Ninja AF161 Max Xl Air Fryer Review

The Ninja AF161 Max Xl Air Fryer, or simply the Ninja AF161, is one of the best air fryers in the market. It is a classic basket air fryer and despite its amazing qualities, Ninja AF161 comes with an affordable price tag.

It is the successor of Ninja AF101 Air Fryer, therefore, includes more perks than its previous model. Ninja Max XL Fryer is more feature-packed as well as offers a larger capacity than the previous one.

However, Ninja AF161 Max Xl Air Fryer was considered the best Ninja Air Fryer, before the arrival of Ninja DZ201 Foodi. Although its best title is snatched by the newer model, Ninja AF161 is still considered one of the most complete air fryers out there, especially if you are looking for convenience and capacity.

Ninja AF161 offers a capacity of 5.5-QT as well as a power of 1750 W for frying, roasting, reheating, or even dehydrating. Seven cooking modes are also provided, and thanks to the non-stick ceramic coating on the fryer basket, the AF161 is super easy to use and clean.

Now let’s dive deeper into the Ninja AF161 review, and find out if it’s really worth your money.

Things We Love About Ninja AF161

Sleek design
Affordable price
Classic Basket air fryer design
Requires only 3-minutes preheat time
Offers 5.5 quarts large capacity
Offers 7 cooking presets: Max Crisp, Air fry, Air Roast, Air Broil, Bake, Dehydrate, and Reheat

Offers wide temperature ranges (105-450ºF)
Offers ceramic-coated nonstick accessories
Dishwasher safe accessories
BPA-free
1-year warranty

Things To Consider About Ninja AF161

According to users, a rectangular-shaped design would have been better.
Unit is quite tall, measure your cabinet and counter distance before buying this air fryer
Ninja recently removed the Auto-Pause feature
Does not provide the capacity for making whole roast

Features of Ninja AF161 Air Fryer

Ninja AF161 Max XL Air Fryer offers an excellent scope with its versatility. This fantastic appliance allows you to cook delicious meals for the whole family with minimal time and effort.

The first thing you will notice about this air fryer is its design. The air fryer comes with a fantastic black and stainless steel color and a glossy finish. And no wonder, the contemporary design will adapt to any kitchen decoration.

But the most amazing thing about this air fryer is that it offers 7 different cooking presets. Using them you can Max Crisp, Air Fry, Air Roast, Air Broil, Bake, Reheat and Dehydrate different food items with ease. Therefore, it is more than just an air fryer.

Also, you have already known about its wide temperature ranges. It is really helpful to cook any kind of food evenly.

However, Ninja AF161 Air Fryer previously had an auto-pause feature. It was a nice feature to have but unfortunately, Ninja doesn’t offer it. Therefore, you have to pause and start the timer manually if you take out the basket for shaking or flipping food ingredients.

After that, unlike the previous model Ninja AF101, this air fryer comes with a 5.5-QT capacity. You can now cook more food at a time. Although Ninja AF161 features a larger capacity than its sibling, it is still a sleek appliance that looks wonderful on your countertop.

All these features make Ninja AF161 Max XL Air Fryer a great appliance. But is it easy to use! To find that, let’s head out to the next section.

Is Ninja AF161 Air Fryer Easy to Use?

Every appliance has a learning curve. Considering that Ninja AF161 is pretty straightforward to use. To be honest, air fryers are nothing but a mini convection oven. So using Ninja AF161 is just like using your oven with fewer settings and less electricity consumption.

For example, Ninja AF161 has 7 different preset buttons for max crisp, air frying, roasting, broiling, baking, reheating, and dehydrating. But none of these modes comes with default time and temp settings. So yes, just like a convection oven you have to manually set the time and temperature by yourself.

But the good thing is Ninja provides a cheat sheet for all possible recipes like fries, meat, fish, cupcakes, etc. Therefore, you don’t have to guess the ideal setting for every recipe you make with Ninja AF161.

