Ninja - Foodi FD101

I’ve use a Insta Pot 2 quart air fryer. It worked great for me for 5 years. I just replaced with a 5 quart Ninja. Besides being larger which is no biggie cause it’s just me, I have problems with stuff blowing around in the Ninja which wasn’t an issue with my Instant Pot AF. Also, the old Insta Pot AF had a roast option. I noticed most but not all portable models, no matter the brand, replaced the bake option with dehydrator. Perhaps there are folks who do dehydrate, but I personally don’t know anyone interested in such a feature. I’m thought about gifting the Ninja and going back to a Insta Pot AF EXCEPT the model Ninja I have has a ceramic coating which I love and is supposedly healthier than Teflon.

I have a ninja 5qt. I love ig

I have the ninja foodie and it’s a 10 in 1. Bake, air fry and toast and pressure cook are the main functions I use. I just started to use the dehydrator, kinda neat

I just picked up a Ninja Pro 10 in 1 and think it’s awesome so far. I’m picky about my kitchen equipment too.

I love my ninja foodi. It's a 10-in-1. Little above your budget, but it's super worth it. Pressure cooker, sous vide, air fry, crock, all sorts of things.

The Ninja foodi 10-in-1! Its a pressure cooker, slow cooker, air fryer, bake/broil, dehydrator, so many different functions. I've had the pot for ~7 years and the grill for about 3. I reach for the pot more often, and theres a ton of accessories. Pot: https://www.walmart.com/ip/918898489 Grill: https://www.walmart.com/ip/540984234

I think we have the ninja foodie 10 in 1 oven thing and we've only used our real oven like twice since we got it and that was entirely because the pizza was too big. There's something great about being like "yes, cook my burrito at 400 for 29 minutes and then shut off" that makes it so useful. Well setup food and not worry at all about it being done because it always is. There's even a thermometer and a setting system to get the internal temp to a preferred temp. "Is that chicken juicy or raw? Turns out it's juicy since internal temp hit 180." Sometimes I'll add things in stages so the veggies don't cook as long as the meat or something. We also went out and got random metal trays from a thrift store so we can load small portions separately. But really being able to setup the oven and just let the timer handle it is the bees knees. The one single con is just because a roast or bird CAN fit doesn't mean it SHOULD fit. If the fan is running and fatty meat is too close to the element you can get smoke from the fat. Which could also happen in a regular oven, it's just more noticeable in an air fryer oven. So only a small family roast, no holiday roasts or turkeys.

Any air fryer is a “convection cooker.” The “air fryer” name is a sales gimmick. Just like the “instant pot” label is a gimmick for a pressure cooker. I have owned a Breville Smart Oven for several years and would buy another one. I also have a Ninja upright in my second home. I like the Breville better, but the Ninja is fine. I cook a lot. I have a high end stove with a convection oven. If it were me, I would keep it. The Breville does everything that your toaster oven does, but better and faster. It also can roast and bake without having to use your regular convection oven. Of all the countertop “convection” ovens, it is probably the best. This was a very thoughtful gift from your relatives. As far as cooking with it, we love chicken wings. The Breville cooks the best chicken wings fairly fast and better than a regular convection oven and roasts vegetables beautifully. (Probably because of the smaller cubic area.) Also reheating on the Air Fryer mode is a game changer, much better than your microwave. To use it well, you do need to familiarize yourself on how it works. Watch some YouTube videos where the Breville is used. Read the instructions so you can learn how to use the various modes. Familiarize yourself with it before making a decision to return it and by all means, go ahead and treat yourself to a carbon steel wok as well. It is not an either or proposition. You deserve both!

yeah this don't go cheap as you will inevitably replace it when it breaks in 9 months. the foodi is good quality and you will find yourself using the other functions

You’re relative sounds like a tool. It’s a nice product, but it’s very weird and rude to me, for someone to just buy an appliance for your home. It’s expensive enough that you feel obligated to keep it, but many people don’t have room for that type of thing. It’s just weird, like someone coming into your house and just hanging a large picture on your wall. As for the appliance itself, it can be useful. It’s not a fryer. It’s a high powered convection oven. It does a very good job of oven things, but faster. It’s a decent replacement for a toaster oven, if it’s shaped that way. We have a ninja foodi with a pressure cooker attachment. It’s good, but we probably under utilize it. It’s also a little small. So it’s sometimes awkward to get everything in. You aren’t cooking for a crowd with then either. It’s good for a couple of people, though. It does a great job in reheating things that don’t typically reheat well. Pizza, fried foods, etc.