Instant Pot vs. Ninja Foodi: Which multicooker is right for you? (2024)

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Two of the hottest kitchen appliances, the best pressure cookers and the best air fryers, have become ubiquitous in American kitchens. A few years ago, Ninja had the brilliant idea of combining the two with the Ninja Foodi, resulting in one of the most popular small appliances. Instant Pot soon caught up and introduced its Duo Crisp, our top pick for the best multitasking air fryer.

Below, we compare these two titans of multi-cooking based on their ease of use, pressure cooking, air frying, additional functions, variety of recipes, and prices to help you decide which is the better buy.

Specs

Convenience

I give the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer the advantage in this category because of its convenient dial control, easy storage, and nonstick pot.

Setting up both of the units was simple: I had them each up and running within five minutes. Both have intuitive controls. The Instant Pot Duo Crisp has buttons for each function, while the Ninja Foodi relies on a dial for selecting functions and adjusting the time and temp, giving it a cleaner, less crowded appearance.

Both units come with separate lids for air frying and pressure cooking. The Foodi's air fryer lid is attached by a hinge, making storage easier since both lids could fit on top simultaneously. With the Duo Crisp, I needed additional shelf space for the second lid.

Aside from the base and lids, all of the elements of each cooker are dishwasher safe. I found that the nonstick ceramic coating of the Ninja Foodi pot made it easier to clean by hand. However, you can't use metal utensils without damaging it. The Instant Pot has a stainless steel pot that handles metal utensils.

Pressure cooking

The pressure build adds several minutes to recipes, so as I test pressure cookers, I time the pressure build. The Duo Crisp was faster than the Ninja Foodi in all four of our tests.

Both units produced easy-to-shred, mouthwatering pulled pork, but the Duo Crisp's was slightly easier to shred and juicier. The Duo Crisp also produced better rice. It had a good texture, wasn't too dry, and had uniform consistency. The Foodi's rice was stickier but still great. Both units took about 20 minutes to cook rice.

When I pressure cooked a pound of dry beans, the appliances both produced virtually perfect results in about an hour. The beans weren't too mushy or too hard.

Air frying

The Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer air-fried faster than the Instant Pot Duo Crisp. I filled the baskets of each cooker with a pound of frozen french fries and cooked them at 400 degrees. At 8 minutes, the fries in the Ninja Foodi were golden and evenly cooked. The Duo Crisp fries still need some time. I had to cook them for an additional three minutes to get the fries to the proper doneness.

Other functions

While the Ninja Foodi Deluxe was better at searing meats and slow cooking, we give the Instant Pot Duo Crisp the edge because it has a sous vide function.

I slow-cooked a 3.5-pound pork shoulder in each unit for 10 hours on low. The Duo Crisp's pulled pork turned out good, though slightly dry. The Ninja Foodi's pork was easier to shred and more flavorful. Chicken seared in the Foodi had a nice, consistent crust, whereas the browning was more subtle on the Duo Crisp's chicken.

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp has a sous vide function that the Foodi does not. So, you can enjoy tender and delicious meats, even when you're working with cheap cuts. I cooked a beefsteak in the sous vide water bath at 129 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours, and it was excellent. The only negative was the water took longer to get up to temperature than it would if I were using a traditional immersion circulator.

Recipe variety

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is supported by the Instant Brands Connect app (available for iOS and Android), featuring over 1,000 recipes that work with most Instant Pots. The Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker just comes with a 45-recipe booklet.

Yet, in an interview for our guide to the best electric pressure cookers, Jeffrey Eisner, the author of "The Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook," said he'd heard from several people that his recipes work just as well in off-brand pressure cookers. And, in my testing, I found you can use the Ninja Foodi to make most Instant Pot recipes and vice versa. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, the Instant Pot Duo Crisp definitely has more recipe options.

Price

The Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer retails for about $250 and the Instant Pot Duo Crisp for $200. The Duo Crisp is more affordable, but these appliances regularly go on sale so watch out for sales, especially around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Overall

With its superior pressure cooking, sous vide functionality, and lower price, I think the Instant Pot Duo Crisp will appeal to more home chefs. Yet, if you love to air fry, don't care to sous vide, and find it on sale, the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer will be a better, more convenient option for you. Both are excellent cookers.