However, with the newer model Ninja DZ201 Foodi Air Fryer you don’t have to set the time and temperature manually as it offers default time and temp settings for all the presets.

Back to the Ninja AF161. Although its preset button works like a convection oven, its preheat time is not similar to an oven. Fortunately, Ninja AF161 has only 3 minutes of preheat time, therefore you can crisp up something quickly and very easily.

Note that, the crisper basket gets pretty hot after preheating. Make sure not to touch the basket when you take it out to place food after preheating.

After that, Ninja AF161 has limited accessories like the fryer basket and the fryer plate. They are nonstick coated thus very easy to clean manually. Besides, they are dishwasher safe too.

Check out this video from Ninja Brand to See AF161 in action.

Accessories of Ninja AF161 Air Fryer

Ninja AF161 Max XL Air Fryer comes with only limited accessories. It offers a 5.5-QT crisper basket as well as a crisper plate. Both of them are nonstick coated and dishwasher safe.

Moreover, to get you started Ninja Af161 also offers a Chef-Inspired 20 Recipe Book for making delicious meals for your family and friends.

FAQ About Ninja AF161 Air Fryer

What Can I Make With Ninja AF161 Air Fryer?

With 7 versatile cooking functions, Ninja AF161 is more than just an air fryer. With the help of it, you can make countless recipes. Therefore, instead of giving you a long list of recipes, let’s read about Ninja AF161’s 7 different functions and how they help you to make delicious meals for your friends and family.

Max Crisp

Max Crisp Function is nothing but air frying with higher temperatures to get the crispest result. It is best for frozen foods like frozen french fries.

This function only belongs to Ninja AF161 Air Fryer. The newer model DZ201 or the previous model AF101 doesn’t offer this function.

Air Fry

Air fry function lets you enjoy crispy fried foods like chicken tenders, chicken wings, french fries, tater tots, vegetable tots, and so many other delicious recipes with less oil (75%). It uses heated air to cook the food, so instead of eating deep-fried food, you get to eat healthy meals.

Air Roast

The air roast is another great addition to this air fryer. It allows you to make roasted meat, fish, and veggies. However, the fryer capacity is not as ideal for making a whole roast as you could do in your oven. It is only best for smaller portions.

Air Broil

Just like any countertop oven, this air fryer offers you the air broil function. It is perfect for achieving that golden-brown finish on the food.

Bake

Although the capacity of this air fryer is not perfect for baking tasks, it is good to have a bake function as you can whip up some small batches of cupcakes or muffins in it.

Reheat

The reheat function is self-explanatory. Instead of using your large microwave oven, you can use this air fryer to quickly reheat some food and retrieve that crispiness on them.

Dehydrate

This is a great function to have on your air fryer. Dehydrate function allows you to make dried fruits to eat on the go. Or better, you can make beef jerky using this function. Although the capacity doesn’t allow you to make a large batch, it is still great to have a dehydrator appliance.

How to Clean Ninja AF161 Foodi Air Fryer Properly?

Cleaning Ninja Af161 Max XL Air Fryer is probably the easiest task. It comes with limited accessories and on top of that, all the accessories are dishwasher safe. Therefore, cleaning them is not a hassle at all.

After cooking let the basket cool down completely then clean it with a soft soapy sponge. Don’t use any harsh sponge as it can ruin the nonstick coating of the basket.

However, if you don’t feel like doing the manual cleaning, you can load them into the dishwasher as they are dishwasher safe.

As for the main unit, just wipe them with a damp cloth after each use.

Is Ninja AF161 Air Fryer Worth Buying?

Ninja AF161 is one of the most complete air fryers out there. In terms of performance, versatility, and quality this is one of the best air fryers you can find in the market right now. So, if you are looking for a large-size air fryer that comes at an affordable price tag then Ninja AF161 Max XL Air Fryer is the best deal for you.