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The pitch for the Ninja Foodi OS101 is simple: it’s an Instant Pot that can also crisp. Pressure cookers make meat tender but pale and soggy-skinned; air fryers make skin crackle but can’t braise. The Foodi bolts both into one 5-quart appliance with two lids, and after several weeks of using it as my main weeknight cooker, the short version is: the combination genuinely works, and at $169.99 with a 4.8★ average across 4,321 owner ratings, it has quietly become one of the best-reviewed multi-cookers on Amazon.
Quick Specs
| Spec | Ninja Foodi OS101 |
|---|---|
| Functions | 9 — pressure cook, air fry/crisp, steam, slow cook, sear/sauté, bake/roast, broil, dehydrate, keep warm |
| Capacity | 5 qt pot; 4 qt Cook & Crisp basket |
| Lids | Two — pressure lid (removable) + attached crisping lid |
| Footprint | Roughly a large slow cooker; 25 lbs |
| Price | $169.99 (verified July 5, 2026) |
| Rating | 4.8★ (4,321) |
The Two-Lid Trick, and Why It Matters
Everything distinctive about the Foodi comes down to the lids. The pressure lid seals it into a proper pressure cooker — 45-minute fall-apart short ribs, dried beans without soaking, stock in an hour. Swap to the attached crisping lid and a fan drives 400°F air over whatever is in the basket, which is a functional air fryer by any honest definition.
The combination move — Ninja calls it TenderCrisp — is the actual reason to buy this over a plain Instant Pot: pressure cook a whole 4-lb chicken for 25 minutes, swap lids, crisp for 15. You get meat with rotisserie tenderness under skin with real crackle, in under an hour, in one pot. I made this exact chicken five times during testing because the family kept asking for it. That is the review, honestly.
Pressure Cooking: As Good as an Instant Pot
Side by side against a 6-qt Instant Pot Duo on ribs, chili, and rice, the Foodi’s pressure results were indistinguishable. It comes to pressure a touch slower than the Duo but releases faster with its quick-release valve. The sear/sauté mode gets the pot bottom genuinely hot — hot enough to brown properly before pressure cooking, which cheaper multi-cookers fake.
One honest note: the ceramic-coated pot is nonstick and easy to clean, but like all ceramic coatings it will wear over a few years of daily use. Replacement pots run about $30.
Air Frying: Real Crisp, Smaller Basket
The 4-qt Cook & Crisp basket delivers the same results as a dedicated air fryer — we compared it directly against the units in our Vortex vs COSORI test. Fries, wings, and frozen anything come out properly crisped. The catch is capacity: 4 quarts feeds three people comfortably, four with planning. If air frying for a bigger household is the main event, a dedicated dual-basket unit from our family air fryer guide serves crowds better.
What It’s Like to Live With
The Foodi is big — roughly a large slow cooker’s footprint and 25 lbs, so it wants a permanent counter spot. The attached crisping lid means you need clearance to swing it open under cabinets. The pressure lid, meanwhile, has to live somewhere when it’s not in use, which is the small tax the two-lid design charges.
Cleanup is better than the category average: pot, basket, and pressure lid parts are dishwasher-safe, and the crisp basket’s coating releases stuck food with a rinse. The control panel is button-per-function with a dial — no app, no Wi-Fi, nothing to pair. After the smart-appliance fatigue in our 602-product pricing study — where premium prices consistently failed to buy higher satisfaction — the Foodi’s dumb-but-excellent approach reads as a feature.
Pros and Cons
- TenderCrisp genuinely replaces two appliances
- Pressure results match an Instant Pot
- Real air-fry crisp, verified against dedicated units
- 4.8★ across 4,321 owners — exceptional for the category
- No app, no subscription, nothing to break digitally
- Big footprint; heavy; needs cabinet clearance
- Loose pressure lid needs a storage spot
- 4-qt crisp basket limits air-fry batches to ~3 people
- Ceramic pot coating wears with heavy daily use
Which Ninja Foodi Is This? A 30-Second Model Guide
Ninja sells a genuinely confusing spread of Foodi pressure-cooker models, so to be precise: this review covers the OS101 — the compact 5-quart 9-in-1, and the cheapest current way into the pressure-plus-crisp trick. Ninja also makes larger 6.5- and 8-quart XL versions of the same idea (worth it for households of five or more, at a correspondingly bigger footprint), and newer Smart Lid models that add a built-in thermometer and more cooking modes for considerably more money. Our take after testing the OS101: the extra modes are the same marketing padding as the “9-in-1” label — pressure and crisp are the product. Buy bigger for capacity, not for mode count.
Who Should Buy It — and Who Shouldn’t
Buy the Foodi if you’re replacing (or avoiding buying) two appliances, you cook for 2–4 people, and weeknight speed matters more than counter space. It’s also the right call for anyone tempted by a pressure cooker who worries they’d miss crispy textures — the crisping lid removes that trade-off entirely.
Skip it if you already own a good pressure cooker and a good air fryer (nothing here beats what you have), you’re feeding five or more (the 5-qt pot and 4-qt basket both run out), or your counter space is already fully spoken for. And if you only want air frying with no pressure cooking, a dedicated unit is cheaper and lighter — see the air fryer vs deep fryer breakdown for where that trade-off lands.
Verdict
The Ninja Foodi OS101 earns its rating the boring way: it does two jobs properly instead of nine jobs badly. The 9-in-1 label is marketing — steam, slow cook, and dehydrate are fine but unremarkable — while the pressure-then-crisp combination is the real product, and nothing else at $169.99 does it this well. For a 2–4 person household, it’s the easiest multi-cooker recommendation we can make.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Ninja Foodi a pressure cooker or an air fryer?
Both, properly. The sealed pressure lid makes it a true pressure cooker; the attached crisping lid runs 400°F convection over a 4-qt basket, which is a genuine air fryer. The swap between them takes seconds.
How big is the Ninja Foodi OS101 really?
The pot is 5 quarts and the crisp basket 4 quarts — comfortable for 2–4 people. The unit itself has the footprint of a large slow cooker, weighs about 25 lbs, and needs cabinet clearance for the flip-up lid.
Can you put Ninja Foodi parts in the dishwasher?
Yes — the inner pot, Cook & Crisp basket, and the pressure lid’s removable parts are dishwasher-safe. Wipe the main unit and crisping lid by hand.
Is the Ninja Foodi worth it over an Instant Pot?
If you’d also buy an air fryer, yes — one Foodi costs less than a comparable Instant Pot plus a decent air fryer and takes one counter spot instead of two. If you’d never use the crisping lid, a plain Instant Pot is cheaper and stores more easily.