Ninja Foodi AG551 Smart XL Grill and Air Fryer – the one appliance you really need (cooking review)

14/12/2024
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The Ninja Foodi AG551 Smart XL Grill and Air Fryer is a master of understatement. It roasts, grills, bakes, reheats, and dehydrates with a smart temperature sensor and preset programs. It is the one device you need in your kitchen.

Let me segue. In 2018, I reviewed its predecessor, Ninja Foodi AG301, and I still use it almost daily—it is as good as the day I reviewed it!

The Ninja Foodi AG551 Smart XL Grill and Air Fryer adds three things to the original

A new rectangular shape means more useable plate space at the slight expense of meat portion height.
A thermometer probe
And when using the probe, access to presets, including:
- Fish (Medium rare 50, medium 55, medium well 60, well done 65)
- Chicken, turkey and duck (Well done 70)
- Pork (medium rare 50, medium 50, medium well 65 and well done 70)
- Beef/Lamb (rare 50, medium rare 55, medium 60, medium well 65 and well done 70)

The Ninja will pre-heat and notify when to add food, flip it, rest, and end. We have tried it with most of the roasts above, and the temperatures are spot on.

Australian Review Ninja Foodi AG551 Smart XL Grill and Air Fryer (as of 14 December 2024).

Website	Ninja Company site Product page Manual
Price	RRP $349.99 but seen as low as $267 at Big W
From	Ninja Online, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Myer, Appliances Online
Warranty	12-months ACL
Company	Ninja is a kitchen brand developed by SharkNinja, a pioneer in small household appliances and cleaning. Its headquarters are in Needham, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Mann&Noble is the exclusive distributor for SharkNinja in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Malaysia.
More	CyberShack kitchen appliances news and reviews CyberShack Ninja news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – Pass+

It is the quality we have come to expect from Ninja. We can confidently say that they keep on keeping on because we have been using Ninja appliances since 2018.

This will replace the seven-year-old predecessor, the AG301, which is as good as the day we got it. At 28 x 40 x 42cm, it is a rectangular version of its square predecessor.

I want to start with the advice we gave seven years ago.

When you use a Ninja Foodi Grill, you must rethink your cooking

It is intuitive and easy to use; you must view it as a ‘serial’ cooker that can do many things – one or a few at a time.

First, you need to think and plan for it to do the heavy lifting, e.g. grill or roast meat and veggies (we will come to capacity later) while you use other appliances like the microwave for baby peas.

Second, you need to rethink cooking times. Where you might roast a boneless lamb leg in a Weber for two hours and put the veggies in halfway through, the Ninja Foodi AG551 Smart XL Grill and Air Fryer is speedy. It is only through a bit of experimentation that you will find the right times.

For example, we tried char-grilling a bunch of asparagus, but the MAX setting (recommended for 5-7 minutes) was way too long for our liking. Attempt two saw that cut to Medium for 2-3 minutes! Similarly, MAX is recommended for 12 minutes for fresh corn on the cob, but it came out a little too char-grilled. Our second attempt at 8 minutes was perfect. As you use it, write down the times to adjust them next time if needed.

Third, persevere and don’t be afraid. I remember the same timing issues with my first microwave and adjusting grilling times with a Breville Double Grill (that cooks both sides at once). The Weber was a real experiment that I never really mastered. It will all become muscle memory.

Help is at hand

Search Google for Ninja Foodi AG551 recipes, and you will find thousands of recipes and YouTube videos.

Inbox – Pass+

Construction – Well made – Pass+

It uses a top fan and heating element to create a cyclonic (fan-forced) mini oven.

The unit has a cooking pan (always inserted), an air fry basket, and a grill plate.

It is an electric device that can draw up to 240V/7.3A/1760W at its maximum heat of 260°. Most of the time, it draws about half that.

It is very easy to clean. Wash the pans/plate in a dishwasher or by hand (these fit easily into a sink) and let dry. We found that dishwashers can use alkaline powder, so we have hand-washed ours for the past eight years, and they are in good condition.

The grill plate has a special brush to clean between the ribs. The probe is wipe-clean only.

Ninja recommends frequent washing of the splatter guard. We wait until it is ‘greasy’ and remove it to use spray-on oven cleaner – it works a treat.

Spares – Great

Ninja has been making spare parts available for several years. The only items that actually wear are the pan and Airfryer basket.

Cooking Pot 5.7L (pan) $44.99
Roast rack for cooking pan $32.99 (option)
Air Fryer Basket 3.8L $42.99
Grill Plate $52.99
Splatter guard $34.99
Probe $36.99

In addition, you can find a range of generic parts and accessories, such as air fryer racks, metal pizza crispers, cake pans, air fryer liners, dust covers, and more, on eBay or other marketplaces.

