Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart 13-in-1 Dual Heat Air Fry Countertop Oven Cooker Review

The Ninja Foodi Dual Heat Air Fry Oven gives you versatility in the kitchen with 13-in-1 functionality from Air Fry and Sear Crisp to Dehydrate and Reheat. With Dual Heat Technology, unlock up to 500°F cyclonic air and a directly heated SearPlate, which allow for fast cooking and restaurant-worthy results. Cook up your favorites and then flip the oven up and away to reclaim your counter space.

Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart 13-in-1 Dual Heat Air Fry Countertop Oven Toaster Oven, we are looking at this cute, smart, small compact toaster oven which is popular for its good looks and smart work.

Apart from its cute design and small size, this Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart 13-in-1 Toaster Oven acquired several positive reviews on Amazon.com when this article was written. (December 2022)

We will cover all the features as well as its Pros and Cons, Recommendations to buy, pricing as well as the opinions of other users who have already purchased this Toaster Oven.

In case you don’t want to read the entire full review of this Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart 13-in-1 Toaster Oven you can check out other buyer’s reviews at amazon.com

Click here to check out Ninja SP351 Foodi Smart 13-in-1 Toaster Oven at AMAZON.COM

A Look at the Features 

Overall score: 4.7/5

Dual Heat Technology: The up to 500°F directly heated SearPlate and up to 500°F rapid cyclonic air work together to allow you to sear and crisp at the same time.

Maximum Versatility: 13 Functions include Air Fry, Sear Crisp, Rapid Bake, Frozen Pizza, Fresh Pizza, Griddle, Air Roast, Bake, Broil, Toast, Bagel, Dehydrate, and Reheat in an all-in-one, powerful, 1800-watt appliance.

  • Smart Cook System: Achieve the perfect doneness from rare to well done at the touch of a button with the integrated Foodi Smart Thermometer – no guesswork required.
  • Air Fryer Healthy Meals: Up to 75% less fat when using the air fry function vs. traditional deep frying. Tested against hand-cut, deep fried French Fries.
  • Faster Cooking: Up to 65% faster cooking vs. a full-size electric oven, with Air Oven functions ready for cooking in 60 seconds.
  • Xl Family-Sized Capacity: More height capacity vs. Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven. Fit up to 6 chicken breasts, cook a 2-lb roast, or air fry up to 4 lbs of ingredients.
  • Reclaim Your Counter Space: Takes up 45% less space when you flip it up and away to store against your kitchen backsplash.
  • Restaurant-Worthy Results: Dual Heat Technology delivers a cast-iron-like sear on proteins and faster crisp on pizza crust edge to edge.
  • What’s Included: Countertop Oven, Air fry basket, non-stick SearPlate, wire rack, removable crumb tray, and Foodi Smart Thermometer.

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Temperature Control
  • Easy to use
  • Versatility
  • Value for money
Cons
  • Decent toaster oven but not an air fryer

13-in-1 Functions

You can choose between Air Fry, Air Roast, Bake, Broil, Toast, Sear Crisp, Rapid Bake, Frozen Pizza, Fresh Pizza, Griddle, Bagel, Reheat, and Dehydrate.

Air-fried Favorites

Enjoy all your deep-fried favorites with up to 75% less fat than traditional frying methods (tested against hand-cut, deep-fried French fries).

Fast Family-Sized Meals

Fit up to a 2-lb roast, 6 chicken breasts, or 4 lbs. of air-fried ingredients. Preheat in just 60 seconds for Air Oven functions.

Reclaim Your Counterspace

Takes up 45% less space when you flip the oven up and away to store against your kitchen backsplash.

Dual Heat Technology

The directly heated SearPlate and rapid cyclonic air are precisely controlled by temperature sensors that work together to sear like cast iron and roast at the same time.

Restaurant-worthy Results

Get juicy, seared proteins, golden vegetables, and fluffy, flaky baked goods with Dual Heat Mode functions.

