On a Tuesday night, in a small kitchen lit by the blue light of a TikTok recipe, the air fryer’s reign began to slip. My friend Emma, who makes the best crispy sweet potato fries, moved her big air fryer out of the way to plug in a new, sleek machine that looked more like a mini spaceship than an appliance. There was a soft “ding,” and steam rose. Within minutes, her counter was full of roasted vegetables, grilled chicken, and a bubbling pasta bake, all made with the same machine.
The air fryer sat in the corner, still warm, but no longer useful.
From a gadget that can do one thing to a cooking station that can do everything
The air fryer used to be the best kitchen hack. Push one button, use less oil, and get crispy food. Then there was this new wave of multi-cookers that could do all of these things in one small unit: sautéing, steaming, baking, slow cooking, and even dehydrating. Putting frozen fries in a basket all of a sudden seemed a little too basic.
The newest star of the counter doesn’t just fry food with hot air. It can cook under pressure, steam vegetables, sauté onions, grill skewers, simmer stews, reheat leftovers without drying them out, bake cakes, and turn fruit into healthy snacks by drying it out. Nine ways to cook, one mark on the worktop.
Your air fryer and oven & stove can all fit together in a single box. This is the basic promise being made to you. The idea sounds straightforward enough. You have three different cooking appliances that normally take up significant counter and storage space in your kitchen. Someone is now telling you that all three of these items can be consolidated into one compact package. Think about what this means for your kitchen setup. Instead of having an air fryer sitting on your counter and an oven built into your wall and a stove taking up floor space you would have just one unit handling all these cooking tasks. The space savings alone could be substantial for anyone dealing with a small kitchen or limited storage options. But the promise raises some obvious questions. How can one device really replace three separate appliances that each have their own specific functions? An air fryer circulates hot air rapidly to create crispy food with minimal oil. An oven provides steady heat for baking and roasting. A stove gives you direct heat control for pots and pans. These are fundamentally different cooking methods. The answer lies in modern combination appliances that integrate multiple cooking technologies into one chassis. Some units feature traditional heating elements for oven functions alongside dedicated air frying components and cooktop burners on top. Others use more sophisticated approaches with convection systems that can switch between different cooking modes. The real test is whether such a device can actually perform all three functions well. Many combination appliances end up being mediocre at everything rather than excellent at anything. You might get an air fryer that works okay but not as well as a standalone unit. The oven might heat unevenly. The stovetop burners might not get hot enough for proper searing. Still, for some people the tradeoff makes sense. If you live in a small apartment or need to minimize your kitchen footprint, having one device instead of three could be worth accepting slightly reduced performance in each area.
Imagine a weeknight when you feel tired and hungry and really want to order takeout. You stand in your kitchen and think about calling for delivery. But then you remember you have chicken in the fridge. You could make something quick instead. This is where easy chicken recipes become useful. They help you make a good meal without spending much time or energy. You don’t need fancy ingredients or complicated steps. Just simple cooking that gets dinner on the table fast. Chicken works well for busy nights because it cooks quickly and tastes good with many different flavors. You can bake it or pan fry it or toss it in a skillet with whatever vegetables you have around. The meat stays tender when you cook it right and it fills you up without feeling too heavy. These recipes focus on getting you fed without the stress. They use basic techniques and ingredients you probably already have. Nothing requires advanced skills or special equipment. You just need a pan and about thirty minutes. The goal is to make cooking feel manageable even when you’re exhausted. When you have a few reliable recipes you can make without thinking too hard it changes how you approach dinner. You stop dreading it and start seeing it as something you can actually handle. So next time you reach for your phone to order food you might pause & give one of these recipes a try instead. You’ll save money and end up with a hot meal that didn’t require much effort at all.
You can toss rice and broth into a nine-in-one multicooker along with some chopped vegetables and marinated chicken. One program handles the sautéing while another takes over for pressure cooking without you doing anything. When you open the lid fifteen minutes later the hot steam carries the smell of spices and gives you that warm feeling of a proper home-cooked meal.
No juggling pans, no keeping an eye on the pot, and no preheating the oven.
Air fryer brands such as Ninja Foodi and Instant Pot along with similar European manufacturers are gradually replacing the traditional air fryer market by transforming these devices into comprehensive cooking hubs that handle multiple kitchen tasks.
There is more going on than just a trend in gadgets.
The air fryer became popular because it solved real problems for people with small kitchens and hectic schedules who wanted to avoid cleaning multiple pans after cooking one meal. It did a great job making food crispy but it never actually replaced traditional cooking tools like pots and ovens.
