Ninja Foodi SMART XL Pressure Cooker or simply the Ninja OL701 is the brand’s flagship pressure cooker. Or you may call it the multi-cooker because Ninja OL701 offers 14 different cooking functions just in one appliance.
Indeed, the best thing about this pressure cooker is its ultimate versatility. Ninja OL701 allows you to save money as well as counter space in your kitchen. The reason is, it can replace several small kitchen appliances like a slow cooker, pressure cooker, air fryer, steamer, dehydrator, or even a yogurt maker.
But there’s more. Ninja brand is highly famous for its ingenious kitchen appliances. And in continuation of that, they made Ninja OL701 a smart kitchen gadget. It has several smart features like a smart thermometer, smart cook system, and smart lid to make a home cook’s life easier.
However, Ninja is famous for its fantastic multi-functional pressure cookers. They have more than 20 models of Foodi Pressure Cooker or multi-cookers available in the market. So what makes this Ninja OL701 Foodi unique! And why would you spend extra on this appliance!
To eliminate your worry let’s read this Ninja OL701 Foodi SMART XL Pressure Cooker full review and find out if this versatile and smart kitchen appliance is worth your money or not.
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Pros of Ninja OL701
- Modern design looks great on the countertop
- Faster cooking time than traditional pressure cookers
- Intuitive touchscreen control panel with a turn dial
- Includes an all-in-all smart lid that needs no swapping
- Features an auto-pause function
- Features a SmartLid Slider to unlock 3 cooking modes
- Offers 14-in-1 cooking functions
- Offers smart programs for perfect doneness
- Includes a smart thermometer for customizable doneness
- Features 1750 watts powerful motor
- Includes 8-qt. Cooking Pot, 5-qt. Cook & Crisp Basket, Deluxe Reversible Rack, and 45+ Recipe Chef-Inspired Cookbook
- PTFE-free
- Dishwasher safe accessories
- Includes 1-year warranty
Cons of Ninja OL701
- Comes with a high price tag
- The appliance is quite bulky and large, therefore needs a significant space on the countertop
- The appliance is tall, so make sure to measure your cabinet and countertop distance before buying. It’s better if you place it where there are no upper cabinets over it.
- The SmartLid includes a heating element. Therefore, be careful not to touch the heating element when placing or taking out the food.
Smart Features of Ninja OL701 Pressure Cooker
The first thing we wanna talk about Ninja OL701 is its amazing features. Apparently, it has lots of different features to talk about.
But the most unique thing about Ninja OL701 is its handy smart features. And this is why Ninja OL701 stands out from its other siblings like Ninja OL601 and Ninja OL501 Foodi Pressure Cookers.
Smart Thermometer
Ninja OL701 includes a smart thermometer which is pretty uncommon even for a multi-cooker. Cooking with this smart thermometer allows you to achieve the perfect doneness, especially in meat items like chicken roasts, steaks, lamb, or pork chops.
And unlike any traditional thermometer, this smart thermometer monitors the food temperature throughout the whole cooking process. You can use this thermometer, in various cooking modes like SteamCrisp, Roasting as well as Pressure Cooking.
SmartCook System
Besides, Ninja OL701’s smart thermometer is paired with Ninja OL701’s SmartCook System. The SmartCook system allows you to select the perfect doneness from rare to well done with 4 smart proteins settings and 9 customizable doneness levels. Therefore, whenever your recipe reached the selected doneness level it automatically stops the cooking process.
This way, you don’t need to guess the cooking time for different types of proteins recipe and you don’t have to keep an eye on the food.
All-in-all SmartLid and SmartLid Slider
On top of the smart thermometer and smart cook system, Ninja also comes with an all-in-all smart lid.
The thing is, Ninja’s previous pressure cooker models like the Ninja Foodi Deluxe XL offered two different lids for pressure cooking and air frying.
Although they are quite useful, storing two different lids can be a hassle, especially if you have a small kitchen area.
To eliminate this problem, Ninja introduces us to the Ninja OL701’s SmartLid and SmartLid Slider. Now you can use the lid for all the 14 cooking functions.
And the SmartLid Slider allows you to unlock three cooking modes, pressure, SteamCrisp, and AirFry.
Pressure mode is for pressure cooking, SteamCrisp mode lets you steam and crisp at the same time for juicier yet crispier results, and when you slide to the AirFry mode you can use the rest 11 different cooking functions.
Here’s more, with the SteamCrisp and AirFry mode you get an auto-pause feature. This means if you open the lid while cooking, the appliance automatically pauses the cooking time and process so that you don’t need to set the timer again.
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Design and Capacity of Ninja OL701
Ninja’s appliances feature a contemporary look with a black or stainless steel finish. The same goes for the Ninja OL701 Foodi Smart Xl Pressure Cooker. Its modern design with the sturdy stainless steel body goes perfectly with any kitchen decor.
And in terms of capacity, Ninja OL701 Foodi can amaze you too. Because it comes with a huge 8-quart capacity that is perfect for making large batches of meals at one go. This will save your time and effort as you can make quick meals for the whole family at once.
However, because of its large capacity and the tall SmartLid, the appliance is huge and bulky. Its dimension is 15.39 x 14.21 x 14.25 inches(LxWxH) and it weighs around 25.57 Pounds.
But this is not a deal-breaker as the large size has its own parks. Just make sure to measure your countertop space before buying Ninja OL701.
Is Ninja OL701 Pressure Cooker Easy to Use?
While the Ninja OL701 Foodi has a learning curve, you will find it very easy to use after a couple of tries. The reason lies mostly in its user-friendly control panel.
We have already talked about SmartLid Slider. It lets you choose between the 3 different modes (pressure, steam, and air fry). This is really simple to use as you only need to slide the big robust slider switch to change mode.