Sear & Crisp at the Same Time

The 500°F directly heated SearPlate sears like cast iron for added caramelization, while the cyclonic air cooks food through.


What are people’s opinions about this The Ninja Foodi Dual Heat Air Fry Oven

Interesting product, take a while learning how to use

The flip up feature is why we got this, 2nd reason is our new GE range likes to have internal problems preventing us from using it, so a backup is needed anyway. We’ve been trying to use this oven for about 6 months now and have cooked all kinds of things with it. It does take some getting used to. Even when the directions state to preheat, we just put the food in when turning it on as preheating to 400 degrees takes about 90 seconds. We notice everything cooks faster, frozen foods sometimes doesn’t. Chicken nuggets sometimes have instructions for air frying but we have to almost double the time as the center isn’t very hot, not good for meat products. Pizzas cook a few minutes faster though. Still trying to dial in the toast setting we like. Seems we were on setting of 2 when we first got it and it was pretty crisp, where as we are on a 3 setting now.
When the unit cools off the screen beeps and says flip. The spouse thought that meant flip the toast. It means it’s cool enough to tilt upright.
You basically pick the mode you want to use, then set the timer, and the temperature. When you push in on the big knob it starts. As I mentioned it pre-heats quickly, beeps when heated, and immediately starts the timer. So if you’re waiting for the preheat before adding food, the timer has already started before you can get there. Once the timer is done it’ll beep and say something on the screen about the food being done. I believe it turns on the light about a minute before the timer is done so you can see the food. At this point the heating elements turn off. So then you have to set the mode, temp, timer again to extend cooking unless you only need a minute or two. If so then just don’t open the door. Our High School cooking teacher used to tell us to save energy turn off the oven/cooktop before food is done anyway as it’ll continue to cook a few minutes.
Wished the manufacturer would put a non scratch-able surface on the top of the unit. I’m scared to scratch the steel so I don’t put anything on top, even the extra trays I’m not currently using…though that seems like a logical spot.
I see a newer model is out now, with even more modes to select from. As we typically only use one or two modes, not sure it’s worth upgrading for us. But we cook pretty simple foods. We have not tried cookies or anything super sensitive to heat dispersion yet. Would have to keep an eye out when we do as most things seem to cook faster, even the normal bake mode.
Update-burned some cinnamon rolls this weekend. Totally my fault. Should have used the “dark or non-stick pan” instructions. Also, figured out we need to stop using the very bottom slot for cooking. Puts food too close to the heating elements so we need to rearrange how our shelves are set up so we are using the center slots. Quickly learning to set all of our timers a few minutes early.

Super quick and versatile

I wanted something that didn’t take up too much of my precious counter space but was still big enough to cook some larger items. This fit my needs nicely and it was on lighting sale. Snagged it immediately and I couldn’t be happier.

I can cook SO much faster with hardly any preheating time. My meals cook quicker than the recipes call for so I have to keep an eye on the food to make sure it doesn’t burn or over cook but that’s hardly an issue for me.

Fairly easy to clean and I usually just toss the foil liner and I’m done. Occasionally have to wipe down the glass of grease or splatter but that’s about it. Folds away to reclaim my limited counter space.

Easy to use and highly recommended.

Great upgrade!

We got this recently to upgrade our old air fryer and get some additional functionality.

This works very well from our experiences so far and I feel was a good purchase. It does take up more counter top space when in use, but we knew that going in. When done using it, the flip up feature is quite nice to reclaim some of the counter.

So far, we have tested the air fryer, toast, reheat, and couple of other functions and all seem to work well, though it does perform differently than our old air fryer, so there is a bit of a learning curve involved.

The toast function seems to work ok, though I do prefer my toast from the toaster as this seems to not do quite as well as a dedicated toaster. So far, settings 3 and 4 are a bit light for my preference, but is still quite manageable. This should work nicely though with home made bread and a slightly higher setting.

