If you love air fryers, this might sound strange, but not everyone should buy one. Many people purchase air fryers believing they are designed to cook everything, and the truth is, they are not. Air fryers have their limitations, especially when it comes to wet foods like stews, sauces, and stir frys. That is exactly where the Ninja Speedi steps in.
It does everything an air fryer does, but it is also specifically built to handle those wet foods that a standard air fryer simply cannot manage well. So before you rush off and buy an air fryer, read this first, because for a lot of people, the Ninja Speedi might be a better buy.
Table of Contents
What Is the Ninja Speedi?
The Ninja Speedi is a 10-in-1 multicooker designed to cook entire meals for a family of four. In practice, it can also cook stews and casseroles for up to six people when you are cooking side dishes alongside it using other appliances. With the average UK household sitting at around 2 point something people, the Ninja Speedi is going to suit most families comfortably.
For anyone considering this as an alternative to an air fryer, it is worth knowing how it compares in size. Placed next to a 9.5 litre Ninja Foodi on the kitchen worktop, the Speedi is noticeably more compact. Yes, the Foodi air fryer has a larger capacity, but with a couple of exceptions, most of the time you will not actually be using all of that capacity in an air fryer anyway. So the Speedi is going to cook for broadly the same number of people as a dual drawer air fryer.
What Is Inside the Ninja Speedi?
Inside the Speedi you will find a cooking pot and a cook and crisp tray, both of which have a ceramic coated non-stick surface and are dishwasher safe. The tray can be positioned at two different heights, which means you can cook directly in the pot, on the tray, or on two layers at once with wet food at the bottom of the pot and dry food on the tray higher up.
On the outside, there is an air intake on the top of the appliance, a steam vent on the right hand side, and several air vents at the back. Like all multicookers and air fryers, you need to make sure there is enough room for air to circulate around the appliance when it is in use, and particularly for the steam to escape from that vent on the right.
One Thing to Be Aware Of
This brings up one of the few negatives about the Ninja Speedi that needs to be acknowledged. Unlike a drawer air fryer, you need to lift the lid every time you want to take things in and out. Depending on the layout of your kitchen, this might be less than ideal if you do not have a spot on the worktop without cupboards directly overhead.
In testing, the Speedi had to be constantly moved backwards and forwards to ensure it had proper clearance around it, to keep the steam outlet clear of the cupboards, and then pushed back to have usable space in front of it. That said, the Speedi offers so much more than a two drawer air fryer that you really do not want to dismiss it because of that one factor.
Understanding the 10 Functions
The control panel on the Ninja Speedi is divided between two menus: the Rapid Cooker menu and the Air Fry/Hob menu. A Smart Switch at the top of the machine toggles between these two sides.
The Rapid Cooker Menu
When the Smart Switch is toggled to the left, the Rapid Cooker menu becomes visible. This side of the appliance is where the Ninja Speedi really sets itself apart from a standard air fryer.
Speedi Meals
The Speedi Meals setting is where this appliance truly excels. It allows you to cook a complete meal for the family by combining wet and dry ingredients on two layers. You fold out the four supports for the cook and crisp tray, place it higher up in the cooking pot, and cook both components at the same time.
The marketing material claims you can have everything done in 15 minutes, but take that with a pinch of salt. There is always an asterisk next to that claim because it does not include food preparation time or the time needed for steam to build up before the cooking cycle starts, which is generally an additional 4 to 10 minutes. That said, you can still cook a healthy dinner in well under 30 minutes, which is genuinely impressive.
The Speedi comes with an excellent recipe book full of ideas. The barbecue pulled chicken sliders with sweet potato wedges is a standout, where you cook chicken on the bottom, wedges on top, and then use the final minutes of cooking time to grill the burger buns beautifully. For simpler healthy meals, you can grill protein like chicken or fish on the top layer while steaming vegetables underneath in the cooking pot.
Once you have worked through the printed recipe book, there are more recipes on the Ninja website and their app, and you can filter them specifically for the Speedi. One word of caution if you are looking for a Speedi cookery book on Amazon: there are quite a few being churned out by AI these days, which means the recipes are not tested and they are often not made with UK measurements despite having a Union Jack on the cover.
Steam Air Fry
The second option on the Rapid Cooker menu is Steam Air Fry, which allows you to brown and crisp ingredients without drying them out. Testing this function with a 1.6 kg chicken, placing a mixture of wine, lemon juice, and herbs in the base of the pot to add steam, the results after 40 minutes of cooking were fantastic both in appearance and taste.
Compared to pressure cooking a chicken in an Instant Pot, which can involve a lot of faffing around trying to brown it on the saute setting first, the Speedi wins as the preferred method. You get a crispy finish and beautifully moist chicken with far less effort.
Having one pot rather than two drawers does mean that when cooking a whole chicken, you do not have a separate compartment for vegetables. However, you can easily overcome this by letting the chicken rest under foil at the end of its cooking time while you steam vegetables in the pot and cook potatoes on the tray above, much like putting together a Speedi Meal.
Steam Bake
The third option is Steam Bake. If you are new to steam baking, there is not a pastry, a cake, or a loaf of bread that does not turn out better using a steam oven. Professional steam ovens from premium built-in brands can cost four figures, but the Ninja Speedi offers the same facility for a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the energy use. Brownies come out with more moisture and a better rise, and frozen pastries come out beautifully puffed up and incredibly light. These are results you simply would not get in a standard air fryer.
