Ninja Crispi – a glass air fryer that doubles as your lunchbox
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Air fryers have one dumb design flaw. You cook in a black basket, you tip the food onto a plate, the leftovers go into a third container, and then you scrub all three. For a snack.
The Ninja Crispi is a glass air fryer that skips the basket. The heating part is a small pod that sits on top of a glass container, so the dish you cook in is also the dish you serve from and the box that goes into the fridge.
I like the idea a lot. It does come with a catch or two.
What is the Ninja Crispi?
Ninja (the SharkNinja kitchen brand behind the Ninja Creami ice cream machine) calls the Crispi a portable glass cooking system. In plain English: a 1500-watt fan-and-heater lid, which Ninja calls the PowerPod, plus two see-through glass containers.
The standard set (model FN101) comes with:
- The Crispi PowerPod with four modes: Max Crisp, Bake, Air Fry and Recrisp
- A 4-quart glass container, which Ninja says fits a 4-lb chicken with vegetables
- A 6-cup glass container for one person, which Ninja says crisps a single meal in about 7 minutes
- An adapter so the pod fits both sizes, crisper plates and two snap-on storage lids
The glass is the clever bit. According to Ninja, the containers are free of PFAS and PTFE, so there’s no nonstick coating to flake off after a year. Everything but the pod goes in the dishwasher, and the pod nests inside the big container when you put it away.
How does it work?
Food in the glass, crisper plate in, pod on top, pick a mode, set the timer. That’s the whole menu. There’s no temperature dial, but Tom’s Guide said they didn’t miss it.
Because the walls are glass, you watch your fries go golden without pulling out a drawer. When it’s done, lift off the pod, snap a lid on the leftovers and put them in the fridge. Tomorrow, Recrisp reheats them in the same dish.
The good and the not-so-good
What I like, on paper:
- One dish to cook, serve and store in. Less washing up.
- No nonstick coating, which a lot of people want gone from their kitchen.
- It’s quiet. Tom’s Guide measured 68 dB, quieter than their usual Ninja air fryer.
- It packs small: a glass dish and a pod fit a cupboard better than a big black box.
What could be better:
- It isn’t as crispy as a regular basket air fryer. Tom’s Guide said their wings and mozzarella sticks browned less than in their usual model. RTINGS was harsher: in their tests, less than half of each batch came out crispy and golden brown.
- Capacity. The 4-quart container is fine for two people. A family of five will be cooking in rounds.
- Tom’s Guide found no button to stop a cook early. Once your food looks done, you have to cut the power yourself.
- “Portable” means you carry the pod too, and it’s the bulky part.
Who is the Ninja Crispi for?
It’s for people who cook for one or two, meal-prep their lunches, or bring food to the office and want a microwave alternative that actually crisps. It’s also a smart gift for someone who hates the black nonstick basket in their current air fryer.
Skip it if you mainly air fry for crunch, in big batches. A classic basket air fryer does that better. If you like the glass idea but need more room, Ninja also sells the Crispi Pro, with a 6-quart container, 1800 watts and six modes. More ideas: our favorite kitchen gadgets.
Where can I buy the Ninja Crispi?
Ninja sells the Crispi on Amazon in a bunch of colors. The grey FN101GY set was about 153 bucks at the time of writing (October 2026), down from its 180-dollar list price. Extra glass containers are sold separately if you want a few lunch boxes in rotation.
Still shopping for the cook in your life? Our kitchen gadget gifts has plenty more.