Design and features

• Versatile glass baskets
• Convenient functions and proper tactile controls are welcome
• Maintenance can be a little finicky

Against the standard Crispi, things have changed a little with the design of this Pro model. The core element of using glass dishes for cooking and storing food hasn’t changed, but the method by which the air fryer element affixes to the dishes has changed.

With the standard Crispi, the air fryer pod attaches directly to the top of the dish, whereas the newer model requires the dishes to slide and lock into place to create a seal with the static element portion. Depending on the size of the dish, there’s a little shelf where it the pod sits while locking into place with a click.

Build quality here is strong, with the main unit feeling sturdy, as do the included two glass dishes. I’m also a fan of the stone colourway my unit came in, although Ninja also offers it in blue, grey and even pink if you want something different.

The two glass dishes included are of different capacities, with the biggest being 5.7L and deep enough for an entire roast chicken and a range of veg around it, while the smaller 2.3L container is useful for flatter items, such as chips, fish and side dishes. There is also a 3.8L dish that fits the Crispi Pro, sold separately, but it’s the one I ended up using most in my testing, and I wish it were bundled with the air fryer from the get-go.

Each of the dishes has its crisper plate for inside, and a tight-fitting lid for storing cooked food once you take it out of the air fryer. One small downside of each of these is the hefty plastic base on the underside of each dish. It’s there for its handles and providing a safe way of setting hot food down, but with the little crevice between where the glass ends and the plastic starts, it can make maintenance a little trickier than anticipated.

Nonetheless, the glassware, crisper plates and lids are dishwasher-safe to help with more stubborn stains. I still elected to wash mine out by hand, and not having any unwieldy handles on the front of the basket actually made them easier to wash up than other baskets.

Ninja often excels with its physical controls and legible functions, and that’s no different with the Crispi Pro. All that you need is contained on the front panel, with tactile buttons for choosing function, time, temperature and powering the unit on. You’ll also find a large digital display where you can see the function selected, plus it provides a full minutes-and-seconds countdown timer.

There aren’t as many functions here as in more conventional, premium air fryers, but it’s a step up over the original Crispi, with proper temperature control via the dial in the middle and more options to choose from. There are the conventional Air Fry and Roast modes, plus Bake, Prove, Max Crisp and the Re-crisp mode found on the original Crispi.

This air fryer can also go as high as 240°C for extra crispy food on certain functions such as Air Fry and Max Crisp, meaning it avoids the typical pitfall of more affordable air fryers of leaving certain foods without an added ounce of crispiness.

There isn’t any form of smart features or app control with the Crispi Pro, though, as you’ll find on rival air fryers at this more premium end of the market.

Performance

• Very even and crispy results
• Ideal for everything from large roasts to smaller family meals
• Recrisp function is surprisingly powerful

During my time with the Crispi Pro, I cooked a range of food across its varying functions to see how well it performed, ranging from joints of meat to veg and much more besides. I was generally impressed with the way it cooked, providing fast and consistent results in typical Ninja fashion.

For my first test, I thought I’d compare the Crispi Pro’s versatility to the Combi by putting a joint of porchetta surrounded by potatoes into the larger basket, and putting it in at 210°C  for 10 minutes initially to brown, and then turned down to 185°C. The result was moist meat and ideal potatoes in around an hour.

In the same meal, I also slotted in some carrots and broccoli on Roast at 180°C for 20 minutes – the carrots took 15 minutes, with the broccoli only taking 10, with crispy results.

For a more conventional test, I cooked some chips on Air Fry at 200°C, and they were well browned after 15 minutes, before being put on the Max Crisp mode to blast at 240°C for a further five minutes to crisp up.

Some chicken tenders also ended up crispy on Air Fry after 15 minutes at 185°C.

The Bake mode also got a run out for some garlic knots at 185°C for 18 minutes, which were moist and well-browned after 15 minutes, and simply turned over for the final three minutes to cook the underside.

Fillets of salmon did well on Air Fry at 185°C after just 20 minutes, too, coming out with a glossy finish and plenty of flavour.

I also cooked a pork belly joint on Roast at 210°C, which did especially well after just 40 minutes. The meat wasn’t dried out, and it came out with some crispy crackling to boot.

Steak is always a good test for air fryers, and in the Crispi Pro at 200°C on Air Fry for seven minutes a side in the smaller basket, it ended up juicy and flavourful, while also being slightly pink in the middle.

For a final test, I’d cooked some curly oven fries in another air fryer and left them for a hour or two to get cool. It’s here where the Recrisp function comes in very handy, as it has crisped the fries back up in just six minutes at the default 170°C temperature.

Should you buy it?