Looking for a fast, easy and healthy ways to cook your favorite foods?
Then take a look at the Ninja Air Fryer. It is a solidly made mid-price air fryer for everyone who wants to make delicious and healthy meals.
Before buying any kitchen appliance it’s is advisable to do some research, look at the features, the pros and cons, and of course the price. In this review, we will run through all this together so that you will have all the information you need. Then you’ll know whether the Ninja Air Fryer is the right choice for you or not.
Key Features
1. Wide Temperature Ranges
Unlike some other air fryers, it allows you to control the fan speed giving you a wide range of temperatures (105 degrees F to 400 degrees F). The heating element is installed on the top and the temperature reaching the basket depends on the fan speed. This means that you have a wide choice of how to heat your food; you can use the Ninja for:
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- Dehydrating
- Frying
- Roasting
- Re-heating
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2. Ceramic Coated Nonstick Basket.
It comes with a four-quart basket, multi-layer rack and a crisper plate that fits 2lbs of french fries. The basket isn’t small or too big, it is medium-sized making it suitable for home use. The basket has no vents on the sides hence no mess related to the side vents common in other air fryers. As it is nonstick it is super easy to clean. The basket quality is also durable and should last a long time.
3. One-touch Control Panel.
It comes with a programmed control panel that lets you manually control temperature and time and choose between the four available cooking functions (AIR FRY, ROAST, REHEAT and DEHYDRATE). It also has a little sticker showing the best temperatures and cooking time for some meals. Most air fryers don’t have stickers and require you to create your own.
Pros
- Solidly Built from a Good Brand.
There are many Air Fryer models available but some are “plastic-y” and fall to pieces after a few weeks. Ninja are a respected brand and this model seems to have less problems than some of its competitors.
- It Allows You to Dehydrate.
This is not possible with many air fryers. When dehydrating, it isn’t noisy. You can leave it running at night without having to worry about disturbing your family.
- It Allows You to Fry with No or Little Cooking Oil.
You can fry your favorite foods with 75% less cooking oil. This not only allows you to prepare delicious meals but also in a healthy way, it helps reduce the intake of fats.
- Small Size.
It takes up less space than an oven so some customers are taking it in their RV for camping trips. Others find the Ninja very versatile, so they can cook many different types of foods in different ways in an apartment without other appliances (like an oven) to save space.
- It is Easy to Use.
The one-touch control panel and sticker reduces the hassle of determining the right temperatures and timing for cooking your meal. It also has a pause button that lets you pause and resume cooking. It also comes with a menu which gives tips on how to effectively use it. Some users set everything to the highest temperature and just change the time, to make life really simple.
- Cooks Fast.
Typically cooking times are 30-40% faster when compared to cooking in an oven. The pre-heat (3 minutes) is quicker too as ovens can take 6-10 minutes to get up to temperature.
- Really Easy to Clean
This is one area that buyers who had previously owned another air fryer really liked. The ceramic basket can be taken out and put straight into a dishwasher; so much quicker than having to wash by hand as is required for some other models non-stick coated baskets.
Cons
- Several buyers thought that it was quite loud, like a loud hair dryer. There is even a video, with sound of the Ninja in action on the Amazon Reviews page. They gave it one star and sent it back for a refund.
- It has no button to automatically remove the basket. You have to manually pull out the basket. Sometimes the basket can get a bit stuck and needs a good shove.
- In order for the food to be evenly cooked all the way through, you have to pause the cooking, open up the basket, turn or shake (for fries) the food so that it does not just get cooked at the top. If you do not do this it may be cooked unevenly with whatever is at the bottom less cooked what is at the top.
- The recipe booklet that comes with the air fryer over estimates the time and temperature needed to cook, so that if you follow it, your food is over done or worse burnt.
Things to Consider When Looking At the Ninja Air Fryer
- The basket size is 4 quarts which is plenty for 2 people, but if you are cooking for more then you might want to consider a model with a bigger basket size. You might consider Big Boss (16 quarts) or ZenChef (5.8 quarts) when cooking for more.
- If you have not used an air fryer before, have a good read of the instructions first as this is a different way of cooking. You might need to vary cooking times and temperatures.
- Like all air fryers, it is recommended that you run it empty, at high temperature to burn off any residues from the manufacturing process.
Where to Buy?
The Ninja Air Fryer is available in several local and online stores and shops dealing with kitchen appliances, but you can some of the best deals if you head over to Amazon.com.