Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Review
There’s a new kitchen appliance that’s getting a lot of buzz lately. The new Ninja Foodi is a combination pressure cooker and air fryer. Check out my Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Review.
Ninja sent me a Foodi to review. Ninja’s innovative idea is to give you TenderCrisp foods from one appliance. Tender from pressure cooking and then crisp using the air fryer / crisping lid. The Ninja Foodi can also be used as an oven, steamer, roaster, dehydrator, and slow cooker.
I’ve never used an air fryer before, so I also sent a Foodi to my good friend and one of the moderators of my Pressure Cooker Facebook Group, Genene, to test. Genene loves cooking with her electric pressure cookers and she has a couple of air fryers that she uses on a regular basis in conjunction with her pressure cookers, so I knew she’d be able to tell me how the Foodi stacks up.
Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Review
What you’ll love
- The Foodi was easy to operate. It operates similarly to the Instant Pot and other electric pressure cookers, so all the recipes in my cookbook, on my site and other pressure cooking websites can be made in the Foodi.
- It’s well made and sturdy
- The Foodi has a very nice display window that tells you what’s going on in the pot, how much time is left, hints to shut the lid, and so much more. It has blue lights that rotate in a square on the display while it is pressurizing and they stop rotating when it has reached pressure.
- The instruction manual included with the Foodi was helpful and easy to follow.
- A cookbook is included, as well as a cooking cheat sheet for commonly cooked items
- A Cook & Crisp basket and a reversible rack (hi and low positions) are included.
- The ceramic non stick coating on the pot seems well made, and some prefer it to a stainless steel pot.
- The air fryer does a great job of crisping up foods.
- The air fryer time counts down and shuts off after the time is up. So you don’t have to stay in the room to shut it off.
- The pot is a bit shorter and wider than the Instant Pot (I assume so you get more surface area for better browning), so you can easily fit 4 custard cups in the pot without having to stack them on top of each other. Great for desserts (such as creme brulee) or individual portions (such as egg muffins).
What you should know before buying
- You’ll need to have a big space, it’s big and heavy.
- The crisping lid (air fryer lid) is hinged and not removable. You need room for the crisping lid to be open while using the pressure cooking lid. You can’t cook with the Foodi on a counter under your cabinets.
- The Foodi electrical cord is only 33 inches in length, so you’ll need to be close to an outlet to use it. (The instructions say not to use an extension cord.)
- The pressure release valve on the Foodi is short and a little more difficult to maneuver without getting burnt by the steam than the Instant Pot valve.
- Hot air comes out from the back of the unit as it’s air frying, so you’ll need to place it away from walls and cabinets.
- Many accessories that fit in most 6 quart pressure cookers will be too tall to use in the Foodi.
- The beep at the end when your time is up is not very loud and not adjustable.
It’s nice having only one appliance that can do two things, but there are drawbacks as well. The air frying lid / crisping lid is not removable. As shown in the photograph above, the crisping lid stays in the open position while you’re pressure cooking.
The pressure cooking lid is a separate, detachable lid, so you’ll need room in your pantry / kitchen to store it. Genene felt the crisping lid was in the way when she was using the saute feature to saute vegetables before pressure cooking.
Testing the Ninja Foodi
The first thing I cooked in my Foodi was a roast chicken. I used the recipe that was in the recipe book that is included with the Foodi. The recipe called for a 4 to 5 pound chicken. The smallest chicken my store had was 5.5 lbs. It was a little bit too tall for the Foodi, but it fit in the crisping basket fine.
The chicken was a little too close to the top and there were lines on the chicken leg where it touched the crisping lid.
The recipe called for cooking it in the Cook and Crisp Basket. It’s great that the basket is included with the Foodi. The holes in the bottom of the basket make it great for pressure steaming food, as well as crisping up food using the crisping lid. My only complaint about the basket is that the legs have lots of crevices that are difficult to clean.
