The Ninja Crispi Microwave is an incredibly versatile air fryer and microwave combo that will transform the way you cook

Ninja Crispi Microwave: 30-second review

The Ninja Crispi Microwave combines the power of an air fryer with the speed of a microwave. It sounds like an almost impossible feat, yet Ninja has seemingly done the impossible with one of the most versatile kitchen appliances around.

Things get off to a good start out of the box. One of the common frustrations with microwaves are their controls, and how it feels like you need an engineering degree to understand how it all works. Not with the Crispi Microwave. A brief flick through the instructions, and you’ll be off, with easy to use buttons and modes to help you cook the food you want.

The included glassware dish with removable crisper tray, and the rails its slides onto in the microwave, are great additions for air frying and FusionCrisp cooking. And when microwaving you don’t need to worry about any rotating turnable. You get the whole surface of the microwave cavity to place your food, allowing you to cook more at once.

Then there’s the actual cooking. Whether I was air frying, grilling or baking, or using one of the many microwave presets, the Crispi Microwave delivered great food every time. And to really unlock the power of this appliance, FusionCrisp uses the best of both cooking technologies, for wonderful moist in the middle, crispy on the outside cooks.

If you’ve got the space on your counter, and are looking to consolidate the number of appliances in your kitchen, the Ninja Crispi Microwave is an excellent all-rounder.

Ninja Crispi Microwave: price and availability

• Ninja Crispi Microwave price: $449.99 / £359.99 (about AU$650)
• Available in the US and UK, in multiple colors

The Ninja Crispi Microwave price is $449.99 / £359.99, which compared to a traditional countertop microwave is exceedingly expensive. However, this isn’t just a microwave. It also has a built-in air fryer, and with Ninja’s FusionCrisp Technology you can cook food with both systems in the same process.

There are a few other air fryer microwaves on the market, and comparing the costs here sees the Ninja competitively priced against its competition. The Samsung Combi Smart Microwave is a touch cheaper, Smeg’s is considerably more, while IKEA offers a budget-friendly option.

You can buy the Ninja Crispi Microwave directly from Ninja, and via third party retailers in the US and UK. It’s not available in Australia.

I’ve seen the Crispi Microwave discounted in the US by around $50, but at time of writing I’m yet to see any discounts in the UK. It’s always worth shopping around though.

Interestingly, in the US you get the choice of four colors; black, silver, Cyperspace (blue) and Stone Gold. In the UK, Stone Gold isn’t available, leaving you with three options.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Ninja Crispi Microwave: specifications

Ninja Crispi Microwave: design

• Premium, modern design, with cookbook in the box
• Slightly bigger than a standard microwave, but needs more clearance
• Internal light is dim, front is a dust and fingerprint magnet

The Ninja Crispi Microwave is a smart looking appliance, with a modern aesthetic, clean lines, and chunky dials and buttons.

Considering the additional air fryer tech squeezed inside the Ninja Crispi Microwave, it’s not hugely oversized. At 44.6 (D) x 51.6 (W) x 35.8cm (H) it’s bigger than my current unit, but it’s not aggressively massive.

While that’ll be good news for those hoping it will fit where their current microwave resides, you need to take airflow into consideration. As this product also has an air fryer built into it, you need to allow for a minimum of 12 inches (30.5 cm) of clearance above the unit for adequate airflow and safe operation.

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That meant I couldn’t place the Crispi where my current microwave was, as the wall mounted cupboard above it didn’t allow for enough space for air to flow safely. I’m fortunate to have open countertop space in my kitchen, allowing me to place the Crispi - but if you have a smaller kitchen, or limited countertop space this is something you need to consider before purchasing.

If you do have a suitable space for the Crispi to reside, you’ll find it comes with various warnings when you open the packaging and look through the paperwork.

One of the main warnings is to not operate it when empty, as this can apparently damage the unit.

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Unlike a traditional microwave, there’s no rotating platform inside. Instead there’s a glass service that you place dishes on, and you need to be careful when cooking is finished as this surface can be very hot.

What that does mean is you get a bigger cooking surface area compared to a turntable (up to 20% more, according to Ninja), with the ability to place dishes across the entire base of the microwave.

The quick start guide and recipe book included in the box will get you up and running quickly though, and these offers are better than some manufacturers - I’m looking at you, Philips.

The smart, modern design looks good on the counter top, but the glossy door and instrument panel are an absolute dust and fingerprint magnet. You’ll need to keep a microfibre cloth handy if you want to maintain a clean look.

Press the large door release button, and it swings open nice and wide, going beyond 90 degrees to give you plenty of space to move things in and out. It’s especially welcome when sliding the hot glassware tray out.

That glass tray is included in the box (along with a removable, metal crisper tray), and at a capacity of 5.5 quarts / 5.2 liters Ninja says it can hold an 8lb chicken, or four slices of pizza

And the runners that hold the glassware near the top of the cavity when in air fry or FusionCrisp mode have a nice party trick. Slide the glassware most of the way out, and it’ll drop into a small groove on the runners.

This angles the tray slightly towards you, allowing you to mix, stir or turn your food without the glassware sliding all over the place or needing to remove it completely. Your oven racks might well have a similar feature, and I was pleased to see the inclusion here.

Plus, Ninja has included a childlock feature on the door release button, preventing curious little hands from reaching up and simply popping the door open when cooking. To enable child lock, grab a Philips-head screwdriver and turn the switch on the side of the door release button. You will then have to press this side switch and the main door release together to open.

