Ninja Combi 14-in-1 SFP701 multicooker: inspiration and exploration needed (review)

The Ninja Combi 14-in-1 SFP701 multicooker is capable of cooking Combi meals all at the same time. And if you don’t use that feature makes the best cheesy bread!

This is the Swiss Army knife of multicookers. It’s a mini oven design (not a one-pot cooker), and it is based on a mix of Combi Steam and Air Fry abilities to cook each ingredient. Or you can use it as a mini-oven, grill, air fryer, toaster and more.

Australian Review: Ninja Combi 14-in-1 SFP701 (prices as of 1/12/25)

Website	Ninja Kitchen AU Product Page   Quick Guide Full Manual
Price	RRP $499.99, but seen for as low as $399.99
From	Ninja Online, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Myer, Appliances Online
Warranty	2-year ACL
Made in	China
Company	Ninja is a kitchen brand developed by SharkNinja, a pioneer in small household appliances and cleaning. Its headquarters are in Needham, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Mann&Noble is the exclusive distributor for SharkNinja in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia.
More	CyberShack kitchen appliances news and reviews CyberShack Ninja news and reviews

Ratings

We use the following ratings for many of the items below. CyberShack regards a score between 70 and 80/100 as a fit-for-purpose pass mark. You can click on most images to enlarge them.

• Fail (below expectations), and we will let you know if this affects its use.
• Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be.
• Pass (meets expectations).
• Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good, but does not quite make it to Exceed
• Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader).

First impression – a little daunting

The Ninja Combi 14-in-1 SFP701 multicooker is basically a smallish countertop oven.

Before I used this, I read the manual six times to understand the permutations and combinations of Combi Meals, oven levels and pans. I do, but it is still a long way from muscle memory to make the most of this device.

And frankly, I suspect that Joe and Jane Average will see 14-in-1 and never really use its potential. From CyberShack’s perspective, Ninja needs to do more to explain Combi Meals and provide a lot more inspirational recipes.

Otherwise, it’s decent Ninja quality with a way too short 900mm power cable!

Let’s look at how Combi Meals work

The trick is to realise that it has a top grill/airfry element (like most ovens) and a bottom hotplate (used for steam as well). You select the heat source with a Hob lever on the top right.  The oven cavity has two levels – 1 sitting on the base hotplate and 2 near the top element. It has two pans (three uses with an insert)

• Combi Pan (Fits Level 1 over the hotplate) 27 x 23cm internal measurement, and it must be used with the hotplate settings.
• Air Fryer crisper insert for the Combi Pan (Level 1 or 2)
• Bake Tray (level 2 for airfry, grill and level 1 for bake, pizza or toast) 27 x 27mm
• These trays can be lined with Aluminium foil or bake paper.

You can use oven-safe glassware as long as it fits in the Combi Pan or Bake Tray.

Ninja states its 14-in-1 combi has: Combi Meals, Combi Crisp, Combi Bake, Rice/Pasta, Steam, Prove, Grill, Air Fry, Bake, Reheat, Slow Cook, Sear/Sauté, Pizza, and Toast.

Before we get into the review, I must admit that my inner ‘chef’ still does not fully get the Combi Meals method and may never will.

It basically uses Combi Steam and Air Fry abilities to cook each ingredient. 

I tried some of the recipes, in particular the Chicken Fajitas with Rice and Beans. While it produced an acceptable result in 20 minutes (10 for stream and 10 for cook – all at 150°), I felt that I could have just as easily used a fry pan for the Fajitas and a pot for the rice/beans.

My point is that to use the Combi Meals mode, you will need more than a few ‘inspiration’ recipes.

How Combi Meals works (Fajitas recipe page 20 of the manual)

First, work out your quantities. We cook for two, and the recipes are usually for 4 to 6.

• Place beans and rice in the Combi Pan on level 1 with water
• Place Fajitas in the Bake tray on Level 2 (Chicken strips mixed with spices, onion, and capsicum).
• Set cooking lever to Combi Cook
• Select Combi Meals, temperature 150° and 10 minutes
• Press start

It steams for 10 minutes, which cooks the rice and beans and par-cooks the Fajitas. Then it uses the top element for another 10 minutes to cook the Fajitas thoroughly.

Serve with warm tortillas or corn chips, and avocado (sliced or guacamole).

Despite us using half water for half the rice/beans, they were still underwater. A colander drain, and they were edible but not fluffy like we make in a pot. Ninja recommends swapping to Sauté/Sear to remove the excess water, but that is not practical for Combi Meals ready at the same time.

The Chicken was perfectly cooked, but the spices and liquids had flowed to the edge of the Bake Tray. It has a raised centre section, so the edges can collect liquids. Using a fry pan instead would have ensured the protein and spices were cooked and infused together.

Summary: Not a fail – quite edible, but what recipe can we use next, because we need many more to make the best use of the Combi Cook?

Cheese Toast: Yum (Grill 240° default)

Think of this as a small, energy-efficient oven/grill. Lightly butter both sides of the bread (important for crisping), and cover with your favourite cheese.

Select Grill and preheat the Bake Tray for about 5 minutes (or the toast won’t brown underneath). Grill at a default 240° for 3-4 minutes. The toast crust is delightfully crisp, the underside is butter crisped, and the cheese is well melted.

The grill heat is not entirely even and requires you to change the toastie position halfway through. That upraised part of the pan means that it is too easy for bread to slip to the edges. We used this function the most for melting cheese on bagels, croissants, sourdough and white bread.

Air Fryer: Crispy chips and junk foods (200° default)

Insert the air fryer crisper into the Combi pan and place it on Level 1 or 2 (we used 1).

