Ninja Max Pro review: It’s a classic for a reason

Price When Reviewed

$179.99

Best Prices Today: Ninja Air Fryer Pro XL 6-in-1

If you’re looking for the gold standard air fryer brand, Ninja is a safe bet and a firm favourite here at Tech Advisor. However, some models (especially those with dual drawers) may be a bit pricey for your budget and aren’t necessarily the best option if you’re short on countertop space, like me.   

Enter the Ninja Max Pro. This 6.2L/6.5QT air fryer is the ideal entry model for most people, with easy-to-use settings, a sleek design with a surprising amount of room for your food, and stellar results that will have you reaching for your frying pan and oven less and less.  

Note that in America, this model is called the Ninja Air Fryer Pro XL 6-in-1, but the build and functions remain the same.  

Design and Build

• 6.2L capacity
• Surprisingly compact
• No shake alert

The biggest advantage of opting for the Max Pro over something like the Foodi FlexDrawer is that it’s compact enough to fit in your kitchen without taking up an enormous amount of space (it measures 30.5 x 28 x 36cm), but the 6.2L drawer has a lot of depth. You can see how it fits two chicken breasts cut into strips during my testing: 

For a couple, it’s the perfect size. If your household is bigger than that, then it may not be a direct oven replacement for your entire meals, but it’ll be ideal for sections, such as your meat, carbs or veggies.  

Like many other air fryers from the brand, it’s made from matt black plastic with silver accents, although there is a version with copper edges if you prefer that finish. It’s a trapezoid shape, with a large handle to lift the drawer out and click it back into place.  

For a couple, it’s the perfect size

The downside of plastic is that it picks up smudges and marks easily and isn’t quite as premium-looking as appliances with steel panels. Nonetheless, it’s robust and I never discovered any jankiness during testing. 

Inside the drawer is a single crisper plate, and depending on what orientation you have it placed, it’ll sit either higher or lower in the drawer. The manual will instruct you which placement is most suitable for various modes – I had it in the lower position most of the time.  

The crisper plate is dishwasher-safe, as is the drawer. If you’re not keen on washing it after every single use, you can buy liners to keep it free of most loose grease and crumbs. I used paper ones for ease, but you can also opt for more eco-friendly silicone liners.  

The control panel sits at the top of the Max Pro, with clearly labelled buttons for the power, temperature and time. There are then six different settings to choose from: Max Crisp, Air Fry (the button you’ll almost certainly reach for the most), Roast, Bake, Reheat and Dehydrate.  

All cooking settings bar one can be adjusted temperature-wise from 40°C to 210°C. Max Crisp, however, is set to a much higher temperature of 240°C by default and cannot be changed. Meanwhile, most cooking settings have a potential cooking time of 1-60 minutes, depending on which mode you opt for. Dehydrate, for making dried fruit, jerky and yoghurt, offers up to 12 hours.

There isn’t a shake reminder, and that’s crucial to ensure even cooking for foods like chips

If you’re unsure of which cooking mode to use, the manual and recipe guides included in the box give you a good idea of timings and temperatures. Plus, many frozen foods these days include dedicated air fryer instructions. If they don’t, Ninja advises to follow the convection oven guidelines, but to lower the temperature by 10°C. 

The screen has a timer countdown as your food is cooking, and the noise of the appliance is not too distracting – closing the door blocks most of it out. Meanwhile, the little beeps cut through enough to let you know when cooking is complete.  

There isn’t a shake reminder, and that’s crucial to ensure even cooking for foods like chips – my husband sadly fell victim to this. However, not many Ninja air fryers offer this function, even the premium models.  

As there’s no viewing window, the only way to check on your food is by opening the drawer. Fortunately, you can do this with no issues, and the timer will resume automatically once it’s clicked back into place.

There aren’t any compartments for cooking things separately. You can buy third-party wire baskets from Amazon if you want to multitask, though these aren’t official Ninja products, so proceed at your own risk.  

