This is what burn on Instant Pot machines means when it appears on your screen and how to avoid it the next time you cook so everything goes smoothly!
Whether you’re new to cooking in your Instant Pot or you’ve been using it a long time like I have, there’s nothing worse than seeing the dreaded BURN notice on your Instant Pot! When it first happens you will or probably already have freaked out and not know what to do or how it even happened. Especially if you open it up and nothing is in fact burning….what does it even mean?? Well let me share what I’ve learned over the almost 2 years and 101+ Instant Pot recipes so I can help you avoid the burn on Instant Pot machines to lessen your freak outs. lol (originally published 6/18, affiliate links present)
What does it mean when Instant Pot says burn
I can say it hasn’t happened to me very often, but it has happened on occasion.
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The #1 BEST investment you can make to avoid burn on Instant Pot machines is to get this non stick pot!!
The first thing you need to wrap your head around when you are learning how to use your Instant Pot is that you need liquid inside your pot or the burn warning will turn on for sure.
For more resources check out my Instant Pot recipes tab and LIKE Easy Instant Pot Recipes Facebook page too!
A pressure cooker works with well….pressure, and liquid is necessary for the pot to reach the pressure it needs to cook your meal.
So….that is tip #1, if there isn’t enough liquid the Instant Pot burn message will surely appear on your Instant Pot screen for sure.
Tip #2, many times this is a false alarm and nothing is in fact burning so don’t worry….we can fix it!
Tip #3 you need to deglaze your Instant Pot after cooking meat, here’s how to do that.
Let me start with the pot and utensils I use on a regular basis:
- This is my 6 qt. Instant Pot – I have the first and most basic one and it works great (you don’t need the fancy expensive one to do the trick y’all)
- I use wooden utensils so I don’t scratch the inside – and they last forever
- The only inserts I use and would recommend really are these
- steamer basket – comes with egg rack for free too
- springform pan
- bundt pan
- the trivet that comes with your Instant Pot
What are some other ways you may see burn on Instant Pot machines:
- You don’t have enough liquid in your pot – as stated above
- Solution – open the lid then:
- ensure there isn’t burnt food inside
- another 1/2 cup of liquid
- make sure sealing ring is in place
- close lid and steam valve again
- press off/cancel
- set your pressure high/low again
- set your time again
- hopefully this will solve your problem and cooking will resume successfully
- Solution – open the lid then:
- Something is in fact burning
- Solution – open your pot and remove your food, salvage what you can
- Next time:
- make sure to deglaze your pot (<—-instructions in this post) after searing/cooking meat
- leave meat on the bottom and do not stir contents when setting pressure, see how I explain it with my Instant Pot spaghetti
- You haven’t deglazed your Instant Pot – after cooking, and especially after searing meat on the saute function you need to do this
- Solution – remove meat, turn pot off/cancel & scrape the bottom to remove food stuck to bottom of the pot
- allow pot to cool
- return meat (and other ingredients) to pot
- put lid on and close pressure valve again
- set to pressure high/low again
- resume cooking and that should solve the problem
- Solution – remove meat, turn pot off/cancel & scrape the bottom to remove food stuck to bottom of the pot
- You’ve used thick sauces – this isn’t recommended when pressure cooking, thick tomato sauce or honey bbq sauce are often culprits
- There’s something stuck on your heating element – lift pot up and check underneath for this
I will say that in the years I have been using my Instant Pot I have only maybe had the burn notice come on a handful of times, and I use it almost every day. Once I understood that liquid was key it helped a lot.
Also, most of the time burn came on there was nothing in fact burning so don’t freak out.
If you read and understand the reasons why your Instant Pot says burn you will have a lot better chance avoiding burn on Instant Pot machines in the future and enjoying your pressure cooker on a daily basis like we do.
Nona says
I’m getting a lot of good tips from the people who write. I have got the burn message when i use tomato sauce or paste. Just learnt about layering. I’m hoping that will work. Right now I’m cooking my chili, which gave me the burn message while pressuring, on the slow cooker feature and turned it on HI. Hope this is one way to save my dinner. Glad i started early.
Patti Oar says
I love my IP but have gotten the Burn notice from time to time mostly when using tomato sauce recipes since they are heavier. I do layer everything with water first and still get the message. So now I put the water in the bottom and then put a metal veggie steamer in the pot upside down and put everything else on top of that and haven’t had a Burn notice since. It seems to keep the water where it can turn to steam without letting the heavier ingredients sit on the bottom where they can burn. So far it’s working for me.
Sarah Lane says
I’ve used my beloved Instant Pot at least a dozen times since receiving it as a Christmas gift and tonight I got the burn food warning. After following your advice and adding a bit more water and scraping up all the bottom bits, it worked just as it was supposed to.
Indian Butter Chicken does have a heavy tomato sauce, so that must have been the culprit.
Thank you for your column. It helped!
CD says
I am new to the instant pot craze! I have cooked a roast (bbq style) with great success and made bbq beef on a bun with it. Last night I made chicken with veggies and rice and got the burn message. I’m not giving up on my Instant Pot. Someone on Amazon told me to make sure and spray the pot with non stick spray. I may also get a non stick pot for it. There are many tricks and tips out there!
Annette says
To all of those who have had to deal with the “burn” issue, I have the solution. I always use onions on the very bottom, then mushrooms, then the well seasoned meat, and then pour in at least cup of liquid (broth of some type) and you should be good to go. I have never had the burn issue cooking meat this way.
CD says
Like this!! Thanks for the tips 👍🏻!
eman laerton says
burn burn burn
F the InstaPot
Jean says
Love the pot for some things but I have not been able to cook rice or oatmeal in it without the burn warning. Gave up trying
The Typical Mom says
First I HIGHLY recommend getting a non stick pot. I list it on my favorite things in my about me section. If you use 2:2.5 water ratio for rice it is perfect. Have a post about that too.
