Ninja Instant Cooker vs. Ninja Multi-Cooker vs. Instant Pot: Review and Comparisons

What Is the Ninja Instant Cooker?

The Ninja Instant Cooker is a multi functional appliance that combines a pressure cooker with many other cooking functions like slow cooking, searing/saute, as well as other custom cooking programs.

Features of the Ninja Instant Cooker:

  • Cook your food in multiple methods using pressure cooking, slow cooking, sear/saute or steaming.
  • Cook food up to 70% faster than traditional cooking methods.
  • Dual pressure selection, choose from high, medium or low pressure.
  • Keep Warm function keeps your food warm until ready to eat.
  • Choose from 5 stovetop temperature settings perfect for simmering, searing or anything in between.
  • Easy to use one-touch control panel. Use pre sets or customize your settings.
  • Ceramic coated cooking pot that is dishwasher safe.
  • Also includes a stainless steel steaming rack.

Specifications:

  • 6 quart cooking pot capacity.
  • 1000-watts power.

What Can You Prepare Using the Ninja Instant Cooker?

Using a multi cooker like the Ninja Instant Cooker, you pretty much cook anything in it. Savory or sweet! You can steam or saute veggies, cook grains and rice, slow cook meats or stews, sear or braise meats or even bake cakes. Using the touch controls, simply select your function and set the temperature. The timer can be set for automatic shut off when you don’t want to overlook your cooker.

Ninja Instant Cooker vs. Ninja Multi-Cooker, What’s the Difference?

Ninja Auto-iQ Multi/Slow Cooker with 80-Pre-Programmed Auto-iQ Recipes for Searing, Slow Cooking, Baking and Steaming with 6-Quart Nonstick Pot (CS960)
  • 80+ Auto-iQ pre-programmed recipes - just select recipe, add ingredients, and Auto-iQ helps you cook.. Cord length : 36 Inches
  • 4 programmable cooking functions all in one pot: slow cook, sear and sauté, steam, and bake.
  • Triple Fusion Heat: Side heat, bottom heat, and steam heat come together for easy one pot meal. Traditional slow cookers use only one type of heat.
  • Built with convenience in mind, it comes with a Digital Timer and Auto-Stay warm so you can get your when you want them and how you want them.
  • Cook anywhere you have an outlet. It’s lightweight so it’s great for parties, vacations, and college dorm rooms

Ninja’s 4-in-1 Multi Cooker is another great option for a one-pot solution that allows you to cook a wide variety of meals. The cook has four main features: slow cook, stovetop, oven and steam.

So that makes the main difference between the ninja multi cooker and instant cooker is pressure cooking, which only the Instant Cooker has.

Settings and Temperature:

Using the Multi-cooker, you get two stovetop temperature settings and three slow cooking temperature settings. Oven mode, which is used for baking and roasting, has a temperature range from 250 to 425 F degrees. With the Instant Cooker, on the other hand, there are 5 temperature settings that you can use for different functions, that’s in addition to the Dual pressure settings which is useful for even more recipes.

Cooking Pot Capacity and Coating:

Both cookers have the same capacity of 6 quart. However, they have different coating:

  • Instant Cooker as a ceramic coated pot. Ceramic is more safe to use as it does not peel over time and its non-stick properties last longer.
  • The Ninja Multi Cooker has teflon coating. It works okay as a non-stick pan, but it will most likely start peeling after a while of use or with some misuse like constant scraping, for example.

Design:

The two cookers have different designs due to the difference in what they do. For example, the Multi Cooker has a glass lid which you can watch your cook through. But this isn’t possible with the Instant Cooker due to the fact that it’s also a pressure cooker, so it needs a fully covered lid with safety valve and stronger lock.

Controls:

  • Controls wise, the Multi-cooker has a dial knob for temperature and function settings, with a small digital display for the timer.
  • The Instant Cooker has a touch control panel with multiple pre-sets as well as customization buttons. The digital display is used for the timer.

Ninja Instant Cooker vs. Instant Pot Cooker:

Instant Pot Duo Nova 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, Yogurt Maker, 3 Quart, 14 One-Touch Programs, Best For Beginners
  • Best for beginners: An upgrade from the all-time bestseller Instant Pot Duo series, the Duo Nova combines 7 appliances in 1: Pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, saute pan, food warmer, and yogurt maker. This 3Qt “Mini” model is compact and ultra-convenient, perfect for cooking for up to 3 people or for making rice, vegetables, or side dishes
  • Healthy & consistently delicious: Duo Nova is powered by a sophisticated microprocessor that monitors and adjusts pressure, temperature, time, and heat to cook food up to 70% faster than other methods and deliver consistent, delicious results every time
  • Smart lid: The new easy seal lid gives you 1 less thing to worry about because it automatically seals your Instant Pot. Steam release is also a breeze with the fast, safe push of the quick release button. And it even comes with a bonus sealing ring
  • Worry-free cooking: 10 plus safety features with UL certification let you “set it and forget it.” You’re free to do other things while the Duo Nova cooks your dinner safely and quickly, with minimal mess and easy clean up. The Duo Nova’s food-grade stainless steel 304 (18/8) cooking pot is dishwasher-safe and durable, with no chemical coating.
  • Clear, simple controls: Elegant blue LCD intuitively indicates the cooking process of the multicooker. Convenient 1-touch control of 13 programs can be customized to remember the way you like to cook

Instant Pot is a popular choice for a multi cooker with pressure cooking. In this comparison, I will refer to the Instant Pot model DUO60 as it’s the most popular as well as the most similar to the Ninja Instant Cooker in terms of features and price range.

Functions:

When it comes to functions, both Ninja Instant Cooker and Instant Pot have similar functions: pressure cooking, slow cooking, sear/saute, steaming and keeping food warm. The Instant Cooker has additional functions like Yoghurt maker as well as additional pre-sets like rice, soup, porridge and beans. While the Instant Cooker does not have those as presets, it can still make all those meals by programming your own settings.

Capacity:

The Ninja Instant Cooker has a 6 quart capacity, while the Instant Pot is available in three capacities: 3 quart, 6 quart and 8 quart.

Coating:

One of the great things about the Ninja Instant Cooker is the ceramic coating which is quite durable and safe. The Instant Pot has stainless steel pot, which does not need any type of coating.

Controls:

The Controls on both cookers are quite similar with touch panel and a number of pre-sets and a display for time or temperature settings. The Instant Pot does have more pre-sets available which makes it easier to start functions.

Which One To Buy?

Although both Ninja Instant Cooker and Instant Pot are quite similar and you’ll pretty much be able to prepare the same type of meals using both brands, I do like the Instant Pot over the Ninja Instant Cooker for its presets. As it comes set with 14 smart programs to get you started with a push of a button, it makes it easier for both experienced cooks and beginners to get started right away. The fact that it is available in different capacities is also great for single users as well as larger families.

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