Ninja FD401 LP3 Foodi 12-in-1 Deluxe XL Review: The Best Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer Combo
Ninja FD401 LP3 Foodi 12-in-1 Deluxe XL Review: The Best Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer Combo
Unboxing and First Impressions
Upon unboxing the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL, I was immediately impressed by its sturdy build and sleek silver finish. It comes with an 8-quart ceramic-coated pot, a 5-quart Cook & Crisp Basket, and a deluxe reversible rack. The design is intuitive, with a user-friendly touch control panel that makes it easy to navigate the 12 programmable cooking functions. Despite its size, it fits well on my kitchen counter and doesn’t feel overly bulky.
Cooking Performance: A Multi-Functional Powerhouse
One of the standout features of this appliance is its TenderCrisp Technology. It allows me to pressure cook food quickly while locking in juices, then switch to air frying for a crispy, golden finish. I tested it with a whole chicken, and the result was incredible—juicy on the inside, perfectly crisp on the outside.
The air frying capacity is impressive as well. The 5-quart Cook & Crisp Basket easily holds a 7-pound chicken or a large batch of fries, making it perfect for family meals. Additionally, the deluxe reversible rack enables me to steam and broil or cook multiple items at once, a feature that comes in handy when preparing meals for guests.
The slow cooking and sous vide functions have also become staples in my kitchen. The slow cooker mode allows me to prepare tender meats and stews effortlessly, while the sous vide function ensures precise temperature control for gourmet-style cooking.
What I Loved About the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL
12 Cooking Functions – This appliance replaces multiple kitchen gadgets, saving space and simplifying meal preparation.
Extra-Large Capacity – The 8-quart pot and 5-quart air fryer basket are perfect for family-sized meals.
Nonstick and Easy to Clean – The ceramic-coated pot and basket are PTFE and PFOA-free, nonstick, and dishwasher safe.
Fast Cooking Time – Pressure cooking significantly reduces cooking time while maintaining flavor.
Safety Features – With 14 built-in safety features, including a locking lid and automatic pressure release, I feel secure using it.
Comes with a Recipe Guide – The included cookbook offers inspiration for trying new meals.
Things to Consider Before Buying
While I absolutely love this appliance, there are a few things to keep in mind:
Size and Weight – Weighing 26 pounds, it’s not the easiest appliance to move around. Ensure you have counter space for it.
Learning Curve – With 12 functions, it may take some time to learn all the settings. However, the manual and recipe book make it easier.
Price – At $219.95, it’s an investment, but considering its versatility, I believe it’s worth the price.
Buying Guide: Is the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Right for You?
If you’re looking for the best pressure cooker and air fryer combo, the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL is an excellent choice. Here’s who it’s best suited for:
Families and Meal Preppers – The large capacity makes it ideal for cooking in batches or preparing meals for a crowd.
Busy Home Cooks – If you want to cook flavorful meals quickly, this appliance will save you time.
Health-Conscious Eaters – The air frying function lets you enjoy crispy foods with less oil.
Kitchen Minimalists – Instead of cluttering your counter with multiple appliances, this 12-in-1 gadget does it all.
Final Verdict
After using the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL, I can confidently say it’s one of the best additions to my kitchen. It combines the speed of pressure cooking with the crispiness of air frying, making it incredibly versatile. Whether I’m making crispy wings, slow-cooked stews, or perfectly seared steaks, this appliance delivers consistently great results. If you’re in the market for a multi-functional pressure cooker and air fryer, this is a fantastic investment.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. If you want to elevate your home cooking and simplify meal prep, the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL is a must-have.
Top reviews from the United States
- Judy L.Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2021
Easy to clean, multiple functions, easy to use, I use it almost daily.
Size: 8 QuartsI have had a number of electric pressure cook brands over the years, and the Ninja Foodi pressure cookers with the air crisp lid is my favorite. First of all, to me, it doesn't make sense to buy a 6 quart pressure cooker since the quantity you cook is limited to the capacity of the cook. With an 8 quart pressure cooker, you can as easily cook smaller quantities as larger ones. I always opt for the larger size since cookers I have had in smaller sizes were never used.
I also have had the Ninja OP301 pressure cooker with the air crisp lid for over two years. I use it almost every day and it still works and looks like new. I like it so much, when I saw the Ninja FD401 unit on sale during the Amazon Prime days, I jumped on it. I wanted an extra in case the one I have fails. From experience, I have learned this usually happens in the middle of making dinner.
I have looked into the differences between the two units, and I'm not sure whether I prefer the OP301 unit to the DP401 unit. The OP301 is describes as a 9-in-one and the FD401 is described as a 12-in-1. The OP301 actually has 7 cooking functions to choose from and the FD401 has 8 functions to choose from. Some functions are combined to come up to the 9-in-1 for the OP301 and 12-in-1 for the FD401. The following is the differences between the two units.
- Cooking functions - The FD401 added Yogurt to the Slow Cook function.
OP301 - Pressure, Steam, Slow Cook, Sear/Sauté, Air Crisp, Bake/Roast, Broil, Dehydrate
FD401 - Pressure, Steam, Slow Cook/Yogurt, Sear/Sauté, Air Crisp, Bake/Roast, Broil, Dehydrate
- Cooking function selection - The FD401 uses the Start/Stop knob to scroll through the functions for selection and to increase or decrease time and temperature. The OP301 has buttons that can be pressed for each function. Personally, I prefer the selection buttons on the OP301 to the dial used for selection on the FD401.
- Time and Temperature - On both units there are default settings for both, but time and temperature can be easily changed on both by pressing the up/down buttons on the OP301 or using the dial on the FD401.
