Instapot? Air-fryer? 5-in-1 device? Do you have and use these?
Currently I use a crock-pot (30 year old wedding present) and a microwave with an occasional toaster oven need. I don’t want to buy something else that will go the way of my bread machine. But maybe one of these appliances really is life-changing, or at least dinner-saving?
It’s just my husband and me at home. And I’m a simple cook that doesn’t do anything too fancy.
Instapot rocks. I made a perfect goulash in it just yesterday - with minimal effort. I frequently use it to make HB eggs and precook ribs for that awesome tender taste. The big bonus is that I can take it outside to boil eggs and potatoes for potato salad during the heat of summer when using a stovetop method would be considered an act of self-destruction. 
I bought an Instapot a few years ago when hubby retired (a year ahead of me) because he had mentioned them a few times. Alas, we rarely use it. I’m a creature of habit with my crockpot.
Instead of getting an air fryer, we opted to get a toaster oven with air fry option when the old toaster oven died. It was a reasonable compromise for us, even though I’m sure a big unit is much more powerful and versatile.
I just bought an air fryer, used it once just to make fries. My husband said it tasted better than from the oven but not as good from as deep fried, which I don’t really do.
But I have 3 crockpots and still using them. I like to make everything from scratch the old fashion way. I don’t think I will buy an instant pot, what for?
I use my instant pot nearly every day. It is magical. I made butternut squash soup today, braised short ribs, burrito mix, and French onion soup last week. It’s endlessly useful.
Tempting as they are, I have resisted the nespresso machines. Convenient if you want one coffee, but I think the taste compared to filtered, is awful. Then you have the cost and the waste of the capsules.
I bought a magimix about a year ago, and if you have a lot of people and want larger amounts chopped, I guess it’s useful, but mostly it just sits there. Last year it helped me do something in about an hour that usually took me three, so it depend on what you want it for. I don’t use my Kmix (like a kitchenAid) that often, but that is one appliance that you need if you want to make good cakes.
The most useful tool, is that handheld blender. People buy these machines called Thermamix, and other companies make the same sort of thing, where the food is chopped and cooked, and maybe puréed, but I find it just as easy to blend the soup in the pan with the hand blender, giving me more space on the counter.
With the price of energy going up, and if you lack space as I do, most appliances don’t earn their keep. An instant pot, probably does save energy though…tempting.
I’m also an instapot fan. It work very well to cook soups and stews well and quickly, plus lots of other things. We also love our rice cookers—use it at least weekly or more.
We haven’t had a kitchen since January (water damage), so I’ve been using a toaster oven/air fryer/toaster combo thing. I use the air fryer mode most nights. It cooks fish perfectly, and I like the way my marinated chicken comes out as well. I even use the AF mode for toast. Since it’s like a large toaster oven, it’s pretty big, so I’m not having to clean out the typical AF basket. I don’t like appliances on the counter; once we get a kitchen back, I’ll probably give it to my DD.
I’ve had a kitchen aid mixer for over 40 years and love it, except for the weight. I used to bake a lot, especially for holidays; with my AI disorder, I just don’t have the arm strength to kneed dough properly or mix my buttercream frosting. I’m putting a mixer cabinet in the new kitchen; it has a hydraulic lift, so DH won’t have to lift it out of a cabinet anymore. We also use a Nutribullet every morning for smoothies; I picked it up new at a thrift shop for $5. It makes a perfect smoothy within seconds every time.
Sous vide and vacuum sealer, my son’s friend just gave us 4 pounds of tuna from a fishing trip. Our family of 7 is now usually 3 but I still buy a lot of meat from Costco and we can freeze it and then sous vide it, even frozen. My immersion blender is used a lot, just replaced my 35 year old blender with a ninja which came with 2 smoothie cups, our 2nd magic bullet might be on its way out. Just made asparagus risotto in our rice cooker. I also use my slow cooker about once a week.
Anova sous vide 
Zojirushi Rice cooker
Jura Z10 coffee maker
Love the instapot especially with the fryer lid. I think a lot people don’t’ want to spend the time to experiment with them. I bought Mrs Rootitoot cookbook – she puts down exact step by step directions and has great recipes. She included her tips and tricks. It was a great learning manual.
I bought a breadmaker brand new in box at a garage sale eons ago for 3 bucks. I positively LOVE that thing!
Rice maker is great too. Set and forget. I have a cheapie (not very big) with “cook” and “warm”. Great rice.
Immersion blender gets continuous use. I bought a newer “better” one but took it back. It was too heavy and bulky compared to my old one.
And the infamous Dash egg cooker. Never giving up that gadget.
I feel like if you’re a real creature of habit, it can be hard to readjust your routine to new small appliances. I also think that small appliances often are best suited to different times of life (feeding small children or a family as opposed to only a couple or a single person). But it’s ok to have an appliance for a few years and then move on from it! Sure, we only had our bread machine for maybe 8-10 years but we used it a decent amount in that time!
I think the Instant Pot has held it’s place as a valuable small appliance to have - in our household. If you’re willing it can take the place of other small appliances: rice cooker, yogurt maker, crockpot, etc. - and it can save dishes as well if you use the saute button and avoid dirtying many pots and pans.
I also really enjoy a toaster oven. I don’t know if H will ever be willing to get rid of our toaster - which could be done if you have a toaster oven - but that is another appliance that can take the place of a couple appliances in a kitchen.
I also still love, love, love my coffee maker that I have had over 5 years now and purchased after getting lots of CC recommendations. It’s electric and mimics a pour over and is slim in design and is not a full sized carafe which is what I wanted. I’ll be SO sad when it dies one day - they don’t make the model anymore - because I love it!
My Bamix immersion mixer usually sits in the drawer all summer long, but when the weather gets cooler and calls for soups, this small appliance gets a lot of use.
The one thing we use daily is our Breville electric tea kettle.
+1 to an electric kettle over a stove top kettle. I still have a “teapot/kettle” on the stove but really we don’t use it anymore - do people still have theirs?
Count me as an instant pot fan. I also have an air fryer, but it gets used less often. Does a great job with veggies!
Does anyone here own and use this magic appliance?
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/m/products/cuisinart-cooking-food-processor/
Agree with the electric kettle recommendation. We got a digital one with programmable temps this month when we walked past the display of them on sale at Costco. It had been in the back of my mind for a while since it is so much more energy efficient than using a kettle on the stovetop. Now water for making coffee heats up in a minute or two, and we use it to bring water to a boil before pouring it into the base of a pot to steam vegetables.
Electric kettle is a staple here.
Ok electric kettle people, why have another device rather than microwave water for tea, etc. (assuming you have a microwave)?
Our S has become a big tea drinker. He spends more on teas than most Starbucks addicts do on coffee drinks. He says an accurate kettle is a must have to get the right temp for different teas - greens, blacks, and fermented teas like pu-erh. It’s hard for me to give him a hard time as I select my favorite flat white settings on my Jura ……. C’est la vie 