Is the Ninja Air Fryer worth it?
I’ve heard a lot of people talking about air fryers and how since purchasing one they simply couldn’t imagine life without it. I’ve even heard people boast about how they still get to eat nuggets and burgers because they have cooked them inside their air fryer.
I am however a lot more sceptical about these new kitchen gadgets. Modern kitchens have ovens and a hob, and most even have a microwave, so why do we need to add yet another bulky appliance to our worktops?
Is it just going to sit there and build up a layer of dust, or will it become a vital piece of equipment that will get more use than my favourite blender? And bear in mind, that I make a lot of smoothies and protein shakes.
I tested it out over a few months and used it to cook food that I would have usually fried or baked in oil, and I was impressed with the results. I get a lot of use out of it and will use it pretty much every day. It has earnt its place on my kitchen worktop, and my oven is looking a little sorry for itself.
Ninja Air Fryer pros
Read on to find out the things that I enjoyed about this piece of kitchen equipment. Hopefully, I can help you in deciding on buying one yourself with my Ninja Air Fryer review.
It made my food crispy with less oil
If there is one main reason anyone is looking to buy the Ninja Air Fryer, it is because it can make your food crispy without relying on copious amounts of oil and a very hot oven. And I have to admit, it really does do just this.
All of the food I cooked in the Ninja Air Fryer using the ‘air fry’ mode came out with a crispy exterior and a soft inner. I used it to roast and crisp up tenderstem broccoli, to fry cubes of marinated tofu, and even to make my own vegan burgers.
I enjoyed how crispy all of it was without tasting too ‘fried’. All of that without the excess oil which despite making fried food really tasty, is really unhealthy and at times, much too rich to be eating on the regular.
Discover all of my favourite vegan air fryer recipes that I have been enjoying cooking using the Ninja!
If I did any of this in a frying pan I would have had to have used a lot of oil. Moreover, having tried to cook using small amounts of oil in the oven, like I can with the air fryer, I have ended up burning a lot more food. The air fryer definitely makes this a lot easier!
It has reduced cooking smells
This is something I didn’t notice at first, but after cooking some THIS Isn’t Bacon a few times inside the air fryer I began to realise that it wasn’t emitting as many smells as what you would get from cooking vegan bacon inside a frying pan.
That’s not to say that you can’t smell anything at all, but it does greatly reduce this. This means you don’t have to wash all your clothing after frying something delicious in the kitchen! It is probably because you contain all of the cooking smells inside the basket of the air fryer. With a frying pan, the smell and the oil get absolutely everywhere.
This is perfect for anyone who may live in a small apartment or studio and doesn’t want their cooking smells to waft throughout the whole space and leave behind a persistent smell.
It saves me a lot of time
Something else that pleasantly surprised me when cooking with this air fryer was how quickly it did so and with such evenly cooked results.
I discovered this by putting it to the ultimate test, by frying tofu. Historically, tofu can be a difficult ingredient to cook well. It can take ages to crisp up and when it does it can cook rather unevenly. Well, that is unless you dunk it into a vat of hot oil for a few minutes.
As you can see in the photo above, my marinated tofu came out with a really even golden colour and crispy outer. Inside was really soft and squidgy. All of this took just 10 minutes.
Moreover, if you want to cook some homemade wedges with your tofu, you can use their cooking rack to stack food. But don’t overpack it as this can take longer to cook and the results may not be as even.
It is fast becoming my favourite way to fry a lot of food as it is really quick and easy to achieve even and consistent results. I find myself faffing about a lot less, because the food also needs a lot less looking after whilst it is cooking away in the air fryer, plus the air fryer has loads of handy alerts that take the guesswork out of cooking! Pretty nifty, right?
It is really easy to use and clean
Overall, I found the Ninja Air Fryer to be really simple and easy to use. The digital display makes it simple to set the temperature and cooking time, and the unit also comes with a number of preset cooking modes that take the guesswork out of cooking. I think this is perfect for novice cooks who may not have a lot of experience using kitchen appliances. But it is also great for any pro-cooks (including myself) who are feeling particularly lazy.
As well as air frying, you can make the most out of these other easy-to-use functions:
- Dehydrate food
- Bake cakes and cookies
- Roast carbs and proteins
- Reheat meals
You’ll be knocking up oil-free granola, healthy potato wedges, and dehydrated fruit snacks in no time!
And once you’ve finished using it to cook your delicious meal (or sweet treats), this air fryer is very easy to clean. The cooking basket and rack are dishwasher-safe, and the unit itself is easy to wipe down with a damp cloth. This makes cleanup a breeze, and you’ll spend less time scrubbing and more time enjoying your food.
I would recommend cleaning it up after every use though, as any leftover food inside the drawer can burn and start smelling.
