I recently bought a Ninja Foodi Pro 11 in 1 Multicooker and I LOVE it! (Check our the reviews on Amazon)
This amazing machine has sooo many functions! It can easily replace a number of kitchen appliances, saving money and space.
I’m super happy with it. And so of course I want to share the awesomeness that is this machine with the world!
So Why Did I Buy A Ninja Foodi?
When we first moved back to New Zealand seven years ago, we bought a small bench top oven (similar to this one) to save power. Electricity is expensive in New Zealand!
Actually – everything’s expensive here…
There’s only the two of us in the house but we use the oven lots, to cook roasts and vegetables, plus we make our own sourdough bread (actually I make sourdough bread for hubby because I don’t eat it…) All that oven use chews up some power. Heating a smaller oven when we don’t need a lot of cooking space made sense.
But our little oven got lots of use and we eventually killed it.
Then we got another one. Killed that one too.
Hmmm… What next?
By this time air fryers had begun to become a thing and we had a look around. But we never found anything that really seemed to be what we were looking for. So we stopped looking.
Then with my move from the basic Keto diet towards a more meat heavy Carnivore diet came the inevitable increase of cooking with, and in, fat. The resulting mess that obviously makes in the kitchen was becoming painful…
Neither of us enjoy cleaning greasy ovens or fatty stove tops, and so we decided we needed to find a better way of cooking.
Then I saw some discussions in a carnivore group on Facebook…
Which Ninja Foodi Grill Should I Buy?
I’m in a couple of Carnivore groups on Facebook and I think I can safely say that meat is probably the most popular topic in that group. Second to that is ways to cook meat.
I’d come across a few discussions about favourite appliances for cooking the meat we are all so fond of, and the appliance name that kept being mentioned again and again was NINJA.
I started to do a little research on the Ninja grills initially, (the Ninja XL gets great reviews and is a real favourite with many carnivores), but I soon realised that while they’re great for steaks, burgers and bacon, they’re not deep enough to cook whole chickens or roasts.
Hmmmmm…..
So I kept looking and then saw the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker & Air Fryer mentioned, and I started to have a look at the various models of these machines and what they do.
When I realised that I could cook a chicken, slow cook stews, pressure cook from frozen, make yogurt and dehydrate meat in these things, I was sold!
We ultimately ended up buying the 6 litre model I’ve linked to above and hubby and I both love it!
So let’s answer a few questions about these amazing Ninja Foodi machines.
Are Ninja Foodi Parts Dishwasher Safe?
Yes. All parts of the Ninja Foodi 11 in 1 pressure cooker and air fryer are dishwasher safe except the base unit. The bowl, cook and crisp rack etc are all able to be put into the dishwasher safely.
Can Ninja Foodi Cook Rice?
Absolutely! You can use the pressure cooker setting on the Foodi to cook rice.
Can Ninja Foodi Dehydrate?
Yes! The Ninja Foodi can dehydrate. This is one of the features that sold it for me as I’d been considering buying a dehydrator to make Biltong or dried meat. I haven’t tried that feature yet, but I will be very soon.
Can Ninja Foodi Slow Cook?
The Ninja Foodi is a slow cooker as well as having ten other functions.
The only downside I see with the slow cooker function on the Foodi is that you can’t just leave it on indefinitely. The maximum time you can set is 12 hours. I use my slow cookers (I have two different sizes) to make bone broth which I like to leave on for between 24 and 36 hours.
To do that on the Foodi I’d need to keep resetting the timer, however it does have the automatic food warm function when the timer runs out, so it could be used to make broth and just reset the timer without it going cold in between. .
For all other slow cooker applications the Ninja Foodi is perfect!
Is The Ninja Foodi An Air Fryer?
It sure is! And it does an amazingly delicious job. When you air fry it makes things crispy and so it’s perfect for cooking all sorts of foods.
What Ninja Foodi Is The Best?
Well that depends on your needs. For me, the Ninja Foodi 11 in 1 Pressure Cooker & Air Fryer that does a whole bunch of other really cool stuff was the best. You can check it out here.
There are a number of different models of this type of Ninja Foodi that have the pressure cooker, air fryer and slow cooker functions. Some have more or less functions and there are multiple sizes. Mine is kind of the mid size at 6 litres.
But Ninja have few different types of appliances that all come with the ‘Foodi’ name.
Indoor Grills: There are a few different models of indoor grills that also have air fryer functions like this one. These Ninja grills are what I was initially looking at buying and the one I’ve linked here has almost 22,000 reviews!
Blenders & Food Processors: Then there are a number of different blenders and food processors. This is one of the most popular and well reviewed models on Amazon.
Air Fryers: Even the Ninja Foodi ‘air fryers’ like this DZ201 8 Qt dual zone model have multiple functions and amazing reviews.
Ninja is a great brand with great products. If you check out the links above you’ll find that they get really good, often 5 star reviews from people who actually own and use these appliances.
What Is The Difference Between A Ninja Foodi And A Ninja Foodi Grill?
As discussed above, there are various types of appliances that come under the Ninja Foodi banner – Indoor Grills/Air Fryers, Air Fryers, Blenders and Pressure Cooker/Air Fryer/Slow Cookers.
Ninja Foodi With Thermometer?
There are a number of Ninja grills and ovens that include a built in thermometer to help you cook to perfection. You can find them all at the Ninja store.
Ninja Foodi With Smart Lid?
The new model Ninja Foodi OL601 has a ‘smart lid’ as does the Ninja OL701 (pictured above).
So what does that mean?
Well on my Foodi, I have two lids. One that is attached to the machine. It has an element and fan for roasting and air frying etc, and then there is another seperate lid that is used for pressure cooking, steaming, making yogurt and dehydrating.
If storage space is an issue for you, then the smart lid model might be best option as there’s no extra lid to find a space for. Otherwise I don’t see that there’s a huge advantage to the smart lid model apart from making operation of the appliance a bit simpler.
For example. With the smart lid you can just set the ‘steam and crisp’ option, then leave the Foodi to do its thing. Whereas with my model, I need to put the extra lid on to steam, then when that’s finished, I remove the pressure lid, close the attached lid and set it to air fry for the desired time.
I cooked a whole chicken this way last night and it was perfect!
The Ninja OL601 also has a larger capacity at 7.5 litres or 8 Qt. So if you need that extra size, then it may be the best Ninja for you!
Ninja Foodi: Good or Bad?
Good does not describe my foodi… My foodi is awesome!
As you can tell, I’m more than happy with my Ninja Foodi. It is my best appliance purchase since I bought my Thermomix six years ago.
The many Foodi models that Ninja have created mean that no matter what your requirments, there’s a model for you.
And for those of us on Keto or Carnivore diets, I don’t think there’s any other appliance that will come close to providing such an all round easy and delicious cooking experience.
Our Ninja Foodi is not only saving us electricity while providing a simple way to cook delicious food, but clean up is a breeze. It leaves no fatty mess on benches or the stove top, and when we eventually get around to cleaning the oven it will stay clean for so much longer.
Pure awesomeness…. 😄
