Tag: Ninja

Best Ninja Crockpots for 2020 [Our Reviews and Comparisons] by Gordon Ramsay

ninja crockpot review


ninja crockpot review

Whether you’re a first-timer or an experienced home chef, the Ninja brand produces high-design and specification kitchen appliances to be, as they claim, “your trusted partner in the kitchen.”

Their further slogan is: “Save time. Save space. Save the day with extraordinary meals.” And this is particularly true of their range of crockpots by the name of the ‘Foodi’. These multi-function and use devices, speed up your meal making, with their versatile pressure cooker and air fry functions.

You can sear and sauté ingredients for all manner of delicious and flavourful recipes. You can even, intentionally, prolong the cooking process while enhancing taste and nutrients, by choosing slow cooking.

With many quality products in the series, offering different functionality and prices, how do you choose the right one for you?

We had the good fortune of being able to take home with us our choice from the Ninja Foodi range, to create delicious and healthy meals, so that we can give you our verdict.

Our Best Ninja Crockpot Reviews and Comparisons

1. Ninja OP300 Foodi 7-in-1 Cooker

Product Highlights

Much more than just a crockpot, it’s a pressure cooker, air fryer, and steamer, plus you can use it for baking, grilling, roasting, and auteéing, and broiling. It also has a keep-warm function.

The slow cooker function has a high and low setting, with cooking times of 15-minute intervals. When the meal is ready, the OP300 automatically switches to warm and the timer shows how long it’s been kept at that temperature.

This particular model has a 5-quart pot, with a 3-quart removable frying basket that can hold up to 4 pounds of chicken. You also get a broiling rack and two lids; one with a vent for pressure and slow cooking, and the other for everything else.

All the removable parts (except the pressure cooker lid) are ceramic-coated, non-stick, and dishwasher-safe.

Features

  • Capacity (quarts): 5
  • Size (inches): 15.9 L x 13.9 W x 11.7 H
  • Functions: slow cooking, pressure cooking, steam, sear/sauté, air fry, bake/roast/broil, and keep warm.
  • Wattage: 1460
  • Color: Black/gray

What We Like About Ninja OP300 Foodi 7-in-1 Cooker

The large, bright digital display was easy to use and divided clearly for each function.

Like a slow cooker, it’s a pleasure to use. The non-stick metal pot provides plenty of capacity and the sear and sautés function means everything can be done in it.

It heats up exceptionally quickly, and our meat seared and vegetables started to caramelize in no time. We also loved the result of the pressure cooker and air fryer.

A major plus to having so many settings, and of its size, is that it’s perfect for feeding families and also guests. It offers great versatility, large capacity, and it’s also, surprisingly, quiet.

What We Don’t Like About Ninja OP300 Foodi 7-in-1 Cooker

There are no pre-programmed settings like you find on many other rival devices. You need to manually select the cooking type, time, and temperature, which takes some getting used to and makes it one of the more complex machines that we’ve reviewed.

Otherwise, we didn’t have any complaints about its performance. Just that its hefty size and design does have some disadvantages.

The bulky lid stays on making it heavy overall and opens to the side on a hinge meaning that can’t be fully opened while stored to reduce the height. This makes it difficult to comfortably fit anywhere where space is at a premium.

PROS

  • Delivers on its promised performance
  • Worth space on the counter
  • Extremely versatile. It does so much
  • The color cookbook it comes with was a welcome surprise

CONS

  • Followed the short rib recipe in their cookbook exactly to the ‘t’. Ribs were like rubber and the veggies were undercooked
  • Issues from the start with a lid error.

2. Ninja OS301 Foodi 10-in-1 Cooker

Product Highlights

This Ninja Foodi you can use to slow and pressure cook, dehydrate, broil, steam, sear, air fry, roast, warm, and make yogurt. That’s 10 functions!

With the included crisping lid, the OS301 shines as an air fryer. Its 6.5-quart basket and 4.6-quart Cook & Crisp Plate means that you can cook a whole six-pound roast in this large-capacity air fryer. The fryer uses 75% less fat than conventional cookers, making your food healthy and as well as delicious.