- Accessories - Both come with the same accessories: reversible rack, cook/crisp basket, etc.
I use my Ninja Foodi almost every day, and bought a couple accessories to increase the uses . Since I grow a number of veggie greens in my basement, I bought a steamer basket from Amazon for an 8 quart pressure cooker that I use to steam the veggies. The thicker leaves require 8-10 minutes of steaming, and the thinner leaves, like spinach, require only 2-3 minutes of steaming. I also bought the Ninja Foodi Skewer set that works wonderfully for cooking and browning BBQ'ed chicken wings, chicken thighs, and brochettes using chicken, fish, shrimp, or beef. The air crisping lid is used for the chicken wings and thighs after cooking them with the baking function.
As a pressure cooker, this Ninja Foodi saves so much time, and the results are always wonderful. For example, a pork shoulder roast needs to be pressure cooked for only 55 minutes, and the liquids left make a wonderful gravy. To do this, put 2 cups of beef broth in the bottom of the cooking pot, add 1 large onion cut into wedges, 5-6 garlic cloves (or to taste), and seasonings. After the pork shoulder is done, remove it and cover with tin foil to keep warm. Set the cooker to sauté low, use in immersion blender to blend the onion and garlic, add a mixture of 1/4 cup water and 2 tbsp. corn starch, and cook until the gravy thickens. Using the pressure cooking function, I have also made pot roast with potatoes and carrots, corned beef and cabbage, short ribs, beef stew, and more. All have come out perfect, and all were done in 1 hour or less.
In conclusion, both units supply basically the same cooking functions, and both are excellent cooking appliances with multiple cooking functions that will enhance the cooking abilities of anyone using them. Personally, I prefer the button selection of the OP302 over the FD401 unit simply because pushing a button for the desired function is much easier and faster than scrolling to the desired function with a dial.
As for storage of the Air Crisp lid, there is an option available on Amazon to store this lid on top of the pressure cooker. I have this, and now store my Air Crisp lid on top of the pressure cooker.
Another important point to mention is that many of the newer appliances use wattages from 1500 to 1800 watts. This unit is rated at 1760 units. We have a 40 year old home and most of the circuit breakers were 15 amps. This could handle 1 appliance if nothing else was running at the time of the appliance. I was having a problem with circuit breakers popping when using two appliances at the same time and sometimes when I was using only one. This made cooking dinners very frustrating as the cook times were lost when the breaker popped. We finally had an electrician come to the house to upgrade our circuit breakers to 20 amp and many of the outlets in my kitchen were wired to separate circuit breakers. This made dinner cooking a lot easier for me, but it came at a cost of over $3000. If you have only a couple of the newer appliances, including this one, you may have a problem if you have 15 amp circuits and anything else is running on the same circuit at the same time.
I hope this review was helpful for you. I will update my review if my opinion changes or I can add more information. - HWWomanReviewed in the United States on October 19, 2020
Very versatile - learning curve, but infinite possibilities!
Size: 8 QuartsIf you had the wattage capability in your small or large space, this would be the appliance to buy! The 8 quart Ninja Foodi 9-in-1 has a total wattage of 1760. That may be too much for some kitchens. I don't use other electrical appliances while I am using this Foodi. This is a very big countertop appliance. My husband jokingly calls it "Diver Dan." It is "potbelly" round and can be up to 22 inches high (with crisper lid up) or a bit more and it's more than a foot across and deep. Also it lets off steam when using the pressure cooker mode, of course, so it's best to locate it where the steam isn't let off under your cupboards. That said, so far I've made the following foods with relatively good or good results: 1) crisp thin sliced/julienned potatoes and not so crisp sweet potato and potato rounds; 2) rotini spiral pasta in cream sauce with canned mushrooms (perfect!); 3) re-roasted frozen pulled pork in square shape - cooked and then browned; 4) pinto beans in tomato and spice sauce in pressure cooker; 5) Great White Northern beans in nutritional yeast, garlic and onion broth - in pressure cooker and then sauteed. 6) Roasted Brussels sprouts in tamari from frozen. I had less success using a cake mix. The cake was still frothing raw batter in the middle, so I had to take it out, add mini chocolate chips on top and finish baking it in my convection oven. Interestingly enough, it was quite tasty and moist - it just took a two step process with two different appliances. There are some great features here not to be overlooked including the saute function. So far clean up has been very easy! More ideas and thoughts to follow! Happy Foodi-ing!
Update: I still love my Ninja Foodi, but I've got to try out a few meals that require just the one appliance. I don't like the idea of using my vintage but still perfect Farberware countertop convection oven at the same time as the Foodi. I realized that certain functions of the Foodi are going to be more like a novelty for me than an actual function that I will use. For example, the dehydrate mode. I've used it to dehydrate apple slices so far and the results were fine, but honestly not worth 8 hours of having the Foodi on for the small output. I set the Foodi up and left it on overnight. Yogurt mode also sounds like something that requires having the Foodi on for a long time. I used my vintage convection oven to dehydrate ginger and cilantro and it took far less time. I like the idea of focusing on the "one pot" meals. I ordered the Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker Cookbook by Justin Warner.
Update: I just made six chicken drumsticks from frozen to air crisped. The process was very easy, but I noticed that the timing is critical. The drumsticks were a bit red at the bone, but fully cooked on the outside after the two steps of pressure cooking and the air crisping option. The directions provided in the booklet that came with the Foodi don't cover drumsticks, so this is going to be a bit "trial and error" when it comes to cooking times. Also it's important to realize that even though this is an 8 quart capacity cooker, it really doesn't hold all that much when it comes to family size meals depending on the cooking functions. Beans are another story! You'll be able to make plenty of those
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