Ninja OL601 Foodi XL 8 Qt. Pressure Cooker Steam Fryer with SmartLid 14-in-1 Review (2026)

SmartLid and function range

The defining feature of this unit is the SmartLid Slider, which lets a single lid switch between three cooking modes covering 14 total functions without needing to swap lids or accessories. Those functions include pressure cook, steam and crisp, steam and bake, air fry, broil, bake and roast, dehydrate, sear and saute, steam, sous vide, slow cook, yogurt, keep warm, and proof, according to Ninja's own specifications. For meal prep, that range means one appliance can pressure cook a batch of grains, air fry a protein, and slow cook a sauce across different sessions, cutting down on the number of separate small appliances a kitchen needs to store.

Capacity for batch cooking

The unit includes an 8 quart cooking pot along with a 5 quart Cook and Crisp basket, giving enough volume to prepare large portions or several servings' worth of a dish in one cooking cycle. That 8 quart size sits toward the larger end of countertop multicookers, which suits households doing weekly batch cooking for several people rather than single servings. Ninja states the pot and crisp basket are ceramic coated, nonstick, and free of PTFE and PFOA, and both are dishwasher safe, simplifying cleanup after a cooking session that might otherwise leave two separate inserts to scrub by hand.

SteamCrisp technology

Ninja markets a SteamCrisp function built to steam and crisp food at the same time, aiming to produce results that are both moist inside and crisp on the outside without drying food out the way straight air frying sometimes can. This matters for meal prep dishes like chicken thighs or root vegetables, where the goal is often a crisp exterior alongside food that reheats well later in the week without turning rubbery. The unit also ships with a stainless steel reversible rack and a cookbook with more than 45 recipes, giving a starting point for households new to pressure cooking or air frying.

Size and counter space

This is a large countertop appliance, with dimensions of roughly 15.4 inches long by 14.2 inches wide by 14.25 inches tall, so it needs a dedicated spot on the counter or in storage rather than fitting easily into a small cabinet between uses. Combined with its collection of accessories, including the crisp basket and reversible rack, the unit takes up meaningfully more space than a simple slow cooker or standalone pressure cooker. Households with limited kitchen storage should weigh that footprint against how many separate appliances it might replace before committing to it as their primary meal prep tool.

Who this unit fits

This model suits households that want to replace several single-function appliances, such as a slow cooker, a steamer, and an air fryer, with one 8 quart unit capable of large batch cooking. The 14-in-1 function range and SmartLid design give real flexibility across different meal prep styles from pressure cooking grains to air frying proteins. Anyone with limited counter space, or who only needs one specific function like basic slow cooking, may find a smaller, single-purpose appliance a better fit than this larger, more feature-dense Foodi model. The included recipe book gives newcomers to pressure cooking a set of starting points rather than requiring them to research recipe times and pressures on their own.

Frequently asked questions