Ninja is adding to its arsenal of best tested cookers with arguably its most versatile appliance yet. The new Ninja Crispi is all about helping you use fewer dishes while making it easier than ever to make dinner, whether that’s making a meal for the first time or reheating leftovers. And after trying it out ourselves, we’re impressed.
We think that the new Ninja Crispi is one of the most versatile air fryers yet. It's designed with four different cooking modes including max crisp, bake, air fry and re-crisp, the last of which pairs perfectly with its glass container that doubles as a way to save leftovers.
The new Ninja Crispi is very much still an air fryer. Let’s just make that as clear as day. It still relies on much of the same technology that has made the company’s previous releases rank so highly in our own testing. But there are some places where things start to differ with this 1,500-watt air fryer.
Instead of the large designs that we’re used to seeing from these appliances, which normally demand a dedicated spot on your countertop, Ninja is opting for a more compact build. The Crispi ditches that status quo in favor of a design that you can actually hold right in the palm of your hand.
The main part of that new, novel design is the Crispi pod. It shrinks the usual form factor you’d find on one of these cookers and packs it into a fraction of the size. The pod then pairs with the included glass containers that snap on underneath. So instead of having to transfer ingredients from a bowl into the fryer basket and than back onto your plate, the dishes handle prep, cooking and serving. That means you can make a whole meal in just one dish, then seal up any leftovers to reheat the next day.
To achieve that, Ninja has packed in four different cooking functions: max crisp, bake, air fry and re-crisp, all capable of hitting up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. It is ultimately that final feature that is most interesting to us here at CNN Underscored, and where we think that the Ninja Crispi can really shine compared to the company’s existing air fryers and make the best use of its unique form-factor. After all, who can’t get behind using fewer dishes to make dinner?
The notion of being able to use a single dish to marinate some protein, cook it and seal up any leftovers for lunch the next day is already a great start. But then, you can just grab the storage container out of the fridge and use the appliance’s re-crisp mode to get things ready for your next meal.
I’m not the only one to arrive at that same conclusion. Our own reviews editor, Tobey Grumet Segal, was able to test out the new Ninja Crispi for herself. Here’s what she had to say:
“The new Crispi is ridiculously easy to use and even better, store. From air frying wings from scratch, to crisping up frozen tater tots, to just cooking broccoli, we created a full dinner for our 16-year-old son in under 20 minutes, and without turning on an oven or dirtying up a mess of pots and pans. Since then, we’ve also air fried chicken breasts, pork loin, tofu and mozzarella sticks — then stored them in the Crispi containers, put them back in and warmed them up to crisp perfection for round two.”
That’s before we even mention that the Crispi is compact enough to leave your countertop altogether. The unconventional design really does let the fryer go places that its older brethren could only dream of. I personally live in a pretty compact New York apartment and don’t have enough countertop space for a traditional air fryer. But now I’m actually considering how the newest from Ninja can fit into my own meal prep routine.
There’s also the potential to bring the Crispi along with you to dinners this holiday season — a use case that Greg Fish, the senior vice president of product development?at Ninja?- Heated, Outdoor and Coffee, pointed out to me when we had a chance to sit down for a virtual interview. Instead of having to fight for precious time using the oven, you could just bring the whole Crispi and let it work its magic. While chatting, he also walked me through one of his favorite examples of where Ninja’s newest appliance shines: making chicken wings.
Typically cooking up a batch of wings means dirtying a mixing bowl, your air fryer and then a serving bowl. That’s a whole sink of dishes just from trying to enjoy a snack while you watch football games this fall. But with the Crispi, you can use just a single dish to prep, cook and serve the wings.
To help with that, Ninja includes both 4-quart and 6-cup containers alongside the Crispi pod. You’ll also get leakproof, BPA-free lids in the box. Ninja also notes that alongside the starter packages that’ll include the Crispi itself, the company will be selling additional packs of the 100% PFAS-free glass containers and lids. Then, when the portable air fryer launches at additional retailers later on in the fall, there will be some other bundles available.
The new Ninja Crispi is now available for purchase directly from Ninja’s own website as well as Amazon. It retails for $160. Then later this fall, additional retailers will also be launching the air fryer.
