Ninja Crispi Review: An Ingenious Portable Air Fryer

Photograph: Matthew Korfhage

To cook food, the Crispi must be placed atop the 6-cup or 4-quart borosilicate glass air frying “baskets” that come with the device—which are really more like casserole dishes, with finger-safe handles and Tupperware-style lids. There’s an adapter to allow the Crispi to fit the larger 4-quart size. The coatings on the crisping plates, as with many Ninja products, are PFAS-free ceramic.

Plug the Crispi in, turn it to one of four air frying settings, and hit Go. That’s it. When the food’s done, doff the air fryer. Now the basket is a table-ready serving dish, complete with handles and a base. Put the airtight lid on top, and the dish is now your fridge or travel container. Luckily, both are remarkably easy to clean—easier than most nonstick metal baskets, in fact.

This makes the Crispi an ingenious exercise in economy—a zero-counter-space solution that has caused one UK writer to hail it as an air fryer for the housing crisis. Another writer thought the device was maybe perfect for Zoomers, whatever this means.

Either way, the Crispi struck a nerve. Even with a $160 price tag, hefty in the air fryer world, the Crispi has sold out multiple production runs since the device was released in September 2024.

A Fuzzy Thermostat

Now, let’s be clear. There are trade-offs. Strictly judged by cooking performance, the Crispi is far from the best air fryer you can buy for the price. The fryer has just four somewhat squishy settings: Recrisp, Bake, Air Fry, and Max Crisp. The latter two blast air at high speeds, the first two at a whisper.

A sticker on the Crispi promises somewhat-dodgy temperature ranges for each setting, from 375 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In practice, even these fudged temperatures can’t fully be trusted.

For one thing, you’ll get different cooking temps and airflow depending on whether you use the large or small dish. On either, the Crispi tends to run at least 10 degrees colder than advertised, a thermostat issue that has dogged other Ninja devices I’ve tested. To get above 400 degrees Fahrenheit, whether indoors or on a frigid winter patio, choose the 425-degree Max Crisp setting. The Air Fry setting will get you closer to 390.