A multifunction cooker solves a different problem. It gives you extra counter space and saves time while making your kitchen feel like a helpful tool rather than an obstacle. The reasoning is straightforward and liberating. There is no point in keeping four separate appliances when one device can sauté and steam and bake and crisp.
This is where people start to quietly unplug their air fryers for good.
How to use a 9-in-1 cooker every day and not just look at it
The specifications do not determine whether a nine-in-one device works well for you. What matters most is how you actually use it in your daily routine. Start by selecting two or three functions that fit into your weekly schedule. You might choose pressure cooking or sautéing or air crisping. Connect these functions to your actual cooking needs and habits.
Make a large pot of sauce or stew on Sunday evening while watching television. During the week you can cook rice or other grains in the pressure cooker and prepare a simple salad alongside it. On Friday evenings use the air-crisp function or grill setting to refresh any leftovers that need more flavor.
You should not attempt to use all nine modes during your initial day. The purpose is to allow these new approaches to gradually replace the old habits that cause you the most frustration. Start by selecting one or two modes that address your biggest problems. Give yourself time to become comfortable with each new method before adding another one. This measured approach helps ensure the changes actually stick rather than overwhelming you with too many adjustments at once. Think of it as building a new routine piece by piece. When you rush through everything simultaneously you risk abandoning the entire system because it feels too complicated. Instead focus on mastering one mode until it becomes natural. Then move on to the next one that targets another troublesome habit. The goal is sustainable change rather than a dramatic overnight transformation. Your old patterns developed over months or years so replacing them requires patience. By introducing new modes slowly you give your brain time to rewire itself and accept these better alternatives as the default way of doing things. This gradual method also lets you evaluate what works best for your specific situation. You might discover that certain modes deliver better results than others for your particular challenges. That insight only comes from thoughtful implementation rather than trying everything at once and creating confusion about what actually helped.
Many people buy a multi-cooker and end up using just two buttons. They feel guilty when they look at all the unused features on the control panel. But let’s be realistic about this. Nobody actually uses every function on a daily basis. Your home kitchen is not a restaurant kitchen. The truth is that most families have a few favorite meals they make regularly. You might use the pressure cooking function for stews and the rice setting for side dishes. Those other buttons for yogurt making or slow cooking might get used once in a while or never at all. This is completely normal and nothing to feel bad about. What matters is whether the multi-cooker makes your life easier. If it helps you prepare meals faster & with less effort then it’s doing its job. The unused buttons are just extra options available if you ever want to try something new. Think of them as bonus features rather than obligations. Some people enjoy experimenting with different cooking methods and will eventually try most functions. Others prefer to stick with what works for them. Both approaches are fine. The appliance exists to serve your needs & not the other way around.
Don’t think of it as just a big air fryer. If you only cook frozen nuggets you are wasting its potential like buying a sports car and never shifting out of first gear. Make an effort to try one new feature each week. Spend a week steaming vegetables. Use another week to bake a small cake. Test out the dehydrate function by making apple chips or drying fresh herbs. The key is exploring what the appliance can actually do. Most people stick to air frying because that is what they know. But these devices often include multiple cooking methods built into one machine. Steaming keeps vegetables tender and preserves nutrients better than boiling. Baking works well for small batches of desserts or bread when you don’t want to heat up a full oven. The dehydrate setting turns fresh produce into healthy snacks without added preservatives. Taking time to learn each function means you get real value from your purchase. Start with simple recipes that don’t require much preparation. Once you feel comfortable with the basics you can move on to more complex dishes. Keep a list of what works well and what doesn’t so you can refine your approach. This methodical testing helps you understand which foods suit each cooking mode best.
Be kind to yourself and remember that this is about making your life easier instead of trying to win some award for being the most creative home cook on social media.
You will eventually have a moment of clarity like the one a reader told me about in an email.
I realized everything was different when I cooked pasta with sauce and meatballs all together in a single pot & then made the cheese on top crispy without turning on my oven. After that I took my old air fryer out to the garage without making a fuss about it.
Making the machine your primary kitchen tool can help you maintain that feeling & prevent a return to disorder. A practical approach is to keep a brief reference guide of typical uses attached inside a cabinet door. This simple step ensures you always remember what the appliance can do. When you open the cabinet you will see the list and think about using the machine instead of other methods. The guide might include basic tasks like chopping vegetables or mixing ingredients that you might otherwise do by hand. Having this reminder visible makes it easier to form a habit of reaching for the appliance first. Over time this becomes automatic and you will naturally think of the machine when starting meal preparation. The reference sheet serves as a gentle prompt until using the appliance becomes second nature.
