The appeal of an air fryer is twofold: First, air fryers cook food a little more quickly than an oven or a convection oven. Secondly, air fryers create a crispier result than other cooking methods while using less oil. The magic of a product that can cook you healthier food in less time is terribly appealing—and rightfully so. With the Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 portable glass air fryer, Ninja introduces a third facet of appliance attraction: Easier cleanup.
Read on to learn more about this portable, easy-to-store air fryer that can prep, cook, serve, and store in just one dish.
What’s in the box of the Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 portable air fryer cooking system?
In the box of the Ninja Crispi, you’ll first find the Crispi PowerPod, which is the core of this product. It contains the Crispi’s heating element, fans, and controls. You’ll also find a 6-cup Small Batch TempWare Container, a 4-quart Large Batch TempWare Container, 3 storage lids, 3 crisper plates, and a Crispi Container Adapter to fit the PowerPod onto the Large Batch Container. Each TempWare Container has a heat-safe bottom permanently attached to it; these are not removable.
You’ll also find a Quick Start Guide included in this box, which includes instructions, how-tos, and recipes for using the Crispi. The Quick Start Guide also includes air frying charts for both the Large Batch and Small Batch containers to let you know how long common foods will take to cook in each container. (For instance, mushrooms take 10-15 minutes in the Small Batch container and need no oil. Broccoli takes 15-20 minutes in the Large Batch container and bakes best with a tablespoon of oil tossed in.)
In the box, the Crispi weighs 7.06 kg (15.56 lbs). The PowerPod and Small Batch container weigh 5.97 lbs together.
Ninja Crispi air fryer’s features
The Ninja Crispi is a 1500 Watt portable air fryer. It’s as powerful as a full-sized air fryer, but it’s designed to be compact. With a 4-qt capacity and two different container sizes, it cooks up to 4 kg of food at once. (That’s large enough to cook a small, 4 pound chicken plus vegetables, but I find it’s easier to cook a larger number of smaller items in the Crispi rather than one single large item.)
As a 4-in-1 product, the Crispi has four different modes: Max Crisp, Bake, Air Fry, and Recrisp. You can set the timer for each of these modes, but you cannot set a specific temperature outside of each mode’s preset temperature. It’s designed to be easy to use, so the lack of temperature settings makes a lot of sense—as does the fact that all of its containers, lids, and crisper plates are dishwasher-safe. They’re designed to be great for storage, serving, and easy cleanup. Each container is made from heat-resistant, thermal-shock-resistant glassware that’s safe up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can move these containers from the fridge to the air fryer without any issues.
- Recrisp: 380ËšF (190ËšC)
- Bake: 375ËšF (190ËšC)
- Air Fry: 400ËšF (200ËšC)
- Max Crisp: 425ËšF (215ËšC)
The Crispi’s base features permanently fixed, heat-safe feet. It’s safe to use on any surface, including granite, laminate, and wood. The PowerPod features similar plastic feet that prevent the air fryer’s element from touching whatever the Pod is set on, so it’s also safe to rest on any hard surface.
What can I cook in the Ninja portable glass air fryer?
Ninja’s 4-in-1 air fryer is excellent for cooking all sorts of different foods. For this product test, I air fried some parmesan-and-panko garlic zucchini bites, then reheated some sticky soya sauce ribs. Both were remarkably easy and came out with fantastic results. The zucchini bites took 7 minutes to air fry, but I think they actually could have been pulled after 5 minutes—like other air fryers, the Crispi doesn’t take as long to cook your food as an oven would. Each bite was soft and flavourful on the inside while being light and crispy on the outside.
The Crispi is being marketed pretty strongly as an office-friendly/reheat-friendly appliance, which is why I also wanted to test out its reheating capabilities. Meat can be tricky to reheat, as it can burn along the edges or get tough in the centre. The Crispi, however, did a wonderful job with my ribs. They came out hot and re-crisped in just five minutes and did not dry out in the air fryer at all. Plus, because the Crispi’s crisper plates have a non-stick finish, clean-up was easy despite the sweet, sticky sauce.
You can cook anything in the Crispi that you can in a regular air fryer. However, because it’s a four-in-one device, I think it really excels at making high-prep side dishes: Items that you’d want to fry for dinner right before they go onto the table, or things that you’d want to be done very quickly in between courses. That includes dishes like crispy Brussels sprouts, marinated skewers, and desserts (think re-heated slices of hot, flaky apple pie).
My experience with the Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 air fryer
I loved using the Ninja Crispi—and at first, I wasn’t sure why. It felt like a bit of a silly, unnecessary product when I first used it. Why, I thought, would I ever need a portable air fryer? Does anyone really need to air fry so desperately that they’d take an air fryer to the office?
The answer is a little bit “yes” and a little bit “no.” Yes, the Crispi’s portability is great, and yes, I think that’s what a lot of people will use it for. However, what makes the Crispi so enjoyable to use isn’t its size—it’s its containers. I love being able to air fry in a small container that I can store in, serve in, and transport in. (The Crispi’s Small Batch TempWare Containers come with leak-resistant snap-on lids!)
It’s so easy to prep a meal beforehand when you can marinate, store overnight, cook, serve, and take leftovers to work in the exact same container. The heat-resistant glass containers (even the large ones) are very compact compared to a standard air fryer basket and they’re dishwasher safe, which makes cleanup even easier. With this 4-in-1, instead of using five different containers, you’re just using one—and you don’t even have to wash it by hand.
How heavy is this portable air fryer?
The Ninja Crispi’s PowerPod is 1.81 kg (3.99 lbs). Its Small Batch TempWare Container is 0.90 kg (without lid) and its Large Batch TempWare Container is 1.83 kg (also without a lid). You can expect the Crispi to weigh 2.71 kg plus food weight (5.97 lbs+) while cooking small dishes and 4.03 kg (including the Large Batch Adapter) plus food weight (8.88 lbs+) while cooking large dishes.
As long as you can lift about 10 pounds, you’ll be able to use and move the Ninja Crispi with ease.
Who is the Ninja Crispi for?
The Crispi is a great way to air fry side dishes and small entrées. It excels in small spaces (like offices, dorm rooms, and apartment kitchens) and is fantastic for people who struggle to keep up with their kitchen cleaning. I like it as a veggie maker in particular—it’s easy to get your 5 portions in every day when you can air fry or oven-roast a delicious veggie dish in under 10 minutes including clean-up.
Find the Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 portable glass air fryer cooking system online at Best Buy today.
