Thank you for checking out my Ninja Foodi OP305 review. If you are looking for a slow cooker, a pressure cooker, or an air fryer, odds are you have heard about the brand Ninja Foodi and how good their kitchen devices are. With the Ninja Foodi OP305, you can remove most machines, pots, and pans littering your cabinet space and replace them with a single multi-functioning unit that does nearly everything. Check out the following review to get an idea of what you can expect from this quality product.
Ninja Foodi OP305 Features:
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The Ninja Foodi is the pressure cooker that crisps. It has a 6.5-quart ceramic-coated non-stick cooking pot and a 4-quart cook & crisp basket that can hold up to a five-pound chicken or three pounds of french fries.
The tender-crisp technology lets you cook ingredients quickly, and the crisping lid gives the food a golden, crispy finish. It includes a dehydrate function that allows you to create tasty snacks like dried jerky and chips.
This appliance can pressure cook 70% faster than traditional cooking methods, and air frying uses up to 75% less fat than usual.
It’s dishwasher safe and easy to clean thanks to the non-stick coating. The product also has a one-year warranty for the replacement or repair of a defective unit.
Pros
- Its control panel is well-designed, making it easy to read and use.
- The ceramic-coated cooking pot and the crisp basket are easy to clean as it is dishwasher safe.
- It performs every function it has significantly well, whether it’s pressure cooking, air frying, slow cooking, etc.
Cons
- The extra parts and lid might make it harder to store.
- It’s slightly heavier and costly.
- The recipe book it comes with is somewhat disorganized.
How It Looks
The Ninja Foodi appliance is round and bulky. It has a curved top and a control panel in its midsection. The black/gray coloring gives the feeling that it values functionality over aesthetics, but it still complements kitchens with contemporary designs well enough.
It’s hard to lift and has a durable build, so once you unpack it and place it on your countertop, you might feel the need to leave it there for good. Regardless, it does have handles to make it easier to move around.
The Ninja Foodi OP305 comes with two lids that serve distinct functions. You can find the crisping lid permanently attached by a hinge, and you primarily use it for air frying or other non-pressurized cooking methods. The pressure lid is mainly for pressure and slow cooking, along with other functions.
As it comes with an interior rack, a crisping basket, and a cooking pot, you might be more pressed when it comes to storage space. Unless you don’t mind keeping your kitchen cluttered, it would be best to store the parts you aren’t using.
Finally, the control panel is one of the best features of the Ninja Foodi OP305. It’s well-designed, and it has large buttons and markings, making it incredibly intuitive to use.
How The Ninja Foodi OP305 Performs
One of the selling points of the Ninja Foodi OP305 is its tender-crisp technology, but that’s cutting it short. This appliance combines the best aspects of most air fryers and multicookers and offers an all-in-one appliance that can do nearly everything. Here is how it performs each of these functions.
Slow Cooking
One benefit of the Ninja Foodi OP305 is that it lets you change settings easily. You can fry ingredients such as beef chunks for a stew or onions for curry and add the rest of the ingredients before switching to the slow cook mode and setting the time.
A particular function, the 30-minute Keep Warm, begins once the time ends to preserve your meal’s heat. It isn’t exclusive to slow cooking. You can activate it with other related functions. If you don’t, the Foodi simply turns off.
Pressure Cooking
It’s worth watching one video or two about pressure cooking if you’ve never understood how it works. After all, this process pretty much throws away everything you knew about cooking.
Pressure cooking significantly messes with your cooking timings. Food that would usually take an hour to cook in an oven could be done in 10 minutes with the Ninja Foodi OP305. For example, cake bites that typically take 20 minutes can end up overcooked after six, and a bacon and pea risotto that takes 40 minutes can be done in 10.
It saves a significant amount of time, but it can be hard to work out at first unless you only follow the recipes this model brings. Regardless, once you start to adapt to the timings, you can cook quality food quickly.
The Ninja Foodi pressure cooker takes six minutes to build up the pressure and over 30 to let it drop naturally, but it does have a quick release option for specific occasions. Its lid is also easy to align and clicks into place.
Tendercrisp Cooking
Ninja Foodi’s tender-crisp option lets you cook food that comes out tender and crispy. However, after trying out the Herb-roasted chicken recipe from the book, the results weren’t remarkable.
It takes less time than cooking in an oven, but it isn’t too quick in this case. The chicken’s skin doesn’t end up as tender and crisp as with your traditional baking method, and you have to follow more steps to cook it.
Air Frying
The Ninja Foodi did a stand-up job with the fryer. Frozen nuggets and homemade french fries came out brown and crunchy. The beef dipped in the marinade and coated in flour had an excellent crisp coat. While it requires some preheating, this device does the job quicker than most other air fryers.
Searing
It takes slightly longer to get the darker color on the beef surface, but the dripping doesn’t burn up as it occasionally does on a skillet.
Baking
The Ninja Foodi can’t entirely replace an oven for baking, considering that the largest pan that can fit in it is six inches wide. Regardless, it does an exceptional job at it. You can bake cheddar cornbread and get a savory snack with a nice crumb.
Broiling
You shouldn’t expect anything similar to grilling or searing in a pan. The type of broiling you get is the one that stems from an irregular high heat, leading to relatively uneventful food results.
Steaming
The Ninja Foodi OP305 steams up vegetables splendidly, but you can’t put in more than 15 ounces or so at a time. Another essential thing to note is that it’s necessary to wait for it to build up steam for eight minutes before cooking anything.
You can easily steam a pound of food in just five minutes using a microwave. While you might use the cooker if you aren’t in a hurry, it isn’t one of the best reasons to invest in it.
Dehydrating
The Ninja Foodi dehydrates the food well enough, but the size can be somewhat limiting unless you put up more racks. You can run the machine for hours and end up with just a couple of slices because of it. If you’re interested in dehydrating, it would be helpful to get the dehydrator stand with five layers.
What Is the Difference Between Ninja Foodi OP301, OP302, and OP305?
It may be hard for you to purchase a specific Ninja Foodi appliance if you don’t know what each of them does. They have similar functions overall and only vary in minimal aspects.
OP301
The Ninja Foodi OP301 is the basic pressure cooking model. It has a 6.5-quart capacity and similar features to the OP302 and OP305, but it has a smaller version and multiple finishes, unlike the other models.
You can get the Foodi product with either a stainless steel coat or a high-gloss finish. This appliance also comes with a book featuring over 45 recipes!
OP302
The OP302 pressure cooking model has nearly the same characteristics as the OP301, with only a few additions. It comes with silicone mitts, which aren’t too flashy or unique, but who doesn’t like an extra treat?
This model also adds a dehydrator function. It’s great to make dehydrated snacks such as spiced cauliflower popcorn or homemade jerky! However, this functionality does make it more expensive than the OP301.
OP305
There aren’t many differences between the Ninja Foodi OP305 and OP302. Besides an additional cook & crisp basket and a slightly higher weight at 30 pounds over the former 24.9, it has the same features as the previous model.
Is the Ninja Foodi Worth It?
This Ninja Foodi product brings with it a whole package. You get the functionality of a pressure cooker, a slow cooker, and an air fryer in one weighty kitchen appliance without sacrificing performance. Still, some have better uses than others.
The price tag can be discouraging when comparing it to other products, but it makes up for it in features. Besides, it gets rid of the need to spend on different products.
If you don’t have a kitchen appliance that can slow cook, pressure cook, or air fry, then you can’t go wrong with the Ninja Foodi OP305. Each of these functions works splendidly, although some better than others. Regardless, it’s having them together that sets Ninja Foodi apart!