This Dual-Basket Air Fryer Lets You Cook an Entire Meal at Once.
It’s fair to say that air fryers have taken their place in the kitchen. They can be cost-effective, have access to a kitchen, and help people prepare healthier meals. But if you’re in the market for an air fryer, whether it’s your first or a replacement, the sheer number of options on the market can lead to buyer paralysis. I may be able to help: I’ve been using the Ninja DoubleStack XL Air Fryer for the past few months, and its unusual design may make it the right air fryer for you.
Why is this fryer special?
The Ninja DoubleStack XL has two unusual features: two baskets oriented vertically. Many air fryers only have one basket, but if there are two, they are located side by side. This vertical exploration appeals to my big concern—maximizing counter space.
Apartments have limited workspace the day you move in, and houses even have kitchens that seem like an afterthought. Don’t get me wrong, the Ninja DoubleStack is by no means tiny. It measures 11.25 by 19.22 by 15.14 inches, which is larger than some domestic airline carry-on luggage. However, the DoubleStack’s design does make it feel like it takes up less space in my kitchen.
However, you must be careful with its placement. I have a pretty useless corner on my counter and this air fryer fits perfectly right under my cabinets without me having to work around it. I pull it out when it’s in use to improve ventilation, but when I’m done I just push it against the wall and my cats use it as a springboard to get on and off the refrigerator.
How Ninja DoubleStack XL works
Pros
-
Tall, slender figure
-
Separate cooking areas
-
Easy to use digital panel.
The stacked baskets actually overshadow this fryer’s more practical feature – dual cooking zones – two baskets, two separate compartments, two separate fans and heating elements. Nothing to sneeze at.
One of the biggest limitations of most air fryers is that you can’t effectively cook multiple foods using different fan speeds or temperatures. You have to load a basket or tray, prepare one dish, unload it and load it with the next one. Roasted pork loin or chicken cutlets may be cold by the time the sides appear.
With the Ninja DoubleStack, you can load two baskets with the confidence that each will cook a different item accordingly, and you can coordinate your meal prep at roughly the same time. The digital panel is intuitive and makes it easy to start one burner, pause another, increase cooking time, or change fan speed (typically air frying, roasting, roasting, reheating, and more). I often give my veggie burgers an extra two minutes to air fry while the buns warm slightly in the top drawer.
Cons
-
Loud
-
Heating elements at the back.
-
Small baskets
-
Awkward moments
This is a small but real annoyance: air fryers are not exactly silent machines, they all have a powerful fan that forces hot air into the oven space, but this one has two. Once you get past the white noise of the device, it’s no big deal; until you press a button to pause or restart it. All Ninja air fryers have the same loud “boo-boop” sound, and deep down I wish they had a volume control feature.
Since this Ninja has two heating elements and a fan, the designers saw fit to place them at the rear of the panniers. For reference, most air fryers are heated from the top. This is fine, but not great because the back of the basket receives more direct heat flow. I have found that other air fryers that heat from top to bottom get crispier and brown the food inside faster and more evenly.
To take up less width space, the Ninja has thinner baskets than single basket air fryers. Ninja makes up for this by adding a small grill to each basket so you can fit more food in there. A thinner basket will only be an issue if you like to air fry cheesecakes or quiches .
This Ninja has a control panel on the right side, which I call a “plus” because of its ease of use. However, this panel pops out from the side and is locked into place. This means you can’t push it against the wall on the right side or fold it away when not in use. The handles are also huge . These giant protrusions eat up several inches of space.
Is this air fryer right for you?
This is a great air fryer for multi-person households, people who frequently air fry, or people who like to cook multiple ingredients at once—essentially, whole food in the air fryer. Place a whole pork loin in one basket and roasted peppers and potatoes in another. Indeed, you can quickly and fully eat without touching the stove.
If you’re the kind of person who fires up the deep fryer once a week to heat up French fries , then the Ninja DoubleStack XL is probably overkill. Likewise, if you have really limited counter space, think long and hard about whether you want to get rid of that 15-by-11-inch real estate. This is not an air fryer that you can easily pick up and throw in the cupboard day after day.