The Best Air Fryer With Glass Tanks Becomes (almost) Grown-up

What really changes compared to the original Crispi

The most immediately visible difference is the format. The Crispi Pro is a permanent countertop device, which does not store in a cupboard between uses, unlike the original Crispi whose PowerPod detaches and slides anywhere. It is a change in philosophy more than a simple move upmarket because we are moving from a nomadic and compact object to a fixed installation, designed for families and large tables. The two tanks provided increase to 2.3 liters and 5.7 liters, which is enough capacity to cook a whole 1.7 kg chicken according to Ninja.

The heating element is now integrated into the fixed upper part, which solves a safety problem with the original model since the resistance is no longer exposed on the work surface between two uses. The power increases from 1,700 W to 1,800 W. And above all, the temperature becomes precisely adjustable, from 80 to 230°C in increments of 5 degrees, where the original Crispi was content with four predefined modes without manual control. The number of programs increases from four to seven, with the addition of
Max Crisp, Bake, Prove, Dehydrate, in addition to existing Air Fry, Roast, and Re-crisp.

Buy the Ninja Crispi Pro

Very simple handling

The operating logic of the Crispi Pro is simple once understood, but it requires time to adapt if you come from a classic basket air fryer. The principle is that you choose the bowl adapted to the quantity to be cooked, you insert the crisper plate at the bottom, you place the food, then you slide the bowl into the modular base, which adapts to the size used. The fixed heating element at the top takes over, you select the mode and temperature via the dial and buttons on the front, and off you go. No basket to extract, no drawer, we turn the entire bowl over on the table to serve directly. It’s this gesture at the end of the day that makes the difference on a daily basis.

Some habits to adopt to get the most out of it. First, clip the bowl securely into the base before starting cooking because if contact is not established, the screen displays an error message and heating will not start. Then, adapt the tank to the quantity, in the 2.3 liters, the food is close to the resistance, which speeds up cooking but can overcook thin pieces if you do not watch. The large 5.7 liter bowl is better suited to mixed cooking, such as chicken with side dishes, where the food has space to circulate.

For gratins or dishes to be reheated, simply remove the crisper plate and place the contents directly in the glass bowl. The Recrisp mode heats from above and crisps the surface without the need to transfer anything. The bowl serves as a serving dish.

The bowl is dishwasher safe, which is the most valuable practical detail in everyday life. The crisper plate too, but its ceramic coating deserves gentle treatment: no abrasive pad, economical cycle preferably. It is the most fragile component of the whole over time.

In the kitchen: convincing on the essentials

Over a week of daily testing, the Crispi Pro established itself as the main appliance to replace my dual zone air fryer, which says a lot about the confidence it quickly inspires. Poultry in Roast mode gives clear results: crispy skin, juicy flesh, and cooking is done without having to turn the piece halfway through thanks to the air circulation which passes both above and below the crisper plate. Chicken with fries in less than 30 minutes total, cooking both simultaneously in the large bowl. This is exactly the promise of a family air fryer kept.

The Air Fry mode also works very well on less expected dishes. A croque-monsieur goes through the Crispi Pro without any problem: the bread browns evenly, the cheese melts without burning, and the transparency of the bowl allows you to monitor cooking at the right time without opening the device and losing heat. It is simple but revealing to use, the device handles quick and light cooking as well as longer cuts of meat.

On frozen foods, the behavior is effective on pieces of reasonable size, with a slight tendency to overcook the elements close to the resistance in the small bowl. The proximity of the heating element in the 2.3 liter reduces the preheating time required, which is an advantage in terms of speed, but it requires a little adjustment to the times indicated by standard recipes.

On gratins and dishes to be reheated, the Crispi Pro reveals what is most interesting in the glass bowl design: you place the dish directly in the bowl without a crisper plate, and the Recrisp mode takes care of restoring a crust from above via the high resistance. Reheating a gratin and giving it a crust in less than ten minutes is precisely the use for which this format has no direct equivalent in the category.

The Dehydrate function exists and works, but you have to be patient because it is a slow mode by definition, which requires several hours depending on the food. Nothing abnormal, it’s the nature of dehydration, but not to be confused with the other quick modes of the Crispi Pro.

The health promise: well-founded, but to be qualified

Ninja highlights the absence of PFAS and PTFE on all surfaces in contact with food. This is factually true for borosilicate glass tanks because cooking in glass actually reduces the amount of synthetic coating around the food compared to a traditional aluminum basket. The crisper plate is covered with a sol-gel ceramic coating. This type of coating is indeed PFAS-free, but the term non-toxic used by Ninja is a marketing simplification because no legal definition of this term exists in the cookware industry, and the durability of these ceramic coatings is generally lower than that of PTFE, with degradation possible after 12 to 18 months of heavy use. The glass argument is therefore solid, but the non-toxic argument deserves to be taken with a little perspective.

Crispi vs Crispi Pro: the decision to make before purchasing

Both devices share the same central idea, glass tanks which serve as a cooking vessel, serving dish and storage box, but are aimed at different profiles. The original Crispi at 119.99 euros is compact, portable, stowable, and perfectly suited to small homes or cramped kitchens. Its only real flaw, the lack of temperature control, does not bother everyone on a daily basis.

The Crispi Pro at 249 euros is a fixed worktop appliance, designed for families, with sufficient capacity for meals for four to six people, precise temperature control and seven cooking modes. The difference of 115 euros is justified if you cook regularly for several people and if temperature control is important in its use. It is not justified if you are looking for portability or if you live alone.

A point raised by several foreign testers deserves to be put into perspective: the crisper plate would easily come off when tilting the bowl. On our test unit, the opposite was observed. The plate holds well, and it’s even inserting the bowl that requires a little firmness. An adjustment to take into account when handling, but not a flaw. In terms of noise, the Crispi Pro is standard for the category: audible, like any air fryer, without being particularly off-putting for standard domestic use.

The Ninja Crispi Pro is available in several colors, at a Price of 249 euros, with 2.3 L and 5.7 L tanks, two crisper plates and two storage lids. Note that an intermediate bowl exists and is sold as an option on the Ninja website.

Buy the Ninja Crispi Pro