Ninja Speedi Review: Turbo-Charged Cooking for Van Life and Tiny Living

Updated February 24, 2024

The Nina Speedi is my third Ninja Rapid Cooker/Airfryer combo.  My first was the Ninja Food 9in1.  I loved that machine, I only got rid of it, because I live in a small space and the two-lid system isn’t that practical for storage.  I waited and shopped and read reviews on the new 14in1 with smart lid technology and bought it when I could afford its hefty price tag.  The prices of most tech gadgets tend to come down after a few years on the market.  

So here we are in December of 2022, I still have my 8qt 14in1, it lives in my “Big Beast “ motorhome, but now I have the Speedi for my camper van.  It’s quite a bit more compact, in fact, it fits in the hole where my microwave used to live.

The Ninja Speedi is an innovative kitchen appliance that promises to revolutionize cooking times. With its new Speedi function, full meals can be cooked in as little as 15 minutes, without requiring additional pans or appliances. This makes it an ideal choice for those living in van life or tiny homes, where space is at a premium.  Check out our post about must have items for tiny living.. In this Ninja Speedi review, we’ll take a closer look at the appliance’s features, performance, and versatility.

What You Get for the Money

At around $99USD, the Speedi is one of the best price multi-cookers on the market. What do you get for the money? In terms of accessories, the appliance comes with an adjustable grill plate and the main cooking pot, which is all you really need to get started. The grill plate has small adjustable feet that allow for the pot to be split into two sections, moved to the bottom for air frying and baking, or removed completely for sautéing, slow cooking, and other recipes.

My only complaint about the grill plate is that there is nothing to hold on to. The speedi is designed for pot in pot cooking, which is cooking multiple different things at the same time in the same pot. In order for this to happen you need to be able to removed the layer easily and this is a slight design flaw of this model.

Versatile Cooking Options

The Ninja Speedi is a versatile appliance that includes ten different settings for cooking almost anything you can think of, including steam, steam air fry, steam bake, air fry, grill, bake/roast, slow cook, sauté/sear, and dehydrate. The new Speedi meals function is the standout feature of the appliance, allowing for full meals to be cooked in as little as 15 minutes, without requiring additional pans or appliances. This makes it an ideal choice for those living in van life or tiny homes, where space is at a premium. Speedi Reviews on Bestbuy.com have it with 110 5star reviews. Check the Best Buy Price here.

Ease of Use: Ninja Speedi Review

The Ninja Speedi is easy to use, with a lever on the lid that allows for easy switching between the steam/rapid cooking modes and the air fry/hob mode. Specific cooking functions can be selected using the button on the front of the appliance, and manual control of time and temperature is possible for precise cooking. The appliance also comes with a detailed infographic and recipe booklet that demonstrates how to stack ingredients effectively using the Speedi meals setting, along with recipes and portion guidelines to make the most of the appliance’s various functions.

Shark Ninja claims that it is ONE-TOUCH, ONE-POT MEALS IN 15 MINUTES: Choose your base, your vegetables, and your protein to create an entire meal in one pot in as little as 15 minutes with the Speedi Meals function.  CREATE A QUICK MEAL FOR UP TO 4: With 6-qt. capacity, fit up to 4 chicken breasts and 1 lb. of pasta to create a whole family meal in one pot. 10-IN-1 FUNCTIONALITY: Choose from Speedi Meals, Steam & Crisp, Steam & Bake, or Steam in Rapid Cooker mode and unlock Air Fry, Bake/Roast, Air Broil, Sear & Saute, Slow Cook, and Sous Vide functions in Air Fry mode.  RAPID COOKING SYSTEM: Quickly create moisture with steam while caramelizing and crisping with air fry technology at the same time in one pot when in Rapid Cooker mode to get restaurant-worthy results.  SMARTSWITCH FUNCTIONALITY: Easily switch between Air Fry mode and Rapid Cooker mode to unlock endless possibilities.

Having tried it for the first time just a few weeks ago, I can attest to these claims, my cooking for a family was only for three though.  Many other Ninja Speedi Review sites rave about this machine.

The reason why I recommend something like this for folks like me who are living full time in a compact space, aka Van Life, is because it does everything and it’s portable, read our post about the best portable blenders for life on the go..  It’s not small or light but its’ multiple functionalities eliminate the need for any other gadget in your kitchen.  I don’t even need a stove or oven anymore.  I do have a propane cooktop in my van but I would 100% prefer to fire up my generator and use the Speedi.  I haven’t tried it with my Jackery500 portable battery bank, but I will over the next few weeks.  

I love the built-in “pot in pot” style of cooking that just makes sense when you live tiny.  You can cook your protein on the top level using the included   It’s quite a bit cheaper than the other Ninja Foodi Rapid Cookers.  It’s smaller, and it’s square, the square shape just makes sense to me, round is such a waste of counter and cupboard space!  The Speedi does not pressure cook, but I can live without that function, most of us can.  Pressure cooking is just a faster way of cooking.  I find the speed of the Speedi to be pretty next-level.  

Most kitchens have an air fryer these days when I bought my first one, the Tfal Actifry I quickly fell in love, but I had so many gadgets now, filling up my cupboards and eating up my counter space.  I had an Instant Pot pressure cooker, I had a dehydrator, I had a Crock Pot, and I actually used them all.  It wasn’t easy to get rid of them all and purchase the Ninja 9in1, it was very expensive, over 500$ Canadian when I bought mine, they are still pretty expensive, but I sold my other gadgets and just had the one monster-sized robot on my island kitchen.  Zero regrets – tiny home on wheels and all!

The Ninja Speedi is a versatile and innovative kitchen appliance that promises turbo-charged cooking times. Its new Speedi function, along with its other multi-cooker functions, makes it an ideal choice for those living in van life or tiny homes, where space is at a premium. Despite its higher price point, the Speedi’s sheer versatility and ease of use more than justifies the cost, in my opinion. This ninja speedi review is in and I absolutely love it.

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If you are a fellow RVer or Vanlifer and you are looking for a way to power your multi cooker while you are off the grid, read my post about the best portable power stations Here.