Both the cooking pot and the plate are dishwasher-safe and nonstick; cleaning is as easy as switching on a button or wiping with a paper towel.

Features

  • Capacity (quarts): 6.5
  • Size (inches): 13.4 L x 13.2 W x 13.15 H
  • Functions: slow cooking, pressure cooking, dehydrate, steam, sear/sauté, air fry, bake/roast, broil, keep warm, and yogurt-maker
  • Wattage: 1460
  • Color: Stainless steel/black

What We Like About Ninja OS301 Foodi 10-in-1 Cooker

It’s the best larger air fryer that we’ve reviewed. Boasting TenderCrisp Technology, the fryer does an amazing job of locking in food juices while keeping the exterior crispy and golden.

Even though it has a larger capacity, the OS301 is smaller and less bulky than the OP300. With more functions too. You can even make yogurt in it for a truly complete meal!

Plus, it’s made of stainless steel, so there’s no concern about durability, and we think that it looks great as well.

What We Don’t Like About Ninja OS301 Foodi 10-in-1 Cooker

The slower cooker took too long. Over 2 hours and the chicken still wasn’t cooked properly.

Make sure that you only use wood or silicone utensils on any of your pans in the Foodi. Its coating can chip pretty easily so you want to be sure to make it last as long as possible. Be gentle with it when putting the included rack and air fryer container in it

The pressure cooker lid, also needed for slow cooking, is a little fiddly to attach and took us several goes to get it on. Although it did become easier with practice.

PROS

  • This does everything!
  • The whole thing cleaned up in less than three minutes
  • It comes with a ‘cheat sheet’ that had me cooking straight out of the box once it was washed up

CONS

  • For large families and meals only
  • Cumbersome manual

3. Ninja OS101 Foodi 9-in-1 Cooker

Product Highlights

With Ninja OS101 you get the best of pressure cooking and air frying all in one pot. And more!

Its 9-in-1 versatility lets you pressure cook, slow cook, steam, sear/sauté, air fry crisp, bake/roast, broil, make yogurt, and keep warm.

The OS101 comes with a 5-qt cooking pot and 4-qt Cook & Crisp Plate that are nonstick and dishwasher safe. It holds up to a 4-lb chicken, and you can cook up to 2 lbs of French fries with up to 75% less fat than traditional frying methods.

Also included is a nesting broil rack to steam, broil, add a layer of capacity, and easily store inside the cooking pot.

Features

  • Capacity (quarts): 5
  • Size (inches): 15.9 L x 13.9 W x 13.2 H
  • Functions: slow cooking, pressure cooking, steam, sear/sauté, air fry, roast, keep warm, and yogurt-maker
  • Wattage: 1460
  • Color: Stainless steel/black

What We Like About Ninja OS101 Foodi 9-in-1 Cooker

Ninja OS101 offers one of the simplest and clearest control panels of all the cookers we’ve tested. Temperature and time are adjusted by simple arrow buttons, and there are dedicated buttons for selecting each one of its functions.

And when it comes to performance, it cooks pretty much all of the foods you would expect as you would expect. Tender crisp technology allows you to quickly cook ingredients, then the crisping lid gives it a crispy, golden finish. All of our test recipes came out exceptionally well.

What We Don’t Like About Ninja OS101 Foodi 9-in-1 Cooker

Because of all of its functions, the OS101 requires two different lids; one for pressure and slow cooking, and a crisping lid for the other functions. The crisping lid is extremely large and is permanently attached to the cooker. This means that lefties are going to have to use their right hand while stirring or sauteing. It also means that the device is too tall to fit under the cabinets of the vast majority of kitchens.

The extra lid also means that Ninja OS101 weighs a whopping 25 lbs, which is more than 10 lbs heavier than most other models on the market. This makes it look and feel a bit obtrusive in the kitchen. Likewise, when it comes to storing it. It’s 14” high with the lid closed, or you will need 24” of clearance with the lid open.

