Chef's Toolbox 7L Pressure Cooker – One of Our Favourite Ways to Cook

Our Chef's Toolbox Pressure Cooker is one of those pieces of cooking gear we've owned for years and still absolutely love.

We actually own both the 4L and 7L versions, but when it came time to pack the caravan and decide what was coming around Australia with us, we brought the 7L.

For a family of four, the bigger cooker makes sense. We can make a decent-sized meal in one pot, have plenty for everyone and often have leftovers as well.

Even better for our caravan setup, it works perfectly with our induction cooker.

It's quick, versatile and makes some seriously good food.

Why We Brought the 7L

When you're packing a caravan for full-time travel, you can't bring every piece of cookware you own.

Well, you can try.

Then you look at your weights and start taking things back out again.

Because we own both sizes, we had a choice between bringing the smaller 4L or the larger 7L pressure cooker.

We went with the 7L.

Cooking for four people, we'd rather have the additional capacity available. We can make a big curry, casserole, risotto or another one-pot meal without worrying about running out of room.

The 4L is great, but the 7L suits the way we're travelling as a family.

It Works With Our Induction Cooker

This is a big one for our caravan setup.

The Chef's Toolbox pressure cooker is induction compatible, so we can use it with the induction cooker we carry in the van.

We use electric cooking whenever it makes sense, and being able to put the pressure cooker straight onto the induction cooker makes it incredibly convenient.

There's no separate electric pressure cooker taking up cupboard space.

The same pot can be used to brown the ingredients, pressure cook the meal and serve it.

For caravan cooking, that's exactly the sort of versatility we want.

Why We Love Pressure Cooking

The obvious advantage is cooking time.

Meals that would normally need to simmer away for hours can be cooked considerably faster under pressure.

But speed isn't the only reason we love it.

It's the type of meals we can make.

Curries. Casseroles. Stews. Risottos. Tender meats. Soups. One-pot meals.

It's proper family food without needing to spend the entire afternoon preparing dinner.

Perfect After a Day Exploring

This is where it really suits the way we're travelling.

Some days we'll leave the caravan in the morning and spend most of the day exploring in the Patrol.

We don't necessarily know exactly what time we'll get back.

If we find another track, lookout or somewhere interesting along the way, we're not racing back to camp because dinner needs to slow cook for four hours.

When we eventually get back, the pressure cooker gives us the option of making something that tastes like it's been cooking for hours without actually taking hours.

That's brilliant on the road.

One Pot Does the Lot

Another thing we love is being able to do most of the cooking in the one pot.

We can put the 7L cooker onto the induction cooktop and brown the meat first. Cook the onions and garlic. Add the vegetables, stock, sauce, spices or whatever else we're using. Then put the pressure lid on and finish the meal.

No frying pan for one step. Another saucepan for something else. Then a slow cooker to finish it.

One pot.

When you're cooking in a caravan, less washing up is always a win.

Brilliant for Curries & Casseroles

This is probably where a pressure cooker really shines.

Meals that rely on giving meat plenty of time to become tender are perfect for it.

You can use cuts of meat that normally benefit from a long slow cook and achieve that tender result much faster.

Curries and casseroles are ridiculously easy. Brown everything. Add your liquid and other ingredients. Bring it up to pressure. Let it cook. Done.

And because we're using the 7L, there's enough capacity to make a proper family-sized batch.

Risotto Is Almost Too Easy

Risotto is another favourite because pressure cooking removes so much of the stuffing around normally associated with making it.

Instead of standing over a saucepan gradually adding stock and stirring, the pressure cooker does most of the work.

Chef's Toolbox actually promoted pressure-cooker risottos as one of the uses for these cookers, with some of their recipes requiring only minutes at pressure once everything was prepared.

It's one of those meals where you wonder why you ever made it the hard way.

Great for Batch Cooking

Having the larger 7L version also means we can deliberately cook more than we need.

That's handy when we're travelling.

If we're already cooking dinner, making enough for another meal doesn't take much additional effort.

Leftovers can go into the fridge and suddenly lunch or dinner the following day is sorted.

Anything that saves us having to cook another full meal while we're travelling gets our vote.

No Electronics Required

There's also something we really like about the simplicity of it.

It's a stovetop pressure cooker.

There's no electronic control panel. No programs. No app. Nothing complicated.

The pressure cooker itself doesn't care whether we're sitting in our caravan in Victoria or parked thousands of kilometres away in the middle of Australia.

Give it a suitable heat source and it works.

Ours happens to work brilliantly on our induction cooker, which makes the combination particularly good for our setup.

We've Had Ours for Years

This isn't something we've bought specifically for the lap and used a handful of times.

We've owned our Chef's Toolbox pressure cookers for years.

We liked them long before we started travelling Australia, which is exactly why the 7L earned a spot in the caravan when we packed up to leave.

With limited storage and weight available, that says quite a bit.

There are plenty of things we own at home that didn't make the cut.

The pressure cooker did.

Unfortunately, Chef's Toolbox Is Gone

If there's one downside to recommending ours, it's that The Chef's Toolbox is no longer operating as the business it once was.

The company went into liquidation years ago, which means these pressure cookers aren't something you can simply go to Chef's Toolbox and buy new anymore. Replacement seals and other model-specific parts can also be difficult to source.

That's worth considering if you find one second-hand.

And because we're talking about a pressure vessel, we'd be particularly careful about buying an old cooker of unknown condition.

For us, though, we already own both sizes and they've been great.

We'll keep using ours for as long as it's in good working condition.

Would We Recommend It?

Absolutely — with one catch.

We love ours, but because Chef's Toolbox is no longer around, this is more of a long-term ownership review than a recommendation to go out and buy one tomorrow.

We've got both the 4L and 7L, and the 7L is the one we chose to bring around Australia.

It works on our induction cooker, holds enough to comfortably cook for our family of four and can turn meals that normally take hours into something practical after a day of exploring.

Curries, casseroles, risottos, stews and big one-pot family meals are all easy.

It's simple. It works. The food is bloody good.

And after owning ours for years, it's still one of our favourite pieces of cookware.

That's why it got a spot in the caravan.