As technology gets continually updated and new brands get released all the time, air fryers continue to be one of the most demanded kitchen gadgets on the market. No wonder the Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart is so popular, a 13-in-1 dual heat air fry countertop oven that’s sure going to change how you prepare your meals.
Building off the success of the existing Ninja Foodi, the Ninja SP351 combines an air fryer and toaster oven into one convenient package. But is it worth the investment? We review the Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart to see if it could combine two pieces of equipment in one without sacrificing the performance of either.
About the Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart
As soon as you unbox the Ninja SP351, you get the allure of a high-quality countertop product. Constructed from brushed stainless steel, it’s beautifully finished with rounded corners and has a digital control pad. It’s also wider and shorter than a typical toaster oven.
When cooled and not in use, the Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart can be flipped up on one side to stand up at the back of the counter, an odd but effective storage solution. Also, instead of a towel bar handle in the front, it comes with a small one off to the side that you can use to open the door. While this is unusual and takes some time to get used to, this handle functions perfectly fine and makes the oven more space efficient.
The Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart oven comes with an air fry basket, a cooking rack, a nonstick sheet pan, and a crumb tray that’s also sturdy and well-made. All these accessories are larger than the ones you typically find in a toaster oven, considering the oven is so wide.
How is the Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart in use?
As the name implies, the Ninja SP351 Foodi offers 13 cooking functions: Air Fry, Sear Crisp, Rapid Bake, Frozen Pizza, Fresh Pizza, Griddle, Air Roast, Bake, Broil, Toast, Bagel, Dehydrate, and Reheat in an all-in-one. And unlike the Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven, it offers a larger capacity in that it can fit up to 6 chicken breasts, cook a 2-lb roast, or air fry up to 4 lb of ingredients.
The manufacturer encourages using the large sheet pan to make sheet pan dinners and includes a formula and some recipes.
If you’re looking for other multi-function appliances that can slow cook, pressure cook, grill, and more. Ninja also offers the classic Ninja Foodi Pressure Cooker and the Ninja Foodi Grill, both of which we’ve reviewed before.
Who is it for?
The Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry is for professionals always on the go and being hungry, working moms and dads, hungry kids that need food quickly, and for individuals that need to eat food that needs to be cooked with 75% less fat. In short, this is right for you if you’re just getting into the healthy path.
If you’re looking for a versatile, bigger capacity appliance to cook your food, a smart cooking system with the ability to cook your steak or meat with sizzling tenderness with a touch of a button, then this would be the appliance to replace most of your other appliances in the kitchen.
How does it perform various functions?
Air Frying
To be honest, the Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry isn’t going to be as perfect as the Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer when it comes to air frying your meals, but that doesn’t mean it’s anywhere close to being the worst. It air fries unevenly and food prepared from scratch may seem baked, not fried. And while the manufacturer claims it can air fry 4 pounds of food at once, if you pile that amount of fries in the air fry basket, the loaded basket may likely not fit in the oven at the rack position recommended for air frying.
Toasting
The Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart can accommodate nine slices of packaged bread without squishing them. And it can toast them fairly evenly, too. When used to toast bread slices, the results are impressive, browning them evenly too. Also, it does toast to a golden-brown shade on both the light and medium settings, so it will be a disappointment if you like your toast only lightly browned. It also has a special bagel toasting setting and it browns bagel halves very uniformly.
Air Roasting
Ninja recommends using this oven to air roast sheet pan dinners with proteins, like steak, chicken, seafood, vegetables, and spices. If you follow the oven’s booklet recipe for Spicy Chicken, Sweet Potatoes & Broccoli, you’ll be impressed by the results. All the ingredients come out lightly browned and tender in just a few minutes and make a tasty sheet dinner. This technique seems like a very good use for this appliance.
Baking
While you’re not going to fit an entire loaf in this Ninja SP351, you can use it to bake a cake or muffins in a shallow pan, or small items like cookies right on the sheet pan. Biscuits bake up just as well as from a full-size oven.
Should you buy the Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart?
Yes. If you’re looking for a versatile, affordable air fryer and toaster oven, the Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart is an excellent appliance for your modern kitchen. The only drawback maybe is the large footprint on your countertop and can’t to roast a whole chicken. If you have the counter space and find yourself often buying rotisserie chickens at the supermarket, here is an appliance we can recommend for you.
We do recognize that it’s not the most affordable appliance around, it costs a little more than the COSORI Air Fryer Toaster Oven which is its main competitor, but it offers larger capacity and offers more cooking functions. If you decide to spend your money on it, definitely try out the sheet pan meals.
Our Pick
Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart 13-in-1 Dual Heat Air Fry Countertop Oven, Dehydrate, Reheat, Smart Thermometer, 1800-watts, Silver
18 used from $114.58