After that, where most Ninja pressure cookers and air fryers feature lots of different buttons for operating, this Ninja Foodi goes one step further by providing handy a turn dial.
With the turn dial, you can access the 14 different cooking functions. When you turn to choose among the functions, only the choices illuminate for each function.
Although, there are a few buttons, very few of them, that are separated and well marked so there is no room for confusion.
And for maintenance, the accessories cleanup is pretty straightforward. You can load the accessories into the dishwasher. But even if you want to go for manual cleaning, that is easy too. Because the cooking pot is nonstick coated, means you will have less food residue to clean.
However, cleaning the lid may be a bit tricky. Read details about it in the FAQ section.
Lastly, to get you started, it comes with a 45+ recipe book for you to try different recipes. This is very helpful especially if you are a beginner in cooking. So, no matter how newbie cook you are, you will get used to Ninja OL701 in no time.
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Accessories of Ninja OL701 Pressure Cooker
Just like any other Ninja pressure cooker Ninja OL701 Foodi comes with several accessories to please you. With this unit, you get a Ninja Foodi Smart Xl Pressure Cooker Steam Fryer With SmartLid & Smart Thermometer, 8-qt. cooking pot, 5-qt. cook & crisp basket, deluxe reversible rack. Also, you get a little smart thermometer storage where you can store it nicely tucked with the unit.
The 8-quart cooking pot is nonstick ceramic coated. And all the accessories are dishwasher safe except for the thermometer.
Besides you also get a 45+ recipe chef-inspired cookbook to start your cooking journey with this appliance.
What Can I Make With Ninja OL701 Pressure Cooker?
Ninja OL701 offers 14 different cooking functions. So it is obvious that you can make countless recipes using these wonderful cooking methods. Therefore, instead of giving you a long list of recipe names, let’s find out how these functions help you to make several delicious recipes all year long.
Pressure Cook Mode
The pressure cook mode is kind of self-explanatory. Yes, this mode works like a pressure cooker where you can make quick meals without investing too much effort. Because it cooks 70% faster than any traditional cooking method.
And the best thing is you can make countless recipes just with this one pressure cook function.
For example, you can make several meat recipes like – pork tenderloin, roast, corned beef, beef stew, meatballs, shredded chicken, pork chops, beef chili, butter chicken, chicken breasts for rice or sandwiches and the list can go on. This is just the tip of the iceberg, we didn’t even tell you about the different kinds of pasta, and soups. Clearly, this mode is well worth the money.
SteamCrisp Mode
SteamCrisp is a unique feature of the Ninja OL701 Foodi Pressure cooker. Because you won’t find this mode in the previous Ninja Multi-cookers. Which makes it the most significant cooking mode of this unit. This mode has two different cooking functions – Steam & Crisp and Steam and Bake.
Steam & Crisp cooking function lets you steam and crisp your food at the same time for a juicier inside and crispier outside result. This function is especially great for proteins.
On the other hand, the Steam and Bake function is perfect for making any type of baked goods.
AirFry / StoveTop Mode
This is our favorite cooking mode of Ninja OL701. Because it provides 10 different cooking functions like Air Fry, Broil, Bake/Roast, Dehydrate, Sear/Sauté, Steam, Sous Vide, Slow Cook, Yogurt, and Proof.
All of these functions are pretty self-explanatory, so we won’t bother you by discussing their usability. And it is now obvious, using these 10 different functions you can make almost any recipes for your family and friends.
How to Clean Ninja OL701 Pressure Cooker Properly?
Ninja OL701 comes with dishwasher-safe accessories, so cleanup will be a breeze. Just load them into the dishwasher and the job is done.
Although manual cleaning is quite easy too as the accessories are non-stick coated. After use let them cool down completely, soak them in the water, and then clean them with a soft soapy sponge to remove any food residue. Make sure not to use any harsh sponge or the nonstick coating may chip off easily.
However, cleaning the lid may be a bit tricky as it has a heating element. But it is not a hassle at all. After cooking, when the unit is cooled down completely, carefully wipe clean the outside and inside of the lid with a damp cloth. The same goes for the outer side of the appliance.
Is Ninja OL701 Pressure Cooker Worth Buying?
With all the aspects considered, we can say, the Ninja OL701 Foodi Pressure Cooker is undoubtedly one of the best pressure cookers in the market. It features 8 quarts of cooking capacity (5-quart air-frying capacity) for making large batches of recipes. On top of that, The Ninja OL701 is ultimately versatile with its 14 different cooking functions.
So Ninja OL701 is totally worth your money. More importantly, it is a great investment, as you can replace three or more small kitchen appliances with this device, which significantly saves your money as well as space.
Technical Specification Of Ninja OL701 Pressure Cooker
Type: Multi-functional Cooking Appliance
Brand: Ninja
Series: Ninja Foodi Collection
Model: Ninja OL701 Foodi SMART XL Pressure Cooker
Wattage: 1760 watts
Included Accessories: SmartLid & Smart Thermometer, 8-qt. Cooking Pot, 5-qt. Cook & Crisp Basket, Deluxe Reversible Rack, and 45+ Recipe Chef-Inspired Cookbook
Cooking Functions: 14-in-1: Pressure Cook, Slow Cook, Air Fry, Steam & Crisp, Steam & Bake, Steam, Sous Vide, Yogurt, Sear/Sauté, Bake/Roast, Broil, Dehydrate, Keep Warm, and Proof
Dishwasher safe: Yes
PTFE Free: Yes
Weight: 25.57 Pounds
Dimensions (LxWxH): 15.39 x 14.21 x 14.25 inches
Cord Length: 3 ft. (91.4 cm)
Warranty: 1 Year
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*Video & Image Courtesy ninjakitchen.com