- Pressure cook beans, grains, and stews when you don’t have a lot of time.
- For quick, light dinners, steam vegetables, dumplings, and fish.
- Sauté: onions, garlic, and quick sauces without making a mess in a pan.
- Slow cook: make a lot of meals on Sunday, pulled meats, and broths.
- Air crisp/grill: last touches, crispy skin, gratins, and leftovers.
- Small cakes can be baked in the oven along with roasted vegetables and complete sheet pan dinners. These foods work well when cooked at similar temperatures and make meal preparation straightforward and efficient. You can prepare desserts like individual cakes while simultaneously roasting seasonal vegetables such as carrots or Brussels sprouts. Sheet pan meals combine proteins & vegetables on a single tray for easy cooking and cleanup. The oven provides consistent heat that creates golden edges on vegetables and ensures cakes bake evenly throughout. This cooking method requires minimal attention once everything goes into the oven.
- Dehydrate: fruit, herbs, and snacks you make at home for the week.
That’s when this stops being just a gadget. It turns into your quiet sous-chef.
What this change means for our kitchens (and our lives)
People are replacing their air fryers with machines that can do nine different jobs. This shift tells us something important about how we live now. The change is not really about technology. It is about wanting to own fewer items that work better in a kitchen that already feels crowded with demands and unwashed plates.
Of course, some people will keep their air fryer. Just like some people still swear by their old-fashioned toaster oven or bread maker. But the trend is going in a different direction: toward gadgets that respect our time, space, and attention. A single tool that can follow you from breakfast oats to a slow-cooked dinner feels much more like a lifestyle upgrade than a new toy.
We’ve all opened that kitchen drawer & spotted the miracle tools we never touch. This nine-in-one wave might be our way of rejecting all that clutter and choosing simplicity instead. Not perfect meals and not professional cooking skills. Just more evenings when dinner tastes good and the cleanup doesn’t overwhelm you and the kitchen actually works for how you live.
Main point Detail: What the reader gets out of it
- This device does more than just air frying. You can use it to pressure cook your meals or steam vegetables. It works for sautéing ingredients and slow cooking stews. The air crisp function makes food crunchy while the grill option adds char marks. You can bake desserts and roast meats in it. It even dehydrates fruits and herbs. Having this appliance means you need fewer separate machines in your kitchen. It replaces multiple devices and gives you more room on your counters.
- Plan two or three main tasks for specific days or meals. You might batch-cook on Sundays, prepare quick dinners on weeknights & use leftovers on Fridays. This approach makes your kitchen gadget actually useful rather than just decorative.
- Pick the biggest problem you have with your cooking right now & work on fixing it. Try one new technique or recipe each week. This approach helps you avoid feeling stressed while building your skills gradually.
Questions and Answers:
Can a 9-in-1 cooker really take the place of an air fryer?
You can use an air fryer as long as it has an air-crisp or air-fry setting & comes with a lid or basket designed for crisping. You might need to adjust the cooking time and temperature slightly but the final results should turn out nearly the same.
Is the food really better for you than in a regular fryer?
You need much less oil compared to deep frying. Steaming or pressure cooking allows you to prepare whole foods fast without including extra fat.
Will it make my electric bill go through the roof?
An air fryer cooks your meals more quickly than a regular oven and directs the heat exactly where it needs to go. This means you end up using much less electricity compared to heating up your full-size oven and letting it run for 40 minutes or more. For most everyday recipes this makes air fryers a more efficient choice that can help lower your energy bills over time.
Can it really bake things instead of my oven?
A toaster oven works well when you want to make small cakes or brownies. It also handles breads & gratins without any problems. However you should think twice before using it for larger items. When you need to cook big trays of food or prepare a holiday roast, a regular oven is the better choice. The main reason is that a full-sized oven gives you much more room to work with. It also does a better job of browning your food evenly across the entire surface. This even browning happens because the heat circulates more effectively in the larger space. So while a toaster oven is convenient for everyday small meals you will get superior results with a conventional oven when cooking for special occasions or preparing larger quantities of food.
What should I make first to get the hang of it?
A one-pot pasta works well for beginners. You could also try making a basic vegetable stew or roasting vegetables until they turn crispy. These dishes are straightforward to prepare and cook quickly while demonstrating several useful techniques at the same time.
