Ninja Speedi review: Say goodbye to your oven

Countertop cooking has been revolutionized by the speed and ease of the air fryer. But there’s one thing a conventional air fryer can’t do – and that’s cook more than one dish at a time. This means that you will always end up resorting to a hob or microwave for your side dish.

Unless you invest in a Ninja Speedi. Ninja’s latest multicooker – now the world’s third largest small appliance brand and one of the most trusted – can cook two different dishes, using two different cooking methods, at the same time. In 15 minutes flat.

It’s a ten-in-one cooker that can steam, steam, broil, broil, air fry, bake/roast, dehydrate, sear/saute, slow cook, and prepare meals. Speedi meals – which we will explain later in this review.

Design and appearance

• Large counter surface
• Huge 6 quart/5.7 liter capacity
• Simple and intuitive controls

There’s no denying that the Speedi is a gray and silver countertop monolith. There is also no view around it.

It’s a massive near-cube of industrial-looking metal that, at 31 x 33 x 35cm, approaches the size of a microwave. It looks like something you would use to cut sheet metal cogs.

The Speedi might be huge (and it is) but every aspect of it is high quality and feels sturdy.

It has a hinged lid that swings up at a 90° angle when opened. As the lid houses its heating element, it’s heavy and we’d really like to see it lock into place for added security. It feels secure when in the open position and we never thought it was likely to close on our hands – but if you have kids around when cooking you’ll want to make sure they stay apart.

The Speedi lid handle is inserted into the lid itself. For ease of use, we’d like to see a larger handle – something that’s easy to grip and hard to lose if your hands are wet. A handful of panini press would be ideal.

But the Speedi’s exterior is still cool to the touch, so you don’t have to worry about touching the handle or lid when it’s in use.

Despite its size, there is enough space under standard kitchen cabinets for the Speedi’s lid to open. Not that you want to use it there. Ideally you’ll want to put it under your extractor hood when it’s on – at least when it’s in steaming mode, unless you want the cupboards above dripping with condensation.

But given its weight – the Speedi weighs 6.5kg / 14.3lbs – you won’t want to move it far. There is no way to store it on a shelf or in a hanging cabinet.

Inside the Speedi there is a removable deep cooking tray with a huge capacity of 6QT/5.7 liters. This means it can comfortably cook a meal for four.

There’s also an air fry insert that can be used at the base as a crisper drawer, to allow hot air to circulate around food, or higher up, as a shelf, to allow for two-tier cooking. But we will come back to that.

The pan and rack have a high quality non-stick finish which makes them easy to clean, but they are also dishwasher safe so there is no need to wash them by hand.

The Speedi is simple and intuitive to use. On the lid of the device, a rocker switch allows you to choose between dry or steam cooking functions. Set it one way and on the control panel you can choose between Broil, Air Fry, Bake/Roast, Dehydrate, Sear/Sauté or Simmer.

Turn it the other way and you can steam, steam, steam fry and cook meals Speedi (the two-stage cooking function).

Also on the control panel are up and down keys for temperature and cooking time, visible on the digital display.

Apart from that, there is only one on/off button and one on/off button. It couldn’t be easier or more intuitive to use.

There is one thing to keep in mind with a multicooker of this size and that is power. One of the reasons to use an air fryer in the first place is that it will save you money on your electric bills by being faster, smaller, and more efficient than an oven.

But the Speedi is a 1760W device. On my current electricity tariff it would cost me 63p per hour to run, which is not cheap.

However, the Speedi cooks a full meal (carbs, veg and protein) in just 15 minutes, which would cost me a much more appetizing 16p. This can make it one of the cheapest ways to cook an entire meal.

Still, you’ll find that some of the things you’re used to cooking cheaply in a smaller air fryer, like baked potatoes, may not be as economical in the Speedi.

Performance

• Steam and air fry at the same time
• Ten functions in all
• Recipe booklet included

To be honest, when I first unboxed the Speedi it wasn’t love at first sight. I found its imposing presence and industrial look a little off-putting. It should do something special enough to earn a spot on my not-so-spacious kitchen counter.

Then I started using it. Now, if I had to choose between my oven and the Speedi, well, let’s just say I’d have a handy new kitchen cupboard under my cooktop.

It’s so quick and convenient to use, and thanks to its large size, you can do almost anything you can in an oven in the Speedi, including roasting a roast or a whole chicken, or baking a cake, even if I haven’t tested the last one yet.

The fact that you can sauté then steam or simmer means you can sauté onions and garlic for one dish and then continue your recipe in the same pan. I’ve tried sautéing in other multicookers and been less than impressed. But it’s as easy in the Speedi as cooking them in a pan.

Its steaming functions mean you can steam and air fry at the same time (even if it seems impossible) and it will give food a winning combination of juicy and crunch.

Then there’s the Speedi meal setting, which lets you cook on two levels, steam a rice, grain or pasta dish with veggies underneath, and fry your protein on top.

The first time I tested it, I made Spanakorizo, a Greek dish of spinach and rice, underneath and stuck Quorn fillets on it. I set it to Speedi meals, and the time to 15 minutes and the temperature to 175°C and quickly forgot. There is a first stage of preparation, during which the device accumulates enough steam to cook, and then it gets to work.

It beeps to alert me to the end of the cooking cycle and voila – an entire meal, perfectly cooked in 15 minutes with no stirring or shaking required, and ready to eat.

After that I experimented with Speedi Meals and found that you can cook two separate dishes in the bottom half if you use ovenproof ramekins so you can make a full English breakfast or two dishes of vegetables separated with your meat or fish. The only issue I’ve found with these more experimental uses is that it’s difficult to move the top deck when loaded with food to check on what’s below or to stir a dish.

If you need inspiration and to introduce you to this type of cooking, the Speedi comes with a recipe booklet that explains how to compose a Speedi meal base + vegetables + proteins then gives detailed cooking instructions for several options. , including cod fillets with spicy quinoa or honey mustard-glazed pork chops with colcannon mash. But the formula is applicable to all kinds of meals.

I’ve used multicookers before, but always found them a bit of a pain. There is always a limit to overcome and you end up resorting to a pan to cook part of the meal. After a while, that means you go back to your old ways of cooking while the multicooker ends up languishing in a cupboard, unused.

But I’ve used the Speedi for everything from roasted vegetables and soups to slow-cooked stews and full meals, and it’s really become indispensable.

Price and availability

The Speedi is widely available in the US and UK for $199.99 and £249.99 respectively, at the time of writing. In the United States, you can buy it at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, among other retailers. Currently, there is little variation in prices. In the UK it is available from Argos, Very, Currys and more. Again, the prices are all very similar.

In terms of price, it is obviously much more expensive than a regular air fryer. If you think this would suit your cooking needs better, check out our roundup of the best air fryers we’ve tested. But it’s in the same price bracket as most high-quality multicookers, and we can’t think of a better multicooker option.

Verdict

It’s easy to buy a countertop appliance with the intention of changing your cooking habits to accommodate it, but it never works. Instead, you end up donating it six months later and ruining the cost. If you’re thinking of investing, it has to be something versatile and flexible enough to fit the way you cook now. We think the Speedi does the trick.

It’s a big device, it’s a fair initial investment and it’s not the cheapest multicooker to use – but despite these factors we still think it’s worth it.