The Herb-Roasted Chicken recipe has you add lemon juice, hot water, honey, peppercorns, kosher salt, fresh thyme, and garlic to the pressure cooking pot. I found the flavorful ingredients in the bottom of the pot didn’t really infuse the chicken with flavor. I added some fresh rosemary to the recipe and my husband said he could taste the rosemary a little, but I couldn’t really taste the lemon, thyme or honey.
If I made the recipe again, I would probably make a compound butter and put it under the skin rather than rely on the pressure cooking liquid to flavor the chicken.
However, I was surprised just how crisp the skin on the chicken was after the 15 minutes of air crisp time. The manual says to removing the pressure cooking liquid from the bottom of the pot for best results, but the skin was crackly crisp even without removing the pressure cooking liquid.
My chicken wasn’t as tender as I’d like, so I probably should have increased the pressure cook time more than 2 extra minutes.
The first recipe Genene made was the Baked Macaroni & Cheese recipe from the Foodi cookbook. Genene said it seemed like a lot of liquid prior to the Air Crisp time of 7 minutes. But it’s the perfect about of liquid after air frying; the noodles absorb the liquid as the topping browns.
An interesting twist on this mac and cheese recipe is you start it with lemon juice and baking soda, cook it for 0 minutes and let the noodles finish cooking during a 10 minute natural release. The noodles were softer than Genene likes, so the next time she would reduce the natural release time to 8 minutes. Both she and her husband enjoyed the mac and cheese recipe.
Genene also baked biscuits, Louisiana Battered Flounder, and Frozen Curly Fries using the crisping lid; all crisped up beautifully. She tested the pressure cooker by making hard boiled eggs, and the timing for hard boiled eggs was exactly the same as in her Instant Pot.
There was a Pepperoni Pizza Pasta in the Foodi recipe book. Since I also have a Pepperoni Pizza Pasta recipe in my cookbook, The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook, I thought it would be fun to give their version a try.
After pressure cooking the noodles and sauce for 6 minutes, you top it with cheese and pepperoni. Then you use the air fryer lid to melt and brown the cheese. The cheese browned a little more than I usually like. However, I liked that you can lift up the air fryer lid any time while it’s cooking. The blower pauses while the lid is raised and you can check and see if you want more or less browning.
While it was great to be able to melt and brown the cheese in the same pot, the disadvantage is that you don’t have as much surface area as you would in a 9×13 pan to spread the cheese out over the pasta. Also, it makes a big pot of pasta. I had a leftovers that I store in the pressure cooking pot in the fridge, so the inner pot wasn’t available to cook something the next day without transferring it to another dish.
Get my version of the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Pepperoni Pizza Pasta recipe.
Conclusion
Overall, the Ninja Foodi is a great all-in-one product. It does an excellent job of pressure cooking and an excellent job of air frying. Genene and I were both impressed.
If you have a small kitchen, the Foodi is probably not right for you. But if you have the space and have been considering buying a pressure cooker and an air fryer, you’ll be pleased with the quality of the Foodi.
The Ninja Foodi is available on Amazon, as well as in stores. Or, you can buy it directly from Ninja.
Disclosure: I was sent a Ninja Foodi to review, but all opinions expressed are always my own.
Update:
Members of my Facebook Group, have bought the Ninja Foodi and are loving it. There’s also a Ninja Foodi Facebook Group.
All of my pressure cooking recipes will work well in the Foodi. Start with these Easy Pressure Cooker Recipes. My Getting Started post has great information about using a pressure cooker. You’ll also want some cookbooks and accessories to have even more fun with your new Foodi.
More pressure cooker reviews you might like:
Instant Pot Max Review
Breville The Fast Slow Pro Pressure Cooker Review
Crock-Pot Express Pressure Cooker Review
Instant Pot Duo Mini Review
Instant Pot Duo Plus Review
Instant Pot Ultra Review
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The arrows are almost impossible to see. It would be better if they were made easier to see. Also, the instructions are confusing at times.
Hi Sandi – others have added a dot of brightly colored nail possible to make markings on the lid easier to see.
I just received a foodie and am having the same problem of odor. I washed everything three times even trying some vinegar. I also used the pressure cooker…still smells strongly of plastic. All packaging has been removed too.
