Slow cooker season is here, and after enough requests I finally bought the Ninja PossibleCooker to test properly. It’s not a cheap appliance, and I’d heard mixed things about it, so I wanted to see for myself whether it justifies the price — especially now that Ninja has released a newer Multi-Pot model that may push the PossibleCooker into discount territory.
I tested the 8-litre version over a full week (a 6-litre option is also available). Here’s what I found.
What’s in the Box
The PossibleCooker comes with an oven-safe non-stick cooking pot, a steam rack, and a ladle that rests neatly on the lid. On paper it looks well equipped. In practice, the eight cooking functions turn out to be less distinct than the number suggests.
Slow Cooking Performance
I started with a beef stew. One of the common criticisms of this model is that the High setting runs hotter than expected. After a couple of hours on High the liquid was clearly boiling, so I switched to Low for the rest of the cook. The stew still turned out fine, but it made me question the design.
After a bit of research, it seems this may not be entirely Ninja’s fault. Modern slow cookers heat up faster than older models because of stricter food safety rules designed to limit the time food spends in the 40–60°C danger zone. Still, if you’re used to traditional slow cookers, the High setting can feel more aggressive than expected.
The Confusing Function Overlap
One of the stronger points of the PossibleCooker is the ability to brown meat and sauté vegetables directly in the pot, cutting down on extra pans. It takes around five minutes to preheat and offers High or Low heat for this stage.
The confusion starts once you move into the main cooking phase. You’re presented with three options that do almost the same job:
- Braise – fixed 99°C for simmering meat in liquid
- Simmer – also fixed at 99°C, intended for sauces
- Slow Cook – Low or High (High sits very close to 99°C)
In reality, Braise and Simmer feel almost interchangeable, and Slow Cook High sits right alongside them. The only real advantage of the Slow Cook setting is that it gives you a proper Low option.
I cooked a sausage casserole for a couple of hours on High before dropping to Low. After six hours I stirred in pasta, topped it with cheese, and finished it in the oven (the pot is oven-safe). The Keep Warm function is useful if you want to leave food sitting while people decide on seconds — the display even counts up so you know how long it’s been holding.
Missing Guidance
This is one area where the PossibleCooker falls short of usual Ninja standards. Most Ninja appliances come with a well-designed recipe booklet that helps you understand the functions. This one doesn’t. There’s a small leaflet with a QR code that is supposed to link to more information, but when I scanned it the page simply returned no results for the model number.
Prove, Bake and Steam
The Prove function is one of the more useful extras. It creates a warm environment that helped my bread dough rise well in about 35 minutes.
The Bake setting is less practical for most people. Ninja suggests it’s best for poaching fruit or making desserts, thanks to the Triple Fusion Heat system that warms from both the base and the sides. The problem is that this only makes sense if you’re filling the entire 8-litre pot. For normal family portions, a pot-in-pot method on the Steam setting works better. I used this approach for a chocolate sponge pudding. It took around an hour (including time for the steam to build) and produced a very moist result that could be left unattended.
The steam rack itself works for vegetables, though the gaps are quite wide and a few pieces dropped through during cooking.
Running Costs
Over an eight-hour cook that included some initial sautéing, the PossibleCooker used 1.534 kWh. At current electricity rates that works out at roughly 40p in total, or about 5p per hour. That’s typical for a slow cooker and significantly cheaper than running an oven.
Who Should Buy It?
There isn’t a huge amount to actively dislike about the PossibleCooker. It cooks well, the non-stick pot is convenient, and the ability to brown food in the same vessel is genuinely useful.
The main issue is size. For most households the 8-litre capacity is simply too large unless you’re regularly batch cooking. Midway through the week I found myself wishing for a model that could handle both smaller and larger quantities more flexibly — which is essentially what Ninja has now released with the Multi-Pot, albeit at a higher price.
If you want a more budget-friendly way to cook smaller portions in this pot, a pair of silicone liners can help you divide the space.
Verdict: A capable but oversized slow cooker that does the job well, provided you actually need the capacity.