PROS

  • A great addition to any kitchen
  • Safe and long-lasting nonstick inner bowl
  • Best results out of any air fryer out there!

CONS

  • Sits like a behemoth on the countertop!
  • The air fryer lid stays on no matter what

4. Ninja OP302 Foodi 9-in-1 Cooker

Product Highlights

With Ninja OP302 you can do the usual slow and pressure cooking, steaming, searing, air frying, roasting, and broiling. It also has a dehydrate function to create delicious homemade snacks like chips and jerky.

Its 6.5-quart ceramic coated pot provides plenty of capacity to cook a large roast for your family. It’s nonstick, PTFE/PFOA free, and easy to clean. Enough capacity to cook a roast for your family.

The OP302 provides hassle-free cooking from frozen to crispy. You can skip thawing and save time. Food will be evenly cooked from the inside out, starting with pressure cooking and finishing off with a crisping method of your choice.

Features

  • Capacity (quarts): 6.5
  • Size (inches): 14.3 L x 16.8 W x 13.1 H
  • Functions: slow cooking, pressure cooking, dehydrate, steam, sear/sauté, air fry, bake/roast, broil, and keep warm
  • Wattage: 1460
  • Color: Black

What We Like About Ninja OP302 Foodi 9-in-1 Cooker

This model offers a different look to the others. It’s more modern and premium looking, with a high-gloss black finish.

If you’re not eating immediately, there’s no need to worry about the food getting cold. The in-built heating function will keep the food warm as long as it’s inside the basket.

Ninja OP302 comes with a very handy 45-recipe book. You won’t be short of ideas of meals to cook for your family or when you’re entertaining guests!

What We Don’t Like About Ninja OP302 Foodi 9-in-1 Cooker

This 6.5-quart Foodi is huge at 14.2 x 16.8 x 13.1 inches and 25-pounds. It’s so big, we had to put it in an upper kitchen cabinet when we weren’t using it, which made it a hassle to retrieve.

Also, Ninja OP302 can be a bit difficult to clean the air fryer lid. You’ll need a small flexible brush to get those hard-to-reach places between the grate and the lid.

Finally, there is no place to store the pressure cooking lid once you take it off; you’ll either have to awkwardly hold in while you stir or serve food, or place it on the counter for likely unnecessary mess.

PROS

  • Awesome for quick meals
  • Amazing functionality and versatility
  • Cooking the family roast has never been easier!

CONS

  • The stove is quicker for searing as the machine takes longer to heat up
  • Carefully consider the size for use and not only storage.

5. Ninja FD401 Foodi Deluxe XL

Product Highlights

Since its introduction in 2018, Ninja has updated the Foodi with the even more spacious Deluxe XL, which has all of the functions including yogurt-maker, and the ability to double as a food dehydrator.

Ninja Foodi FD401 Deluxe XL comes with a similar removable cooking pot, a crisping basket with a detachable base, and a rack with an optional second layer. All ‘super-sized’. It holds 8-quarts of food when pressure and slow cooking, and 5 when air frying/crisping. If you have a large family, or like entertaining ALOT, then this could be the model for you.

The higher wattage of 1760-W of the FD401 Deluxe XL means that its top temperature is also higher than the other models at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for baking, air frying, and similar functions. The lowest temperature is just 80 degrees when dehydrating food, and it holds that temp for up to 12 hours.

Features

  • Capacity (quarts): 8
  • Size (inches): 16.1 L x 14.6 W x 13.2 H
  • Functions: slow cooking, pressure cooking, dehydrate, steam, sear/sauté, air fry, bake/roast, broil, keep warm, and yogurt-maker
  • Wattage: 1760
  • Color: Stainless steel/black

What We Like About Ninja FD401 Foodi Deluxe XL

This model does a great job of air frying and pressure cooking. It took between 30 and 35 minutes for the fries to reach the required crispiness. Two pounds of chicken breasts in the crisper took about 23 minutes to get to a safe internal temperature, and the results were juicy and flavorful.

The Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL also more than does the job when pressure cooking. And the Deluxe Reversible Rack lets you steam and broil, as well as TenderCrisp up to 8 chicken breasts at once.

All of the elements are dishwasher safe, except for the main unit and lid where all of the electronic components are located. These can just be wiped down with a moist cloth.

What We Don’t Like About Ninja FD401 Foodi Deluxe XL

Of course, all of this comes at a cost, both in price and countertop space. Also with the pressure cooker lid in place, the device is 20 inches tall; slightly too high to fit under standard cabinets.

But worst of all, the slow cooker function is inadequate. The heat is much lower than your typical slow cooker on its low setting. When testing, we didn’t notice that it wasn’t getting hot enough until a few hours had gone by. So, don’t count on the Ninja FD401 Foodi Deluxe XL for slow cooking.

Also, the air fryer doesn’t heat as evenly as we would have expected and liked, with the color of the food not quite consistent. To rectify this, you need to shake up the basket’s contents at least once during cooking.

PROS

  • Takes the place of several separate appliances
  • Easy to use controls
  • Great for cooking for BIG family occasions.

CONS

  • It’s so bulky and heavy
  • Consider that you be releasing steam from the pressure cooker and that anything above where you use it will become damaged by the steam in the long-term

Final Verdict

It’s no surprise that Nonja Foodi has been referred to as a Swiss Army Knife for the kitchen! It’s a great appliance, but all of these extra features come at quite a hefty extra cost and the inconvenience of its sheer size and weight.

Which model do we recommend? It’s ‘horses for courses’, down to if you need all of the functions. If you think that you’ll frequently air fry and like crispy skin on your chicken (and maybe dehydrate and make yogurt enough), we’d say ‘go all out’ for Ninja OS301 Foodi 10-in-1 Cooker.



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Ninja Instant Cooker Review – A 2020 Deep Dive by Gordon Ramsay

ninja crockpot reviews


ninja crockpot reviews

A Deep Dive Into Ninja Instant Cooker

Ninja Instant Cooker is the budget entry-level multi-functional product from the kitchen appliance brand. It combines a pressure cooker with a slow cook, searing/saute, steam, and keep warm functions, for a 5-in-1 device. Within some of those functions, it has further settings, to allow you to customize your cooking.

Using the touch controls, simply select the function and set the temperature, and you can pretty much cook anything in a multicooker like Ninja Instant. Savory or sweet! You can sear or braise meats and fish, or slow cook for stews, steam or saute vegetables, cook rice and other grains, and even bake cakes. The timer can be set for automatic shut off to cook even when you’re out.

Ninja instant Cooker gives you the ability to make mouth-wateringly delicious meals simply and quickly. Its pressure mode cooks up to 70% faster than traditional cooking methods. And because of its design and cooking method, it is healthier and more nutritional too.

It gives you 2 pressure levels, low and high, and 5 sear/sauté temperature settings, for greater cooking control. Also, the slow cook and steam functions offer the flexibility of multiple cook times and 3 temperature settings. So whether you prefer to just set it and leave it, or be more hands-on, Ninja Instant Cooker is your essential tool to help you make tasty food easily in minutes rather than hours. All in one 6-quart ceramic-coated nonstick pot, meaning less washing up afterward. Who doesn’t want that?!

Instant Cooker is smaller and has less power than the rest of its Ninja multicooker stablemates. And with that, comes fewer functions. But at a considerably lower price. So if you don’t need all the ‘bells and whistles’ of the other models, then it could be the right choice for you.

Who’s It For?

Ninja Instant Cooker is a worthy investment in the kitchen for anyone; whether you’re a working person or stay at home person, with or without a family, or a student. For those who enjoy cooking and those who don’t. The experienced or the beginner. Anyone and everyone!

