Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker Review

The Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker has one of the most promising names for any new kitchen small appliance. After all, if you’ve ever stood in your apron looking down at the remains of a good recipe and said, “It’s just not possible”, this could be the answer to your kitchen woes. But indeed, don’t all of these combination countertop gadgets (including a slow cooker) claim to do it all, and brilliantly at that?

The market for modern kitchen appliances that boast new ways of doing things is a little, well, overcooked. But, Ninja has fast developed a great reputation for quality equipment that actually delivers on its promises. To judge this recipe book by its cover, the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker would seem to make cooking all types of food in a single appliance more possible than ever. But, can it live up to its name?

Product writer for A Modern Kitchen, Chris Duffill, unpacked this sizable all-in-one cooking pot to see if everything was, indeed, possible.

Setting up

Lifting the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker from the box I was impressed by the heft of it. There’s no doubt that this is a sizable appliance, and the ceramic pot and heating elements add significantly to the weight. It’s much larger than my previous countertop multipurpose cooker - the Instant Pot. And that’s a good thing. The Foodi (the name I’m using for short here, although Foodi is a whole range of Ninja products) has an eight-litre pot, but unlike the Instant Pot, it’s easily removable and non-stick. I also appreciated the included steaming rack - pretty much essential for this cooker, as the oblong shape won’t fit the standard circular racks we all have at the back of the cupboard.

Having found its place on the worktop, I set about reading the (thankfully short) instructions. Washing the pot, rack and included serving spoon in warm soapy water, I put everything back together and turned it on. I set it to heat up for 10 minutes to get it ready for cooking, and a pleasant beep told me when it was ready for use.

Using the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker

This is the first time I’ve used an appliance with this many functions in one. So, breaking my tradition of throwing any included manuals into a drawer, I had a good read. The box claims that it will actually replace a whole raft of kitchen equipment, from a non-stick pot, saucepan, cast iron skillet and a sauté pan to electricals like a hob, bread maker and steamer.

Sounds a little overwhelming? Well, clearly Ninja has thought this through for relative newcomers like me. The largest and most colourful booklet inside is not the manual but the recipe book. What better way to get started than reading a nicely curated and reassuringly short selection of dishes?

Having selected what I’d be having a go at first, I took a moment to look at the controls. One thing (actually, two things) I really don’t like about many kitchen appliances is too many hard-to-clean controls. Even compared with the smaller Instant Pot, this has refreshingly few buttons - six in total. Plus, they’re touch-controls, so there are no issues with wiping this down. The primary control is a central dial for selecting modes. Other than that, it’s a cooker with smooth lines, decent handles, and as few nooks and crannies on the outside as possible - again, ideal for easy cleaning. Having got my ingredients prepped, I got to work.

Sear / Sauté

My chosen recipe today is the mouth-watering Sausage and Bean Hot Pot. Thanks to the 8-litre pot, I would be cooking for around six people at once. But first, I wanted to check out the sear / sauté capabilities by browning off all 12 Cumberland sausages in some olive oil with a touch of turmeric. Selecting sear mode, I noticed that the Foodi has helpful indicators on the display to show pre-heating, and it tells you to ‘Add food’ when it’s hot enough.

The non-stick pot is a godsend here, and the temperature was perfect for the job. I was able to sear the meat nicely for a minute or two without slipping into cooking them through. The Foodi comes with a large plastic spoon (plastic, so that it won’t scratch the non-stick coating) - but I didn’t use it as the pot is removable and the handles aren’t too hot. Although I didn’t need to, I set the sausages aside and let the pot cool down a little so that I could test the next mode from a standing start.

Braising and slow cooking

The rest of the ingredients included chopped tomatoes, butter beans, red onion, celery, garlic and red wine, plus bay leaves and other seasonings. Interestingly, this recipe doesn’t require any additional water - the tomatoes and wine are enough to make this work.

So, following the booklet, I added all of the ingredients to the pot and put the Foodi into Braise Mode. Unlike the Slow Cook mode, Braise doesn’t have any temperature settings as it’s a preset that starts with a high temperature and then lowers for the duration. So, setting the time to three hours, I let it do its thing.

One aspect of the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker design that I particularly like (especially over the Instant Pot) is that this has a tempered glass lid. Not only can you reliably see how things are doing, even when steamed up, but as it’s not a pressure cooker you can remove the lid to stir or add ingredients at any stage. Of course, doing that too often can increase cooking times, but that’s a small price to pay for this sort of flexibility. I added some mushrooms and a couple of blanched whole tomatoes I’d cooked earlier.

At the three-hour mark, the Foodi beeped and it was all done. Everything was cooked wonderfully, the sausages soft and juicy, the butterbeans just right. Had I cooked a dish that needed browning, I could then lift out the pot and place it directly into an oven as high as 260-degrees with the lid off (although the lid is oven-safe too). As it is, I needed to move on to the veg, so I decanted the Hot Pot into a casserole dish.

