Enter the characters you see below Sorry, we just need to make sure you’re not a robot. Ninja Foodi: We compare the top kitchen gadgets Every time we think one cooker has one-upped the other, instant pot best price new model comes out. All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers.
If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Celebrity chefs and influencer foodies make everything look so easy. Food vloggers speed up a 20-step recipe into an Instagram video and make it look as simple as microwaved ramen. Antoni from Queer Eye is like, “Here, person with no cooking experience, let’s whip up some pork tenderloin canapés over a fire on this casual Tuesday night. But attempting an intricate recipe doesn’t have to be as intimidating as we make it out to be. Not with a pressure cooker, at least.
The Instant Pot and Ninja Foodi are far from the only pressure-cooking multicookers that exist in the current kitchen device market — but they’re so far ahead of the competition that, in a way, they are the only pressure cookers in the market. Putting them head to head only makes sense. Is the Ninja Foodi the same as the Instant Pot? Instant Pot invented the pressure cooking game. Though the first Instant Pot model came out in 2008, the hype around a single kitchen device grew to unprecedented levels around 2015. People — both seasoned food enthusiasts and those who only cook out of necessity — obsessed over it so much that it felt like no appliance would ever even share the spotlight. Ninja founds its way in when it diverted from the fancy blender realm to create the Foodi: a pressure cooker that doubles as an air fryer.
Instant Pots didn’t have this capability for a while, and required the purchase of a separate air frying lid. The Instant Pot has more than caught up in the crisping game since then though, offering several air frying models at different price points. You can barely Google one without the other one popping up in autofill, and both are stars of Black Friday and Prime Day. Which is better: Ninja Foodi vs.
Instant Pot debate changes every time either brand launches a new iteration of its device. New releases happen much more often than you’d expect for the humble countertop cooker. The blind spots each had a few years ago have mostly been covered at this point. For instance, Instant Pot was leading the charge in more niche methods like yogurt making or sous vide for a while, but multiple Foodis do that now. Both have LCD screens, multiple pressure settings, inserts that are dishwasher safe, and the rest of those expected specs. Which cooker you should get depends on the appliance features that you want to pay for — and which one you think would look better on your counter, honestly.
99, with about four models in between. 99, with a few more models in between to ensure your perfect price point. 99, comparing to the price of the oldest Ninja Foodi model that’s all but discontinued. Keep reading as we dive deeper into where each device wins and loses, based off the models available in November 2021.
More models with more tailored features”Instant Pot” is an umbrella term. Like a grandmother yelling “or whatever your name is” to a gaggle of grandchildren, the Instant Pot family is so versatile that it can be hard to remember which model does which — but that’s a good thing. We break down the differences here. Every Instant Pot can pressure cook, slow cook, cook rice, steam, sauté, and warm, and as the models level up, more sophisticated features are added, like yogurt making, baking, or sous vide. The models with “Crisp” in the title are obviously the air frying ones.
Most models are available in the popular 6-quart size as well as a mini 3-quart model and a family-friendly 8-quart model. There is no 3-quart version of the Foodi. Instant Pot models vary so widely to the point where they’re almost customizable to your skill and budget. The best part is that if you don’t need all of those functions, Instant Pot won’t make you pay for them. But where the Instant Pot really hits home is how easy it makes recipes that are traditionally a pain.
Rice never turns out right on the stove, but the Instant Pot has nailed that moisturized-but-not-too-sticky texture. A rushed breakfast is less stressful when you can hard-boil, soft-boil, or poach an egg without having to think too hard about it. More liquidized recipes like soups, dips, and stews seems to be the Instant Pot’s specialty. Purées require a special attention to detail, especially when meat is cooking simultaneously in the dish. The Instant Pot Max also stands out with 15 PSI, which speeds up pressure cooking even more and opens the door for precise pressure canning — a must for wannabe chefs, grandmas, and homesteaders who preserve everything possibly. The Foodi maxes out at about 12 PSI. 2018, it became very clear that the ability to hold water at a precise temperature for hours was a cooking function that people hold dear.