Ninja’s new air fryer has a genius design – and now it has crashed to its lowest price ever for Black Friday
The Ninja DoubleStack XL has rearranged its dual baskets to save oodles of space – get one for Black Friday and pick it up cheaper than ever
Because of their quick cooking speeds, energy efficiency and clever design features, air fryers have become a common sight in UK households in recent years. Among air fryers, dual air fryers, which offer twin baskets instead of the usual single-basket set-up, have been some of the most impressive options I’ve tested.
Dual air fryers offer ample cooking space, extra versatility afforded by their two cooking zones and often add further features beyond standard air frying. Impressive dual air fryers we’ve tested include the Instant Vortex Plus, a great all-rounder, and the Ninja FlexDrawer, a capacious and versatile option. One problem all these models share, however, is the large worktop footprint created by their side-by-side baskets.
The Ninja DoubleStack XL, which arranges its baskets vertically instead of horizontally, seeks to solve this perennial issue. For Black Friday, the Ninja DoubleStack XL has fallen to its lowest price ever, plummeting down to just £189, down from an average price of £246.
Why am I recommending the Ninja DoubleStack XL?
As noted above, the key feature of the Ninja DoubleStack XL is its space-saving design. By arranging its two baskets vertically, the DoubleStack reduces its width to just 28cm, a very slim profile compared to the 41cm span of the Foodi Dual Zone and the 50cm footprint of the FlexDrawer. This set-up makes it perfect for crowded kitchens and smaller countertops.
Another big pro of the DoubleStack is that, even though it is designed to save space, you don’t have to compromise on capacity. At 9.5l overall between its two baskets, the Double Stack exceeds the 7.6l capacity of the standard Ninja Foodi Dual Zone and comes close to the 10.4l capacity of the gargantuan Ninja FlexDrawer. Thanks to this roominess, each of the DoubleStack’s twin drawers can fit a 1.2kg chicken comfortably. It also uses this space effectively, with the wire racks included in the box allowing you to split each cooking drawer into two levels, creating four layers of cooking space.
Outside of its clever new design, the DoubleStack XL offers six cooking modes: Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate, Reheat and Max Crisp – the brand’s signature feature, which boosts temperatures to 240ºC to achieve quick, crispy results on frozen items. Our air fryer expert, Danielle Amato, was broadly impressed by the DoubleStack’s cooking ability, finding it performed well on air fryer classics and foods like crispy potatoes and coated tofu.
Are there any drawbacks to the Ninja DoubleStack XL?
Due to the air fryer’s fans being positioned at the back of the appliance rather than on top, a necessity of its stacked design, the airflow in the DoubleStack XL could be a little more uneven than with other models we’ve tested. This led to some uneven browning in our tests, similar to what you might see in a standard fan oven. While giving items a stir or a shake during cooking can mitigate this issue, it’s still a bit of a disappointment.
Which brings me to my next point. With a full price of £270, disappointment is something the DoubleStack XL can ill afford. At full price our reviewer found that, in their opinion, the DoubleStack was a little too expensive, even if its ergonomic design was very impressive.
Should you buy the Ninja DoubleStack XL in the Black Friday sale?
Dropping by nearly £100 in price and being available for its lowest price ever, just £189, I think this Ninja air fryer makes for a great Black Friday steal. It seems that air fryers are here to stay, as they offer a quicker and more energy efficient alternative to oven cooking, and so picking up a highly-finished, versatile model that fits neatly into a wide range of kitchen setups is a no-brainer.
