If there’s one appliance that exhibits a whole gamut of cooking abilities, it’s the Ninja Foodi FD401 Deluxe XL that combines pressure cooking and air frying in one appliance.
Why buy multiple kitchen appliances, when you can have one Ninja Foodie that multitasks – pressure cooking and air frying. But that must be high-priced, you think to yourself. Not anymore!
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In This Article
Ninja FD401 Foodi Deluxe – Best Pressure Cooker Air Fryer Combo
Before discussing the design and other features of the Ninja FD401 pressure cooker we are sharing the pros and cons of this useful kitchen appliance:
- Multitask appliance that can cook using various techniques
- Heats up faster
- Quiet
- Non-stick pots make cleaning easy
- Cook the food and then crisp the upper layer using the same pot
- Storage is an issue due to its bulkiness
- The crisping lid can’t be removed
Ninja FD401 Foodi 12-in-1 Deluxe XL Review
Read the review, check out its discounted price, make your mind and hit the “buy now” button before it gets swept from the shelves.
The Wonder of Two Lids
We have seen many appliances that multitask, but when we heard the hype of Ninja Foodie, we were curious as to how this appliance would work. What’s the working mechanism behind it?
We know that the pressure cooker cooks by steam, and an air fryer has a heating element on the top combined with a fan that circulates the hot air around. How are these two different functions combined in an appliance?
The answer is Ninja Foodie has two lids. The lid that is attached to the unit has the heating element and is used for air frying.
The separate lid for the pressure cooker has a sealing ring and vent that you see in electric pressure cookers. While using the pressure cooker lid, the other lid stays open and is engineered not to interrupt cooking.
Tendercrisp Technology
Ninja Foodie utilizes Tendercrisp technology with which you can combine functions for one recipe – tendering the food with a pressure cooker, locking in all the juices and flavor, and then the crisping lid to finish off your cooking with a crispy brown layer.
Design & Accessories of Ninja Foodie
Design & Accessories of Ninja FoodieNinja Foodie is a bulky appliance with 16 w x 14 d x 14 h. Ninja Foodie’s height when the lid is closed is about 14 inches, but since the air fryer lid remains open when using the pressure cooker lid, the height reaches almost 20 inches.
Ninja Foodie comes with lots of accouterments to assist in various cooking styles.
- Pressure lid to tenderize the food quickly.
- Reversible rack for double layer cooking. The rack can also be used for broiling and steaming.
- Eight quarts large-sized PFOA, PFAS non-stick pot which can serve.
- 5 quarts non-stick crisping basket used for air frying.
- Crisping or air frying lid that is hinged with the air fryer.
- A guide that includes 45 recipes for you to experiment with and cook delicious food.
Cooking Functions & User Interface
Ninja Foodie features nine cooking functions, which you can select by rotating the dial. The cooking functions are:
- Pressure cooking
- Slow cooking
- Steam cooking
- Slow cooking
- Yogurt
- Broiling
- baking/roasting
- Dehydrating
- Searing/sautéing
The best thing about the Ninja Foodie is that the user interface is easy to operate and understand. Just rotate the dial to select the cooking function and buttons to set temperature and time. You won’t see preset buttons in Ninja Foodie; that might be because the appliance uses various cooking techniques, and a fixed preset for time and temperature work only for a particular cooking type.
The digital display shows time and temperature, and you see the light glowing beside the cooking function you have selected.
Temperature Range
The temperature range for each function varies. However, the overall maximum temperature range is 400 degrees, and the lowest temperature setting is 80° F for dehydrating food. Some of the temperature ranges for Ninja Foodie are:
- Air crisping: 300 – 400° F
- Bake/roast: 250 – 400° F
Cooking Performance
We tried various foods with Ninja Foodie using multiple functions. The good news is: Ninja Foodie cooks perfectly. The large pot accommodates a whole roaster for the entire family. Our meat had a fall-of-the-bone tender texture using a pressure lid, and we crisped the upper layer with a crisping lid. We tried french fries to test the air frying, and the fries were all crisp and evenly cooked.
We also tried cooking small quantities of grains to see if it affected the performance. To our surprise, the grains were all cooked deliciously. The vegetables were also cooked perfectly tender and not mushy. However, we didn’t like the rice cooked in it as it came to be sticky.
The cooking results were on par with the high-end appliances such as pressure cookers, air fryers, or toaster ovens specifically designed for a single cooking function.
Ninja Foodie gives the convenience of using one appliance and one pot for making the dish using multiple techniques. We also liked that it can slow cook food such as soup or stews for up to 12 hours which can be set in 15 minutes increments.
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Is Ninja Foodie Worth It?
Ninja Foodie is an excellent option if you have a large family and a large kitchen with no storage issues. It delivers perfect cooking results without any hassle of uneven cooking or changing the pots. From rice to rotisserie, steaming to dehydrating, one appliance can replace many other appliances and work wonders in the kitchen.
