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Ninja Foodi Digital Oven Review

An ideal model for those wanting to add both a toaster oven and air fryer to their kitchen collection
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ninja foodi digital oven air fryer review
The Ninja Foodi consistently cooked up great food.
Credit: Laura Casner
Price:  $230 List
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Manufacturer:   Ninja
By Max Mutter and Michelle Powell  ⋅  Mar 23, 2021
77
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#3 of 20
  • Cooking Performance - 35% 8.2
  • User Friendliness - 25% 8.4
  • Ease of Cleaning - 20% 6.5
  • Temperature Accuracy - 20% 7.0

Our Verdict

In our tests, the Ninja Foodi Digital Oven managed to perform quite well as both a toaster oven and an air fryer. It also costs less than buying a top notch air fryer and toaster oven separately. If your kitchen is in need of both of these devices, the Digital Oven is both a space and money saving option. In fact, it takes up less space on a counter than a normal toaster oven, as it can be flipped up when not in use. Yes, having to remove the fry basket form inside the oven requires using pot holders and is less convenient than just grabbing the handle of the fry basket of a dedicated air fryer. However, like most high-quality multifunction devices, we think this small downside is outweighed by the overall performance and versatility of the Digital Oven. Get the scoop on how it stands up to the competition in our review of the best air fryers.
REASONS TO BUY
Relatively easy to use and clean
Good air cooking performance
Toaster oven functionality
Flips up for easy storage
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive

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Bottom Line The best toaster oven and air frying combination in our fleetA high-performing and multi-functional device with an outstanding designIts versatility allows it to cook a wide variety of foods well and it's quite easy to useFor the casual chef, this accurate and inexpensive air fryer is an absolute dreamAn air fryer with intuitive controls, great temperature accuracy, and two baskets for simultaneous cooking
Rating Categories Ninja Foodi Digital... Instant Vortex Plus Ninja Air Fryer GoWISE USA Digital Instant Vortex Plus XL
Cooking Performance (35%)
8.2
8.7
7.7
7.7
7.0
User Friendliness (25%)
8.4
8.4
8.8
6.0
8.6
Ease of Cleaning (20%)
6.5
9.0
7.0
8.0
7.5
Temperature Accuracy (20%)
7.0
7.5
10.0
9.0
6.5
Specs Ninja Foodi Digital... Instant Vortex Plus Ninja Air Fryer GoWISE USA Digital Instant Vortex Plus XL
Measured Dimensions (L x H x D) 19.7" x 7.6" x 15" 11.5" x 13.3" x 12.8" 13.6" x 11" x 13.3" 13.5" x 12.5" x 11.5" 15.9" x 12.5" x 15.1"
Capacity 4 qt 6 qt 4 qt 5.8 qt 8 qt
Accessories Wire rack, air fry basket, sheet pan None Multi-layer rack for dehydrating None None
Power Consumption 1800 watt 1700 watt 1550 watt 1700 watt 1700 watt

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Ninja Foodi Digital Oven is one of the most effective air fryer/toaster oven combos that we've ever come across. It can even dehydrate as well.

Performance Comparison


ninja foodi digital oven air fryer review - the foodi earned high marks across the board and is an exceptional...
The Foodi earned high marks across the board and is an exceptional option.
Credit: Laura Casner

Cooking Performance


Throughout our air frying tests, the Ninja Foodi Digital Oven produced above-average results. Overall, we don't think you're making a sacrifice in using the Digital Oven to air fry over using a dedicated air fryer.


The Ninja Foodi Digital Oven excelled in air frying almost every dish we threw at it. It produced field-leading results when making onion rings, chicken breast, doughnuts, and tater tots. Its only weakness in this arena was that it took a bit longer than some other fryers to get the tater tots completely crispy.

ninja foodi digital oven air fryer review - the ninja foodi digital oven manages to air fry just as well as...
The Ninja Foodi Digital Oven manages to air fry just as well as other top models on the market while also offering all the functionality of a full-sized toaster oven.
Credit: Laura Casner

We've found that getting sweet potato fries truly crispy is a big challenge for most air fryers, so we've used it as our torture test. The Digital Oven did struggle a bit in this arena, with the results tasking more like slightly crispy potato wedges than sweet potato fries.

The Ninja Foodi Digital Oven was one of the top scorers in the baking tests for our toaster oven review.

User Friendliness


The Ninja Foodi Digital Oven offers a great interface and some unique features that make it quite easy to use. The fry basket is a bit less convenient to handle than those of most dedicated air fryers, but we see that as a small tradeoff.


The interface on this device is simple, straightforward, and fast. A single dial lets you quickly scroll through settings. By pressing the dial you can switch between selecting cooking modes, times, and temperatures.

The digital Oven is fairly short and wide, allowing for a large cooking capacity. When not in use, you can flip the oven up on its end. In this configuration it is just under 15 inches tall, 20 inches wide, and 8 inches deep. In most kitchens this will be able to slide against the wall underneath the cabinets and almost disappear.

ninja foodi digital oven air fryer review - when flipped on its end the ninja foodi digital oven barely takes up...
When flipped on its end the Ninja Foodi Digital Oven barely takes up any counter space.
Credit: Laura Casner

Like all multifunction air fryers, the Digital Oven has to make some sacrifices when it comes to air frying convenience. Namely, the air frying basket is all metal and is placed inside the oven chamber, meaning it must carefully be handled with oven mitts when shaking or removing the food. In comparison to dedicated air fryers that generally have exterior handles that don't get hot during cooking, this is a bit more challenging. However, it's well worth it if you value the machine's added functionality.

Ease of Cleaning


The Ninja Foodi Digital Oven isn't particularly difficult to clean but fell behind some of the dedicated devices in our cleaning tests.


The fry basket itself is actually quite easy to clean. The square shape and lack of a handle make it easier to scrub in the sink. It is also completely dishwasher safe. The slight problem comes with the oven chamber. If an air frying recipe splatters or pops at all the interior of the oven gets dirty, requires some elbow grease to get clean, and some careful wiping to get dry.

ninja foodi digital oven air fryer review - if a dish makes a big mess there is easy access to clean off the...
If a dish makes a big mess there is easy access to clean off the heating elements.
Credit: Laura Casner

Temperature Accuracy


In our tests, the Ninja Foodi Digital Oven's temperature fluctuated a bit more than those of other air fryers, likely due to the much larger cooking chamber and the inherent challenge of keeping the extra space evenly heated. However, it never wavered more than 20˚ from the set temperature, and we didn't see any negative impacts of this slight fluctuation in the recipes we prepared.


Value


The Ninja Foodi Digital Oven is significantly less expensive than most competing air fryer/toaster oven devices on the market. It is more expensive than a dedicated air fryer, but as long as you plan to take advantage of its versatility, we think it is a fantastic value.

Conclusion


For those looking for a versatile and multifunction countertop appliance, it's hard to do much better. It manages to combine air frying and toaster oven capabilities into a reasonably priced and convenient device.

Max Mutter and Michelle Powell