Preset temperatures – so flexible

The Ninja defaults to the following temperatures, but the real trick is that each setting represents a cooking style, and both temperature and default times are easily adjusted on the fly. You will learn the best settings as you get used to how it cooks.

Grill (200/230/250/260 with the grill plate) is perfect for steaks, cutlets, sausages, bacon, seafood—anything that requires top-down heat and lovely caramelised grill marks.
Air fry (200° with the air fry slotted basket and hot air fan forces around the food): Frozen and hand-cut potato chips, mozzarella sticks, Dim Sum (and all manner of junk food)
Roast (180° just like an air-forced oven): <2kg lamb leg, shoulder, beef, pork, spare ribs and roast vegetables.
Bake (180° gentle oven): Naan, bread, cakes, thawed sausage rolls and pies
Reheat (170°) – leftovers and gone cold meals.
Dehydrate (60°)

Let’s start with a roast chicken and veggies as a guide

The 5-litre pan will hold about a 2kg chook – much larger would have possibly hit the splatter guard over the top fan and reduce heat and air circulation.

It’s a Coles chook (about $10), which gives us (as a couple) a roast quarter and some white and dark meat each. The remaining 600g goes into Mexican burritos (partially cooked in the Ninja) and a stir fry (wok).

We lightly oil the chicken skin with Canola, add liberal amounts of salt, pepper, and paprika, and cut the carrots and pumpkin for later roasting.

Using the probe, we select Chicken, and it displays Roast, the target 75°, and the current food temperature. Once it preheats and shows ‘Add Food,’ we place the chicken and probe into the roasting pan. We also place two medium-washed potatoes. As this is probe-driven, there is no requirement to set a time—we know that it will take about an hour.

In fact, it is pretty fast – <5 minutes for preheat and 45 minutes for cooking. We remove the chook, wrap it in foil and allow it to rest. Regrettably, the probe does not work once Ninja starts cooking something else. So we insert another portable probe so we know when the temperature reaches a serving temperature of 65° (we know that is usually 20-25 minutes).

The carrots and pumpkin are put into the Ninja, set to 180° for 20 minutes, and we are instructed to flip them at 10 minutes! All that is left is the gravy and some microwaved baby peas.

Interestingly, there were fewer pan juices than expected, but it is just enough to add to the Gravy premix.

From start to finish, for a perfect roast in 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Grills

The pre-heat takes about 5-12 minutes, depending on the temperature (Low, Medium, Hi, or Max). We found that most meats need Hi to preheat/sear and medium or low to cook, or it is too fast. In our opinion, the meats come out far more tender than a traditional grill or pan. We have tried beef (sirloin, rump, eye fille), lamb cutlets, pork cutlets, and our local butcher’s flavoured fat sausages.

All of the above are done in between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on the thickness, and have those lovely, caramelised grill marks that impart a delicious flavour.

Beautifully cooked and caramelised in <10 minutes

You can also use the temperature probe to select doneness.

Air Fry

The rectangular air fry basket is 4 quarts (3.7 litres), which is not huge. It can easily handle up to 1kg of frozen chips, although half that quantity gave a slightly better result.

It can fit four Steggle’s chicken schnitzels. We air fry for five to seven minutes, flip, add a sauce (something like Honey BBQ) and cover liberally with grated cheese, cooking for another three to four minutes.

Air-frying is easy and much healthier than deep-frying. Just follow the temperature and time instructions on the pack.

Baking

Baking is perfect for lower heat (180° or less) for pies, sausage rolls, quiche and much more.

CyberShack’s view: Ninja Foodi AG551Smart XL Grill and Air Fryer AG551 is the quintessential kitchen appliance

My staple appliance for the past seven years is its predecessor, so I know how valuable it is. It has all but replaced a double grill, convection oven, convection microwave, and the trusty Weber. My only caveat is that it is for couples and small families.

Its best use is for convenience and speed. For frozen food, chuck in a frozen Chicken Parma, chips, and some veggies, and dinner is in 10-15 minutes. It bakes a frozen or thawed meat pie or quiche or makes excellent grilled cheese on toast.

If countertop space is limited, e.g. in an apartment, then this and a microwave are all you need.

Would I have bought a Ninja Foodi Grill seven years ago? No, I did not know what it was or that I needed one. And that, I suspect, will be its most significant hurdle—getting people to understand who it is for, what it is for, and what it can replace.

In my tests, the Ninja Foodi AG551 can do the heavy lifting and become your primary appliance after muscle memory kicks in. Have no fear—it works! We can’t live without it.

Ninja Foodi AG551 rating

Features: 90 – a true 6-in-1 appliance that can do almost everything.

Performance: 90 – It is fast and energy efficient and almost foolproof

Value: 90 – It is not expensive and has stood the test of time

Ease of Use: 90 – Once you have tried a few things, it is incredibly intuitive and easy to use and clean

Design: 90 – the new design is offers more usable space.