Best Ninja air fryer 2023: Tried and tested favourites from Ninja
Whip up healthy snacks as well as whole meals with our pick of the best Ninja air fryers and multi cookers
Offering quick, versatile and healthy countertop cooking, air fryers have become a kitchen staple in the UK in recent years. However, with the breadth of models currently available, selecting the best air fryer has become a slightly daunting task. One easy way to simplify things is to narrow your search down to a single, well-known brand.
Among the many brands and models tested and reviewed here at Expert Reviews, Ninja’s air fryers have stood out as some of the best we’ve tried. We tend to like Ninja air fryers and multi cookers for their stylish designs, impressive cooking performance and wide range of well-implemented functions and features.
If you want to know more about Ninja air fryers, or air fryers in general, our handy buying guide below will take you through some key points. We’ve also put together a short at a glance list below, which takes you straight to each of our favourites.
Scrolling past that, you’ll find mini reviews of tried and tested products, which break down the individual strengths and features of our favourite Ninja air fryers, rapid cookers and multi cookers.
Best Ninja air fryer: At a glance
- Best dual-drawer Ninja air fryer: Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer | £220
- Best Ninja multi cooker for fast, full meals: Ninja Speedi | £250
- Best value Ninja air fryer: Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK | £150
- Best Ninja multi cooker with air fryer: Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid | £300
How to choose the best Ninja air fryer for you
How do air fryers work?
Operating like a small countertop oven, an air fryer uses convection (hot air) heating to cook food, ensuring that the maximum amount of surface area possible comes into contact with heat and oil. Air fryers have become so popular due to the fact they’re generally faster, more energy efficient and use much less oil than a standard oven. Needing just a dash or spray of oil (though you don’t have to use any if you don’t want to), air fryers utilise a process called the Maillard reaction, which allows them to achieve brilliant crispy results while using much less fat.
Ninja air fryers typically have an operating range of between 40˚C and 210˚C. The lower temperatures are used for dehydrating on certain models, while the higher ones are reserved for classic air frying, roasting and baking. Models with the brand’s Max Crisp setting can even exceed the standard air frying temperature range, hitting highs of 240˚C.
To learn about how air fryers function in more depth, as well as more ways they differ from standard ovens, be sure to check out our full What is an air fryer? explainer.
READ NEXT: Our full round-up of the best air fryers
How much should I spend on a Ninja air fryer?
While decent air fryers generally tend to start around £80, Ninja’s focus on premium quality means you’ll have to spend a little more than average.
If you’re after a standard basket-style air fryer from Ninja, you’ll be able to pick one up for between £130 and £170, depending on the size and if there are any discounts available. Plumping for one of Ninja’s dual-drawer models will expand your cooking options significantly, while bumping up the price to between £220 and £270. Finally, if you want to do more than just air fry, it might be worth your while considering Ninja’s range of multi cookers and rapid cookers, whose features we cover in more detail below. These models offer a serious kitchen upgrade due to their versatility and can be scooped up for anywhere between £200 to £300 depending on the size, functionality and features available on a given model.
What are the standard features of a Ninja air fryer?
Alongside air frying, all Ninja air fryers come with settings for roasting, dehydrating and reheating. There are also cooking presets for different items and dishes and removable, dishwasher-safe pots and accessories as standard.
What other functions do Ninja cooking appliances offer?
Looking beyond air fryers, Ninja also has a range of appliances which incorporate air frying alongside a host of other cooking abilities. While not every Ninja multi cooker will have all of these settings, the full range includes: pressure cooking, slow cooking, grilling, roasting, sauteing, baking, dehydrating, dough proving, steaming and range of combination settings which pair steaming with other cooking modes to help achieve the perfect balance of crispness and moistness.
Unique in its ability to employ several of these modes simultaneously, the Ninja Speedi can create full meals in a short space of time with its “Speedi meals” function, which we’ll look at in more detail below.
How do we test air fryers?
Putting them thoroughly through their paces, we test any air fryers we review with single standard portions of a range of foods such as potatoes, vegetables and proteins like fish or beef, noting things like cook time, texture and doneness once completed. As well as testing manual settings, we test any presets or other cooking features available on the appliance, such as specific settings for crispy chips or functions for baking, dehydrating and roasting etc.
To test the stated capacity of a given air fryer, we also run one cook with the basket or drawer entirely filled, noting how much its performance holds up while at maximum fullness. Overall, we look for air fryers to quickly and efficiently produce foods with evenly browned, brilliantly crispy exteriors and well-cooked, delicate interiors.
