Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker 8-in-1 slow cooker review: A one-pot wonder for delicious, easy meals

For those after one of the best slow cookers that does far more than gently simmer stews and soups, the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker 8-in-1 Slow Cooker will be a welcome addition to your kitchen. Not only does it come with a rack for steaming and a pot and lid that are oven-safe, it can also sear/sauté if you need to caramelise veggies or meat prior to slow cooking or braising, meaning no hob is required. You can even take its stylish cooking dish straight to the table – with less washing up to boot. All of this makes the PossibleCooker the ideal slow cooker.

Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker 8-in-1 Slow Cooker review: What do you get for the money? 

Considering that you can pick up a basic slow cooker for a snip of the £150 price of the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker, you would hope that it offers a lot more than the basic. Despite it being light on accessories, with a spoon that slots neatly into the stainless-steel handle of its glass lid and a simple steam rack, in terms of functionality it offers a lot more.

The controls are well labelled and intuitive to use, as is the digital display. There is a dial, which allows you to select from a range of eight functions: Slow Cook, Sear/Sauté, Steam, Braise, Simmer, Bake, Prove and Keep Warm. You can also toggle the temperature using the up and down buttons – for some programmes this will just be a choice between high and low heat – and set the time in a similar fashion. You then simply hit the start button to begin cooking.

Beyond this, it looks very much like any other slow cooker. There’s a non-stick, lightweight aluminium pot with stainless steel handles that sits within a blue-grey base. It’s quite large at 42 x 29 x 28cm (WDH), so you’ll need to find adequate space for it on the worktop. The upside of this footprint, though, is its capacity – a generous 8l delivers sufficient room to cater for a large family or a week’s worth of batch cooking. Compared to similarly sized slow cookers, it’s far lighter at just 6kg.

While some cookers include next to no advice, the instructions for the Foodi PossibleCooker are clear and detailed, offering plenty of information on how to get the best from it. The supplied booklet includes a chart advising on steaming times for different veggies to help you avoid overcooking, as well as recipes to get you started. However, it would be handy to have a more complete list of time and temperature suggestions for each setting.

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Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker 8-in-1 Slow Cooker review: What’s good about it?

Perhaps the most welcome aspect of the Foodi PossibleCooker over some cheaper models is that it does away with the need to sear ingredients separately, which often leaves behind the flavour in a pan in the process. Instead, the Foodi PossibleCooker enables all the searing to be done in its own cooking pot, which can heat up to 230°C. In addition, a timer function – a feature often lacking on some slow cookers – means you won’t run the risk of your dinner drying out if you’re home late.

The PossibleCooker also includes other cooking options, such as steaming, proving and baking, so it’s more than just a single-function appliance hogging precious kitchen space.

In use, its performance is impressive. I made a chilli using its sear/sauté function to brown onions and beef mince before slow cooking. While it took about four minutes to reach the high heat I had selected, once it was cooking, it did an excellent job of browning my ingredients. The only downside is that lots of steam is produced while searing, which means you might need to turn on your hob’s extractor, even if you’re not using the hob itself. The PossibleCooker proved to be an excellent option for steaming food, too. I used it to steam a variety of vegetables and all emerged perfectly cooked, even smaller pieces such as carrot batons. 

Its slow cooking abilities remained the highlight, though. While larger slow cookers often rely on heat diffusing through the pot from the base upwards, resulting in cold spots or hot areas that can dry out food, the Foodi PossibleCooker heats around the sides as well, for a more consistent temperature. I slow cooked my chilli con carne on low for seven hours, at the end of which it was perfectly cooked, with beans that hadn’t dried out and meat that was still moist and tender. Once the cooking time elapsed, it automatically switched to its Keep Warm mode. A final benefit worth noting is that the PossibleCooker’s lid and spoon are dishwasher-safe and equally easy to clean by hand.

Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker 8-in-1 Slow Cooker review: What could be better?

The Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker seared small pieces of food – beef mince and onions, for example – without issue. However, it took much longer to sauté larger pieces of poultry from the fridge. When chicken was added to the pot, the heat dropped noticeably before it started to recover. In general, searing items took longer than it would have on a hob and, as mentioned, often produced a fair amount of steam.

Similarly, I found the water required for steaming took at least four or five minutes to heat up. I found that the best method was to begin pre-heating the cooker, then prepare my vegetables, so there was less waiting around. As an extra function, being able to steam is handy but it will take longer than using a microwave steamer, for example. In addition, the steaming rack proved restrictive, with vegetables tumbling into the water below on more than one occasion. A basket would be more suitable.

My only other quibble is that the PossibleCooker’s programmes can be slightly restrictive. For example, the minimum time for slow cooking on low is six hours, meaning that you can’t rely on the timer to let you know when dishes that require less than this amount of time are ready.

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Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker 8-in-1 Slow Cooker review: Should you buy it? 

As a multifunctional cooker, there’s something for most people in the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker. Batch cookers and families will love its large capacity. Those with a basic slow cooker are sure to appreciate its extra functionality, and those new to slow cooking could be instant converts. Heat-up times might be a tad slow but otherwise, it’s hard to fault it. 

However, if storage space is limited or your budget is tight, this might not be the best option for you. You can check out some of our more budget-friendly options on our best slow cooker page. However, if space and cost aren’t an issue, the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker is the ideal slow cooker for creating flavour-filled dishes all year round.