# Combo air fryer / instant pot - does such a thing exist?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 28, 2018, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423 "2018-08-28T19:16:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423/21 "2018-10-29T15:28:47Z")

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I haven’t seen any in the Williams Sonoma I work at on the weekends, just the Instat Pot and various air fryers.

Breville and All-Clad make countertop ovens that have an airfrying ability in them, that’s the closest I’ve seen to a combo machine. I wouldn’t trust a pressure cooker (Instant Pot) that says it can air fry for the reasons given upthread.

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**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423/22 "2018-10-29T16:39:50Z")

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> [@romansperson](#):
>
> [I have this one](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Farberware-3-2-Quart-Oil-less-Multi-Functional-Fryer-Black/47042727). I like it quite a bit.

That appears to be just an air fryer rather than a combo.

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**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423/23 "2018-10-29T16:56:33Z")

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> [@davidm](#):
>
> That appears to be just an air fryer rather than a combo.

That is correct. Can’t help out with a combo product, I’m afraid. If you decide to just get an air fryer, though, the one I linked to has good reviews from lots of people other than myself.

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**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423/24 "2018-10-29T17:56:57Z")

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Shark/Ninja sent me an announcement of the combo air fryer/instant pot and I was tempted but it was spendy and I ended up just getting the instant pot instead. It’s a neat idea though. Here’s a review, they seem to like it pretty well. [Great News: Ninja Launched A 2-in-1 Air Fryer Pressure Cooker](https://www.delish.com/food-news/a23303772/sams-club-ninja-pressure-cooker-air-fryer/)

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**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423/25 "2018-10-29T18:11:31Z")

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the brio air fryers are pretty good ……

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**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423/26 "2018-10-29T19:46:41Z")

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> [@davidm](#):
>
> I suppose what it comes down to is that anything an instant pot does can be done either stovetop, microwaved, or in the oven; whereas the air fryer does something that can’t be done otherwise.
> 
> Therefore I should get an air fryer. Does that reasoning make sense?

Both are essentially appliances that do what other things in kitchens can already do- the instant pot is essentially a jack of all trades performing as several appliances- pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, etc… and is not terribly great at any one of them relative to their standalone counterparts. For example, a _real_ pressure cooker gets to higher pressures and you can sear things in the pot part.

Your oven can pretty much do what an air fryer can do, although maybe not quite as well, but you can do a lot more in an oven, and just about every kitchen has an oven already.

I mean, I guess if you don’t already have any of the things a instant pot purports to be - pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, etc… then maybe you might want one. For me, I already had a rice cooker and slow cooker before they came out, and opted for a Fagor Duo pressure cooker because it gets to higher pressure and therefore cooks faster.

To some degree the main functions of a instant pot are opposed to one another- typically if you need something in a hurry, pressure cook it, but if not, slow cook it. Beans for example- you can pressure cook them in like 40 minutes all-in from dry beans. Or you can cook them in 6-8 hours in a slow cooker.

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**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423/27 "2018-10-30T11:47:06Z")

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> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#):
>
> I don’t know if there is such a thing, but if there was, I’d want one.
> 
> Those are the two kitchen items that are on my wish list.
> 
> I don’t think you can put them together though. From what I’ve seen on youtube, the instant pot requires moisture. The air fryer requires it to be dry.

It looks like I’m going to have to take back almost everything I wrote in this post.

I also saw the Ninja Foodi in an ad a few days ago and was about to bump this thread.

From the advertisement of the Ninja Foodi, it looks like you can have a pressure cooker with an air fryer combined. It seemed counterintuitive to me, but it looks like that was just a lack of my cooking knowledge.

Looking at the Amazon reviews though, I wasn’t as enthusiastic about it as I thought I might be. The downside that a couple people mentioned was that the air fryer lid didn’t detach, making the unit side-heavy when it was open.

If anyone gets one, I’d love to hear a review.

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**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/combo-air-fryer-instant-pot-does-such-a-thing-exist/820423/28 "2018-10-30T15:44:11Z")

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> [@bump](#):
>
> Both are essentially appliances that do what other things in kitchens can already do- the instant pot is essentially a jack of all trades performing as several appliances- pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer, etc… and is not terribly great at any one of them relative to their standalone counterparts. For example, a _real_ pressure cooker gets to higher pressures and you can sear things in the pot part.

The instant pot has a “saute” setting which allows you to sear right there in the pan then you add your liquids to deglaze then pressure cook–and one thing it does that your old school model will not is that unless you tell it otherwise it will hold the finished dish at temperature basically indefinitely. So if I set it up to cook something but get diverted into something else I don’t have to worry it’s going to overcook or have to turn it off and worry it’s going to spoil. Whenever I’m ready for it, there’s my dish all done and piping hot with a sealed lid so nothing yucky could possibly invade it until I unseal it. It’s also superior to a _real_ pressure cooker because it won’t fucking explode all over the kitchen–and yes, I do recall a terrifying St Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage dinner that ended up all over the kitchen which led to a long standing terror of pressure cookers.

The other big advantage is that it saves space–the instant pot is about the same size as my old crock pot but does a bazillion more things so I don’t need all the other large appliances, just the one. When you live in a tiny house of 465 SF every inch matters. This is why I would never have a rice cooker–waste all that space on a single purpose item? Yeah, no thanks–so now I can put the rice in, set it and forget it instead of having to keep an eye on a pan over the stove to make sure it doesn’t burn. It also does massive numbers of hard boiled eggs at once, which makes bringing devilled eggs to a potluck a much more attractive option. It also makes yogurt, although that’s not a big priority for me but I know a lot of people who’re enjoying a much better product than the oversweetened stuff from the grocery store–and without all the packaging too.

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