When it comes to air fryers, Ninja is a brand that frequently outperforms its competitors, so it's no surprise that people often ask me what the best Ninja air fryer is.
Top-notch performance comes at a price though, and it’s a brand that’s often out of reach if you’re watching the pennies. However, the newly launched Ninja Air Fryer MAX PRO 6.2L is the same price as the smallest cheapest Ninja air fryer, so I had to take a look.
It has a spacious 6.2 litre capacity, making it Ninja’s largest single zone air fryer. The style and design of this model have more in common with Ninja’s dual zone air fryers, than with its smaller curvy single zone siblings.
As a home economist who's tested many of the best air fryers, I’m an avid air fryer cook, and I rarely use my built-in oven these days. And I’ve yet to review a Ninja air fryer that doesn’t impress me, so I approached this one with high expectations. And while its compact size surprised me, its excellent performance didn’t.
Ninja Air Fryer MAX PRO specifications
- RRP: £149.99
- Dimensions: H:30.5 x W:28 x D:36 cm
- Modes available: Max Crisp, Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Reheat, Dehydrate
- Dishwasher safe? Yes
- Maximum temperature: 240C Max Crisp/ 210C Air Fry
- Maximum timer: Air Fry: 60 minutes/ Dehydrate: 12 hours
My first impressions of the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Air Fryer
My immediate impression when the package arrived, was that Ninja had sent the wrong product, the box seemed too small to house a 6.2 litre capacity air fryer. However, it was the correct product. And after I’d removed all the recyclable cardboard packaging, I was impressed by its small footprint and compact appearance.
And despite its unimposing exterior, the cooking drawer is surprisingly spacious. Unlike Ninja's smaller two air fryers, this one has a square drawer that is arguably more practical than the round ones. It’s dishwasher safe and comes with a removable crisper plate.
The crisper plate on this model features a new design that allows it to be placed into the drawer in either a high or low position. I haven’t seen this feature on any other air fryers and it means you can use it for two-level cooking when dehydrating foods, or to more quickly melt or brown toppings.
This is the only Ninja air fryer that features button controls, the rest have flat touch control panels. But I imagine this is one of the ways they have managed to keep the RRP the same as the Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK despite this newer model offering almost double the capacity and two extra cooking functions.
The controls are self-explanatory, each of the six cooking modes has its own button and there are arrows to adjust the time and temperature settings. And while it’s not tricky to use, there’s a thorough instruction manual as well as a recipe booklet crammed with cooking charts to give you all the guidance you might need when getting started.
How does the Ninja Air Fryer MAX PRO 6.2L perform?
Air fried broccoli was a simple snack to help me get started with this air fryer. I cut a broccoli head into evenly sized florets and lightly coated them in oil. The air fry cooking chart suggested 200C for 13-16 minutes. But after just 10 minutes the broccoli stems were pleasantly al dente while the tops were roasted and crisp.
I gave the broccoli a couple of shakes during cooking and that was sufficient to ensure it all cooked evenly. I didn’t preheat the air fryer prior to this or any of the following tests because there’s nothing in the manual to indicate this being a necessary step.
Bacon cooked to perfection on the air fry mode at 200C. It took just seven minutes and due to the way the fat curled up towards the heating element, I didn’t see any point in turning over during cooking. There’s space for four slices of back bacon to lay comfortably side-by-side. And because the drawer is dishwasher safe, cleaning up the greasy post-bacon mess was a doddle.
The last thing I cooked using the air fry mode was scampi and chips. I cut up around 500g chips which is enough for two portions. I soaked the raw potato batons in cold water for 30 minutes before drying them and lightly coating in a glug of oil.
Following guidance in the cooking charts, I popped the chips in the basket and set it to air fry for 25 minutes at 200C. There was more than enough space for this amount of chips and I could easily have cooked double if needed. But instead, I allowed them to cook for 15 minutes and then shuffled them to one side and added a bag of frozen scampi next to them.
I gave the chips several shakes during their 25 minute cook time and turned the scampi once to ensure it crisped evenly on both sides. And at the end both were beautifully cooked. The scampi was crunchy on the outside and succulent in the middle, while the chips were golden and crisp, it couldn’t have been easier.
Max crisp setting
This setting is designed primarily for frozen breaded foods and the high 240C temperature setting isn’t adjustable. I chose to use it for frozen breaded fish, which took just 14 minutes to cook. Despite the fierce temperature the fish remained moist. What’s more, I didn’t turn the fish fillets during cooking and yet the coating was deliciously crunchy on both sides. Plus it was much faster than in a conventional oven.
Roast setting
Given the large capacity it seemed appropriate to try roasting a whole chicken. The manual suggested 190C for 45 minutes and also to begin cooking the chicken upside down, turning it the right way up halfway through.
I followed the guidance to the letter and not only was there plenty of space for my 1.5kg chicken, but it cooked incredibly well. Okay, so some herbs on the top got a bit burnt, but aside from that, the skin was golden and crisp and the meat was cooked through and juicy. It was quick and effortless, making mid-week roast chicken a great option.
Bake setting
Finally I had a go at a banana loaf from the included recipe book. Although my loaf tin didn’t quite fit in the basket, so I ended up pouring the batter into a Victoria sandwich tin instead. I baked it at 160C, but the suggested 35 minutes wasn’t long enough, so I added a further 10 minutes.
After I let it rest in the tin for 10 minutes, I turned it out onto a cooling rack. This is when I discovered the middle was still quite gooey and undercooked. It would have benefitted from an additional 10 - 20 minutes with some foil on top to stop it burning.
With the uncooked central part removed, I still ate the rest of the cake, which was well baked and delicious. I’d just be super diligent about checking the bake, should I try another cake. That said, I had great success baking a batch of granola, which was baked to a golden crunchy texture in just 18 minutes. And I think certain tray bakes like flapjacks would also work well.
How does the Ninja Air Fryer MAX PRO compare?
I previously reviewed the Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK which is a great small-capacity option from the brand. But now that Ninja has launched the Max Pro for the same price, I’m struggling to see why you’d forego the extra capacity and two additional cooking functions offered by the Max Pro. If you’re choosing between the two, my advice is to get more bang for your buck and choose the Max Pro.
However, while the Max Pro is the most spacious single zone air fryer from Ninja, it still doesn’t offer enough capacity to feed larger households. In that case, I’d highly recommend checking out the Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer. If your budget can stretch to this pricey option, it offers a huge capacity as well as a flexible single or dual zone cooking drawer.
Should you buy the Tefal Easy Fry Dual Air Fryer?
Taking into account the capacity, functionality, and the price, I think this is the best value-for-money single zone air fryer you can buy from Ninja. Better yet, it offers top-notch performance and doesn’t take up too much space on your worktop.
Its 6.2 litre cooking capacity is more than enough for two people, and for some foods, it’ll cook enough for four. Though as I said above, larger families would do well to consider a bigger model. All-in-all though, I’m very tempted to switch to this model myself.
About this review, and the reviewer
After completing a Home Economics degree, Helen went on to work for the Good Housekeeping Institute and has been reviewing home appliances ever since. She lives in a small village in Buckinghamshire in the UK. She is now freelance and draws on her wealth of experience to review a huge variety of home appliances.
Helen used the Ninja MAX PRO Air Fryer at home for over a week to cook tasty meals for herself and her husband.
