Ninja Combi 12-in-1: a multicooker halfway to a mini-oven for dishes in 15 minutes

Well known for its oil-free fryers, Ninja is having a little more difficulty finding a place in the multicooker market, dominated of course by Moulinex and its famous Cookeo. But the American has certainly not said its last word and does not hesitate to try new recipes, as shown by the 12-in-1 Combi SFP700. This new type of cooking appliance is not only presented as a multicooker, but also as an oven and as an Air Fryer.

From our point of view, the 12-in-1 Combi above all looks like a slightly more advanced version of the Speedi ON400EU launched last year. Like him, it promises to cook complete meals in less than 15 minutes – excluding preheating, lasting 7 minutes all the same – by combining hot air and steam with its Combi Meals mode while offering the possibility of cooking on two levels. But while the Speedi required removing the second cooking level to access the first with its single bowl and lid, Ninja’s new multicooker adopts a completely different structure. It opens from the front and gives access to a 12.5 liter cavity into which a sort of drip pan (Combi Pan) and an enameled cooking plate can fit simultaneously, which always remain accessible.

The 12-in-1 Combi ultimately looks more like a mini-oven than a multicooker as we imagine it, with the difference that it should allow you to prepare more varied dishes. It even offers a program for pasta and rice. In total, 12 are offered – hence the name, obviously – and accessible thanks to a large control panel on the side of the door and a switch on top.

The Combi Meals is not the only one of these programs to combine hot air and steam. Ninja also offers Combi Crisp and Combi Bake programs, respectively for crisping foods while keeping them soft at the core and for well-risen brioches and cakes. There are also more classic programs, for pasta, but also for steaming, raising bread/brioche dough, grilling, hot air frying, cooking in the oven, reheating, simmering and browning. It is obviously not common to simmer in an oven dish or at least similar, but we obviously just need to be convinced.

With a similar principle, the Philips Air Cooker did not really succeed in convincing us, but we will at least point out that the Ninja Combi 12-in-1 is not satisfied with a resistance associated with a fan to heat. A second resistance is integrated into the bottom of the cavity, to heat from below like in a saucepan. The fact remains that it will always be less practical to mix in a square dish, which must also be taken out of the appliance, than in a casserole dish. We can also regret the absence of a real steam generator since we mention the Philips multicooker which offers one. The Combo also does not offer pressure cooking. For the latter, you have to turn to a model with a lid, like the Foodi Max OL750EU.

The Ninja Combi 12-in-1 should be available from April, at the recommended retail price of €279. It will be delivered with the Combi Pan and the enameled cooking plate, as well as with the usual cooking tray here called Crisper Plate.