Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone Air Fryer Review

19.3K

Earlier this year, I purchased a new Ninja Foodi Max dual-zone air fryer. We’ve been a loyal Tefal Actifry household for 10+ years now, so the switch felt quite a big one to make – and a lot of thought and comparison went into why I chose this model for our new everyday air fryer.

Below I’ll share my honest review of it after owning it for 6 months. I hope this helps, and any questions you have I’m happy to answer in the comments below! This review is 100% my own and I used my own money to purchase the Ninja, and have used it as a family, home-cooking tool for the past 6 months. This post contains affiliate links and I may earn a small commission when you click on the links at no additional cost to you.

I’ll start with why we bought it and why it fits in with our family first – then move on to the more technical comparisons of the Ninja Foodi Max dual-zone air fryer vs other air fryers in the market.

Why we bought the Ninja Foodi MAX?

I had a few ‘must-haves’ when looking for a new air fryer, I wanted to move away from the Actifry as the round basket and paddle just wasn’t working for the type of cooking we now do – I had to often either use a pan or oven alongside the Actifry to get a complete meal and since starting a family that just felt like too much faff.

Also, the absolute explosion of air fryers on social media and the diversity in meals i’ve seen people cooking had me super tempted to try something new. This was my ‘would like to have list’ when choosing the Ninja;

A large enough basket that I could make a complete meal in it (e.g meat & veg)

This is the main reason I chose the Ninja Foodi Max dual-zone air fryer – its cooking capacity is really big vs others on the market, and you can of course use just one basket if needed for your meal. Many of the other dual air fryers seemed to have two very small baskets which would struggle to cook more than a couple of chicken breasts in it.

We’re a family of 3 – and the max zone is more than big enough, I’ve not struggled with anything in it – even cooking a full roast dinner with it. The basket is big enough to fit a roast chicken, and the other drawer potatoes & veg.

Easy to clean – even better if it’s dishwasher friendly

Having previously owned air fryers, I find the cleaning of them quite a faff somehow.

I was looking for a model with a simple basket which is easy to clean and even better if the tray/basket were dishwasher friendly.

The ninja is – so that’s great! However, I do mostly just wash it in the sink as its non-stick coating is super easy to clean (and I am worried the dishwasher may dull the silver handles over time). Although, replacement parts for the ninja are available directly from the ninja online site – which is great peace of mind should anything break or age badly.

Not too big to fit on the counter, I want it to look nice in the kitchen

This was a HUGE struggle, honestly.

Of course, when buying kitchen appliances you want them to look nice in the kitchen, and often there really isn’t very much space in the kitchen for them (as usually there’s also a toaster, kettle, and perhaps blender etc.? there, too).

We have a specific counter in our kitchen which is quite deep, and the perfect space for the air fryer, and where our old one sat. however, the Actifry is much lower / shorter than the newer types of air fryer, and I was concerned about how they’d fit.

Before buying the Ninja – I did actually purchase the Tefal easy fry 3 in 1 (FW201827) – I liked that it was a steamer and a grill, too. However, it was HUGE. It physically didn’t fit under the kitchen cupboard, so I returned it and remeasured the space.

That’s when I realised, whilst it’s quite wide, the Ninja is much shallower than a lot of air fryers, and the height fits where I want to keep it too. I bought the Ninja, and was a little apprehensive as it’s black, too and our kitchen is sage and white – however, it fits really nicely and as it’s shallow in depth, gives us a lot more counter space in front – I actually couldn’t be happier with how it sits and looks in our kitchen, given that has so much space to cook too.

Cooking healthier meals

The ninja has changed the way we cook once again and added way more easy recipes into our weekly meal plan.

It feels really easy to just cook meat & veg in it and it is delicious – with SO much less oil than cooking in the pan or oven, and a lot more ease too so I happily, and quickly, make really healthy meals all week. If you’d like to see the type of cooking we do in the ninja – let me know in the comments below and I’ll start to share the 20 min recipe ideas.

Option to sync baskets:

I really love the sync option on the Ninja, this essentially means your meals can be ready at the same time, without having to think about it.

Last night I put a whole roast chicken in one of the baskets for 1hr 20, and put some chopped potatoes and veg in the other basket for 30 minutes – and used the sync mode, so, for instance – the chicken starts cooking at 5pm, then at 540pm the second basket automatically starts cooking the veg and potatoes, and both are ready and done at 620, without you having to lift a finger. It’s really great to take the thought out of cooking and to be able to get on with other tasks without having to faff around.

It’s also great for much simpler dinners – for instance, fish fingers and frozen chips with slightly different cooking times.

