Expert Kitchen Appliance Comparison: Instant Pot Duo Crisp vs. Ninja Foodi – Testing Both Popular Multicookers

• The popularity of air fryers and Instant Pots has skyrocketed in the past decade.
• The Instant Pot Duo Crisp and Ninja Foodi are among the leading appliances that offer both air frying and pressure cooking capabilities.
• In our head-to-head comparison, the Duo Crisp was our preference, however the Foodi excels at certain tasks.

The combination of electric pressure cooking and air frying has become a popular trend in American kitchens, with appliances like the Ninja Foodi and the Instant Pot Duo Crisp leading the charge. The idea of combining these two appliances was first introduced by Ninja a few years ago.

To help you choose between two of the most popular multi-cookers, the Ninja Foodi and the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, we’ve compared them on ease of use, pressure cooking, air frying, extra features, recipe options, and cost.

Specs 

Category	Instant Pot Duo Crisp	Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer
Size	15″ x 15″ x 13.5″	16.1″ x 14.57″ x 14.29″
Capacity	8-Quart Capacity as a Pressure Cooker, Reduced Size for Air Frying	An 8-quart pressure cooker, and a smaller capacity air fryer.
Inner pot materials	Stainless steel	Aluminum with nonstick ceramic coating
Dishwasher safe?	Yes, everything but the base and lids	Yes, everything but the base and lids
Preset modes	Multi-function cooking including pressure cooking, sautéing, slow cooking, steaming, sous vide, air frying, roasting, baking, broiling, dehydrating, and keeping warm.	Versatile cooking options including pressure cooking, steaming, slow cooking, making yogurt, sautéing, air frying, broiling, baking/roasting, dehydrating, and keeping warm.
Power	1500 watts	1760 watts
Number of included recipes	More than 1,000 recipes available in the free Instant Brands Connect app, which is available for both iOS and Android devices.	45
Extras	Air Fryer Lid, Basket, Heat-Resistant Lid Pad, Broil/Dehydrate Tray, and Steam Rack	Air fryer lid, air fryer basket, dual-layer steam rack

Convenience

I favor the Ninja Foodi for ease of use due to its dial control, simple storage, and nonstick pot. The Instant Pot Duo Crisp allows use of metal utensils.

Both Ninja Foodi and Instant Pot Duo Crisp were easy to set up, taking only five minutes each. The Ninja Foodi has a simple dial control, while the Instant Pot has buttons for each function. The dial gives the Ninja Foodi a cleaner look, while the Instant Pot’s buttons provide clear function selections.

The Foodi and Duo Crisp have separate lids for air frying and pressure cooking, but the Foodi’s air fryer lid is hinged making storage easier. The Duo Crisp requires extra shelf space for its second lid.

The dishwasher safe components of both cookers are a plus, but I found cleaning the Foodi’s nonstick pot easier. The stainless steel pot of the Instant Pot can withstand metal utensils, but at the cost of nonstick convenience.

Pressure cooking

In my pressure cooking tests, the Instant Pot Duo Crisp came out on top overall, although the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer performed better in one test.

The pressure build-up takes extra time in cooking, thus in my pressure cooker evaluations, I measure the pressure build duration. The Duo Crisp proved to be faster than the Ninja Foodi in all four of our trials.

Both appliances produced delicious and tender pulled pork, however, the Duo Crisp’s pulled pork was slightly easier to shred and more juicy. Additionally, the Duo Crisp outperformed the Foodi in cooking rice. The rice produced by the Duo Crisp had a desirable texture, was not too dry, and had an even consistency. On the other hand, the rice made by the Foodi was stickier, but still tasted good. It took approximately 20 minutes for both units to cook rice.

Both appliances produced excellent results when I pressure cooked a pound of dry beans. The texture was just right, not too soft or too firm, and it took approximately an hour.

Air frying

The Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer was faster than the Instant Pot Duo Crisp in air-frying. I tested both appliances by filling their baskets with a pound of frozen french fries and cooking them at 400 degrees. After shaking the baskets at 4 minutes for even cooking, I checked the fries at 8 minutes and found that the Ninja Foodi finished first.

At 8 minutes, the fries in the Ninja Foodi were golden and evenly cooked, while the Instant Pot Duo Crisp fries still required more time. I had to cook them for an additional three minutes to achieve the desired level of doneness.

The Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer was quicker in air-frying compared to the Instant Pot Duo Crisp. I filled the baskets of both appliances with a pound of frozen french fries and cooked them at 400 degrees. After shaking the baskets at 4 minutes to ensure even cooking, I checked the fries at 8 minutes and found that the Ninja Foodi was ready while the Instant Pot needed more time.

After 8 minutes, the fries in the Ninja Foodi were evenly cooked and golden. However, the fries in the Instant Pot Duo Crisp still needed more time, and I had to cook them for an extra three minutes to reach the desired level of doneness.

Other functions

Although the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer excels in searing meats and slow cooking, we give the advantage to the Instant Pot Duo Crisp due to its sous vide function.

I slow-cooked a 3.5-pound pork shoulder in each appliance for 10 hours on low. The pulled pork from the Instant Pot Duo Crisp was good but slightly dry, whereas the pork from the Ninja Foodi was easier to shred and had better flavor.

The chicken seared in the Foodi had a consistent crust, whereas the browning on the chicken from the Duo Crisp was subtler.

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp has a unique feature, the sous vide function, which the Foodi lacks. This function allows you to achieve tender and flavorful meat, even with cheaper cuts. I tested this by cooking a beefsteak in the sous vide water bath at 129 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours and was pleased with the results. The only drawback was that it took longer for the water to reach the desired temperature compared to using a traditional immersion circulator.

Recipe variety

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp is backed by the Instant Brands Connect app with over 1,000 recipes compatible with most Instant Pots, while the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer only comes with a 45-recipe booklet. A search of Duo Crisp cookbooks on Amazon yields over 300 results compared to only 30 results for the Ninja Foodi.

According to Jeffrey Eisner, the author of “The Step-by-Step Instant Pot Cookbook,” in an interview for our electric pressure cooker guide, he has received feedback that his recipes work well with off-brand pressure cookers. During my testing, I used Instant Pot recipes with all units and did not observe a difference in performance among brands. This means that most Instant Pot recipes can be made with the Ninja Foodi and vice versa.

However, if you prefer to have more recipe options, the Instant Pot Duo Crisp offers more.

Price

The MSRP of the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer is around $250 and the Instant Pot Duo Crisp is $200. Currently, both are priced at $200 and $160 respectively. While the Duo Crisp is more budget-friendly, these appliances frequently go on sale. For instance, last year during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Ninja Foodi was discounted to $140 and the Duo Crisp was priced at $108. Keep an eye out for sales to get the best deal.

Overall

The Instant Pot Duo Crisp has superior pressure cooking and sous vide capabilities and a lower price, making it a popular choice among home chefs. However, the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL Cooker & Air Fryer, with its exceptional air frying features, may be a more convenient option for those who don’t require sous vide and are able to find it on sale. Both appliances are top-notch cookers, so the choice ultimately depends on your cooking preferences and needs.