Ninja Foodi Functions Explained
Your ultimate guide to the Ninja Foodi functions. If you’re wondering what each setting on the Ninja Foodi multicooker does or confused over which one to get, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll explain every function with a recipe suggestion and finish with a handy comparison chart.
This month is the month that our brand-new ninja foodi cookbook is published. You can get it here on Amazon or if you are in the shops, you can find it in Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, Waterstones, TG Jones and such like. We thought it was the perfect timing to share with you our favourite feature from the book and talk everything ninja foodi functions and of course comparing them so you can choose the right one.
What Is A Ninja Foodi?
A Ninja Foodi is a type of multicooker. It’s like comparing the Crockpot to the slow cooker or the Instant Pot to the electric pressure cooker. What is remarkable about the Ninja Foodi is that one cooking pot does it all. It’s like your ultimate one pot kitchen gadget.
If you have a Ninja Foodi its like you have signed up for one pot cooking without it feeling like one pot cooking.
You then have a front display on your Ninja Foodi and you can switch between different functions and of course different times and temps.
I have been obsessed with my Ninja Foodi since 2019 and I highly recommend them.
But as a beginner to the Ninja Foodi world of cooking it can be really confusing because there are so many different Ninja Foodi models now and you are like should I get the 9 in 1? The 11 in 1? The max?
That is why I wanted to create this article for you today, so I can run through with you the functions and which ones I think you will really like, what each one does and then it can help you decide.
I also have a ninja foodi cookery book too which is has a function index and has recipes for every setting of the Ninja Foodi 15 in 1 though you still have a LOT OF RECIPES to go at even if you have the 9 in 1.
This is what our first page of our recipes by function index looks like:
So, let’s do this shall we!
What Are The 15 Functions Of The Ninja Foodi?
If you are in a rush then in summary the 15 functions of the Ninja Foodi are air fry, bake/roast, slow cook, pressure cook, sauté/sear, steam, grill, yoghurt, dehydrate, steam air fry, steam bake, prove, steam bread, steam meals, and steam roast.
Your Next Step: Get Your Copy Of The Complete Multicooker Cookbook
What people say about our cookbooks is how easy they are for the beginner and how we explain in great detail. The fact that we always have a Plan B in mind and hack to go with a recipe. The Independent says our air fryer cookery book is the best for beginners.
Get The Complete Multicooker Cookbook Here.
Also grab our time and temp chart. It can sit on your fridge thanks to its magnetic strip and has the time and temps to a lot of multicooker foods. You will love the steam and the steam air fry sections the most (they are my favourite!)
Get The Complete Multicooker Cooking Guide.
15 Functions Of The Ninja Foodi With 15 Ninja Foodi Recipes
I have listed them in order of the first functions to appear on the Ninja Foodi to the latest. The first Ninja Foodi had just 6 functions (also known as the Ninja Foodi 6 in 1) which were air fry, bake/roast, pressure cook, sauté, slow cook and steam.
Air Fry – The first air fryer recipe we ever had that went viral (way back in 2012) was for some juicy slimming burgers made in the air fryer. All these years later homemade burgers still taste amazing in the air fryer. You can do all sorts of combinations, but I love these pork and apple burgers.
Bake/Roast – This is really air frying, but the way the Ninja Foodi works is that it won’t let you go lower than 160c/320f on air fry. So, to reach temperatures of 120c/250f for things like boiled eggs you need to press bake instead. On some Ninja Foodi machines they split bake and roast and on others they are in one.
Slow Cook – What’s brilliant about the Ninja Foodi and all of the models is that you can use it as your slow cooker. Ditch your current slow cooker for this. You can make anything you would make in a classic slow cooker such as leek and potato soup.
Pressure Cook – There are so many things you can pressure cook. But I remember the big hype when the electric pressure cookers made a comeback (more than 10 years ago now!) and everyone was making homemade stock. This is our frozen stock cubes we make from the leftovers from our Sunday roast.
Sauté/Sear – This became an onion browning obsession. You could brown whatever you liked before pressure cooking, and it was brilliant. I know it’s the boring stuff, isn’t it? If it wasn’t for this, I might still have a hob/stovetop in my kitchen but ditched them because I have this instead! We love Doms pink custard made with the sauté setting it’s so good!
