Bye-bye to my normal air fryer, I'm only using the glass Ninja Crispi from now on. Here's why

Ah, the Ninja Crispi. A strange concept you have to admit – a mini glass-bottomed air fryer with a removable lid that contains a heat element and a fan. Is it the future of cooking or just a bit too far?

I intended to find out when I reviewed it as Ideal Home's curator of the list of the very best air fryers. Here's how I got on.

In a nutshell

You have to give it to them, the Ninja Crispi is every bit as useful as the brand claim – it has the power of a full-sized air fryer but without the bulkiness. Instead, it has fabulous easy clean glass containers in two sizes and an easy to use Power Pod which sits on top of whatever you're cooking.

I was expecting the Crispi to be gimmicky, but the glass containers are far more convenient than a regular air fryer drawer with the added benefit of being free of PFAS (which stands for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, otherwise known as microplastics).

There are four modes to use here: Air Fry, Roast, Keep Warm, Recrisp. Though there are Ninjas out there with plenty more functions (like Max Crisp or Dehydrate), this smaller selection is all you really need for day-to-day cooking. All of them performed excellently in our tests. I air fried succulent chicken wings, perfectly oozing mozzarella sticks and wedges, crisped a pasta bake and roasted chicken and green beans.

This is a versatile buy, though even the biggest container (3.8 litres) won't suffice for cooking for a crowd. I think it's a perfect secondary air fryer for perfect crisping or ideal for students, one-to-two person households or those looking for an air fryer to make the speediest possible lunches.

Specifications

• Capacity: 1.4L & 3.8L container
• Modes:  Air fry, roast, reheat, keep warm
• Weight: 6.6kg
• Power: 1700W
• Dishwasher safe: yes, the containers
• Size: 34.5 x 30.4 x 34cm (h x w x d)

Getting started

This is no normal air fryer and there are plenty of parts to get to grips with when the Crispi is out of the box.

The main element of the Crispi is the PowerPod - in other words the lid. It's this that contains a heat element and fan for circulating that hot air that is going to crisp your food.

The PowerPod fits neatly onto the smaller of the two glass containers (the 1.4 litre capacity one) but it doesn't firmly attach on like you might expect. It's easy to lift off.

If you want to use the larger 3.8 litre container then you have to use the PowerPod and the included adaptor, which fits like a neat skirt around the bottom. Both of the glass containers feature heat-resistant edging, so that you can place them down on surfaces without worrying.

Another plus point of the glass containers altogether is the fact that you're getting away from using entirely-plastic air fryer drawers. I find that concerns about microplastics difficultt to soothe given how ubiquitous they are, but if this is a step you want to take then the Crispi is a good choice.

The PowerPod itself is seamless to use. You can pick it up easily thanks to the moulds around the top and then pick from the four different modes. These modes will give you a preset cooking time and temperature but these can be changed with the controls.

The included materials are great for guidance on what foods require a 'Recrisp' as opposed to 'Keep Warm'. Plus, though the Crispi is maybe not the most design-led appliance of all times, I do love this Stone colour (and the Sage Green option is also lovely) and it's small enough to stash away with ease if you're a minimalist.

I mistakenly thought that the Crispi was a battery-powered device which you recharge so that you could take it out and about with you, but this isn't the case. The PowerPod must be plugged into the mains for this air fryer to operate, so while you could take it to the office with you you'll need a power source at hand.

Cooking

I tried every setting on the Crispi whilst alternating between using the large and small glass containers, starting off with mozzarella dippers.

Mozzarella dippers

I figured mozzarella dippers would be a fitting first test as a party food that you might air fry out and about.

I started with the smallest container and found that all but two of the dippers in the pack could fit in to the space. I then popped the PowerPod on top and set them to cook on 'Air Fry' for 8 minutes at 180.

One thing that's gone viral about the Crispi is that you can see the air frying process in action because of the glass containers. This has led to various flimsy foods flying around inside the container, much to users' delight. This will happen in a normal air fryer too due to how the heat circulation works - you can just see it with this one.

Luckily these dippers were clearly weighty enough to withstand the powerful fan and stayed rooted to the spot.

When I returned they were perfectly crispy and browned on the outside with the perfect stringy cheese consistency inside.