Steaming

The pot is very easy to fit into the sink and wash up, partly thanks to the non-stick coating. Placing it back into the Foodi I got my ingredients lined up. There’s a chart in the back of the booklet with typical cooking times for various green and root vegetables. I’d chosen cauliflower and broccoli, as they have similar timings on average. But, as the lid could be removed unlike with a pressure cooker, I wanted to try potatoes which would take 12 minutes according to the instructions. So, I placed water and the rack with the sliced potato on it into the Foodi and selected Steam Mode. I set the time and the steam was up to temperature after just a few minutes. Again, it told me when it was ready to cook and the handy countdown timer started.

At the four-minute mark I opened the lid and added the cauli and broccoli to the rack for the remainder. I’d suspected that the potatoes might not have cooked through as planned, and I was right. Subsequent tweaking of the cooking times here was much more successful, and not totally unexpected for any recipe.

By the end, these were done just how I like them - no mushy greens here. The whole main course was very tasty and quite rich, just right for a Hot Pot.

Baking

Another great-sounding recipe from the booklet, Chocolate Sponge Pudding, was next. Considering the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker doesn’t come with a second pot (perhaps a future option..?) I was able to serve the main course directly from the pot, freeing it up for the pudding.

Now, considering I was a little sceptical of a machine that claims to do so many things, the Bake Mode had me a little concerned. The Foodi had already proven itself quite well, but knowing that cakes really need heat from as many directions as possible, I was worried about the sides. But, as it turns out, the Triple Fusion Heat elements inside really work here, as well as at the base.

Having sifted and mixed the flour, baking powder, cocoa and vanilla extract with the butter and sugar, I spooned it into the butter-lined pot. The mixture did look small in such a large pot, even knowing it would rise a little when baking. After the recommended 20 minutes at 180 degrees the machine beeped and I checked the mixture - it still wasn’t cooked through. So, another 10 minutes was about right. By the end, I removed the pot, sliced the pudding and tested it. It was light, airy and extremely good. The additional cocoa and sugar mixture had caramelised around the edges too. Impressed, even after having to adjust the timing.

What’s good?

The Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker has a lot of practicality. It might be larger than some, but it’s well-designed with cleaning and usability in mind. Even the spoon fits into a notch on the lid handle to keep it off the worktop. The controls are very much an exercise in simplicity, with clearly labelled mode indicators.

I particularly liked the addition of helpful features like a flashing indicator to show pre-heating, and beeps and displays like ‘Add Food’. Having come from steaming in an Instant Pot, I really appreciated the ability to remove the glass lid to add other types of food. Notability, you could also grab the top lid handle with nothing more than a dishcloth as it’s not scalding to the touch. Lastly, but certainly not least, the Foodi really does perform reliably and well in each Mode - even baking. Slow cooking, unlike braise mode, has temperature settings and nice long time options up to 12 hours; perfect for tender meat dishes and hearty casseroles.

What’s okay?

The instructions recommend using parchment paper on the steaming rack to prevent smaller food from falling through. But, I would have preferred a two-level rack  - one with slightly  tighter spacing. Cooking time between each item would probably be a bit more variable with a two-level rack, so I understand why this isn’t a feature right out of the box.

I do happen to like the Sea Salt Grey finish of the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker, but I’d like to see a lot more options - similar to the colours (and patterns…) seen on some Smeg appliances.

Any negatives?

My only slight criticism with the Foodi is that the recommended timings in the recipe booklet don’t rule out a bit of guesswork. But, of course, this is always the case with any kitchen appliance, cooking isn’t an exact science after all.

Everyone will have different ingredient types and other variables, but I did find - even after following a very simple ingredient list to the letter - that the Bake Mode for the chocolate sponge was out by quite a margin. The mixture inside was partially raw after 20 minutes at 180 degrees, so another 10 minutes was just right. Again, this is just something to adjust to - as with most products of this kind.

Verdict

Overall, I found the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker to be a lovely-looking and highly practical machine. It’s capable of cooking for a whole family at once and then easily switch to other tasks. It’s almost feasible to cook everything with this if, say, you wanted to give your hob and oven (and most of your pans) a well-earned break.

I very much appreciated the helpful display messages and being able to handle the lid and the removable pot without having to wear industrial-grade oven gloves. After a day of cooking I also hardly had to clean the main machine at all, as it handles fingerprints quite well too. There’s no doubt that this will be my go-to appliance for slow cooking (and more) from now on.

Verdict: Simple to operate and easy to clean. With the odd adjustment here and there, it’s a worthy addition to the countertop.

Verdict score: 4.5/5

More items to consider

Who tested it?

Chris Duffill is a Commercial Content Writer for Bauer Media, working predominantly as a tech writer on What's the Best and Yours. While his real speciality lays in audio and camera tech, he's a dab hand in the kitchen, making the Ninja a perfect addition to his kitchen.

How the product was tested?

The Ninja Food PossibleCooker was introduced into my kitchen to replace my aging Instant Pot and used regularly over the course of two months. For the purpose of this review, three recipes were created using the Ninja, allowing me to test out several of the functions, as well as cleaning and maintenance.

Chris Duffill is a Tech Product Writer for What's The Best and a contributor to A Modern Kitchen. He specialises in audiovisual, computing, and gadgets.