Ninja Foodi DualZone XL Air Fryer review: Our favorite large-capacity unit is like having two air fryers in one

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Even the best air fryers aren't always designed with larger families in mind. Sure, you might be able to feed your crew a batch of fries or wings, but what about sides? And who wants to stand in the kitchen making one item after another? Enter the large-capacity Ninja Foodi DualZone XL Air Fryer.

Air fryers usually have a capacity of about six quarts. The Ninja DualZone has two five-quart baskets, so it's like having two air fryers in one. I've tested over 60 units, and the DualZone is the best large-capacity air fryer. It's still smaller than the best air fryer toaster ovens but large enough to cook for the whole family. Below are my experiences with it.

Getting started

Setting up the Ninja Foodi DualZone XL Air Fryer is a breeze. You just remove the packaging and plug it in. Before cooking, I recommend running it empty on its hottest setting for 10 minutes to temper the appliance and allow odors to burn off. Then, let it cool down, and wash the baskets and crisper plates.

The two-basket air fryer is initially intimidating since it has many buttons, but they're intuitive once you get started. Here are the different cooking modes and how to use them:

• Separate zone cooking. Press the zone you want to program and the type of cook you want using the dial. Then, use the buttons to adjust the time and temperature.

• Smart Finish. If you want the zones to finish at the same time, press the "Smart Finish" button.

• Match Cook. If you want the same cooking process in both zones, press the "Match Cook" button.

Once everything is set, press the dial to start heating. The Ninja Foodi XL air fryer has several presets, including bake and dehydrate.

Cooking performance

Frozen fries

We cooked a pound of Ore-Ida Extra Crispy Fast Food French Fries in the unit for eight minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, shaking the basket halfway through. We checked for a golden brown color and added more time if needed.

The Ninja was slow. It took 20 minutes to finish the cooking process, more than twice as long as the top performers. However, the resulting fries were outstanding. They were evenly cooked and crispy, reminding me of the best fast-food fries.

Hand-cut fries

In every air fryer we test, we also cook homemade fries. We cut a pound of potatoes into fry-shaped pieces, soak them in cold water for about half an hour, dry them, and toss the fries with olive oil and salt. We air fry them at 375 degrees for 15 minutes and check for doneness. If they aren't crispy, we add more time.

Most air fryers struggle with this test, taking longer than 15 minutes or producing uneven results. While the Ninja Foodi DualZone XL was nowhere near perfect, it was among the best. The fries were crispy and evenly cooked in about 25 minutes, a perfectly respectable time.

Broccoli

Air fryers tend to struggle with cooking broccoli florets, often producing crispy tops and undercooked stems. When testing we spray a pound of broccoli florets with cooking oil, season it, and air fry at 375 degrees until the broccoli is tender.

Most units take at least 12 minutes, but the Ninja produced stellar results in eight. Air fryers can burn the florets before the stems get tender enough; not the Ninja. The florets remained moist and lightly crisped while the stems were a perfect al dente.

Long-term performance

After putting the Ninja through our air fryer testing a year ago, I sent it to Reviews deputy editor Lauren Savoie for long-term testing. She and her husband still love it, primarily using the air fryer function. "I love that it heats quickly and evenly and that you can cook two different foods at the same time," Savoie said.

Cleaning

If something can go in the dishwasher, I generally prefer to clean it that way. The Ninja Foodi DualZone air fryer features dishwasher-safe crisper plates and baskets, but I mostly washed them by hand for two reasons.

First, the baskets take up a lot of room in the dishwasher. It was too much space to devote to something you could easily wash by hand. Secondly, the nonstick coating lasts longer when you wash items by hand. Debris just slid right off the nonstick coating, making clean-up a breeze. However, Savoie noted that removing the crisping plates from the baskets takes some muscle since they're really wedged in.

Check out our article on how to clean an air fryer. Also, if you want to skip cleanup altogether, consider buying one of the best silicone air fryer liners.

Cons to consider

As we already mentioned, the Foodi DualZone XL cooks frozen fries slowly, which may indicate a slower cook time with other frozen foods. It's important to remember that it still cooks faster than a standard oven since there's no need to preheat. Additionally, this Ninja air fryer is larger than most: "It takes up a good half of a standard kitchen counter in footprint," said Savoie.

Savoie also didn't like the loud beeping noises it makes when you set the time and mode. Since it defaults to 20 minutes of cook time — longer than most air-fried items need — you must put up with loud beeps to make almost anything.

What are your alternatives?

If you don't need two zones of cooking or such a large capacity, you might consider the Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer Oven. It's about $60 less than the Ninja, cooks much faster, and has a window in the basket for monitoring your food's progress. We made it the top pick in our guide to the best air fryers.

We also recommend trying the air fryer toaster oven route. In our guide to the best air fryer toaster ovens, the Oster Digital Air Fryer Oven with RapidCrisp takes the top spot. It has roughly twice the capacity of the Ninja, can fit a 12-inch pizza, and costs $60 less. The main drawback of an air fryer toaster oven is that it takes longer to preheat and cook than basket air fryers.

The bottom line

The Ninja Foodi DualZone XL Air Fryer is the best large-capacity basket air fryer we've tested. While the Ninja is more expensive than most air fryers, it's like having two thanks to the spacious baskets that allow you to cook two foods independently. It's easy to clean and heats evenly for crisp yet moist foods. Plus, after a year of use, it shows no degradation in performance.

Pros: Made moist and evenly heated foods in our tests, cooks two baskets of food in sync or independently, each basket holds five quarts

Cons: Cooks frozen fries slowly, makes loud beeps when you press buttons, takes up more space than most air fryers

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