Performance and Features

• Six cooking modes
• High quality results

While the Ninja Max Pro air fryer uses up to 60% less energy than a traditional oven, it packs a punch when it comes to cooking.  

You’ll rarely need to put it on the highest temperatures, and it’s best to opt for less time and then add on more minutes if needed because, like other Ninja air fryers, it’s powerful. Things will cook quicker than you’re anticipating, as I discovered early on. 

Once I got the knack of it, the Max Pro produced excellent food. I had perfectly melted cheese sandwiches, well-cooked sausages and delicious homemade chicken fillets, all on the standard Air Fry setting. Just make sure if you’re cooking something like fries, you shake/turn periodically for an even cook.  

On the recommendation of our resident air fryer expert, I invested in an olive oil spray bottle. If you’re not sure whether you need it, Ninja’s guide includes recommendations for how much oil to use.  

Unlike microwave reheating, I wasn’t left with soggy bases or soft outer skins

The Bake setting, which uses a slower fan speed, was useful for things such as pastries and cookies, with golden and even results. While yes, there probably isn’t enough space for a large cake or a loaf of bread, you can adapt a recipe to fit in this drawer. The cookies took a little trial and error, again something you’ll learn the more you experiment.  

I was pleasantly surprised by the reheat setting, which I used for leftovers such as takeaway pizza and chicken. Unlike microwave reheating, I wasn’t left with soggy bases or soft outer skins – this tasted just as good as pan-frying to warm up your food. 

The Max Crisp mode was a tad trickier to get on with. As it’s just the one temperature setting designed for frozen food, you’ll need to take a bit of an educated guess as to how long to put your food on for. I tried it out with a potato waffle, and while the result was as crispy as advertised, it did set off my fire alarm in the process, causing me a minor heart attack.  

I tried again with some popcorn chicken sans baking paper, and that was an alarm-free experience, so I’d advise avoiding liners when using Max Crisp.

Price and Availability

The Ninja Air Fryer Max Pro is available to buy in the UK and the US. It has an RRP of £149.99/$179.99, but now, most retailers in the UK are selling it for £129.99 – the US doesn’t have as many good discounts at the time of writing. This is a model we’ve also seen get some big price slashes during sales such as Prime Day and Black Friday.  

In the UK, you can buy it from Amazon, Ninja, Currys and Argos. US readers can bag one from Amazon, Ninja, Best Buy and Walmart.

Considering the capacity of this single-drawer air fryer, that’s a tempting deal, especially for British readers. If you’re looking for something more compact, the Ninja Crispi is a modular air fryer you can keep in the cupboard, and which will take up even less space. You cook straight into glass containers, which makes keeping an eye on your food easy as pie. Plus, you can serve straight from them and use them to store leftovers. 

But the Crispi can’t cook nearly as much food: the largest container only has a 3.8L capacity. If neither model is perfect for you, see our recommendations from the top Ninja models in our round-up of the best Ninja air fryers and countertop cookers.

We’ve also got recommendations for the best dual-drawer models, the best air fryer ovens and the best air fryers overall, so you can see how other models from the likes of Cosori compare.  

Should you buy the Ninja Air Fryer Max Pro?

The Ninja Air Fryer Max Pro is very easy to recommend. It cooks food to a premium standard, doesn’t take up too much space on your countertop, and is a breeze to use to boot. 

I’d primarily recommend it for couples or smaller households. If you have more than four people to feed, then you’ll still get use out of it, but it likely won’t be able to cook your entire meal in one go unless you’re just scoffing down a bowl of fries (and all power to you if you are). There are bigger, dual-drawer models out there that may be preferable, but these will cost you.

I wish Ninja would include a reminder beep to shake/turn your food, but you can get around this by splitting up your cooking time if you’re prone to forgetting. Otherwise, this is a stellar air fryer that won’t let you down, and it’s a great buy – especially during sale seasons.