Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 Pressure Cooker & Air Fryer Review

What the Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 actually is

Strip away the marketing math and this is two appliances fused into one body: an electric pressure cooker like an Instant Pot, plus an air fryer. It ships with two lids. A pressure lid that locks on for the wet stuff, and an attached crisping lid that flips down to blast hot air. The '10-in-1' counts modes most people will use three of: pressure cook, air crisp, and slow cook. Sear, steam, bake, dehydrate and the rest are nice to have, not reasons to buy.

The standard configuration runs a 6.5-quart pot, with larger 8-quart versions floating around. Inside you get a nonstick cooking pot and a crisping basket. Pricing sits roughly in the $170 to $230 range depending on size and sales, which puts it well above a basic Instant Pot but below buying a pressure cooker and a decent air fryer separately.

How it performs day to day

The signature move is the reason owners keep it: pressure-cook chicken thighs or pork until tender, swap to the crisp lid, and finish with actual browned, crackly skin in the same pot. Pot roast, carnitas, whole chickens, wings. This is where it shines and where a plain Instant Pot leaves you with sad, pale meat that needs a broiler.

As a pressure cooker it's competent. It comes to pressure quickly and the controls are simple enough. As an air fryer the basket is smaller and deeper than a dedicated flat-basket fryer, so a batch of fries cooks fine but unevenly if you overfill it, and you'll be shaking the basket. It's a capable air fryer, not a great one.

Cleanup is genuinely the selling point. The pot and basket are nonstick and dishwasher-safe, and because everything happens in one vessel you skip the second-pan tax. The catch is the attached crisping lid. It doesn't come off, so you're maneuvering around a permanently hinged dome every time you wipe the unit down.

The real pros and cons

Pros: the pressure-then-crisp workflow is legitimately great and hard to replicate cheaply. Build quality feels solid. It replaces two gadgets, which matters if your counter is already a graveyard of single-use appliances. Owner reviews skew strongly positive for a reason.

Cons: it's a big, heavy lump that does not tuck into a cabinet easily. The attached crisp lid makes it taller and bulkier than an Instant Pot, and it's awkward to store. The included recipe app and presets push you toward Ninja's ecosystem more than I'd like. And if you already own both a pressure cooker and an air fryer you love, the upgrade case is thin.

Who should buy it and who should skip it

Buy it if you cook meat often and want browning without a second device, or if you're starting from zero and want one appliance to cover weeknight dinners. It's a strong pick for small families and anyone tired of choosing between tender and crispy.

Skip it if counter and storage space is precious, if you mainly air-fry big flat batches (a dedicated basket fryer does that better), or if you already own a pressure cooker that does the job. Solo cooks who rarely pressure-cook can save money with a standalone air fryer.

The verdict

The Ninja Foodi 10-in-1 nails the one thing it was designed to do, and that one thing happens to be the most annoying gap in a normal pressure cooker. It's bulky and the air fryer side is merely good rather than excellent. For most home cooks who want tender-then-crispy results from a single pot, it's worth the premium over a basic Instant Pot.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Ninja Foodi better than an Instant Pot?

For browning, yes. The Foodi's crisping lid gives you crackly skin and roasted finishes a standard Instant Pot can't without a separate broiler or air fryer. For pure pressure cooking they're roughly equal, and the Instant Pot is cheaper and easier to store.

Can it really replace a separate air fryer?

For most households, mostly. The crisping basket handles wings, fries and reheats well, but it's smaller and deeper than a dedicated flat-basket fryer, so big batches cook unevenly. Heavy air-fryer users may still want a standalone unit.

Are the parts dishwasher safe?

Yes. The nonstick cooking pot and crisping basket are dishwasher-safe. The pressure lid wipes clean, but the air-crisp lid is attached to the unit and can't be removed, which makes cleaning the lid itself a bit fiddly.