customer reviews on an Electric Pressure Cooker by Instant Pot on Amazon that makes me think which is better electric or stovetop pressure cooker?

Pressure cookers offer a topcellent cooking method that can help you finish your cooking within a very short time. Moreover, this cooking style allows you to take care of other household chores while cooking. So, most of the chefs started using this whistling cookware.

Every product is independently reviewed and selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

But, they noticed that this whistle sometimes makes their sleeping babies scared and to solve this problem, a new version of pressure cooker has been designed. This pressure cooker doesn’t whistle, this cooker never disturbs your little sleeping angels. This silent cooker is known as electric pressure cooker and I was talking about this one which has more than thirty five thousand reviews on Amazon.

No matter you have little babies or cute puppies in your home, if I’m not wrong, you’ve decided to buy this magical cookware. And as soon as you’ve decided to buy, a puzzling debate appeared. This debate is about electric vs stovetop pressure cookers and now you want me to tell you which one you should go for.

Well, as a mom of little cuties, you should buy an electric pressure cooker. More than thirty five thousand wise decisions can never be wrong. So, you can also become another happy customer of this fantastic power cookware.

But, you should take a few more minutes to make your purchase decision if there’s no little babies in your house. An electric pressure cooker comes with several peculiar cooking functions, it uses electricity to cook food and takes a bit more time to finish cooking.

On the other side, those traditional pressure cookers produce much pressure, take less time, entertain a chef with it’s whistle while cooking, cheaper in price and can last not for years, but for decades after decades ensuring the same cooking experience. So, either buy both as both of these cookers make your cooking a bit easier or let me speak for four more minutes to give you the best answer.

Which is better electric or stovetop pressure cooker

It’s already clear that both pressure cookers use pressure to prepare food. You’ve also known that there are differences between the functions and features of these two types of cookers. Now let me show you which one is best for what type of lifestyle-

Electric pressure cooker is best for-

the cooks who feel nervous about technical settings. Electric cooker is fully automatic.

the cooks who are crazy about slow cooking recipes but want to cook it with the twinkle of eyes. Just put the ingredients into the cooker, have a walk in your backyard garden and it’ll be ready without any supervision.

the cooks who have little babies and need schedule cooking. Simply set the timer and it’ll start cooking for your family on time.

the college students who don’t have enough space in their kitchen to store dozens of cookware. A single electric cooker can cook dozens of recipes.

the super busy moms who don’t have enough time to take care of switching on and off the stove. Electric pressure cookers do these things automatically.

the super busy chefs who need to cook multiple dishes at the same time but don’t have enough space in their kitchen to install multiple stoves.

Stovetop pressure cooker is best for-

the super fast chefs. This type of cookers can produce the highest level of heat which helps finish cooking faster.

the fancy cooks who love to try different pressure cooking recipes everyday. Traditional pressure cookers have no such technical parts to get wrong or damaged because of excessive use.

amateur cooks who love to take care of cooking every single second. This type of cookers release pressure frequently and after releasing pressure, sometime it’s needed to observe the food inside the cooker.

the cooks who expect to show their favorite cookware to their grandchildren. Just like dutch oven or cast iron skillets , stovetop pressure cookers last for decades.

the professional cooks who’ve couple of double stoves in their kitchen.

Which of these cooking styles most closely match your lifestyle? Still confused? Does your lifestyle match two characteristics from the second cooking style and two from the first style? No problem, a closer look on the differences, their specific features, advantages and cons of these two types of pressure cookers will help you make an informed decision.

Electric vs stovetop pressure cooker

Before knowing the advantages and disadvantages, let’s see the differences between electric pressure cooker and stovetop pressure cooker based on some key points.

Maximum Cooking Pressure

The first thing you should consider before buying a pressure cooker is its maximum pressure. No matter it’s electric or stovetop pressure cooker, most of them come with two options – Low Pressure and High Pressure.

The lowest limit is almost the same for both types of cookers. It’s 6PSI (pounds per square inch). But, the difference can be seen in the highest limit of cooking pressure. Stovetop pressure cooker can produce up to 15 PSI and to produce the maximum pressure, it usually takes 11 to 12 minutes.

On the contrary, electric cookers can never produce such high pressure. The highest pressure an electric pressure cooker can offer is 13 PSI and to reach this pressure limit, an electric cooker takes 3x more time than a stovetop cooker. Some brands claim that their electric cooker can produce 15 PSI, but personally I’m yet to experience it.

So, if most of your cooking recipes require 15 PSI, then you should go for a stovetop pressure cooker. Watch this video to see exactly how it works

Heat Regulation

Heat regulation is a critical thing while cooking with a stovetop pressure cooker. It’s no issue for the expert chefs. But as a new user of a stovetop pressure cooker, you’ll have to adjust the heat manually and repeatedly to save your food from being over cooked.

Exact heat level is needed to properly cook your food without destroying its taste. So, to ensure the exact heat level, a new user needs to know how to adjust heat while the stovetop pressure cooker starts producing heat and also they have to spend 15 to 20 minutes standing by their stove to adjust the pressure.

But, the heat regulation of an electric pressure cooker is completely automated. You’ll just need to select the exact pressure and cooking time suggested by your recipe book and then switch on your cooker and forget about it. Your cooker will do everything from maintaining the exact heat to switching off the cooker on right time. So, in regulating heat and pressure, an electric cooker is the winner.