All things considered, I really like this device and am glad that we could get it on sale.

Some bad reviews

Nearly Perfect, Expensive, Air Fryer/Toaster Oven

If this toaster oven were $100 cheaper it would be five stars no question- this is my favorite thing I’ve ever given less than five stars to, and I still wholeheartedly recommend it!

The unit is amazing, it is easy to use, it works well, it looks nice, it comes with decent accessories, all the modes and options are great (I do have a gripe about the quantity though). Basically everything you expect to be great- is, but the finishing touches on this do not match it’s price.

– My unit had mess/debris/grease from manufacturer all over the exterior, I had to scrub, some of it didn’t come off. It looks fine enough after some work, but that’s not over $300 appliance level.

– Off gassing: The manual “suggests” one empty cook cycle to burn off any manufacturer remnants (not unusual). I had to do about three washings and four or five 20-minute cycles and the smell was so bad I felt I had to lock the pets away. Either the manual is wrong, or the manufacturer is having problems. This does not impact the oven once done- I use mine with no smell or concern once cleaning was complete, I just spent a lot of time cleaning it.

– Open Heating Elements: With previous units I’ve noticed the heating elements are better protected, as in you physically couldn’t drip or leak onto them. On this one the covers are small and perforated and any drip around the heating element will get onto the heating element. I’ve started leaving the searing pan in as a drip tray to see how that works.

– Door Gap: Something about the way the door is designed and placed, everytime I open and close the door it’s crunching and releasing crumbs out the bottom through the gap. Minor issue, but again, that’s the kind of thing I expect from a random cheap toaster I grab at the store, not something at this price point.

– Modes: I know it’s good advertising for brands to say “13-in-1” but for the love of God I just want to heat things up. Just give me basic control over heat distribution, this burner on this one off, fans on or off, instead of 13 modes I have to think about and consult the manual to see which specific accessories are recommended for the mode, each time I cook something I’m not used to.

Overall I do really like the unit. The size is awkward but worked well for my space. I do wish the highest tier model was slightly bigger and just ditched the flip function. I haven’t tried cooking large things, but from eyeballing it I really think just another inch in height would vastly expand your options. If you are planning to use the flip function I will say WOW, I obviously tested it and it is very simple and well designed. The problems I have are in comparing this to previous units that I just felt had a lot more polish to them despite similar price points.

Two specific prepurchase concerns I had after reading reviews…

– Exterior Heat: Yes the outside obviously gets hot, it’s a small oven. No, it is not unusual. The people who say it gets insanely hot are not comparing it apples-to-apples, every other similar unit is going to get similarity hot. The back needs a little space but has some bulk that keeps you from pushing it directly against the wall anyway. The sides you should give the standard at least couple inches. The top gets warm but will need minimal air space. The oven appears to only exhaust air out the sides (where you want maximum space), heat from the rear (and top) appears to be purely transfer through the metal.

– Plug: The plug is normal! My last toaster oven in particular had this giant bulky plug that meant I couldn’t run it through my cabinets like normal (a common complaint I’ve seen for that entire brand). This one fit right through, and is small enough that you could comfortably and easily drill a hole to run the cable. Obviously it’s still a large three prong, but it is not unusually large like some competitors.

FAQs

Q. What liners are best to use in the air fry basket?

A. Mainly parchment paper

Q. What is the height when in stored position? 

A. 15 inches

Q. Can the heating element on the bottom be covered, to prevent juices from dripping down? 

A. Yes this model comes with a sear plate which catches juice

Q. Are the racks stainless steel?

A. Yes they are and so is the basket.

Q. What are the inside dimensions?

A. 15.33 x 20.21 x 8.15 inches

Q. How many cooking levels (rack positions) does it have?

A. Three levels

Q. Can you bake a fresh pizza in it?

A. Yes and faster than a conventional oven

 

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