As the weather turns cooler, cooking up hearty meals like stews and soups in a slow cooker is a perfect of warming up hungry bellies. Plus, making big batches and sticking some in the freezer for another time is a great way to save money. I’ve been using my old hand-me-down model (an ancient Russell Hobs from my grandmother) for years but this Ninja Foodi 6-L PossibleCooker recently caught my eye.
If you’re not familiar with slow cookers, they are a plug-in appliance that cooks food gently over several hours. It uses low, steady heat to soften meat, develop flavour in sauces and cook soups or stews without needing much attention. The food cooks inside a covered pot, so you can prepare ingredients in the morning and leave them to cook through the day. It’s a great time saver for busy households.
This Ninja Foodi 6L PossibleCooker is currently reduced from £119.99 to £99.99, and has a six-litre capacity, which Ninja says this is enough to prepare six portions. Ninja states the cooking pot can fit up to 500 grams of pasta, 800 grams of rice or even a 1.8kg meat joint.
Much more than a regular slow cooker, it comes with eight cooking functions including slow cook, sear/sauté, steam, keep warm, brown rice, white rice, pasta, and porridge. Plus, because the multi-cooker base works just like a hob, with a simple and easy-to-use control panel, you can select from low or high temperature settings to add the perfect finish to meats, vegetables and fish. It can also be used to simmer sauces and stews and thicken gravies.
The Slow Cook setting can work over 12 hours, and its different rice options mean it’ll come out perfectly each time. Plus, the Pasta and Porridge settings make light work of easy meals on a large scale. You can also use it on the Steam setting for dumplings, seasonal vegetables and fish, and what’s more is that it comes with a handy steam rack. Also, the Keep Warm setting means you can use it to prevent meals getting cold while prepping other dishes.
The pot is made from aluminium with a non-stick coating, making it lighter than ceramic inserts found in some slow cookers. According to the specifications, it is oven-safe up to 240°C so meals can be finished off in the oven if required. The included tempered glass lid is also suitable for popping in the oven, however, it doesn’t state what temperature it can go up to. The cooker is not designed to sit on an external hob as the heating is provided by the appliance’s own base.
When it comes to cleaning, the pot, lid, steam rack and rice spoon are dishwasher-safe. The appliance measures H28 × W42 × D29 cm, and weighs 5.5 kg, so depending on the size of your kitchen and cupboards, can easily be stored away when not in use.
On the Ninja website it has recieved rave reviews from shoppers and earned an impressive 4.6 stars out of five. One recent customer wrote: “Replaced my old slow cooker with this. All the extra features are brilliant! Lighter weight than the other and MUCH easier to clean.” Another person added: “I’ve had a couple of slow cookers over the last 30 years and this is THE BEST ONE EVER! I use it probably five days out of seven. It is worth every penny and I highly recommend.”
However, some customers noted that because it only had low or high temperature settings for the slow cooker, it was difficult to find the right spot. One person wrote: “Little upset at no in between temperatures, its either too low or too hot, will keep persevering with it.”