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The newest addition to the growing Foodi products, Ninja Foodi Grill is perhaps one of the most amazing indoor smokeless grills to have.
But what really sets this grill apart is the fact that it’s not JUST an indoor grill, but a truly awesome multi-functional kitchen appliance. With the ability to dehydrate, grill (obviously), air fry, and even bake like an oven, you really can do it all, and from the comfort of your kitchen! Or…maybe you just want to grill all year round without standing outside in bad weather or the cold.
Whichever the reason to buy an indoor grill, you should definitely consider the Ninja Foodi Grill. Let’s dive into what this thing is capable of with a complete Ninja Foodi Grill Review, shall we?
What Can Ninja Foodi Grill Do?
- Grill food
- Air fry
- Bake
- Roast
- Dehydrate
How cool is that list? Owning a Foodi grill gives you SO much versatility — you may find yourself wondering how you ever lived without it.
Grill
The Ninja Foodi provides perfectly cooked food with a grilling temperature of around 500F. It uses Cyclonic grilling technology to ensure the air circulates in the food evenly for the perfect meals. According to Ninja, this indoor grill is a noticeably capable replacement for cooking on an outdoor grill. While you’re not going to enjoy quite the same smokey atmosphere and time-tested flavors (especially if you typically use charcoal), you’ll still get a solid, satisfying steak even in the middle of a blizzard.
Most fear of using indoor grills is the smoke emitted, but the Ninja Foodi has the least smoke while grilling. Partly this is due to design but ensuring the grilling surface is always clean prevents any excess smoke from developing.
Even transforming foods from frozen to perfectly char-grilled is possible with this indoor grill. The average time is about 20-30 minutes, depending on thickness, cut/fat content, etc. This really helps take meal prepping to the next level when you don’t even have to remember to defrost things before you get to cooking!
Air Fry
While you can buy a more dedicated Ninja Air Fryer to do this cooking task, why bother when you can do so much in one?
Being able to perfectly sear a steak indoors is awesome, but so is making perfect chicken wings at home for the big game! Again, this particular product is really meant to act as an indoor grill with a variety of extra functions and features, but it still delivers a job well done when it comes to air frying.
Grilling often relies on keeping the moisture IN the foods, so you end up with a well-seared but still juicy steak or tender, moist chicken, for example. So to be able to handle a moisture-dependent cooking task as well as a more dry task is no small feat!
While many people like to use aluminum foil in air fryers to make things easier to clean up, the non-stick surfaces of this grill are actually pretty easy to clean without the extra layer.
Another unique feature that sets this air fryer apart from others is the lid. Most air fryers have a pull-out basket (think drawer-style) and you can flip or shake foods around. This air fryer has a hinged lid on top (just like an outdoor grill), so you can just open the lid, do your flipping, and close up again. Some may find this easier than holding a screaming hot metal basket with a small handle.
Bake & Roast
You’re obviously not going to roast your Thanksgiving turkey in this bad boy, but you’ll definitely be able to fit a good-sized meal. Roasting a whole chicken is possible in here, and that’s often enough meat for the average-sized family dinner!
You’re likely not going to be whipping out batches on batches of cookies in here, with that bake function. But you’ll definitely enjoy either small-batch dinners baked in here, without having to heat up your entire full-sized oven. You’ll also like how easy it is to make a small side of roasted veggies, for example — perfect for making a single-serve lunch at home.
Dehydrate
Similar to using an oven to dehydrate, but oh so much more convenient, this is the perfect preset setting for making dried fruit slices for a great on-the-go snack. Keep in mind the smaller batch sizes though, so this may not be great to replace a full-size oven if you like to do huge batches of dehydrating at once.
Using the Ninja Foodi Grill
This smokeless indoor grill is easy to use with a clear control panel that displays every function. Even if you’ve only ever grilled on an outdoor grill, you’ll have no trouble getting things going with this easy-to-use interface.
Ninja Foodi grill can take up to 8 minutes before it preheats. All the temperature readings are displayed on the control panel.
Grilling presets can be chosen from the following temperature levels;
Low – 400 °F Perfect for preparing foods like meats, bacon, sausages, calzones, thick sauces, etc.
Medium – 450 °F for grilling chicken, cooking steak tips, meats, and more
High – 500 °F Ideal for hot dogs, burgers, steaks, chicken, etc
Max – 510 °F for grilled fruits, Kebabs, frozen foods, veggies, pizza, etc
For any of the other functions, the panel makes it pretty straightforward to get this appliance set up and cooking away at exactly the settings you need.
