Verdict
The Ninja Crispi isn’t your regular air fryer; it’s a modular cooking system that ditches the traditional fixed-body design for a more flexible approach. With two different-sized glass cooking dishes, it makes meal prep easier by allowing you to size your dish to match the portion, or cook different foods back-to-back without constant cleaning. The containers also double as storage, complete with lids to keep food warm or save leftovers for later. The lack of temperature control might frustrate some users but, if you’re after an easy-to-use, space-saving cooking system, the Crispi is a solid choice.
Pros
- Space saving
- Easy to use
- Dishwasher and microwave dishes
- Great cooking results
Cons
- No temperature control
- Smaller than regular air fryer
Ninja Crispi: Introduction
- Capacity: 3.8L large dish, 1.4L smaller one.
- Dishwasher safe: Main components are safe for easy cleaning.
- Microwave and freezer safe: Makes cooking leftovers super simple.
Unlike traditional air-fryers, which are usually boxy affairs like the Ninja’s own Foodi FlexDrawer or the slimline Double Stack XL, the Ninja Crispi looks more like a pyrex oven dish with a fancy hat.
And it kind of is; that fancy hat is the main cooking unit and it slots over a TempWare glass cooking dish to create air-fried food, with very little hassle at all.
I’ve been using the Ninja Crispi for a few weeks now, read on for my full review.
Design and components
- Two TempWare glass cooking dishes
- Four preset cooking modes
- Stackable design for easy storage
Unlike standard air fryers, the Ninja Crispi uses detachable glass containers rather than built-in trays.
The heating element, officially known as the ‘PowerPod,’ clips onto the top of the containers, offering a more modular and portable design. F
Flip the PowerPod over and you can see the convection fan and cooking elements.
In the box you’ll find two borosilicate TempWare glass dishes – 1.4L and 3.8L – that sit in protective plastic holders with feet to keep them stable on surfaces (these plastic bits don’t come off, by the way… no matter how hard you force them trying, because you didn’t read the manual first.)
These glass dishes aren’t just for cooking, they can also be used for serving, and the clip-on lids let you store food for later.
If you need extra dishes, Ninja sells replacements separately for £24.99 / £34.99. The sizing in the UK and the US is actually a little different. The 1.4L and 3.8L sizes are the sizes stated for the UK-specific model I had for the review.
In the US, the dish sizes are stated as 4-qt, 2.5-qt and 6-cup; and there are various configurations you can buy with the PowerPod, and additional dishes are available starting at $32.99.
Whatever the size, all the cooking is done directly in the TempWare containers, with a crisper plate inside to help airflow.
Inserting these plates is easy enough, with rubber corners stopping them when they are sitting where they should, but taking them out after a cook can be a bit of a hassle, as they obviously get pretty hot.
The PowerPod sits directly on the 1.4L dish, while the larger dish requires an adapter, which is basically a trim that sits between the two to help it clamp down.
The cooking controls and a little screen sit on top of the PowerPod, which is available in three different colors: Sage Green, Stone and, get this… Cyberspace.
Cyberspace, in case you were wondering, is blue. In the UK, SharkNinja just lists this color as “blue,” which says a lot.
In use
Those controls up top are simple: you get four cooking modes – Roast, Air Fry, Recrisp, and Keep Warm – along with a timer.
There’s no manual temperature control, as there is with Ninja’s more traditional air-fryers and cooking machines like the Woodfire Pro Connect XL.
That means no ability to crank up the heat for extra crispiness or lower it for gentler cooking.
However, the included starter guide provides cooking times for a bunch of different foods, making it easy to get started and, this being Ninja, there’s already a growing community of users providing recipes and cooking suggestions online.
If you plan to use the Crispi frequently, investing in a good pair of silicone tongs is a smart move. Food often needs turning mid-cook, and smaller items can slip through the crisper plate gaps.
After cooking, the TempWare dishes can go straight on the table and the PowerPod can be placed directly on your kitchen top with no risk of making a burn mark.
Every component of the Crispi, except the PowerPod, are freezer, microwave and dishwasher safe.
This not only makes washing up time a bit less of a chore but also means that storage and cooking of leftovers is is equally easy.
On that, I found that the Recrisp mode actually performs better than my usual go-to of whacking any dinner remnants in the microwave when feeling peckish – more on that in a bit.
Storage is also straightforward, with the smaller dish fitting inside the larger one and the PowerPod stacking neatly on top.
Performance
- Excellent cooking results
- Food storage works well, but not for crisp items
- Great for reheating leftovers
Despite its simpler setup, the Ninja Crispi delivers a superb air-fryer cooking performance.
I started with the obvious air-fryer fodder and found that, despite the lack of temperature control, fries and things like nuggets, or breaded fish or chicken cooked evenly crisped, though they took slightly longer than in a standard air fryer.
I took things a bit further by trying some of the suggested recipes in the Crispi’s guides.
First up, I did some teriyaki tofu and broccoli, which took on the flavor of the sesame oil and soya that I added, and came out super crispy but not dried out.
Next up, I did a tuna “toastie,” which is what us Brits call a grilled-cheese.
I even jazzed it up by soaking the bread in egg first, and the results were marvellous and the cleaning up, compared to when I do this same thing using a panini press, was much simpler.
One advantage of the glass design is visibility, you can see your food cooking without having to open the fryer and lose heat. This helped me avoid overcooking items like the broccoli, which cooked quicker that the tofu, and keeping an eye on how melted the cheese was in the middle of my toastie:
For the Roast mode, I think it’s just a slightly less hot/blowy version of the air fryer. I haven’t really used it much if I’m honest, although I did use it to do a simple pasta bake, and it worked well – no need for the crisper plate for things like this.
With the Recrisp mode I have also taken to using the Crispi to heat leftovers that weren’t actually cooked in the Crispi.
Leftover pizza, chicken biryani scraps mixed with a few spoonfuls of tarka dhal, and even some stir-fry have all come out fresh-ish, and arguably much better, than they would if I’d have just used the microwave.
Final thoughts
The Ninja Crispi is unlike anything else on the market. If you have room for a traditional air fryer and want more temperature control or extra cooking modes, you might be better off with a more conventional model.
But if space is tight, you want the flexibility of cooking in separate dishes, or you need something super simple to use, the Crispi stands out as one of the most versatile air fryers I’ve tested.
How we test
When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.
Because we’re testing new devices all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular gadget compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.
Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.
Read our guide on how we test to learn more.
FAQs
Yes, Stateside it’s part of the FN100 range and there are numerous combinations on offer.
Yes, all parts except the PowerPod are dishwasher safe and the glass dishes can also be used in the microwave and be used to store food in the freezer.
Yes it is, despite not looking like one. SharkNinja actually describe it as a “portable cooking system.”
Ninja Crispi: Specifications
| Brand | SharkNinja |
| Product | Ninja Crispi |
| Model number | UK – FN101UKST, US – FN101GY |
| US Price | $179.99 |
| UK Price | £179.99 |
| Launch date | January 2025 |
| Size (Dimensions) | 304 x 340 x 345 mm |
| Stated Power | 1700 W |
| Dish sizes | 3.8L & 1.4L / 4-qt & 6-cup |
| Modes | Roast, Air Fry, Recrisp, and Keep Warm |
| Dishwasher safe | Yes |
| Freezer safe | Yes |
| Microwave safe | Yes |