READ NEXT: Our favourite multi cookers from Ninja, Tefal and more
The best Ninja air fryer to buy in 2023
1. Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer: Best dual-drawer Ninja air fryer
Price when reviewed: £220 | Check price at Ninja
Though air fryers are great for cooking up snacks, supplementary portions and side dishes, only being able to cook one type of food at a time can be a tad limiting. Enter the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone, whose twin 3.8L cooking baskets allow you to cook two separate portions simultaneously.
While simply adding a second basket onto a standard air fryer adds a lot of versatility and functionality, Ninja takes things a step further thanks to some clever settings. When cooking two portions at different temperatures or times, the Dual Zone’s handy sync setting ensures both will finish cooking at the same time, while its match setting allows you to mirror the set-up of the baskets, making it simple to cook up two batches of the same food.
Also notable is Dual Zone’s Max Crisp setting, designed to be used on thinner, frozen foods, like fries, onion rings or chicken nuggets. In testing, this setting brought these items to a fine, crisp finish in half the time it took a standard oven. Outside of its impressive air frying performance and Max Crisp setting, the Dual Zone can also bake, roast, dehydrate, and reheat to a solid standard.
Read our full Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer review
Key specs – Power: 2,400W; Capacity: 7.6l; Display: Digital; Accessories: None
2. Ninja Speedi: Best Ninja multi cooker for whole meals
Price when reviewed: £250 | Check price at Ninja
With its rounded edges, powder blue finish and stainless steel fronting, the Ninja Speedi’s stylish, modern appearance is a breath of fresh air, pairing well with the appliance’s inventive approach to rapid cooking. While it offers many of the standard Ninja multi cooker functions such as grilling, baking, roasting, dehydrating, sautéing, slow cooking, steaming and air frying (at which it particularly excels), the Ninja Speedi stands out thanks to its unique Speedi Meals feature.
Combining steaming in the bottom of the cooking pot with air frying on top, Speedi Meals allows you to cook whole meals in just fifteen minutes, plus prep and preheating time. For example, the Speedi can whip up perfectly cooked, fluffy rice and beans, along with crisp chicken breast and vegetables, all in the same pot. While it might be one of Ninja’s more expensive multi cookers, the Speedi’s sheer versatility and rapid meal making abilities make it worth every penny in our estimation.
Read our full Ninja Speedi review
Key specs – Power: 1,250W; Capacity: 5.7l; Display: Digital; Accessories: Adjustable grill plate, cooking pot
3. Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK: Best value Ninja air fryer
Price when reviewed: £150 | Check price at Ninja
If you’d prefer to keep things relatively simple, as well as a little more budget friendly, the Ninja AF100UK is easy to use, well-priced and well kitted-out for all your air frying needs. While it doesn’t have the multi cooking abilities or the luxury features of the other models, the AF100UK does have an easy-to-use digital display with handy presets, a removable crisper plate, as well as dehydrating, reheating and roasting functions.
Of course the main attraction here is air frying, which the AF100UK does really well. While our original review found the need to preheat a bit bothersome, once this air fryer got going, our tests saw it produce everything from crispy fries to tasty bread pudding without any hassle. While its 3.8L basket is perfectly-sized for couples and solo users, larger families may want to consider the 5.2L MAX version, which currently retails for £150.
Read our full Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK review
Key specs – Power: 1,550W; Capacity: 3.8l; Display: Digital; Accessories: Removable crisper plate
4. Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid: Best Ninja multi cooker with air fryer
Price when reviewed: £300 | Check price at Ninja
Offering a similar breadth of cooking functions as the Ninja Speedi, the Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid goes a little further, throwing pressure cooking into the mix. Those of you who enjoy the tender meats, stews and one-pot recipes that pressure cookers excel at might have your head turned by the Foodi 11-in-1’s excellent performance in this category. Another boon of the Foodi 11-in-1 is its 6L cooking basket – the largest single basket on this list – which our tests found sizable enough to air fry a whole large chicken without the hassle of dealing with your oven.
While not the most expensive Ninja multi cooker, that honour goes to the Foodi 15-in-1 MAX, this multi cooker is still the most expensive option on our list at full price (£300). So if this is the one for you, you might find it worth your while to hold out for a discount.
Read our full Ninja Foodi 11-in-1 SmartLid review
Key specs – Power: 1,460W; Capacity: 6l; Display: Digital; Accessories: Air fryer basket, steam rack
