Ninja Foodi - worth it?

Anonymous
I do not yet own a pressure cooker or air fryer. I have friends who swear by the pressure cooker. I am intrigued by the air fryer.

The Ninja Foodi does both. I don't want to have multiple appliances so am considering replacing my slow cooker with the Foodi.

Worth it? Is a pressure cooker that much better than a slow cooker (isn't it the same work, just cooks faster than slow cooker)?

Is an air fryer all it's cracked up to be vs. just roasting things?

Tell me more.
Anonymous
I swapped with my mom for her ninja foodi (she took my instapot). I honestly have used the air fryer once. I use the pressure cooker and the steam function quite a bit though. I didn’t think the air frying was better than the oven, but I know a lot of people who swear by it. Maybe I’m using it wrong.

One thing, the ninja foodi is huge. Much bigger than the instapot and has two lids for air frying and pressure cooking. So unless you have a cabinet or closet to dedicate to the foodi and all it’s accessories, it’s a lot of stuff.
Anonymous
I love our Foodi... have had it for a year and a half, and it gets used pretty much every day.

I use it mostly for the functionality of pressure cooking, then broiling or crisping.. eg. Whole chicken, ribs, chicken thighs, etc.

I use the pressure cooking feature a lot for stews and soups, especially meat based ones (chicken fajita soup, goulash).

I also use it for fries, crisping up polenta, roasting vegetables, etc.

I guess not everyone has a need for it, but I love ours. I’ve actually considered getting a second one, but I *can* do everything on the stove/ in the oven. But, for example, tonight DD has requested for “her night” fries and chicken thighs. I usually do the thighs in the Ninja as they’re so fast (3 min pressure cook/ crisp with the broiler), but it also makes amazing fries, so now I have a choice to make....
Anonymous
I wish it wasn’t so freaking huge... I would love one but I have no real estate for it.
Anonymous
I am Instantpot user. Every say. It is a slow cooker and pressure cooker. You can sauté before you pressure cook (use it to cook chicken before the soup)

My sister has the ninja. It is huge.

The think about the instantpot is that food comes out steamed like. No crispyness. So not the best texture for kids.

My sister says the ninja will the crisp it. Sounds like it dries it out though. I wasn’t completely impressed.

But others on here says it works. Might as well go for it.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I am Instantpot user. Every say. It is a slow cooker and pressure cooker. You can sauté before you pressure cook (use it to cook chicken before the soup)

My sister has the ninja. It is huge.

The think about the instantpot is that food comes out steamed like. No crispyness. So not the best texture for kids.

My sister says the ninja will the crisp it. Sounds like it dries it out though. I wasn’t completely impressed.

But others on here says it works. Might as well go for it.


I’m the ninja owner. Overcooking will lead to dryness, no matter the cooking method (well guess other than slow cooking or pressure cooking). As I said, we do a whole chicken in it, and it’s incredible. Super moist, but also crisp skin, etc.

Yes the ninja is big, but it has almost the same footprint as my Kitchenaid. There is 1 extra lid not 2 like you said. The convection lid is attached to the unit. The pressure cooking lid is an extra piece, and there is a crisper basket that stores easily in the unit.

For me, it’s worth it for the wings, fries, and whole chicken, which are things we don’t use it for that often. Of course, these are all things you can make using other methods, but the ease and cleanup, and quality of the end product are amazing. It certainly doesn’t have the “status” of the Instantpot and everyone likes to side eye Ninja products.
Anonymous
I have an instant pot with an air fryer lid and I don’t think the air fryer is necessary/useful. It was nice for chicken wings because it contains the splatter but for anything else just use the oven. The air fryer is just a little convection oven.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I have an instant pot with an air fryer lid and I don’t think the air fryer is necessary/useful. It was nice for chicken wings because it contains the splatter but for anything else just use the oven. The air fryer is just a little convection oven.


So you pressure cook, and then move to the oven?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have an instant pot with an air fryer lid and I don’t think the air fryer is necessary/useful. It was nice for chicken wings because it contains the splatter but for anything else just use the oven. The air fryer is just a little convection oven.


So you pressure cook, and then move to the oven?


I run ribs under the broiler. Everything else I cook in there just gets pressure cooked. Sometimes I use the saute in the beginning. What would I want to pressure cook and then put in the oven?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I have an instant pot with an air fryer lid and I don’t think the air fryer is necessary/useful. It was nice for chicken wings because it contains the splatter but for anything else just use the oven. The air fryer is just a little convection oven.


The bottom of the air fryer is shaped differently. (We have a Philips turbo star.) A lid isn’t giving the entire air frying method.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have an instant pot with an air fryer lid and I don’t think the air fryer is necessary/useful. It was nice for chicken wings because it contains the splatter but for anything else just use the oven. The air fryer is just a little convection oven.


So you pressure cook, and then move to the oven?


I run ribs under the broiler. Everything else I cook in there just gets pressure cooked. Sometimes I use the saute in the beginning. What would I want to pressure cook and then put in the oven?


Examples : ribs, whole chicken, parts of chicken. Other stuff.
Anonymous
Is there a good site for air fryer recipes?
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