Up to a couple of years ago, I had no idea what an air fryer was. Now I couldn’t imagine my kitchen countertop without one. It’s not just the fact that air fryers are easy to use and cook food fast, it’s also that you can roast vegetables for a midweek salad without firing up the oven.
But multi-cookers (like the Ninja Speedi Rapid Cooker) can do quite a bit more. The Speedi air fries, but it also comes with 9 other ways of cooking, including baking, steaming and sautéing too.
But the feature I couldn’t wait to try out was their 15-minute* Speedi Meals. I love the idea of one pot meals, so being able to cook a complete meal (like a grain or pasta, vegetables and a protein) at the same time in one device is mind blowing to me. Midweek meals might never be the same again.
But could the Ninja Speedi deliver? We put it to the test.
Unpacking
Because the Speedi has a 5.7 litre capacity and can cook 4 portions of a meal in one go, the Speedi delivers lots of clever cooking all in one appliance. It has a large lid that opens on a hinge, meaning that it’s easy to add food and check when it’s ready.
The Speedi comes with its large cooking pot and crisp tray – which you can position over the pot in an upper and lower position depending on what kind of cooking you’re doing.
The control panel is well laid out and easy to understand without having to constantly refer to instructions. The main thing to know is that there’s a switch at the top which lets you flick between two main cooking modes. Flip up for Rapid cooker mode (which lets it release building steam) and flip down for air fryer, hob and all the cooking modes where you need to keep the heat in.
Temperature and time are controlled by their own buttons, which makes the Ninja Speedi simple to get used to. I’ve had way more trouble in my time trying to work out new microwaves!
Meal 1 – Spicy fish and rice
To test its 15-minute meals function, I tried a rice, veg and fish recipe. I washed the rice and added it to the pot along with classic Indian spices, sliced peppers and carrots. I then placed the cooking tray in the upper position and added the salmon fillets (which I had marinated earlier).
The cooker takes a few minutes to heat up, but once it got going it only took 10 minutes to cook the meal. When you use the Speedi Meals function, the cooker lets out a lot of steam (as the rice and fish are being cooked) – so it’s a good idea have it in a well-ventilated space.
The results were very good. The salmon was well cooked. I found the rice mixture was a little dry, but that could be fixed in future by adding more water. I’ve spent years cooking rice in a standard pan, so I knew I’d just need to get used to Speedi style cooking. The great thing about the Speedi is that you can lift the lid at any time to check on things – stirring and adding as you need.
Tip 1: never run out of recipes.
Part of the struggle of home cooking is trying to dream up what to cook next. The Speedi Meal Builder lets you pick ingredients and then generates recipes for you. There are also loads of delicious meal ideas on platforms like Instagram and TikTok – just use search for #speedimeals.
Meal 2 – Aubergine and feta pasta
I used a Ninja Test Kitchen recipe for creamy tomato, aubergine & feta pasta. In this recipe, you put the Speedi onto sauté mode to start with. I have half a dozen frying pans, but the non-stick pot in the Speedi is up there with the best of them. For this recipe, you use its hob function to make the garlic fragrant and cook down the tomatoes a little.
Once that was done, I added the pasta, water, feta and olives (this was my addition) and then added the tray in the upper position. I then added thinly sliced aubergine, seasoned and sprayed with cooking spray.
After 10 minutes on the Speedi meals setting, my meal was done. It’s quite amazing how the pasta and sauce were so creamy and yet the aubergine was roasted with just a little crispiness. I served the dish in bowls with more feta and basil.
I stuck firmly to the recipe, but once again found that the pasta was cooked a little unevenly. I’d suggest adding a bit more water than the recipe suggests or just opening up the Speedi halfway through to check on the pasta and give it a stir. Practise makes perfect!
I’d also suggest wearing oven gloves when removing the top tray. There isn’t much to hold onto (except for a small handle on the tray) and it gets very hot. Ninja have lots of accessories available on their website so I’d definitely invest in their silicone tongs in the long term.
Tip 2: Barbecue helper
The Ninja Speedi is a great back up device for a barbecue. I was doing a barbie for a large group and, with the charcoal dying down, I was worried that the sausages weren’t going to be cooked enough. But a quick 5 minutes in the air fryer took care of that and then I was able to put them back on the barbecue without anyone suspecting! And for rainy summer days, you could skip the BBQ completely and just use the Speedi’s grill.
As a bonus here, I had lots of leftover burgers, so used the Speedi to turn them into a winning cheeseburger pasta – again using the Speedi Meals setting.
Meal 3 – Halloumi salad with couscous
For this meal, I just decided to go a bit more freestyle. It was a halloumi salad with chickpeas, couscous, plus tomatoes and rocket. It’s a simple enough dish, so I didn’t worry too much about sticking to any recipes. I used the pot on a low heat for the couscous and chickpeas (adding some harissa, lemon and stock). Since the couscous doesn’t need long, I made it separately before using the air fryer for the veg and halloumi.
I’ve used a few different brands of air fryer, but the Ninja Speedi is by far the best. Everything that has been through the Speedi’s air fryer has come out perfectly cooked and really delicious. It’s a bit of a gamechanger!
Tip 3: no need to soak
Even when cooking thick sauces, there’s no need to pre-soak the tray or pot before going into the dishwasher. They are both so non-stick that they’d come out of the dishwasher looking as good as new. That saves a lot of time spent standing over a washing up pot every evening.
Tip 4: great for healthy eating
My partner is currently trying to watch her calorie intake, and has been putting the Speedi to great use. This means cutting out the oil with its air fryer as well as making healthy fruit snacks with its Dehydrate mode. She also uses the air fryer to make oat and banana muffins, which are great for a takeaway breakfast on her morning commute.
There’s a lot of content on YouTube, Instagram and Tiktok of people sharing their Speedi recipes. Many of them seem to be people who have never really done much cooking and are amazed how easy the Speedi makes it.
I’m a relatively seasoned cook, but I’m certainly no less impressed. The Ninja Speedi can seemingly turn its hand to almost any kind of cooking – but I think it really shines with those midweek meals. It’s not just the fact that you can leave other pots and pans in the cupboard, it’s the fact that it’s so easy to clean after.
I’d probably still fire up my oven when cooking a large Sunday roast for a lot of guests, but everything else, I’d stick to the Ninja Speedi.
*Excludes pre-heat time