If you don’t have a pressure cooker already, then we’d recommend that you get one. And as a budget entry-level bit of kit, Ninja Instant Cooker is a good place to start.
It’s great at making all sorts of foods simply and easily. Anyone who leads a busy life can benefit from just throwing the ingredients into the one pot of this pressure or slow cooker, program the function and settings, and it will do the rest. As it’s portable and electric, you’re not just tied to the kitchen with it even.

Although as a pressure cooker it really shines in reducing cooking time, its uses and benefits aren’t just limited to saving you time and hassle. By cooking foods faster and with less liquid, more nutrients are retained. The longer that foods are cooked, especially in liquid, the more they lose nutrients and with it, color and flavor, as greater minerals and vitamins evaporate and dilute.

Reduced cooking time also results in reduced energy use and so reduced bills. With one-pot, even more so compared to the likely several pots on separate burners of other cooking methods. So Ninja Instant Cooker saves you money too; didn’t we say that it was a good investment? And less energy usage is better for the environment too!

All of this makes Ninja Instant Cooker an appliance to suit anyone who wants delicious and nutritious meals; tasty and healthy food that’s cooked quickly and is good for you, your pocket, and the planet.

What We Like About Ninja Instant Cooker

Via its digital control panel, Ninja Instant Cooker provides a wide range of one-touch possibilities to make preparing tasty and healthy meals easily. Just select and program the 5 built-in cooking functions: pressure cook (high and low), slow cook, steam, sear/sauté, and keep warm. In addition, five sear/sauté settings allow you to do either of those methods at different temperatures.

With the pressure cook function, you can cook meals 70% quicker than with traditional stovetop methods. While saving energy in the cooking process, it serves up delicious food that is nutritious, as its design and construction lock the key elements inside the unit while cooking.

In principle, it actually works very similarly to the stovetop pressure cooker that you might have memories of from your childhood. But without the distinct noise of the old units. And as a separate and independent electric appliance, it works much faster. Just follow the clearly-presented cooking times in the QuickStart guide. You’ll have delicious and nutritious potatoes in six minutes, chicken pieces in five, and rice in just two. If you want a whole roast, you’ll have one in under an hour!

But not just as a pressure cooker that Ninja Instant Cooker shines. And with the sear/sauté function you can brown your meat before finishing. The steam function is excellent for sealing all the goodness into veggies. Its slow cook function also works similarly to slow cookers used in the past. It has been appreciated greatly for its slow cooking, pressure cooking, and steaming function goodness for those veggies. The slow cook function does achieve the same process and results as its slow cookers predecessors. After preparing and cooking you can keep it all warm until you’re ready to eat.

As well as multiple pre-sets, Ninja Instant Cooker’s LED control panel has advanced features like five stovetop settings, customizable cooking programs, and dual pressure cooking settings. All workable with the timer, you can set it to have dinner ready and still warm when the kids get back in from school, or you return from work.

Ninja Instant Cooker gives you total cooking control. But it doesn’t sap the creativity and flair out of cooking. Ninja has also done well in giving the user great control over pressure, temperature, and time. And if you require a little inspiration, their own published and provided recipes are easy to closely follow.

The best part is that when you’re done you only have one pot to clean. And even that is a breeze since nothing sticks to its ceramic cooking pot, plus that and the stainless steel stamping rack are dishwasher safe. Ninja Instant Cooker includes a 6-quart ceramic-coated nonstick pot and a stainless steel steam rack, both of which are dishwasher safe. Ceramic is safer to use than other nonstick material, such as Teflon, as it does not peel over time, and its non-stick properties reliably last longer.

The more expensive Ninja Foodi pot has a Teflon coating, which works well as a non-stick pan, but can start peeling after a while with some misuse like constant scraping. The cheaper Instant Cooker beats it in this respect, with its non-stick FDA-approved and PTFE-free ceramic coating.

Ninja Instant also has the advantages of being more compact, so more suitable for a smaller kitchen, and also lighter. Its body is constructed from plastic, and the cooking pot is made from aluminum.

