The Rio is Instant Pots successor to the hugely popular entry-level Duo multi-cooker.
Which is really annoying, because Ijustbought a cast iron casserole dish.
And what a piece!
But were the chickpeas fluffy enough?
Was the slow-cooked soup full of deep, infused flavors?
Did the eggs have gooey, jammy yolks?
Find out what I thought of the brand-new Rio in my Instant Pot Rio review.
and 149 from Amazon U.K..
In the U.K., the 6QT is called Multi-Cooker 5.7L and the 7.5QT is the Multi-Cooker XL.
We tested both, but used the Rio Wide for our cook tests.
The 6QT is taller and slimmer, and the 7.5QT Rio Wide is wider and shorter.
The front panel relies on graphic icons rather than text legends.
The Rio is an upgraded successor to the Duo and it looks so much better than its predecessor.
Gone is the steel plating of the old Duo, replaced by a sleek monochromatic black finish.
Theres no dial, with the unit instead relying on a tactile touchpad for adjusting tweaks.
Steam
The first setting I tested on the Rio was the steam function.
As I was making a slow-cooked butternut squash soup, I decided to start by steaming the butternut squash.
But when the time was up, I opened the lid to reveal beautifully soft, vibrantly orange squash.
The steam setting got a big yes from me.
Theres no rice setting on the Rio, but I wanted to test if it could cook rice.
Unfortunately, when it finished the rice was effectively rice mush.
Edible but not enjoyable.
I think youd need to play around with water levels and time to get the best result.
Here are my well practiced tips on how to make rice in an Instant Pot.
Saute
Next in my soup recipe came sauteing.
It doesnt matter if you time it on your phone, but is still a strange oversight.
Then I tossed in my red onion and sauteed it until it was nice and browned.
I switched easily from saute mode to slow cook mode and secured the lid.
Then, I set the Rio to slow cook for two hours.
Two hours later, I opened the Instant Pot to reveal perfectly tender vegetables and a deeply colored broth.
After blending everything up in myNutribullet Smart Touch, I promptly devoured the delicious soup.
Slow cooking was a success.
So I poured in about 1 cup of chickpeas and 5 cups of water.
I was skeptical, but the Rio did everything I asked and more.
So, you dont need to soak your chickpeas with the Instant Pot Rio.
Egg
The Rios default egg setting runs for five minutes.
After five minutes, I released the steam and retrieved a very hot but perfectly hard-boiled egg.
And because of the pressure inside the Rio, the shell came off super easily.
Once the pot is cool, wash it either in the dishwasher or with hot soapy water.
Give the lid, sealing ring, and condenser catcher a clean after every use, too.
Should you buy the Instant Pot Rio?
I adored the range of prefs and the easy-to-clean inner pot.
