Ninja Foodi 8-Quart 2-Basket Review
Our Verdict
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Ninja Foodi 8-Quart 2-Basket | |||||
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| Awards |  Favorite Fryer for Meal Prepping |  Best Overall Air Fryer | Best Air Fryer for Families | ||
| Price | $240 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $120 List Check Price at Amazon | $120 List Check Amazon (on sale!) | $150 List Check Price at Amazon | $60 List Check Amazon (on sale!) |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | A dual basket air fryer perfect for large families, full meals, and meal prepping | An excellent, four-quart fryer that consistently makes delicious meals no matter what you're cooking | A convenient air fryer for families that makes crisp vegetable dishes and succulent, mouthwatering fish and poultry | A solid option for those who are looking for a versatile appliance, but it is bigger, and the preheat is longer than that of competitors | A quiet, affordable, and compact unit, but its temperature isn't accurate, and fries are only okay |
| Pros | Two baskets, smart start, lg basket surface area | Great frying and crisping, delectable salmon, user-friendly, excellent temp accuracy, PTFE-free | Quiet, very easy to clean, versatile, delicious potatoes | Great versatility, easy to clean, intuitive controls, multiple functions | Small footprint, easy storage, impressively quiet, juicy chicken |
| Cons | Undercooked tater tots, inconsistent fries, low temp range | Limited temperature controls | Food falls thru tray | Higher cost, large footprint, 5-min preheat | Not the best at crisping, small capacity, inaccurate temperatures |
| Rating Categories | Ninja Foodi 8-Quart... | Ninja | Cosori TurboBlaze | Instant Pot Vortex Plus | Chefman Compact |
| Ease of Use (35%) | |||||
| Ease of Cleaning (25%) | |||||
| Cooking Quality (20%) | |||||
| Cooking Speed (10%) | |||||
| Temperature Accuracy (10%) | |||||
| Specifications | Ninja Foodi 8-Quart... | Ninja | Cosori TurboBlaze | Instant Pot Vortex Plus | Chefman Compact |
| Best For | Familes, Meal Prepping, and multiple dishes | Couples and side dishes | Families | Families | Singles |
| Capacity | 8 qt | 4 qt | 6 qt | 6 qt | 2 qt |
| PTFE in the cooking surface coating? | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shake Alarm | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Power Consumption | 1690 watt | 1550 watt | 1725 watt | 1700 watt | 900 watt |
| Measured Dimensions | 15.3" x 12" x 13.6" | 11" x 13" x 13.3" | 11.7" x 11.5" x 14.2" | 12.2" x 12.1" x 14.9" | 8.2" x 9.5" x 9.8" |
| Air Fry Temp Range | 300 - 400 | 300- 400 | 300 - 450 | 180 - 400 | 200 - 400 |
| Max Outside Temperature | 135 | 160 | 130 | 146 | 140 |
| Measured Cooking Area | 98.4 sq in | 53.5 sq in | 85.6 sq in | 87.8 sq in | 36 sq in |
| Window | No | No | No | No | No |
| Accessories | None | None | None | None | None |
| Dishwasher Safe Components | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Ease of Use
The Ninja Foodi has a small digital window that clearly displays the time and temperature and is angled for easy viewing. The interface layout is intuitive, but the on/off lights are a bit hard to tell apart.
There is no auto-pause when the basket is removed, so you must pause cooking before opening the drawer. The lack of a preheat warning and large temperature increments make it difficult to accurately follow a recipe. Alternatively, the double baskets are very convenient for cooking multiple items at once, and the smart finish lets you finish cooking in both baskets simultaneously.
Ease of Cleaning
Two baskets mean you have more to clean, but the cleanup is straightforward with easy-to-wipe baskets.
There is a gap between the side panels, and the top needs a little extra attention, but it's easy to squish a sponge in there to prevent anything from accumulating between uses. There are no indents at the bottom, so a quick swipe is all you need. The trays and baskets are also dishwasher safe for deeper cleaning.
Cooking Speed
The Foodi cooked faster than the average unit, performing better in our tests with salmon than tater tots.
For tater tots, it took close to 20 minutes to cook, including the 3 minutes to preheat. While this is quicker than the preheat times of a standard oven, the overall cook time is similar. The salmon took 13 minutes, plus 3 more for preheating. On the upside, with the smart start feature, you can set each basket for the perfect temp and time, and the Foodi will ensure they finish together.
Cooking Quality
The Ninja Foodi offers an average cooking experience across most of our food items. Some of the sweet potato fries have a nice crunch, while others are undercooked and soft.
The onion rings offer a solid crunch, and the batter is cooked through; however, the onion in the center remains undercooked in much of the batch. We also noticed that the left basket cooked faster than the right. Unlike the onion rings, the tots are cooked evenly across both baskets, with a nice golden-brown exterior. But, similar to the onion rings, the tots remain a little mushy in the middle. Donuts rise nicely but remain slightly undercooked in the center, and chicken is juicy but a little tougher than some of the top performers.
Temperature Accuracy
Having two baskets could easily lead to discrepancies in temperature accuracy, but we are impressed by the dual baskets' accuracy and precision. The Foodi stays within a few degrees of the set temperature, even when we set the baskets to two different temperatures. We set one basket to 400 degrees and the other to 200; neither basket was affected by the other. Overall, this air fryer offers fairly accurate temperature readings, especially for a two-basket model.
Should You Buy the Ninja Foodi 8-Quart 2-Basket?
If you are specifically looking for an air fryer with two separate baskets, the Ninja Foodi 2-Basket is a good option. The cooking performance is somewhat average, but the temperature accuracy is stellar and very easy to clean. We love the ability to have dishes completed at the same time, so everything is hot and ready to go straight to a plate for serving. While it costs more than most of the options we tested, if your goal is food prep or feeding a family, the two-basket design gives you versatility that the smaller one-basket options don't.
What Other Air Fryers Should You Consider?
While the Ninja Foodi 2-Basket is a good two-basket option, it is expensive and might be more fryer than you need. If dual baskets are not your highest priority and you are simply looking for the best performer for the least amount of money, the Ninja Air Fryer is a no-brainer. If you want big but don't need two baskets, you can save some money by choosing the Cosori TurboBlaze. While it is 6 qt instead of 8, it is half the price and could work well, depending on your goals.
—Lesley Robinson, Mallory Paige, and Michelle Powell
