Can An Instant Pot Really Explode?

When it comes to convenience, it's hard to beat an Instant Pot. But is the time saved worth the risk? "There have been a handful of cases where, due to user error or a faulty appliance, pressure cookers have been the cause of unfortunate kitchen accidents," said recipe developer and author of "The Instant Kitchen Meal Prep Cookbook," Coco Morante. "It's a rare occurrence though," she reassured us. "With proper caution and care, you will most likely never have your Instant Pot or other pressure cooker blow up during use."

Although rare, it does happen. In March 2026, a California woman filed a lawsuit against Walmart and the producers of the Instant Pot pressure cooker due to injuries she sustained from what she alleged were faulty safety features that led to her Instant Pot exploding. In 2023, Best Buy had to issue a recall of almost 1 million Insignia pressure cookers from the market — the second major recall of that year on pressure cooking devices. Mislabeled inner pots had led to overfilling and subsequent explosions of hot food being ejected without warning.

For those of you who faced pressure cooker fears as children, hoping that the evening's dinner would land safely on the table and not take out part of the house, the thought of that happening today is  mind-blowing — no pun intended. But Morante shared Instant pot hacks that help avoid these mishaps, and they need your attention to keep your kitchen safe.

Instant Pot explosions aren't common, but they aren't unheard of either. "I always include some rules of thumb in the intro sections of my Instant Pot cookbooks for that reason — definitely read through those, along with the appliance manual, and you'll be just fine," said Coco Morante. "Like any kitchen appliance, the Instant Pot requires a level of awareness and common sense."

Understanding that the warnings and instructions are there for a reason can make the biggest difference in your experience with using a pressure cooker. The fill levels aren't suggestions. The handling instructions aren't based on opinion. There's even a proper way to clean your Instant Pot, and hacks like opening the pressure release with a wooden spoon to prevent burns.  

Morante did offer on rule to follow:  "Never, ever try to open your Instant Pot during its pressure-cooking cycle!" While it can be tempting to check what's going on under the lid, she said, "You just have to trust that everything's going to turn out fine." So long as you avoid making certain dishes in your Instant Pot and stick to the tried and true Instant Pot recipes, it should.