The different cooking modes

One of the main selling points of the Ninja Foodi Max dual-zone air fryer is the multiple cooking modes – at first, I thought I’d mostly just use the air fryer mode, but I really do use most of them now, there are lots of nice uses for different food.

The ninja has 6 cooking functions – Air Fry, Max Crisp, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate, Reheat.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d use many of them, but I truly use them all (I haven’t used dehydrate yet, or can think of when I would, honestly) but the rest are great!

Here’s what Ninja say about the different modes:

Air Fry – Up to 75% less fat than traditional frying methods***. Enjoy guilt-free fried favourites using little to no oil. From delicious chicken wings, fish and chips, burgers and sausages to tasty fajitas, sweet potato fries and chunky chips. How does air frying work? Super-hot air is evenly circulated around food to remove excess moisture and give it a delicious golden finish.

Max Crisp – Cook from frozen to crispy in minutes. Temperatures of 240°C evenly cook and crisp your favourite frozen foods. From breaded scampi and chicken nuggets to golden French fries, onion rings and more. Perfect for quick, delicious dinners.

Roast – Not just for Sundays, enjoy your favourite roast meat, fish and vegetables any day of the week. From a roast chicken, salmon fillets, golden chicken breasts and roast pork chops with crispy crackling to fluffy roast potatoes, balsamic-roasted tomatoes and sweet potato hash.

Bake – Easily cook pasta bakes with a crispy topping. Enjoy freshly-baked bread and homemade sweet treats, from muffins and brownies to cakes and cookies.

Dehydrate – Create delicious dried fruit snacks, from apple to mango, banana to pineapple. Enjoy homemade vegetable crisps, beef jerky, and even make your own dried herbs.

Reheat – Restore leftovers to that delicious fresh-out-of-the-oven finish, perfect for reviving leftover pizza, quiche, spring rolls and more.

Everything cooks so quickly

One of the things I love about ALL air fryers is that it doesn’t need to be pre-heated like an oven, it gets hot super quick, and everything honestly cooks SO fast. If something frozen says to cook for 20 mins on the packet, it usually takes around half that time – so, if you’re new to air frying keep an eye on things at first, cause they can burn quickly too (the amount of times I’ve burnt my toddler sons tiny pizzas are laughable, I now know they only take 3 minutes!).

I think this is also likely to play into energy efficiency and saving – you’ll have your Ninja running for about 12 minutes for something you’d probably need the oven on for 40 mins for.

Ease of use

I think the interface is really simple to use, it took me a day or so to feel really comfortable. I still don’t fully understand how to stop one basket when the other is cooking though, which is a hassle, so I end up stopping the whole thing and reprogramming the other basket – not ideal, but I guess I should read the manual or look it up online.

Safety Features

The Ninja Foodi MAX includes safety features such as automatic shut-off, overheat protection, and a cool-touch exterior. These features provide peace of mind while using the appliance, especially with a curious toddler around.

Noise level

The noise level is different depending on which mode you’re using – I find it really reasonable – certainly in comparison to our older Actifry, which we’d struggle to hold a conversation over in the kitchen.

I don’t notice it’s on when it’s on a ‘bake’ setting, and the airfry mode is quiet – at least to my expectations. We have our dining table in the kitchen, so this is really important when we’re cooking but having some social time, too.

Now, onto the more technical aspects of the ninja…

• Largest-capacity dual-zone air fryer in the UK market
• Cooks 2 different foods with different temperatures and settings simultaneously
• SYNC feature ensures both foods are ready to serve at the same time
• 9.5L capacity feeds 8+ people and allows for family-size roasts
• Offers 6 cooking functions: Air Fry, Max Crisp, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate, Reheat
• Up to 75% faster than fan ovens
• Up to 75% less fat than traditional frying methods with Air Fry function
• Easy to clean with dishwasher-safe parts
• Digital control panel with countdown timer
• Variable temperature controls for customized cooking
• Auto-Adjust Fan for optimal cooking performance
• Sleek black design, compact size (8.8kg, H:32.5 x W:41.5 x D:27 cm)
• 2-year guarantee upon registration with Ninja (UK & ROI only)

To conclude

I’d highly recommend the Ninja Foodi Max dual-zone air fryer actually – weigh up if you need the max or the smaller model, and measure up the space fully. But, if you can afford it and think you’ll use it a lot and it fits in with the type of meals you make (or want to start making) I really would go for it and enjoy the splurge!

Click here to shop directly with Ninja for the Ninja Foodi Max dual-zone air fryer – they often have the best direct deals and some offers on too.