I have had the Ninja Auto-IQ Multi Cooker for 4 months and have had a ball with the pre-programmed recipes. I'm an experienced cook and try to vary our meals, but there are days that I just don't feel like planning and cooking a meal. Using the pre-programmed recipes, it is so very simple to add the ingredients and push a couple of buttons to select the recipe type and the recipe number. The temperature and cook time is all pre-programmed. So far, in the Quick Meals, I have tried Quick Beef Chili, Franks and Beans, Pepperoni Pizza Mac and Cheese, and Chicken Spinach Noodle Bake. As picky as I am about the meals I cook, each of these has been very good and has made enough for two meals for the 3 people in my family. There are a number of Layered Meals that look very good I plan on trying.
I have also cooked a couple of the recipes I used in my old multi cooker and a few of my own recipes. One thing I have noticed is that the multi cookers tend to cook foods a bit faster than conventional methods. So, cook times need to be adjusted when cooking your own recipes to prevent over cooking. The only downside of this cooker vs. my old one is that my old cooker had 3 stove top settings (low, medium, and high), and this cooker has only two settings (low and high).
Some of the features I love about this cooker are:
1) The internal insert pot is extremely easy to clean. It has never needed more than a rinse with a little soapy water.
2) The stainless steel outside of the cooker wipes clean with a damp wash cloth leaving no streaks and it resists fingerprints.
3) It comes with a tempered glass cover that was not available on some previous models.
4) You can switch from one function to another by only the pressing the function button of the function you want to use.
UPDATE 10/06/20:
In the time I have had this cooker, I have found so many more uses for it. Yes, the Quick Meals are fun to try, and all of the ones I have tried have been very good, but I have also been using this cooker for my own recipes that require a large pot or Dutch oven by using the stovetop function. Most recently, I made a large batch of stuffed green peppers and used this cooker to make the stuffing for the peppers. It was done amazingly fast, and cleanup of the pot needed nothing more than swishing some soapy water in it. Personally, I don't blanch the green peppers because we like them with a little crunch.
This is my recipe for stuffed green peppers that are amazing.
Ingredients:
6 medium green peppers
1 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup cooked rice
1 tsp. ground fennel seed (optional)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 (10.75 oz.) can condensed tomato soup
water as needed to make tomato soup the desired gravy consistency
1 - Cut the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. If you prefer to blanch them, boil them for 5 minutes and let them cool. As mentioned previously, I don't blanch the peppers, and extras freeze well after stuffed.
2 - Preheat the cooker to stovetop high and cook the ground beef and onions until the beef is browned (about 5 minutes). Drain off excess fats and add salt and pepper to taste.
3 - Stir in tomatoes, cooked rice, Worcestershire sauce, and ground fennel seed if used.
4 - Bring to a boil, turn down heat to stovetop low, and add the cheddar cheese.
5 - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stuff peppers with the ground beef mixture.
6 - Mix the tomato soup with water to the gravy consistency you prefer, and pour it over the peppers. (I don't add water to the soup,)
7 - Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until heated through.
If you make more than you need for a meal, don't put the tomato soup over the extras. Wrap the individually with plastic wrap and put them in a gallon baggie for freezing. To make them after freezing, thaw them, put the tomato soup on them and bake them as above.
UPDATE 2/18/21:
The longer I have this cooker the more I love it. I often make one-pot meals that call for either a large Dutch oven or skillet that would be used on the stove. My Dutch ovens are very heavy and hard to pull out of storage. Instead, I use this cooker. I can sauté' onions and green peppers, then add ground beef or chicken, and then the rest of the ingredients. Everything is done in one pot, and the cleanup is always warm soapy water. Since my husband does the cleanup after meals, he loves when I use this cooker. There is only one pot to clean and it's so easy.
UPDATE 10/01/21:
This is still one of my most used appliances. I have added pictures of chow mein that I made tonight. Most often I use this cooker instead of a Dutch oven or large frying pan.
UPDATE 09/10/23:
I have had this appliance for over 3 1/2 years and I still love. Although I have made a few of the Quick Meals that have been very good, my favorite purpose for this cooker is to make a variety of different casseroles. I can make enough for 3 meals for 2 of us, so two meals are frozen for quick meals when I don't feel like cooking. Some of my favorites are beef fajitas, beef pepper steak, chicken pesto pasta, beef stroganoff, Tuscan chicken with penne noodles, and so many more. This is one of my most used appliances.
I am very happy with this cooker and would recommend it. If my opinion changes, I will update this review. I hope this review was helpful for you.