A very skeptical Alice tries out the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid Multi Cooker. Can an appliance really do ELEVEN things and do them well? Here’s her review!
My rule of thumb has generally been to avoid gadgets that promise to do more than one thing. I’d much prefer an item did one thing and did it well – which is probably a consequence of living through the 90s when 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioners were having a real moment (spoiler alert: they did neither job well).
This was only further confirmed when I spent years living in shoebox apartments that always had a combined washing machine/dryer. If you’ve ever had one, you’ll know they somehow don’t actually clean your clothes particularly well but also, when you switch them to dryer mode they really just steam your clothes into a grey sludge?
So anyway, it was with MUCH trepidation and some very low expectations that I agreed to give the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid Multi Cooker. Yes, eleven-in-one. ELEVEN. It’s way too many things.
Or, so I thought… Because, my goodness. If ever I needed to eat my words, it’s over this one.
My husband and I have had the Ninja 11-in-1 for a couple of months now and have honestly used it every day. Sometimes three times a day. It has been so revolutionary that the two of us have begun acting like we are in some sort of annoying cult and raving to everyone about how life changing this is, as though we’ve just taken up Crossfit or Arbonne or something. I am sorry to everyone I know.
It’s that incredible.
As the name suggests it has 11 different settings: air frying, pressure cooking, steaming, grilling, sauteing, baking, dehydrating, slow cooking and yoghurt making. It also has two combination modes – steam air frying and steam baking, which somehow manage to cook your food and retain the moisture while keeping them crispy. It also has a keep warm setting, if you’re not serving up for a while.
I’m yet to try some of the settings – 11 is a lot! – but the ones I have tried, are amazing. We’ve never owned an air fryer before (I know), so a lot of this is all going to be revolutionary to us. My son loves a hash brown as part of his breakfast and honestly, it feels life changing to not have to wake up early to warm the oven up and then roast the hash brown in the oven for 25 minutes to get it to crispy. The Ninja does it in minutes.
Ditto, our evening meals are so much faster now – particularly those nights when my husband works late and I have to get a separate early dinner out for our toddler. A roast chicken drumstick cooks perfectly every time and is done in a flash. In fact, thanks to the pressure cooker (which yes, is a little scary the first time you use it), an entire roast chicken isn’t much of a hassle – it’s ready in 45 minutes. And likewise, pressure cooking your potatoes then using the roast setting, makes for an entire roast meal in a jiffy. It’s… outrageous?
Winter has also been the perfect time to test drive it because the slow cooker means a warming curry is super simple to whip up – but likewise, if you feel like a lentil dahl, but are short on time, the pressure cooker mode means it’s still possible to get on the plate in time for a last-minute dinner.
And beyond that, this contraption can still bake a cake, make an omelette, beef jerky or homemade fruit straps and more.
So, what don’t I love?
I will admit that the pressure cooker has been a little hit and miss, but, still, for the most part it is very good. I have heard some people say that the air fryer function isn’t quite as good as Ninja’s standalone air fryer – but I can’t tell you this for sure because I haven’t tried it myself, and like I said, this is my first air fryer experience, so I’ve been blown away by it anyway!
You will need some serious real estate on your bench top for it – it’s pretty darn huge, and heavy. We were keeping it in a cupboard, until we conceded that we were using it more than any other appliance, so it needed to stay on the bench.
It’s also not particularly cheap, at $449.99. But, when you take into account that it does the job of 11, ELEVEN different contraptions, it’s actually great value.
If you’re looking for a hardworking appliance, it’s seriously hard to go past this one.
(Disclaimer: we have a lovely little partnership with Ninja however this review piece is completely editorial with no influence or approval from Ninja!)