Janice Messmer says
I place 1 c. steel cut oatmeal and 2 c. hot water in a high-sided pot or oven safe bowl and put it on the trivet in the inner pot. I then put 1-2 c. of water in the bottom of the inner pot, depending on the size of your instant pot. I pressure cook manually on high for 5 min. and let the pressure release manually for 20 min and then finish releasing. I stir in cinnamon, fruits and nuts according to my family’s taste. Because the oats are not sitting directly on the heat source, they will not burn. I used to cook oats in a double boiler so they wouldn’t stick and so I still use the same principle in the instant pot.
Wendy Turpin says
This is my second time using my Instant Pot to make stew and both times the “BURN” message came up. Shuts the machine down automatically…there was lots of liquid still…pulled everything out, cleaned it and restarted it…and it happened again. Took everything out and used the stove…very disappointed.
The Typical Mom says
Make sure you immediately turn your pot off after using saute as well as deglaze your pot.
Andrea says
I was making pasta and sauce in my 6 quart instant pot and about 2 minutes into my cooking I got the burn message. There is like a jar and a half of sauce plus two cups of water in there. I know it’s not lack of liquid so all I did was give it a little shake back and forth slowly to kind of stir it if you will and it went away and back to cooking. Thought I’d share in case this helps anyone else! Good luck!
The Typical Mom says
I find some pots are more temperamental than others. lol Thanks for the tip
D says
Get to the fucking point already!!! you suck
Frustrated says
Lol … yeah I feel like it’d be better for the author to get to the frickin point instead of wasting time saying it’s okay and I’m gonna tell you why over and over
Jessica says
D,
My mother taught me that if I didn’t have something nice to say to not say anything at all. Maybe that’s something you could try out?
Another option might be to choose words that add value to your statement. Using profanity really takes away value from your point, so does your grammar.
Lastly, you stated, “you suck” This is a fragment, not a proper sentence. You leave the reader with questions. What does she suck? A straw? Lemons? Her thumb?
You may feel frustrated that the blogger was long-winded in her post, but the value of your opinion is lost in your immaturity.
Have a lovely day, “D.” I can come up with many words that start with a “D” that could describe you.. but instead I will follow the aforementioned advice from my mother.
kat says
Yep. Just tried to cook a roast in my new Insta Pot and the Burn notice came on every 10 minutes. None of the above mentioned items nor any in the directions or on the Internet helped. Now I have a house full of hungry people. Piece of crap which I will be returning tomorrow!
Raechel says
Agreed! Biggest piece of garbage I have ever used! They talk about cook times and this thing takes longer than my oven when it comes to the preheat, cook and release time!
Rt says
YES!!! We’ve had many LATE dinners because I was like “ cool 20 mins, that’s awesome, this is WHY we have the instant pot” … and after the preheat, and release – even quick release – it comes to be closer to an hour ?
The Typical Mom says
I never wait that long for it to cool, I just turn off immediately after using saute and add other ingredients. By the time I’m done adding, stirring, etc…it’s been just fine to put on pressure without a burn.
David S Laker says
A good product ruined.
Unlike my older Instant Pot, this new pot has a “BURN” feature that practically makes it useless for most of the recipes that this cooker is famous for–like stews, for instance.
I’ve had what appeared to be the same Instant Pot for over a year so bought one for my friend in England because she loved the recipes I turned out–especially stews.
The new pot had a slightly different panel but otherwise was identical. I put together my usual stew recipe, searing the meat first and loading everything else including the usual can of crushed tomatoes and about 2 cups of liquid, lid on, hit ‘Meat Stew’, 35 mins on high pressure is normal. About 5 minutes later before pressure was even showing, up comes a warning “BURN” and the whole process shuts down. What’s BURN? Mine has never shown BURN. Consult online advice and they say “layer the tomatoes on top ensuring liquid is on bottom”. What kind of nonsense is this? One of the beauties of the One Pot is making a big stew and reheating it for days following.
What has happened to this once- wonderful utensil? This BURN addition to the program makes it totally useless.
I then gave the stew a stir, added more liquid than should be and turned on the “Slow Cook” for 4 hours after which the stew was lukewarm and the veg totally raw. In desperation, I emptied the One Pot into my cruset and finished the stew on the stove top.
Very, very disappointed that my gift was a bust. Why would anyone take a good idea and completely ruin what has become a marketing phenomenon?
Dave F says
I have to agree with David S. Made a beef stew tonight as a new IP user to test it out. Recipe had 1/2 can of tomato paste and one small can sauce. Mixed everything together. 10 minutes later, BURN. Removed pot, dumped contents in to large mixing bowl, cleaned out pan to mirror finish. Started process again. Ten minutes later: BURN. Finished meal on stove. Plenty of liquid in pot so I have to think it is tomatoes or something else burning. I even browned meat and vegetables in separate dutch oven then added the batch to IP with plenty of liquid. No luck.
Either I just don’t know how to use the thing, the stainless pan needs to be seasoned or made of non-stick, or the program is defective. Saute function is useless as the food always gets too hot and sticks.
The only thing “Instant” is the BURN, as in my buying this equipment. Recommend to avoid. Model: Viva.
Terry says
Ha! I said the same thing, the only thing INSTANT is the BURN feature..
Diane Urso says
Just got my instant pot and made chili last night kept getting the burn message I think it was to little liquid. Question i noticed it did not work like a timer on the stove I.e. I didn’t know how much time was left is that correct? Should it work like a timer?
Thank you so much!! I want to use my pot and get in the groove quickly :)))
Mary says
Thank you for this!! I didn’t know what to do!