Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven and Air Fryer MO201UK

Introduction

The Ninja Artisan Electric Outdoor Pizza Oven and Air Fryer MO201UK is the company’s cheaper outdoor pizza oven that, in typical Ninja fashion, has a couple of other tricks up its sleeve.

It takes the fundamentals of the excellent Ninja Woodfire Electric Outdoor Oven, Artisan Pizza Maker and BBQ Smoker OO101UK and adds the ability to air fry and bake, as well as the presence of a handy window to all for the lower price of £299.99/$299.99.

For reference, a lot of our favourite choices in this category, such as the Ooni Volt 12 and the Gozney Arc, are just straight pizza ovens and cost more than double Ninja’s electric option.

Design and Features

• Smart grey finish
• Solid array of functions
• Useful accessories included

The MO201UK isn’t too different from its Woodfire brother in terms of looks, although it ditches the fetching terracotta colourway for a more egalitarian grey that works well with the metal accented door, complete with a handy viewing window.

It’s an especially well-built machine that, in spite of being a bit cheaper, doesn’t compromise on build quality – that’s the same great standard we’ve come to expect from Ninja’s range of outdoor appliances. At 11.9kg, you’ll also want to keep it on a stand for stable operation, and Ninja’s stand for its Woodfire appliances is ideal for the job.

The internal capacity is large, and is capable of fitting a 12-inch pizza stone, as well as the large bake tray and air fry basket that the MO201UK is supplied with. There is an element top and bottom for even cooking, complete with a large fan at the back for aiding circulation of air.

The control panel on the front is quite minimal in terms of controls, although what’s present is useful. A set of four buttons around the digital display shows time and temperature, allows you to choose between the MO201UK’s cooking functions, and turns the light on inside. The dial on the right allows you to easily change time and temperature where needed.

The cooking functions here are perfectly usable, with the same range of pizza settings as its more expensive Woodfire brother – that’s Artisan, Thin, NY (New York), Pan, and a custom setting. Each of these has its own preset times and temperatures. As with the Woodfire pizza oven, it can go up to 370°C for super-fast pizzas on the relevant setting.

Beyond being used as a pizza oven, the MO201UK can also Air Fry, Bake and Prove, making it a handy choice if you want to take your normal indoor cooking outdoors in nice weather. The Air Fry mode goes up to 235°C for crispy results, which is handy.

Against the standard Woodfire Pizza Oven, you are missing out in a wide rantge of more advanced settings, such as the two-stage Gourmet Roast function and its ability to be used as a Smoker, for instance.

My only complaint with the control panel is that it isn’t the most visible in direct sunlight, and I did find myself shading it with my hand to see what I was doing.

Ninja also bundles the MO201UK with a good range of accessories, including the pizza stone, which shouldn’t get wet under any circumstances, as well as an air fry basket that sits in the bake tray and can act as a drip tray of sorts. It also comes with a pizza peel.

The bake tray and air fry basket are easy to wash up manually, which you’ll need to do as these implements aren’t dishwasher safe.

Performance

• Consistently excellent cooking
• Versatile air fry and bake modes
• Pizza settings work especially well

During my few weeks with the MO201UK, I was mighty impressed with its consistently excellent cooking across its array of functions and its versatility. I may have used it more as a traditional barbecue for the items I cooked, but it proved how good the appliance is.

I cooked a range of food at 200°C first of all on the Air Fry function, and for it, the MO201UK’s preheat was barely five minutes. I started with a set of oven chips for 20 minutes in the air fry basket, which cooked well with good browning, although were put back in at the top 235°C temperature as a ‘max crisp’ mode of sorts for a crunchier, crisper finish.

I also cooked some chicken thighs in the air fry basket at 200°C for 20 minutes, adding a maple glaze after 10 minutes for a little more flavour. They turned out wonderfully, being moist and tasty.

For a typical barbecue-style cooking test, I put a piece of steak and a salmon fillet in the air fry basket at 190°C for 20 minutes, with the steak cooking in 15 minutes and coming out well cooked throughout.

The salmon took 20 minutes, coming out perfectly cooked and tender.

Moving over to the MO201UK’s Bake function, I put on some cheese twists and whirls using some ready-made pastry, which took 25 minutes at 180°C. They ended up well-browned and not soggy on the underside, with even cooking thanks to the elements top and bottom.

As for the pizzas, I tried two using Ooni’s pizza dough, with one on the New York setting at the default 245°C for eight minutes, while the latter went on the Artisan setting at the full 370°C for five minutes with a barbecue sauce base with chicken, red onions and tomatoes present. The base ended up on the crispier side, but the pizza was full of flavour.

For a final test, I also made a cheese and onion loaf of bread, which I left to prove in the MO201UK at its constant 30°C temperature for an hour. With it, the bread rose well, before being baked at 200°C for 30 minutes – it was light and lovely.

Should you buy it?

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