Cooking Time

After a long and stressful day of work, nobody likes to spend much time in the kitchen. That’s why pressure cookers have become so popular cookware. But, you can’t identify which one is faster if you don’t cook the same recipe in both of these two types of pressure cooker.

In general, stovetop pressure cookers can finish cooking three times faster than regular cooking method and electric pressure cookers take a bit longer time than stovetop cookers to get your cooking done. But, undoubtedly it’s also nearly two times faster than conventional cooking. So, it’s sure that both will save your time.

Timers And Cooking Programmes

Electric pressure cookers are not the fastest cookers in the world. But, these cookers are the number one choice of most home chefs whenever it comes to looking at schedule cooking, cooking timer and multiple cooking functions. Electric cookers are featured with integrated timer, automotive cooking and cooking programmes that let you enjoy cooking without being in the kitchen.

But, stovetop pressure cookers are not featured with any timer. These traditional pressure cookers also can’t offer any cooking programmes and you’ll have to stay close to your stove if you don’t want to lose the real taste of your food. As, it can’t automatically maintain heat or pressure, so your supervision is needed while cooking.

If you need to do multitask at the same time or want to have your cooking done before you arrive home, then an electric pressure cooker will be the best option for you. It can help you save your time though it’s not the fastest cooker.

Multi-use

A stove top pressure cooker can not offer any other cooking features other than being used as a regular cooking pot. Yap, if you remove it’s special air locking lid, it can be used as a regular cooking pot. At best you can cook sauté in it.

But, you can use your electric cooker for several cooking purposes. An electric pressure cooking pot can be used as a steamer, slow cooker, sterilizer, yogurt maker, cake maker, egg boiler, stew cooker, curry cooker and it also can be used as a rice cooker.

Emergency Cooker

A stovetop cooker can’t help you cook in any emergency situation. For example, while renovating your kitchen, this type of traditional pressure cooker can’t cook any food until you install another stove out of your kitchen.

On the contrary, an electric pressure can cook any time, anywhere. You can cook food even in your game room or TV room if you’ve an electric power cooker. So, there should have an electric pressure cooker in your home to face this kind of emergency situation.

Durability

Nobody likes to buy the same cookware over and over again. So when buying a pressure cooker, durability is the key and stovetop models are the ultimate winner here. There’s nothing to get damaged in this type of pressure cooker. Moreover, it gets heat directly from the stove and thus this heat creates pressure naturally inside the pot.

So, it’s durability and longevity can surprise anyone. You may expect your cookware to last for years. But, a stovetop pressure cooker lasts for decades and can be passed to the next generations.

On the other hand, electric pressure cookers can not last for decades. Because of its construction and electric parts, it can not produce the same heat for decades. This type of cookers rely on electric devices which are subject to wear and tear. As a result, electric cookers are more vulnerable than stovetop cookers.

Pressure Cooker Size

Size is another important factor to consider while choosing a pressure cooker. It’s true that the best size is the size that you most frequently use and almost all the electric pressure cookers are available in best size.

But, sometimes a smaller size or a larger size is also needed. I need a larger size once a year. I need it to cook a special marriage cake to celebrate our marriage anniversary. But, if you need a giant pressure cooker every month or every week, it’ll be better for you to opt in for the stovetop pressure cooker.

You’ll get from 2 quarts to 14 quarts of stovetop cookers. Some brands also manufacture even larger sizes. But, the size of electric pressure cookers usually range from 4 to 10 quarts. Or at best you can get 12 quarts. But, I’m yet to see any larger electric cooker than 12 quarts.

Still confused? No problem, I’ve something more to show you. Let’s see the advantages and disadvantages of these pressure cookers.

Advantage of stovetop pressure cooker

Variety of design, dozens of sizes and a wide collection of beautiful color, these are the eye catching features of the stovetop pressure cookers. Moreover, a stovetop cooker is all about dealing with a pot and a lid with a valve. It ensures less concern while cooking as it’s constructed with fewer parts. It’s other impressive advantages are listed here-

Strongly and solidly built

Comes with handle that makes it easy to serve the meal

Offers more control on cooking

Easy to turn off the stove

Help finish cooking faster

Better at browning meats

Comes with heat controlling feature

Last longer than your expectation

These are some of the most notable advantages of the stovetop pressure cooker. Now, let’s see how many disadvantages it has-

Requires a bit more work

Requires attention throughout the cooking process

Requires monitoring and controlling the heat

If these requirements don’t sound frustrating, then you can consider buying a stovetop pressure cooker. But, if you’re not a chef to fulfill any of these requirements, then the following advantages of an electric pressure cooker will make you feel more confident-

Advantage of an electric pressure cooker at a glance

Designed to be easier to use

Doesn’t require your attention to finish cooking

A single press of a button is enough to cook your food

Comes with different modes and functions

Allows you set the machine up and leave it alone

These are the cool features of an electric pressure cooker. Maybe it can’t create 15 PSI of pressure, maybe it can not cook as fast as a stovetop cooker, but these cool features has made it more popular than an old fashioned pressure cooker. So, I think now I should expect that your puzzling debate about which is better electric or stovetop pressure cooker is now over.