Steam
The final option on the Rapid Cooker side is Steam, which allows you to cook food using no direct heat at all. You place the cook and crisp tray in the lower position and let the steam do all the work. This is a great healthy option for cooking vegetables or fish without a crispy finish, and it is perfect if you are trying to eat a better diet or watch your weight.
The Air Fry and Hob Menu
Moving the Smart Switch to the right and placing it in the downward position engages the Air Fry/Hob menu. The functions on this side use direct heat from above, below, or a combination of both. For almost all of the functions on this menu, the cook and crisp tray is used in the lower position with the supports folded in.
Grill
The first option is Grill, which uses direct heat from above. This is the equivalent of the Max Crisp setting on the Dual Zone air fryer and can be set to a maximum temperature of 240 degrees Celsius. You can even use it to make toast. This is also one of the exceptions when it comes to tray positioning, as the cook and crisp tray is raised to the higher position to ensure food sits close to the heat source.
Air Fry
Next is Air Fry, which is the function to use for frozen foods like chips or mozzarella sticks to achieve crispiness and crunch. It is also great for homemade breaded chicken, which is thin and cooks quickly under intense heat. An energy test running the Speedi on Air Fry at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes showed it used 0.151 kWh, which is slightly more than equivalent capacity air fryer drawers as a comparison.
Bake and Roast
These two functions appear as separate settings on a Ninja Dual Zone air fryer, but on the Speedi they are sensibly combined into one setting since they are both broadly equivalent to cooking in a conventional oven and use the same fan speed, differing only in the preset temperature.
You can alter the temperature and cooking duration to your preference. Use this setting for roast potatoes, sausages, pasta bakes, and puddings. It will likely become one of your most used settings.
Dehydrate
Dehydrate uses a low fan speed and low temperature to slowly dry out meat, fruit, and vegetables over a number of hours. The lowest temperature you can set is 40 degrees Celsius. Testing this by dehydrating an apple on a six-hour programme, it used around half a kilowatt hour, which at current energy prices works out to approximately 12p.
Sear and Saute
The fifth function uses heat from below and works like a big frying pan. It is particularly useful for browning off meat or vegetables before using the final setting on the menu.
Slow Cook
Slow Cook is the last function on this menu and pairs naturally with the Sear and Saute setting. As with air fryers, Ninja advises you to shake, toss, or turn food during cooking, but in testing the air circulated better in the Speedi than in many air fryers, meaning less turning or sometimes no turning at all was required.
Accessories for the Ninja Speedi
One reason the Speedi might be a better option than an air fryer for you is that people who buy their first air fryer often find themselves wanting to buy accessories, even though you do not actually need many. With the Speedi, the accessories available are genuinely useful and affordable.
They include a folding rack, a griddle, a cup and veg tray that divides the space in the main pot, a non-stick cake tin, and a silicone mini muffin tray. You can also buy a replacement pot and a cook and crisp tray, which is helpful if you want more cooking surface area. You can also use your own ovenproof dishes as long as they fit the space.
Cleaning the Ninja Speedi
When it comes to cleaning, the removable parts are easy to deal with since they can go straight into the dishwasher. The one area that raises a longer term concern is the inside of the lid around the heating element, where there is a plastic grill across the top.
On the positive side, the steam functions should help keep that area cleaner than it might otherwise be, but it is worth keeping an eye on how that area holds up over time. If you have owned the Speedi for a while and have experience cleaning that area, sharing your thoughts would be genuinely helpful for others considering the purchase.
- Cooks complete meals on two layers at once, saving real time on busy weeknights.
- Steam Air Fry delivers crispy, moist chicken with far less effort than other methods.
- Steam Bake gives cakes, pastries, and bread better texture and rise than a standard air fryer.
- Useful, affordable accessories make it easy to expand what you can cook without overspending.
Specification Table
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Name | Ninja Speedi |
| Functions | 10-in-1 Multicooker |
| Cooking Modes | Speedi Meals, Steam Air Fry, Steam Bake, Steam, Grill, Air Fry, Bake/Roast, Dehydrate, Sear/Saute, Slow Cook |
| Suitable For | Families of up to 4, stews and casseroles for up to 6 |
| Cooking Pot Surface | Ceramic coated non-stick |
| Cook and Crisp Tray | Ceramic coated non-stick, two height positions |
| Dishwasher Safe Parts | Yes, cooking pot and cook and crisp tray |
| Maximum Grill Temperature | 240 degrees Celsius |
| Minimum Dehydrate Temperature | 40 degrees Celsius |
| Energy Use (Air Fry Test) | 0.151 kWh at 200 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes |
| Dehydrate Energy Use | Approximately 0.5 kWh over 6 hours (around 12p) |
| Steam Vent Position | Right hand side |
| Air Intake Position | Top of appliance |
| Smart Switch | Toggles between Rapid Cooker and Air Fry/Hob menus |
| Compatible Accessories | Folding rack, griddle, cup and veg tray, non-stick cake tin, silicone mini muffin tray, replacement pot and tray |
| Recipe Resources | Included recipe book, Ninja website, Ninja app |
Final Thoughts
The Ninja Speedi is not just an air fryer alternative. It is a genuinely versatile multicooker that covers a wider range of cooking methods than most kitchen appliances at this price point. From steam baking and steam air frying to slow cooking and searing, it handles things that a standard air fryer simply cannot.
The lid clearance issue is a real consideration depending on your kitchen setup, but it is a minor compromise given everything the Speedi brings to the table. For most UK households, and especially for anyone who wants healthy, fast, and varied meals without owning five different appliances, the Ninja Speedi is well worth serious consideration.