I was looking forward to it after watching many videos but food tasting like plastic just won’t work.
Sad customer
Has anyone had a problem with their meals not bring very warm after cooking in the Foodi? My soups, and casseroles (all made from the cookbook) are lukewarm, at best.
Hi Jo – are you using the pressure cooker function or the slow cooker function?
I have a family recipe that requires marinating a beef roast for 36 hrs. then cooking the roast in the marinade for 3 hrs. The marinade serves to flavor and tenderize the roast prior to cooking. My question is , if I placed the roast in the marinade in the Ninja Foodi and cooked it using the pressure cooker would that allow me to eliminate the 36 hrs. of marinating?
Hi Art – the roast won’t need the 36 hrs to tenderize it, but you may want to marinate it for flavor. I would try pressure cooking it for 90 minutes, assuming it’s a large chuck roast, and see if you miss the 3-day marinade.
Do you have to have a special plug to use this?? A friend at work told me she had to have a 220 plug instead of the 110 ???
Hi Betty – no special plug needed if you’re living in the US.
Got my foodi for Christmas. Super excited. Unboxed. Started to make the roast chicken recipe that comes with. When pressure cook was done. Went into keep warm mode. Released pressure to remove kid and change to air fry to complete recipe, when i went to turn off keep warm or even push power button. All buttons un responsive. Cant get anyone at NINJA because its Saturday evening. So I guess I’m serving half done chicken to my family for dinner. Thanks NINJA….
SUPER ANGRY CUSTOMER
That is super frustrating. Hopefully you finished it off in the oven?
I received my Foodi as a Christmas gift, opened it up and the top is all scratched up. Brand new out of the box. This is obviously a factory defect and flaw, but upon contacting the company they said that I would have to pay the shipping charges to return it and then I have to wait 5 to 6 weeks for a new one to come in. I find this totally an unacceptable business practice that anybody would charge a consumer when it’s an obvious factory defect in the unit has not been used. I will definitely not support this company in anyway shape or form or Purchased from them again.
Hi Dave – That is frustrating. However, they can’t ship out an appliance that is out of stock. I wonder if they’d discount the Foodi so you could use it?
WOW! throwing all my many pots and gadgets on the Goodwill heap! This is an awesome piece of work! My son and grandson took it on its maiden voyage last night and right now it is roasting the family rooster to crisp perfection!
Here is a ‘Night Before Christmas’ parody I wrote about my awesome gift while they toiled:
Just days before Christmas and all through the house–Grand daughter on couch as snug as a mouse, Son and grandson are learning to use my shiny new Foodi–God it is huge! One has his nose in the manual to see if the other one’s actions are right to a Tee. One’s peeling spuds straight off of the farm while the other makes sure they’ll both come to no harm. Nanny (me) tries hard to find info online while one of them yell ” Never mind, we’re just fine.” So Nanny backs off while the granddaughter sleeps. The taters are ready, the big Foodi beeps.The guys chopped potatoes without any cuts, One stands by the Foodi and holds the lid up. One teaspoon of oil is all that thing took to make French Fires Supreme just like in the book. With a wave of the dishtowel and a smile from the two–Foodi Christmas to all, Foodi New Year too!!!!
Thanks so much for sharing Gloria – I love your new words! I’m so glad to hear your maiden voyage was a big success!
How come all the recipes have so much salt in them? It’s so ridiculous how much you have to put, it’s barely edible. Is there any recipes that we can use that aren’t in the recipe book? I love the machine but you just need to cut down on all the salt.
Hi Ronda – other’s have complained about the recipes in the Ninja have too much salt too. All the recipes on my site you can also make in the Ninja Foodi.
I tried it for the first time tonight, cooking chicken wings. It went well, and clean up was a breeze except for the base of the crisping basket. The chicken protein stuck to it really hard, hard enough to make me wonder if that base was really supposed to be part of the cooking process or if it was just packing material. I feel it is unacceptably difficult to clean. There is some kind of an emblem that I would need to get some dental picks to get truly clean. It is easier to clean both my instant pot and my air fryer than to clean that one piece of the Foodi. I doubt I will make chicken wings in the Foodi again.
