Foodi XL Pro 7-in-1 Indoor Grill & Griddle

Idk what to tell you, both my Ninjas have grounded plugs

I have an IG651 7-in-1 Grill and DZ550 10qt Dual Basket Air Fryer

It's a grill, first and foremost. The air fryer feature is an added bonus. I have a Ninja IG651 grill, I've used it for years, works great for both functions. Nice large, spread out air fryer basket to reduce the ability to overcrowd. Your option should be similar. Don't bother with that Instant Pot.

We have a Ninja Foodi Grill XL which is also an air fryer. It gets used all the time, and we clean if after every use. I like that it has multiple functions in addition to air fryer.

I have multiple Ninja items and here is my breakdown 1. Airfryer AF160. Very reliable, powerful workhorse. I use it to bake cakes, small sourdough rolls, roast whole chickens, Japanese sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squashes etc. I have used and abused the hell out of it, easily 2 hours worth of cook time per day for 5 years and it’s still going strong. Whenever it’s on sale I stock up (gifted 7 and 4 more in my garage) and have gifted it to family and friends for housewarming or Christmas and it is their most used item at home. Personally 10/10. 2. Auto IQ blender BL450 - blends ice and frozen fruits super easily, very satisfying to use. Only downside it’s quite loud. Suction cups on the base make it very stable, takes up little counter space. Very solid. Even made hummus with it. I got it on sale so it was great value 9/10. 3. Creami. Got it secondhand from my neighbor who only used it 3-4 times before selling it. It’s fun to have but would not buy it for full price. It’s LOUD AS HELL OMG. I wish I had those soundproof cover boxes they use at Jamba Juice. But the end product is amazing. You need to buy lots of their containers to freeze different flavors cause it takes about 24 hours to freeze through. I’ve been making tons of frozen yogurts, ice creams and sorbets and saved tons of money and calories. Have made at least 120 tubs. Great for kids. 8.5/10. 3. Professional food processor BN650. It’s incredibly powerful but bit of a pain to hand wash. Only bring it out for big hosting dinners or during the holidays. It is phenomenal for making nut butters and if I need to shred tons of cheese or zucchini/carrots for baking or meal prepping. I love it but it’s big, heavy, pretty loud and I have limited counter space so I reach for my kitchenaid mini food processor when it’s more daily/weekly use. But when I do use it I’m always amazed at how great it is. 4. Multicooker OP350. It’s very versatile, spacious, replaced my instapot. Brought it to my parents one Thanksgiving and my mom loved it so much I just gave it to her as a Christmas gift. Only downsides is that it’s heavy, bulky as hell IMO and you should place it in open counter space not under the above head cabinets cause the steam does end up steaming and warping your cabinets. She’s thinking of buying this or a CRISPI for my sister. From my friends 5. CRISPI. It’s so so versatile. You can marinade in the glass cooking container, pop it in the fridge cause it comes with lids and then cook it later and even serve in it!! Then the leftovers can go back in the fridge. What a dream for lazy people who hate dishes. If and when AF160 does finally die I’m strongly considering getting the crispi. I helped my friend cook with hers and I’m smitten. But it’s crazy expensive right now so I’m waiting for sale. 6. Foodi XL grill + fryer. Another friend just had her housewarming last week and I got to try this. She loves it and it lives in her patio. There was STEAK DONENESS SETTING! It was off by almost half doneness eg medium rare was closer to medium but we think it’s cause we had been using it for almost 2 hours and the internal temp was higher than if you started from a cooler or room temp. It’s great if you have space or like grilling. She said it was a no brainer for sale price, would be a bit reluctant to pay full price. Her husband has been happily cooking so much more with the grill. 7. Slushi machine. Same housewarming friend loves it cause in the summer and when she entertains every week it’s great for frozen margs, frozen Rose and slurpees. It’s also impresses guests. She has no regrets getting it. She even tried putting in Gatorade in it, cause why not. It’s a hassle to wash tho.

I have the Ninja XL Grill. The larger basket and grill functions make it useful for meals for 2-4 people. In the USA most people don't have convection ovens, and an air fryer is a small convection oven. It heats up fast, and doesn't heat up the house like a full size oven. The grill pan makes it a good indoor grilling option. Steak, sausage, chicken, fish, does a good job on all of them. There are many foods which are especially good in the air fryer, and faster than other methods. Frozen convenience foods like tater tots, chicken nuggets, shrimp, fish sticks, any frozen appetizers, etc. All get crispy and cook faster than a regular oven. Roast vegetables. It's one of its best features. Reheat pizza and fried foods. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Pretty much hands off and quick. The small ones will be too small for more than two people. They do take up space. But they are a great convenience tool for what they do well.

I put off getting one for a few years because of two things. I didn't think the small basket models on sale would be enough for us. They don't really fry. Their forced air convection ovens, so if you want things to be actually fried, it's hard to do that. We got two instant pots because they are so useful for us, doing two dishes at once. Then Ninja made a larger rectangular grill style air fryer, which would replace our indoor electric drill and do air fryer things. That we use several times a week. For stuff we'd roast in the oven, it is faster, crisper, and doesn't require preheating the oven. It's easy to season vegetables in oil and make them with any meal. Both reheated leftovers and many frozen convenience foods are better than the oven. The grill pan makes burgers, hot dogs, sausages, steak, salmon, pretty close to using an actual grill. It toasts melted cheese sandwiches nicely. A toaster oven style could do this as well, so could a full size oven with a convection mode. But our air fryer isn't so big, so we can move it out of the way or elsewhere as needed. It's a very useful cooking tool if you want the kinds of foods it does well. French fries aren't quite on the list. Without putting an oil coating on and stirring frequently, it won't come close to deep frying. But it makes excellent crispy roasted potatoes, which aren't the same but are still tasty.

The basket is darn near impossible to really clean.. I have had mine for years and the cooking is great, the cleaning….not so much. I think that is the chink in the AF armor I’m general though.