Select the Air Fry/Hob lever and the Air Fry setting.

Follow the time instructions on the pack (if there are any), allow for preheat (minimum five minutes) and make sure you turn regularly. The results are as good as any other air fryer.

We roasted a 2kg chicken in the Combi Pan using the Crisper insert (could have been a larger chicken) at 190°. The oven door has just enough clearance to place a wired thermometer through the gap.

Reheat (190°)

You can reheat anything as long as it fits into the Bake tray or Combi Pan. We also tried with a frozen TV dinner and adjusted the time as per the package. We could have used the bake setting just as easily.

Pizza: Frozen (205° Default)

While the inspiration recipe is all about making the dough, etc. I used a 25cm pizza base and toppings, as the Bake Tray only fits up to 270 mm diameter pizzas. Note: The upraised section of the Bake Tray is a nuisance as the ingredients can move outwards. If you have a 25cm pizza stone, use that in the tray.

I usually use an OONI Pizza oven that cooks in 60 seconds (at 450-500° + 20 minutes pre-heat), and this took closer to 10 minutes pre-heat and a further 10 minutes on Level 1. The  OONI pizza is 10/10 as it is superior, moist yet crispy base, and so fast. This was more like Pizza on a moist SAO biscuit.

Toast: White and sourdough (Lite, Medium and Dark settings)

Place on the Bake Tray on Level 1. It gives better results when preheated and turned a few times.

Steam (10 minutes)

We steamed some store-bought Hong Kong pork dumplings, and to be safe, we defrosted them first. They were perfectly cooked in 10 minutes (after 10 10-minute preheat).

Pre-heat

Most air fryers or bake functions need at least five minutes for pre-heat. I use a portable IR thermometer, and it takes about 12 minutes to reach 240°.

Not tested

• Slow Cook (Hi or Lo settings in Combi Pan Level 1). You can select the time, and it works like any slow cooker. Finding a suitable lidded pot could be an issue.
• Sear (1-5 settings in Combi Pan Level 1)
• Combi Bake (175° in Combi Pan Level one or a cake pan that fits inside the 22 x 27cm Combi Pan)
• Prove dough (35°)

Size

This is a 10.5kg Combi device, which probably means permanent bench space. It’s large (my approx measurements) at 430 (W and 700 door open) x 400 (D and 600 door open) x 340 mm (H), and it has a very short 900mm power cable.

Internal light

An internal light is accessed via the control panel. It says on for a few seconds.

Cleaning

The Combi Pan, Crisp tray and Bake tray are dishwasher safe but a little large. In our experience, the PTFE and PFOA-free coating could react over time with the strong alkaline dishwashing powder.  I recommend they be hand-washed, and they fit in most standard sinks. Ninja recommends that only silicon cooking implements be used.

The interior oven cavity is cleaned with a damp detergent cloth. For a deep cavity clean, you can use the steam setting.

We found that Combi cooking with steam left a lot of steam in the cavity and required a fairly immediate clean. You can clean the base element, but getting to the top element is overly difficult, and there is no splatter guard.

Spare parts

The UK site (care: AU prices are double) lists them. There are none listed on the Ninja Australia site, and Ninja needs to address this.

Power

It is rated at 1780W (maximum 240°) and sits around 1200W for most settings. Please remember this is about 7A, and it is easy to overload a 10A kitchen power circuit if used with other energy-hungry devices.

To put this in perspective, peak electricity rates are about 80 cents per 1000kWh. It draws less than a traditional oven, but that is because it has a smaller capacity.

Safety

While the outside metal chassis remains ‘touchable’, the glass door, cooking elements and internal pots are extremely hot. They will cool to touchable after several minutes.

CyberShack’s view: Ninja Combi 14-in-1 SFP701 multicooker has a place if you learn to use it

I am reminded of the research done by the Swiss Army Knife people. The three most used tools/blades are the main blade, scissors and file. But there are thousands of permutations and combinations (as MacGyver found) for a multi-tool, so they make 3, 4, 12, 14, 18, 21, and 33-function pocket knives just in case.

This does everything, including roasting chickens and grilling steaks (sadly, no sear lines). No, it is not the 14-in-1 Ninja Foodi SmartLid Multi Cooker – that is more of a one-pot pressure and slow cooker.

For my part, I now understand the Combi Cook concept, but can’t see myself using it unless someone writes a great Combi Cooker cookbook (with food I like).

I am a bit of a Ninja fan and use the Ninja Foodi AG551 Smart XL Grill and Air Fryer – the one appliance you really need every day, and the Combi Cook will not replace it.

So, for me, it ends up being a single-purpose all-in-one device that you may use to prepare part of the meal, and the conundrum is, do you make permanent space for something you may not use daily?

Ninja Combi 14-in-1 SFP701 multicooker ratings

We will rate it as a small portable oven and air fryer with benefits. I can see it being a favourite with the RV set or small apartments without an oven.

• Features: 90. Such a comprehensive device, even though you may never use half of those
• Value: 85-90 (if you can get it for $399). Reasonable value for all the extra features.
• Performance: 80. Overall, it delivers across all functions. Single-use functions are straightforward and rate as favourably as similar appliances.
• Ease of Use: 70 (Combi Meals) and 90 standalone. Overall, it’s very easy to use its standalone functions. However, there is a steep learning curve for Combi functions.
• Design: 80. It is not particularly elegant with a huge control panel/handle. The swing-out door (versus a swing-down oven door) means you need lots of front and left side space.

These videos are for an earlier model but a representative of the product.