Can you can garden green beans in this
Hi Eric – no electric pressure cookers have been approved by the USDA for canning yet.
Hi, just wondering if you can make yogurt in this like you can with the Instapot?
Hi Vicki – you can my yogurt it in, but it doesn’t have a yogurt button like most Instant Pots.
I put my Foodi on a rolling base from the Container Store, so I can roll it out from under the cabinet and back with ease.
Sounds like a great idea.
Can you do a chicken and ….say potatoes at the same time?
Hi KC – a whole chicken? If so, you could probably tuck in some whole potatoes and cook them at the same time.
I bought an Instant Pot 6 qt Duo on Black Friday 2017. The best appliance I ever used. I know many online that have 3 or more and although I’d like a 2nd one, I’m holding out for one with a crisping feature, which the creator said last year was in the works. In the meantime, the Ninja Foodi pops up, Too pricey for me in Canada at $329 and hoping since the IP is CDN made, it will be cheaper. The Foodi just went on sale for $199 this week and this is the first link I tried for a review. I am so glad I found you first. I have been online since ’98 and rely on reviews to research products and have never seen a more impartial and thorough review of a product. I like that you point out the pros and cons and also link us to the many things you mention in your review. Just want to give you a big THANKS for putting this all together. Also, I know I’ve been to your site a few times for recipes and can’t wait to explore more. I also have subbed!
That’s so nice of you to take the time to thank me. Thanks Sue! I’m glad the review was helpful.
I wondered what you thought of the mac & cheese recipe? I made it tonight and followed it to a T. And that includes putting the stated TWO TABLESPOONS of Kosher salt in it (I thought maybe all the salt was needed for the cooking process…boy was I wrong). And needless to say, it was awful. If I were to try it again, I would cut it down to 2 tsp. I swear, 2 TBSP almost seems like a misprint. Wondering if anyone else had the same experience?
Rachel H. I have made this and agree with you 100%. At the minimum I would switch from 2 tablespoons to 2 teaspoons. I did not add salt at all and it was good.
I have the 8qt. Foodie. The air fryer is so loud. Is this normal?
Hi Julia – apparently this has been a problem on some of the 8 quart Foodis, and many have contacted customer service to get a replacement. However, since they’re sold out, you will have to wait a while to get the replacement.
PurchAsed one Nov 6 opened it nov 7th. The chemical odor of the interior pot was overwhelming. Washed it three times and it was just as strong. Rather than returning it to the stores I called Ninja direct (giving them the opportunity to correct what could develop into a major issue if they were unaware) this was not a whif rather my kitchen filled with the odor. Ninja advised me to repackage and ship it to them. As soon as they received notice via the tracking number that I had shipped they would ship a new one immediately. I have received nothing but lies and run around. First it was immediate shipment, then well their on back order till the sixteenth, now on the 19 th I call to see if they are shipping today nope they are now on back order till the 27th. Just a heads up, you better hope you don’t have to deal with Ninja with any issues involving your Foodi!
Hi Betsy – sorry you’ve had problems. I know the Foodi has been wildly popular so Ninja is struggling to keep up with demand and service. I know it’s frustrating to have to wait.
My uncle bought this after seeing a couple of the infomercials, we used it for the first time tonight and right from ‘GO’ I love it! I’ll be exploring the functions in more depth and intend on becomming a Ninja Foodi master in my own way. I think anyone buying this will love it, we do.
That’s great! Thanks for sharing Samuel.
bought ours from Wal-mart a few days ago…. All i can say is that we will be using it more than any other product we have. 5LB chicken in 30min. It was the best i have every had. told my wife if i had the money all 6 of our kids would get one for Christmas…
Now that’s a rave review – thanks Terry! I’ll look forward to seeing what else your cooking. You can share on FB https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheElectricPressureCookerGroup/ or tag me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pressurecookingtoday/ 🙂