Is the Ninja MultiPot the Kitchen Appliance You Need, or Just the One You Want?

When I think of kitchen brands dominating home kitchens and wishlists alike, Ninja immediately comes to mind.

Beyond the company’s viral social media videos and massively popular product releases, like the Crispi air fryer and Creami frozen dessert maker, the brand’s popularity may also be rooted in its rapid product launches. Ninja releases products fast, and it releases a lot of them.

In the last couple of months alone, we’ve seen the release of the Prepi, CrushBoss, NeverQuit cookware and now, the MultiPot XL. With colder weather setting in, the 12-in-1 cooker caught my eye. Theoretically, it can reduce kitchen clutter by replacing numerous other countertop appliances, but is it truly a worthy replacement for your Instant Pot, Crockpot and even the classic Dutch oven?

With so many new releases, how do you separate want from need? We cooked numerous meals with the new MultiPot XL to see whether the shiny new appliance has what it takes to earn a place on your countertop.

Searing, sautéing and soups

The MultiPot XL has 12 settings: Slow cook, sear/sauté, bake, steam, sous vide, rice, pasta, mixed rice, stir fry, shallow fry, hot pot and keep warm.Corin Cesaric-Epple/CNET

The Ninja MultiPot XL has 12 functions and the option to cook in the “Megazone,” a 7.5-quart pot, or in two smaller pots, each 3.5 quarts. All of the pots are ceramic-coated.

The first meal I cooked in it was homemade ramen, and I learned there are a few settings where the MultiPot excels, including the sear/sauté function.

The first ingredient I sautéed was mushrooms with butter. The MultiPot quickly preheated and sauteed the mushrooms just as well as a non-stick pan on a stovetop would. When the lids are shut, the pot quickly gathers steam to help speed up the cooking process too.

Next, I placed the chicken thighs in the already heated pot, and they took only a few minutes to cook all the way through. The best part was that the chicken developed a crust, which added extra flavor to the dish.

I used the same function for a handful of additional ingredients, combined everything in the pot with chicken broth and then set the MultiPot to its hot pot setting until everything came to a boil.

Because the pot was already hot, it didn’t take long to boil. When I was ready for it to stop, I turned off the appliance and lifted the pot off the hot plates so it wouldn’t overcook. Over the next couple of weeks, I continued to use the appliance for various meals, but sauté/sear and hot pot remained among my favorite functions.

A loaded vegetable soup was one of my favorite meals I made. Corin Cesaric-Epple/CNET

It’s not a slow cooker replacement

Despite its ability to sear and sauté just as well as a non-stick pan on the stovetop, one setting was less impressive. I used the slow cooker setting to cook a small batch of beef short ribs in one half of the cooker, cooking them on low for over 8 hours. I’ve cooked this meal before in a slow cooker, and by the end of the 8 hours, the meat is usually falling apart and my whole house smells like the dish.

With the MultiPot, though, although the meat was still fully cooked through and had a great flavor, it wasn’t fall-off-the-bone cooked. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but it made me wish I’d cooked that dish in my Crockpot instead.

Being able to cook two things at once on different settings is a high point for the appliance. Corin Cesaric-Epple/CNET

On the other side of the MultiPot, I cooked brown rice, and it cooked just as well as on the stovetop.

In my experience, the only place where the MultiPot has a leg up on a slow cooker is the fact that you can sauté or sear directly in the MultiPot, then turn the pot to the slow cooker setting, instead of having to sear in a separate pan on the stovetop, then transfer the ingredients to a slow cooker. So, if you’re looking for convenience, the MultiPot offers it.

I was also able to thicken up my short rib sauce directly in the pot on the sear/sauté setting instead of transferring it to the stovetop. Corin Cesaric-Epple/CNET

Who’s the Ninja MultiPot XL best for?

If you have limited countertop space for appliances and want just one that can handle many cooking tasks, the MultiPot XL would be a great option. With 12 settings, it has more versatility than many competitors, but keep in mind that the “keep warm” function is included in the 12, and some functions won’t be used as much as others, such as sous vide.

At $250, it’s more expensive than standard slow cookers and Instant Pots, but it could be a good option if you often cook large meals for a group. If you’re looking for a cheaper multicooker, but want to stay in the Ninja family, the 8-in-1 Ninja PossibleCooker may be a smarter buy since it’s less than half the price but still has the essential functions. However, I haven’t tested the PossibleCooker myself.

The MultiPot XL can definitely be a great choice for some, but I wouldn’t put it in the must-have category, even if the rose quartz option is one of the cutest appliance color schemes I’ve seen.

Corin Cesaric-Epple

Editor

Corin Cesaric-Epple is an Editor at CNET covering home and kitchen tech and meal kits, and reporting regularly on artificial intelligence. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Before joining CNET, she covered crime at People Magazine and national and international news for NBC Local Television Stations.

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