Mother's Day Gift to Streamline Mealtime- Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™

Disclosure: I was provided with product to facilitate this post. The words and opinions expressed in this review are strictly of my own. This article contains affiliate links.

Isn’t it time you do something good for mom? I mean, Mother’s Day is only a few weeks away and she did birth you, change your diapers, and made sure you never went hungry! How about giving sweet mom a gift to relieve time spent in the kitchen? Researchers found that mothers spend three years of their adult lives slaving in the kitchen. Breaking it down, it equals 1117 days or approximately 18 WHOLE days per year preparing meals. This is if mom only lives to be 63. Tack on more time if she lives to be a ripe old age!

Think mom enjoys preparing meals? Think again! Not everyone likes to cook. Even if she possesses mad culinary skills, I bet she knows some tips and tricks to lessen time slaving over a stove and more time enjoying other daily events. This year give mom something she really wants; More time with her family. Help her cut time in the kitchen while still being able to make delicious meals with the Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™!

Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™ (Model #: CS960)

For the past week I have been testing out the Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™. The Ninja Cooking System is like a slow cooker on steroids! It can do everything a slow cooker can do and much more. Designed to take the guesswork out of the time spent in the kitchen, the Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™ is four appliances built into one. This nifty appliance streamlines mealtime with 4 manual modes, including slow cooking, a stove top for searing and sautéing, a steamer, and baking.

Slow Cook -Warm, Low, and High- Slow cook with confidence! The worry-free ACCUTEMP temperature control works behind the scenes to ensure your meals aren’t mushy, overcooked, or underdone.

Stove Top- One of my favorite features! An innovative heating element allows you to turn your Cooking System into a skillet! It gets hot enough to easily sear meats and sauté vegetables all in one pot! Cuts down on extra pans and mess.

Steam-Easily steam veggies to a delightful crisp texture or steam light proteins like seafood to retain their naturally subtle flavors.

Bake-This appliance has an awesome baking mode! It contains a controllable range of temperatures from 250° to 425°F. You can dry bake roasts, steam bake yummy breads, decadent cakes, and more! With the warm months ahead, this mode will come in handy! Instead of using the oven (which heats up the entire kitchen), I will be turning to the Ninja® Cooking System for any baking needs!

Over 80 Auto-iQ™ Preprogrammed Recipes

Preparing dinner has never been easier! Along with the manual modes, the Ninja® Cooking System has the options of four Auto-iQ™ settings; Quick Meals, Layered Bowls, Grains, and Poached Infusions. The Ninja® Delicious Done Easy Recipe Book features over 80 pre-programmed recipes. All you need to do is select the recipe from the Ninja® cookbook (included), add the ingredients, and hit the Auto-iQ™ button.

Quick Meals– Helps get you in and out of the kitchen quick! From a delicious Herb Frittata for breakfast to a mouthwatering Lobster Ravioli in Vodka Sauce for dinner, the Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™ Quick Meals button has you covered for those morning or nights you are strapped for time! There are 39 recipes to choose from!

Layered Bowls- Looking to build some serious flavor? Select the Layer Bowls button and let the Auto-iQ™ do the work! These recipes (35 to choose from) feature hearty blends of proteins and veggies to satisfy your family’s taste buds. Recipes include options of Breakfast, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Seafood, and Vegetarian.

Grains- Anyone who cooks grains knows how they can be a pain to prepare and get to the correct consistency! The Auto-iQ™ Grains helps you make delicious side dishes and breakfasts featuring grains such as quinoa and oats! No more fussing! Just follow the charts in the cookbook, add your grains and liquid, and let the Auto-iQ™ do the work for you!

Poached Infusions– Easily poach eggs, shrimp, fish, fruit, and create savory stocks all with the touch of this program button! It even says you can experiment with poaching liquids like milks, stocks, and WINE! I’ll definitely be checking out more about this feature!

Triple Fusion Heat®

In traditional slow cookers, heat normally begins at the base and works its way up the sides. The Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™ utilizes bottom heat, side heat, and steam heat for a Triple Fusion Heat® that creates tasty, nutritious meals made fast.

Easy Clean, 6 Quart Pot

The multi-cooker comes with an easy to clean 6 quart DURABLE pot. This has to be one of the easiest pots I have ever had to clean. I made everything from a hearty pot roast, beef stew, to a delicious lasagna soup and the food remnants in the pot just rinsed off! Did not have to scrub anything.

The 6-Quart Lightweight Nonstick Cooking Pot is dishwasher safe. However, it cleans up so fast it’s just as easy to just hand wash it. DO NOT use scouring pads.

ALWAYS, use wood or plastic (BPA Free) utensils to protect the coating of the pot.

Don’t touch the handles when it is cooking! The handles on the pot do get got while the Ninja® Cooking System is in use. To remove the nonstick pot, make sure to use pot holders or wait until it has cooled down.

Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™ Features:

Four Manual Cooking Functions: Slow Cook, Stove Top Sear/Sautee, Steam, and Bake. Four cooking functions all in one appliance. Cook food in more ways than a traditional slow cooker can.

Auto-iQ™ Technology: Auto-iQ™ Technology allows you to select a recipe, add your ingredients, and Auto-iQ™ helps you cook! Featuring over 80 pre-programmed, chef-developed recipes divided into four categories: Quick Meals, Layered, Bowls, Grains and Poached Infusions.

Triple Fusion Heat™: Traditional slow cookers have only one type of heat—the Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™ has three. Bottom heat, side heat, and steam heat all work together for easy one pot meals.

Auto Stay-Warm: The appliance automatically switches to Stay Warm mode when Slow Cook, Steam, or Bake functions come to completion. This keeps your food hot and ready to serve without overcooking it.

Programmable Time and Temperature: Select your time and temperature for precise cooking (only available with certain functions).

Sear to Slow Cook: Searing meats before slow cooking locks in flavors and juices as well as creates a delicious texture. Do this all in one pot—no extra pans to wash.

Easy Clean, 6 Quart Pot: Our 6 quart pot can easily feed a family or more. Being lightweight, non-stick, and dishwasher safe, the pot is very easy to clean and it will be the only thing you have too wash. Focus on the meal, not the mess.

Portable: Cook anywhere you have an outlet. Parties, vacations, college, and more. Using a single, easy-to-clean appliance to prepare one-pot meals makes on-the-go cooking convenient.

What’s in the Box?

6-Quart Lightweight Nonstick Cooking Pot
Glass Lid with Handle
Removable Steaming/Roasting Rack
80+ Auto-iQ™ Pre-Programmed Recipes
100+ Recipe Cookbook
1 year warranty

Retail Price: $149.99

Conclusion-Delicious One-pot Meals!

If you are looking for an excellent Mother’s Day gift to “WOW” mom this year, don’t hesitate on purchasing the Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™! The multi-cooker has fast become my favorite countertop appliance! The 4 in 1 appliance replaces my stove top, oven, steamer and slow cooker with one beautiful stainless steel, well-designed device. Seriously, I have not used my oven or stove top in the past week of owning it.

It streamlines time in the kitchen and makes delicious one-pot meals with little effort! The one pot cleanup is also a giant perk for those times you want to get in and out of the kitchen quickly. I was able to go from browning my ground turkey, adding other recipe ingredients, to cooking a delicious Lasagna Soup within just minutes. Also, the pot roast and stew I made came out incredibly good! The beef was tender, falling apart, and packed with flavor. And the vegetables were cooked perfectly; firm and tender–not mushy. I have no complaints and ONLY RAVES! The Ninja® Cooking System with Auto-iQ™ does everything it claims and more!