Instant Pot Burn Notice — What It Means & How to Fix It

What Does This Error Mean?

The Instant Pot Burn notice means the bottom of the inner pot is getting too hot — the sensor detected scorching before pressure built up. The most common cause is thick sauce or starchy liquid sitting directly on the heating element without enough thin liquid underneath. Add at least 1 cup of thin liquid and deglaze any stuck-on bits from the bottom before restarting.

Affected Models

Instant Pot Duo
Instant Pot Duo Plus
Instant Pot Ultra
Instant Pot Pro
Instant Pot Duo Crisp
Instant Pot Lux

Common Causes

Insufficient thin liquid — thick sauces, tomato paste, or dairy prevent steam from forming
Food or caramelised bits stuck to the bottom from a prior sauté step
Starchy foods (rice, pasta, beans) settling on the bottom and scorching
Pot placed on the heating element without the sealing ring seated correctly — pressure never built
Too much thick sauce added before thin liquid — sauce sinks and burns before steam forms

How to Fix It

Press Cancel immediately when Burn appears.

The Instant Pot has already stopped heating. Do not open the lid with pressure inside — wait for the float valve to drop or use a quick release if the recipe allows. The food is very rarely ruined at this stage.
Release pressure safely, then open and inspect the bottom.

After the float valve drops, open the lid. Look at the bottom of the inner pot for any stuck-on, dark, or scorched residue. Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to scrape up anything stuck — this is called deglazing. Scorched bits left on the bottom will trigger Burn again on the next attempt.
Add more thin liquid.

Pour in at least 1 cup of water, broth, or stock. Thin liquid is what creates the steam that builds pressure. Thick sauces (tomato, BBQ, cream) do not generate sufficient steam. Always add thick sauces on top of ingredients, not directly on the pot bottom.
Layer ingredients correctly and restart.

The correct layering order: thin liquid on the bottom, ingredients in the middle, thick sauces on top. Do not stir thick sauces into the liquid before pressure cooking. Restart the pressure cook cycle after correcting the layering.
Check the sealing ring is correctly installed.

A missing or incorrectly seated sealing ring prevents pressure from building. The pot then overheats at the bottom trying to generate steam that escapes through the lid. Remove the lid, check the silicone sealing ring is seated evenly around the entire rim, and retry.

The Instant Pot Burn notice — displayed as Burn or OvHt depending on the model — is one of the most frequently encountered messages for new users. It is not a malfunction: the pressure cooker detected dangerously high bottom-of-pot temperatures before full pressure was reached and stopped heating as a safety measure.

Why the Burn Notice Happens

Under normal operation, the Instant Pot heats the liquid in the bottom of the pot until it turns to steam, pressure builds, and the temperature stabilises at around 120°C under pressure. This process typically takes 5-15 minutes. During this pre-pressurisation phase, if the bottom of the pot gets too hot — above approximately 150°C — the burn sensor triggers.

The bottom overheats when there is not enough thin liquid to generate steam quickly, or when food or sauce is in direct contact with the heating element and scorching before the steam can form a protective buffer.

The Layering Rule

The most reliable way to avoid Burn notices is correct ingredient layering. Always add thin liquid (water, broth, stock) to the bottom of the pot first. Ingredients go in next. Thick sauces — tomato, BBQ, cream, coconut milk — go on top last and are never stirred in before pressure cooking begins. During pressurisation, the thin liquid at the bottom generates steam while the thick sauce stays above the ingredients, away from direct heat.

After a Prior Sauté Step

Burn notices are particularly common when the sauté function is used first to brown onions or meat. The caramelised residue that sticks to the bottom during sautéing burns immediately when pressure cooking begins unless it is deglazed. Always add a splash of liquid after sautéing and scrape the bottom thoroughly before switching to pressure cook mode.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Burn notice ruin my food?

Usually not. The Burn notice triggers early — before the food is fully cooked — as a protection measure. The top layer of food is almost always fine. The scorched layer at the bottom may need to be scraped away, but the rest of the meal is typically salvageable.

Why does my Instant Pot always show Burn with tomato-based recipes?

Tomato sauce is thick and high in sugar, which scorches easily on the heating element before steam builds. The fix: add the thin liquid first, put the ingredients in, then pour the tomato sauce on top without stirring. This keeps the sauce off the bottom during the initial heating phase.

Does the Burn notice mean my Instant Pot is broken?

No — it is working correctly. The Burn sensor is a safety feature that prevents the inner pot from being damaged by sustained scorching. If Burn appears every time you cook regardless of liquid levels, check that the inner pot is not damaged and that the heating element is clean.