Instant Pot with a glass bowl and trivet inside the pot
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Is Pyrex Safe in Instant Pot

Can Pyrex go in the Instant Pot? Is Pyrex safe to use when pressure cooking?

Instant Pot with a glass bowl and trivet inside the pot

CAN YOU USE PYREX IN INSTANT POT?

I’ve been happily using my Pyrex glass bowl in my Instant Pot for Pot-in-Pot cooking for quite some time.

This bowl has been used about a hundred times with meals that I’ve made like our reader favorite Teriyaki Chicken or in recipe testing for my Instant Pot Creations Recipe Ebook.

I’ve used it to cook frittatas, french toast casseroles, rice, quinoa and desserts.

Using pyrex for pot-in-pot cooking in my Instant Pot has always been successful and I never once worried about it until…

Recently, a reader asked if Pyrex was safe to use in the Instant Pot since she had heard conflicting information.

I WILL ALWAYS do my best to share the most accurate information and would never encourage doing anything that might cause any harm.

So I decided to do some research of my own to find out exactly what the rules are about using Pyrex glass in the Instant Pot for things like pot-in-pot cooking.

Instant Pot Mini 3qt with glass bowl on counter

(This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

ok if oven safe

According to Instant Pot, it’s safe to use anything in the Instant Pot that says it’s OVEN SAFE. Ok, phew! I was relieved to know that I was indeed safe using my OVEN SAFE Pyrex dish.

But wait…

Pyrex says no

I discovered what Pyrex’s statement on using their Pyrex dishes to pressure cook. Pyrex does not recommend pressure cooking with it’s products.

Well rats, that stinks. It wasn’t as safe as I thought if the actual company says it’s a no-no.

Borosilicate vs. Soda-lime

As I dug further into research, I discovered this article that shares the history of the Pyrex glass. The original company started with the brand PYREX (written in all caps). This glass was made out of a formula called Borosilicate, which is known for it’s thermo shock resistance.

That means that the glass is more stable and when exposed to temperature fluctuations. Any dishes that you buy (used off Ebay or thrift stores) with the older PYREX label are made out of Borosilicate formulated glass.

In the 90’s, the company changed to a soda-lime glass formula and also changed their logo from PYREX to pyrex (with all lowercase letters). Soda-lime glass doesn’t fluctuate in expansion and retraction to high/low temperatures. This means that there’s higher risk of shattering due to thermo shock.

Thermo shock occurs when you take a cold/hot item and rapidly change the temperature it’s exposed to. Like placing a hot pan on a cold counter, or pouring water into a hot dish in the oven. You’ll end up shattering the glass.

However, this new soda-lime glass formula is more durable when dropped and doesn’t break as easily. It just has higher risk with extreme temperature changes.

If the glass happens to break while pressure cooking in the Instant Pot, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to blow up your kitchen. It just means that you will have a mess of glass to clean up when you open the lid after pressure cooking. You’ll need to toss the food too.

USE older pyrex

If you can get your hands on some older PYREX (labeled with all caps), you’ll have a better dish for resisting thermo shock. Or buy any imported from France, where they still make PYREX out of borosilicate.

Pyrex glass bowl inside Instant Pot with text overlay

Instant Pot and Pyrex Merge

Have you heard the recent news that Corelle (Cornell Capital investing firm), the parent company of Pyrex, bought the Instant Pot company? Many are hoping that with this merging of companies, new products and accessories will be made that are safe for pressure cooking in the Instant Pot.

Safe to use in INstant pot

If you’re still feeling uneasy about how safe it is to use Pyrex in your Instant Pot, here is a list of other acceptable accessories you can use in your Instant Pot.

  • Glass canning jars are designed for pressure canning. Unless you have the Instant Pot Max model, you won’t be using these jars to can in your Instant Pot. Many Instant Pot owners use canning jars to pressure cook successfully. They are glass, so they can break but they are created to withstand the pressure during canning. Check out the amazingly delicious Small Batch Instant Pot Lemon Curd by Julia at Imagelicious for her use of glass for pot-in-pot pressure cooking.
  • Ceramic ramekins are used by many, although technically it can still break if there are any cracks/fissures.
  • Quick Cooker Ceramic Pot by The Pampered Chef is made specifically for use with pressure cooking! Plus it comes with a silicone lid and a wire cradle to lift it out easily too!
  • Silicone is safe to use inside the Instant Pot.
  • Stainless steel is always a safe choice. You can find several stainless accessories to use here.
  • Non-stick baking pans are also safe for pressure cooking. However, due to risks of chemicals leaching into foods and possibility of the coating flaking off into food, we avoid using these products now.
  • Aluminum pans are also popular to use in the pressure cooker. Our family is stepping away from using aluminum products due to research about it’s correlation to Alzheimer’s disease.

More Instant Pot Recipes:

Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Lentil Tacos in the Instant Pot

Hand holding Instant Pot Lentil Tacos

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

Instant Pot Cinnamon Raisin French Toast on white plate

More Instant Pot Tips:

How to remove smell from Instant Pot rings

instant pot 6qt with sealing rings

Deep clean the Instant Pot

Instant Pot cleaning supplies

Best Accessories for Mini Instant Pot

Instant Pot 6QT with silicone sling and bundt pan


 

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8 Comments

  1. Thank you for your very clear and helpful advice on which containers can be used for pot-in-pot cooking in the Instant Pot!

  2. Good morning! I just got an IP Viva a few months ago and I have used my old soufflé bowl from Corning in my pot. It’s an older one and was wondering (as someone chastised me on one of the pages) that I shouldn’t use it. There are no scratches or chips in it. I didn’t have a metal pan at the time. So is this safe to use? Thank you for this info on Pyrex. Have a great day!!!

    1. Hi Sue! Great question. I think there’s always that risk that it could crack/break as stated in the blog post. However, if it does break, it won’t ruin your instant pot, just the meal that you’re cooking inside it. I continue to use my pyrex glass bowl with the risk that it might break although I’ve used it many many times. I would go ahead and give it a try, knowing that the breaking risk is possible. If it makes you feel more at ease though, buy a stainless steel bowl to use instead. Hope that helps!

  3. Thank you for this post. So full of useful information. The highlighted links took me to more information that added more “food” for thought. Isn’t that what the Web is all about. Keep up the good work girl.

  4. I was today years old, and a newbie to all things Instant Pot/pressure cooking, when I learned about this. Thank you! All of my Pyrex products are of the newer lines, and I really don’t want to fuss with tracking down the older stuff, so I think I will stick with using metal. Thank you for the information!

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