Steam – This is the final part of what you got with the original ninja foodie model. I admit that I didn’t bother much with the steam setting and still don’t just because pressure cooking is similar and quicker. But if you love your steamed food that is great. In the ninja recipe book, we show you how to steam eggs and then using other functions make delicious baked eggs.
Then came the Ninja Foodi 7 in 1 multicooker that could also grill. Offering you a higher temperature to the classic air frying.
Grill – What I love about the grill is the grilled vegetables. They go just like they do on a barbecue. You can also grill all your other barbecue favourites such as steak, sausages etc. This function was often called max crisp and worked well for an extra crispy texture on your food. We use it in the Complete Multicooker Cookbook to get the golden look on our vegetable stew and dumplings.
Next along came the Ninja Foodi 9 in 1 multicooker. This was the first of the Ninja Foodi all in one gadget that I purchased. This also included yoghurt and dehydrate. I loved this because it got me hooked on dehydrating and I had already made yoghurt in my instant pot so I was used to this, and it was another gadget I could make it in.
This is a close up of the Ninja Foodi 9 in 1 display screen and you can see all the settings to imagine using it at home.
Yoghurt – You must try yoghurt because it is seriously good. We made homemade overnight yoghurt in the book but we also served some with granola. You can do the same where you use air fry for the granola and then yoghurt for your yoghurt.
Dehydrate – My favourite and still my favourite is to use the dehydrate setting to make some fruit chips or you might call them fruit slices. You can do lemon and oranges for a summer snack or for in drinks and apple and pear chips are great all year around.
Next came the Ninja 11 in 1 multi cooker the one that had all the hype because it changed everything. Because now you could combine the likes of steaming with air frying or baking. You could steam air fry and you could steam bake.
READ MORE >>> The Ultimate Guide To Steam Air Frying
Steam Air Frying – This is a fantastic feature because you can now steam and air fry at the same time. Your chips go like chippy chips. The roast chicken is incredibly moist and best of all your desserts cook faster. We loved the apple crumble like this.
Steam Bake – The steam bake works very similarly to steam air fry. And to be honest, you will use steam air fry a lot more than the bake setting. What we did really enjoy with it was the sweet potato wedges.
Just think of all those settings you have already and how well the ninja foodie 11 in 1 helps you in the kitchen. This is of course, why I recommend this one so much to our readers.
READ MORE >>> What To Do If You Have The Ninja Foodi 11 in 1 But Want To Follow Ninja Foodi 15 in 1 Recipes
Next the Ninja 14 in 1 multi cooker had arrived. This added 3 interesting new functions. You could now also prove, make steam meals and steam bread.
Prove – You can prove your bread using the 14 in 1 and its fantastic. We tested it and compared it to our Ninja Flex Drawer and it was fantastic. You can then watch as your bread rises without much effort from you. No need to knead your dough again this does it all!
Steam Bread – The above picture is the German beer bread from the ninja recipe book (get it here) after it has then been cooked. So we took it from using prove first and then steam bread for the best results. We also show you how to make soda bread but as it doesn’t need proving can go straight in for a steam bread blast.
BUT I did do a comparison after making this book and did another soda bread batch on steam bake (perfect for those with just the ninja 11 in 1) and the results were identical.
Steam Meals – This is where you are setting a short time and temp and its making you dinner fast. It also has an emphasis on stacked cooking where you are cooking several elements at the same time. Such as your rice, your veg and your protein – in that order. There are several versions of this you can do. A popular one from our cookbook is where we so Caribbean rice and peas in the bottom and then jerk barbecue vegetables on the rack.
But what we did was recreate this recipe but making jerk chicken drumsticks instead using steam air fry and achieved very similar results.
Then the last but not least is the Ninja Foodi Max often called the Ninja 15-1 thanks to its 15 impressive functions. This is their latest model at the time of writing this. I am sure I will update it if they bring out another! This brings you steam roast and the probe.