Ninja Instant Pot has 11 levels of safety and has gained certification after fulfilling the demanding UL lab testing, which aims to make cooking a convenient and safe experience.

Coming with a one-year limited warranty, it’s a very good budget option if you don’t need all the functions of its more expensive stablemates. And as we’ve highlighted, Ninja Instant Cooker even has some advantages. All at a cheaper price!

What We Don’t Like About Ninja Instant Cooker

It’s a personal preference of course, and some people won’t be bothered, only maybe by its lesser functionality, but its black and silver finish looks a lot cheaper than the Foodi.

And although Ninja Instant Cooker boasts of numerous benefits certain limitations cannot be overlooked. Some previous users have reported that they had trouble getting its functioning right as it is better to set the pressure level first and then the timer, which is not mentioned in the user manual.

Also, some have complained about issues while setting the lid as the arrows on the lid are not very clearly visible. The steam that shoots out on release emits a loud noise. But admittedly, that’s not uncommon in pressure cookers more generally. Other previous users have also noted quality control issues.

Our findings were that the sautéing function needs to be improved. The main unit itself and the lids, the non-dishwashable parts, have awkward crevices that are hard to get into, making this part of the washing-up a pain.

Also, you can’t cool it and your food down immediately if that’s what you want, as the keep-warm function automatically kicks-in after cooking is over. If you’re at home, you can just remove the food. But if you’re out this isn’t possible of course.

Lastly, with only a 6-quart capacity available, it’s really for large households making large meals only. We’d like to see Ninja make a scaled-down version for smaller ones, or for people, such as students, who are likely to be cooking just for themselves most of the time.

PROS

  • It’s super easy to clean and to use
  • Offers instant start cooking options that save time
  • Better than Instant Pot brand
  • Amazing value
  • Making dinner is now half work and half the time

CONS

  • Be careful of steam release valve
  • Straight that you will have to be releasing steam from the pressure cooker. That means you can not have anything above where you use it, as it will become damaged by the steam in the long term
  • Some previous uses have said that their units have arrived with dents straight out of the box

What’s Included?

You’ll get the Ninja Instant Cooker unit with its 1000-watt base, 6-quart ceramic-coated nonstick pot, stainless-steel steam rack, an extra silicon ring, user manual, 10-recipe ‘inspiration guide, and one-year limited warranty.

Overview Of Features

With a 6-quart capacity, measuring in inches 12.2 L x 13.1 W x 13.2 H, and weighing 15.5 pounds, Ninja Instant Cooker, has a silver-colored aluminum body, with black plastic trim and lid.

It cooks food up to 70% faster than traditional cooking methods (versus slow-cooked, braised, or low-simmer recipes).

This cooker includes a digital, programmable control panel that comes with 5 built-in cooking functions: pressure cook (high and low), slow cook, steam, sear/sauté, and keep warm. The 5 sear/sauté settings allow you to sauté and sear at a temperature of your choosing.

Ninja Instant Cooker includes a 6-quart ceramic-coated nonstick pot that is FDA-approved and PTFE-free ceramic coating. It also includes a stainless steel steam rack. Both are dishwasher safe.

Your peace of mind is aided by the 11 levels of safety. Ninja Instant Cooker has passed rigorous testing to earn UL safety certification, giving you confidence and reassurance while cooking.

Ninja Instant Cooker comes with a 10-recipe ‘inspiration guide’ to help get you started straight out of the box.

Review Summary

Ninja manufactures and markets kitchen multitask appliances, which have come to be referred to as a Swiss Army Knife for the kitchen!
With its Instant Cooker, it provides a lower-cost and budget-priced entry-level product. Along with the price, the size and functionality have been scaled back, but not the quality performance. Also, they’ve been reduced relatively not as much as the cost.

Obviously, it’s ‘horses for courses’, and down to if you need all ‘the bells and whistles’ of a more expensive model; will you use all of the functions enough to justify the extra expenditure. If you don’t, and also aren’t bothered by its cheaper look, then the Ninja Instant provides amazing value and should suit you just fine.



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