Ninja Foodi 5-in-1 4-qt (AG301) Review
This indoor grill has 5-in-1 design combining five appliances in one to make superior to other indoor grills on the market.
It is a well-built grilling machine and has a sleek look. The materials are BPA free with a nonstick ceramic coated grill grate, ceramic-coated crisper basket, 6-qt nonstick ceramic-coated cooking pot.
Ninja products are often a bit bigger and heavier than some competing products, and the Ninja Foodi Grill is no exception. It measures 17 inches long, 14 inches wide, and 11 inches tall, with a weight of about 14.5 pounds.
This weight and other dimensions can be justified by the 5 appliances in one.
Depending on the food cooked, the temperature can be easily set from low to high for the perfect searing, air frying, roasting, and grilling.
The coated and nonstick inner pot, grate, crisper basket make the cleaning of the Ninja machine easy. Cooking Pot, Grill grate, Cleaning Brush, Kebab Skewers, Cleaning Brush are all dishwasher safe.
Features
What’s in the Box?
Cooking Pot: It can be used to cook food or bake and catch the drips when grilling. You can cook in the pot and the results are amazing.
Ninja Foodi Grill Unit: The top unit for grilling at high temperatures and also dehydrating tasks.
Grill grate: The grate is put over the cooking pot to join the grill unit for supporting and grilling the foods. It is this grate that makes the appliance to produce the best grill marks.
Crisper Basket: Used for air frying purposes and also dehydrating tasks.
Kebab Skewers: Helps in grilling Kebabs, with 5 skewers in the box ensure you can kickstart the grilling process.
Cleaning Brush: Comes in handy for scraping and scrubbing food stuck on the splatter shield or grate.
Chef-created 15-recipe book: The recipe book can guide you on various meals t prepare in the Ninja Foodi grill machine.
Ninja Foodi Grill Performance
Ninja Foodi Grill Frequently Asked Questions:
Who is the Ninja Foodi Grill ideal for?
This Ninja Foodi Grill is perfect for people living in apartments where using outdoor grills is not possible. But in all honesty, it’s pretty perfect for anyone that wants to be able to enjoy grilled food year-round in less than ideal outdoor weather.
Within a short period on the market and it’s one of the best selling on Amazon — proof that just about anyone and everyone would love using it!
For all grilling lovers, even if you already have an outdoor grill, adding this indoor grill would definitely complement and complete your cooking system.
Is the Ninja Foodi Grill any good?
You can certainly make the decision for yourself, but we honestly think it’s an excellent option for smaller cooking needs and/or indoor-only grilling situations.
The fact that it’s a multipurpose kitchen appliance, offering both grilling capability and acting like a decent air fryer makes it a very good device in our opinion.
Can I use aluminum foil in my Ninja Foodi?
Yes, it’s safe to do so, although with a great non-stick finish on the interior and accessories, you probably won’t even need it.
Is the Ninja Foodi Grill also a pressure cooker?
No, this particular model does not pressure cook. Other models within the Ninja Foodi family do offer a pressure cooker feature.
Is the Ninja Foodi Grill easy to use?
By and large, yes. The control panel is very easy to read and operate, and it’s mostly straightforward. Baking and roasting could use a little more instruction/guidance, but for the average user, it’s not bad at all!
Is the Ninja Foodi Grill easy to clean?
The cooking surfaces all have a nice nonstick coating that makes cleanup really quite easy. You may notice some longer/hotter cook times leave behind a more oily surface reside that takes a little extra to wash off, but that’s the case with any dishes, honestly.
You’ll have to remove and clean the splatter shield in the lid after each use, but that plus all other removable parts are dishwasher safe, so cleanup should be quite a breeze!
Verdict: Is the Ninja Foodi Grill worth it?
Any lover of grilled food will love the Ninja Foodi grill instantly due to its efficiency and quality cooking capabilities.
Remember, you get a 5-in-1 appliance to utilize multiple cooking functions. It offers excellent versatility for just about any kitchen and you’ll definitely get your value out of investing in the Foodi grill.
While it does have a small downside of being a little larger/bulkier for storage needs, we think it’s worth it. Definitely still a smaller storage footprint than having each of it’s features stored separately!
For an ideal year-round meal prep sidekick that really has your back, you cannot go wrong purchasing this grill. Happy cooking!