There is also a slide to go from 3 different sections of the display. You have:
Pressure cooking on the left – This is where you can set the cooking time and pressure followed by type of release. There is also an automatic release option.
Steam meals and friends are in the middle – This is for when you are planning to do a steam meal and also is where you go for other steam plus functions such as steam air fry, steam bread etc.
The air fry section is on the right – This is where you go for air frying, bake, dehydrate, prove and the other similar buttons.
But back to those new functions on the ninja 15 in 1…..
Steam Roast – This is an extra setting that joins the steam and then functions. But of course there is really not much difference between steam bread, steam air fry, steam roast and steam bake. So you can mix and match depending on the mood. In the book we used this setting for our hasselback carrots.
The Probe – Not technically a ninja foodi function but part of what you get with the Ninja Foodi 15 in 1 model. Its basically a built in probe that you access from the side of the Ninja Foodi. Instead of setting a cooking time you set an internal temperature, and it stops cooking when it reaches it. We have step by step photographs in our book showing you how to use the probe for the perfect pork with crackling.
FURTHER READING >>> The Ultimate Guide To Using The Ninja Foodi Probe
Ninja Foodi Comparison Chart
Below is a comparison chart that explains what each of the Ninja Foodi models do. Sometimes it can be easier to have a visual so you can quickly think about which of the Ninja Foodi models is right for you. For example for me, I prefer the settings that come with the Ninja Foodi 11 in 1.
Also, many of our readers are big fans of the Ninja Speedi so if that is YOU, I have also included the Ninja Speedi in this chart.
Shop For Your Ninja Foodi
Below is the links to each of the Ninja Foodi models that are currently available at the time of writing this so you can find out more and buy the one that best suits your needs.
- Ninja Foodi 9 in 1 Multicooker
- Ninja Foodi 11 in 1 Multicooker
- Ninja Foodi 14 in 1 Multicooker
- Ninja Foodi 15 in 1 Multicooker (Not for sale anymore on Amazon)
Or if you prefer don’t forget about the others in the ninja comparison chart:
Thanks for reading and we have more resources for you below.
Your Next Step: Get Your Copy Of The Complete Multicooker Cookbook
What people say about our cookbooks is how easy they are for the beginner and how we explain in great detail. The fact that we always have a Plan B in mind and hack to go with a recipe. The Independent says our air fryer cookery book is the best for beginners.
Get The Complete Multicooker Cookbook Here.
Also grab our time and temp chart. It can sit on your fridge thanks to its magnetic strip and has the time and temps to a lot of multicooker foods. You will love the steam and the steam air fry sections the most (they are my favourite!)
Get The Complete Multicooker Cooking Guide.
Choose Your Dream Multicooker
We have mentioned a few of the different multicookers we recommend and here is them and some more so you can go shopping and choose the right one for you!
- The Instant Pot Duo (best for pressure cooking)
- The Instant Pot & Air Fryer (similar to the Ninja Foodi 9 in 1)
- The Ninja Foodi 9 in 1 (everything that the 11 in 1 does minus the steam air frying and steam bake)
- The Ninja Foodi 11 in 1 (best air fryer pressure cooker)
- The Ninja Foodi 15 in 1 Max (NOT for sale anymore)
- The Ninja Speedi (best multicooker and air fryer in one)
Don’t Miss A Thing!
Complete The Ninja Foodi Challenge: We did 30 days dedicated to the Ninja Foodi with a recipe each day. It’s a great way to learn the Ninja Foodi and then you can set yourself the goal of a new recipe each day. You can get the ebook here or follow it on YouTube here.
Join Kitchen Gadgets Club – We have a Ninja Speedi recipes category and also have many other gadgets too. As a Ninja Speedi owner you can enjoy our air fryer, slow cooker, steam air fry and more.
Follow Us On Socials – We would love to hear more about you. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or join our Facebook Group.
The Weekly Newsletter – We have a weekly newsletter that shares more about kitchen gadget cookery and also features the latest recipes, gossip from us, what we are up to and much more.
Watch Our YouTube Videos – We have lots of YouTube videos including several for the Ninja Speedi. You can also subscribe to our channel and learn lots about kitchen gadgets.
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