Maybe I just forgot how much I love a mozzarella dipper, but I really was immeadiately blown away by how effective the Crispi was. I was slightly skeptical of the lid design before this test, as the Pod doesn't feel like it fixes on securely, but this worry clearly made no impact on this device's cooking power.

Chicken wings

Next, I switched to the larger container to try my hand at chicken wings. One important aspect of this test was that I wanted to try to air fry the wings without adding oil to see if they would get sufficiently crisped. That's one of the advertised USPs of this fryer, with the claim that its '75% less fat' than other methods.

The large container is really surprisingly spacious. Though 3.8 litres doesn't sound like a lot, I felt I could fit a heft of wings in comfortably with room to spare.

I added the wings in to crisp up on the Air Fry setting once again. 20 minutes later I added a sauce and popped them back in for a few minutes and the results were delectable.

No oil was needed and the wings crisped just as they were meant to.

Pasta bake

Next up was using the 'Re-Crisp' setting, which fits with the portable vibe of the Crispi. You can use it to 'revive leftovers with gentle heat' on cheese-topped dishes or veg, according to Ninja, so I tried it out with a pasta bake.

I then left the preset temperature and timings to work their magic.

Suitably cheesy, this was the perfect showing of how the Crispi works for quick lunchtime refreshes without using a microwave.

The pasta was warmed through and the topping was well melted. Though carrying around the Crispi and the plug might get tiresome fast, I can see where the portable element might be enticing.

Bacon

Next, it was onto bacon, which is always a good litmus test of how quick a crisp can be achieved.

I switched back to using the smaller container here for a one-person portion, which allowed for three rashers.

Less than ten minutes later, what I think is perfectly done bacon was ready to eat. It was another showing of how surprisingly powerful this little appliance is. It really does pack the punch of much larger Ninja air fryer, which I wasn't expecting.

Roasting

I then tried the roast setting with a piece of breaded chicken and green beans. I used my go-to layering trick (that's also a favourite of Jamie Oliver) to squeeze both into the smaller space.

The results were fine, though less crispy and speedy than using the air fry setting.

I've kept hold of the Ninja Crispi for further testing and I think the big question will be to see if it can truly roast a whole small chicken as the brand claims. Stay tuned for that.

This combination would be the perfect thing to have for a lunchtime, which is where the included lids from Ninja also come in so handy. Pop the lid on and you can pop it straight into the fridge.

What's it like to clean?

Cleaning the glass air fryer elements was far easier than a normal air fryer tray. I just popped both into the sink for five minutes with washing up liquid to soak and came back to remove any sticky parts. The glass gives you the obvious benefit of being able to really see how clean things are too.

The containers and inserts are also dishwasher safe if that's more to your liking.

How does it compare to similar products?

As usual, with the brand's more-is-more approach, Ninja is the first brand that I know of to try anything like this in terms of portability and design.

So rather than compare like for like, let's have a look at how it compares to other Ninja air fryers. The Crispi comes in at £179.99 (which is admittedly pricey), but our top-rated air fryer ever the Ninja FlexDrawer (5 stars in our review) costs far more at £269.99. The difference is the capacity though, with family cooking much easier with the FlexDrawer's huge 10.4 litres of space.

If you'd prefer a classic air fryer design but still want compact, then the Ninja Pro (which also was awarded a hard-won 5 stars in our review) is a winner.

Should you buy the Ninja Crispi?

I was skeptical about the Crispi and assumed that it would be more gimmicky than anything else, but I'd have to admit it exceeded my expectations at every turn.

I prefer the glass far more than my current air fryer set up (which involves trays that I can never seem to get fully clean) and the cooking results were truly amped up, probably due to the small space that the hot air has to circulate in.

Ninja can sometimes get carried away with packing appliances full of functions you don't need. The four that this air fryer has is everything you really need, in my opinion, and I just love the addition of the two lids for popping leftovers into the fridge.

For one or two person households, the Crispi would make a great fit. Also, in an increasing age of minimalist clutter free worktops, it's a really easy thing to stash away until you want to use it again. I have to say that, surprisingly, I'm sold on the Crispi. Could you see this air fryer in your home?