Another thing I like are the buttons, which have great tactility and feel premium under finger. They’re clearly labelled and are relatively intuitive - though you will need to refer to the manual initially while the process of getting the right settings becomes engrained.

As an example of how good the controls are, I was able to change the clock time on the microwave with ease, something that can’t be said for many microwaves I’ve used in the past.

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Something that hasn't shone so bright is the light inside the microwave. It’s a little dim, even when you have the door open. When it’s closed, it’s not easy to see your food due to the heavy tint on the door as well as the under powered light.

The Ninja Crispi Microwave offers an array of cooking modes. There’s the traditional microwave option, allowing you to quickly reheat food, cook microwave meals, and pop some popcorn. Press the microwave button, set the time and hit go.

But there’s more here than first meets the eye. Hit the microwave button twice and you’ll get an illuminated selection of additional sub modes; defrost, beverage, popcorn, potato, soup, soften butter, frozen vegetable, and porridge. This makes for quicker and easier cooking for some of the core things you use a microwave for.

Then there’s the air fryer mode, which itself also has a few sub-options to choose from. If you’re familiar with Ninja’s air fryers these will be familiar; air fry, max crisp, air roast, air bake, air grill.

Then there’s a third mode, FusionCrisp. Ninja claims FusionCrisp takes the best part of microwaving and air frying, and combines them, giving you food that retains moisture, cooks quickly, but doesn’t go soggy.

• Design score: 4/5

Ninja Crispi Microwave: performance

• Brilliantly versatile as an air fryer and a microwave
• FusionCrisp mode combines the best of both
• Good enough to replace multiple appliances in your kitchen

The performance of the Ninja Crispi Microwave is impressive. Whether you’re air frying, microwaving, reheating, baking, grilling or softening butter (yes, it really has its own dedicated setting), this appliance delivers.

I used a combination of FusionCrisp and Air Fry to make a family-sized portion of mac and cheese. I added macaroni, water, milk and oil to the glassware and cooked it on the FusionCrisp mode for 25 minutes. I then added cheese and finished it with eight minutes in air fry mode for a lovely golden top.

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The pasta was cooked well to an al dente bite, while the cheese oozed throughout the dish and provided some exceptional cheese pull highlights.

I dipped into the supplied cook book again when it came to sorting out a sweet treat, and I baked a moist, spongy chocolate cake using the FusionCrisp feature. I mixed the batter and poured it into the glassware, selected FusionCrisp for 15 minutes, then air fry for five minutes, and hit start.

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The Crispi Microwave then got to baking, doing the quarter of an hour FusionCrisp cook first and then seamlessly switching to air fry for five minutes to finish the cake off. And thanks to the size of the glassware, the cake was large enough to last us a whole week.

And for a quick lunch fix I utilized the FusionCrisp mode once again to cook myself a baked potato. 14 minutes microwave, followed by a 10 minute air fry and I had a soft fluffy centered potato with a crispy skin in under half an hour. For those of you who enjoy an extra crispy skin on your potato, I'd recommend air frying for an additional 10 minutes.

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I always enjoy air fryer chicken wings, and the Ninja Crispi Microwave didn’t disappoint. Lightly tossed in oil, salt and pepper, my wings cooked for 35 minutes at 200C on the air fryer mode. The result? Wonderfully crispy skin and succulent meat. It was so good, I immediately cooked a second batch.

Another air fryer classic is homemade fries, which I cooked at 200C for 20 minutes. Although the power of the Ninja Crispi Microwave meant I stopped after 16 minutes as outside was looking well cooked.

It turned out they needed a couple more minutes to make them extra crispy, and they were well cooked and nice and fluffy on the side. Depending on how thick you cut your fries, you’ll want to keep an eye on how they’re cooking before the time is up.

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Digging into the freezer I wanted to see if the Crispi Microwave could deliver when it comes to frozen fries, and I selected the Max Crisp setting on the Air Fryer mode. The recipe book that comes with the unit has numerous tables with settings and cook time for lots of different foods, and it suggested I cooked the frozen fries for 15 minutes.

However, I found they needed an additional five minutes to get to a good level of crisp. Once done though, I was treated to crunchy fries with fluffy centers — just bear in mind you might need to cook them for longer.

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As a big pizza fan, I love using an air fryer to reheat leftover slices, and the Ninja Crispi Microwave is a great option. Unlike a traditional microwave where your reheated slice is left limp, Ninja suggests heating the slices as you would in a traditional microwave first, then switching to air fry mode for five minutes to finish them off.

I dutifully followed these instructions, laying the slices on the crisper tray in the glassware, and sliding it into its elevated position. The results were slices which looked, felt and tasted almost as good as they did when they arrived fresh in the box the night before.

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You’ll be pleased to learn that despite not having a rotating platform, the microwave mode functions exactly how you’d expect. Reheating left over mac and cheese and warming up pasta sauce worked well.

The soup sub-mode allowed me to select the quantity of soup I was heating (in liters) and the Crispi Microwave adjusted the cook time to suit.

I melted butter using the soften butter sub-mode with no burning, while the popcorn sub-mode did a good job of popping the kernels in my sweet and salty bag in the two minute duration it set itself to.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Ninja Crispi Microwave?

Buy it if

Don’t buy it if

Ninja Crispi Microwave: also consider

Samsung Combi Smart Microwave

Combining a number of different kitchen appliances in one, it impresses with the oven, grill and microwave functions, but air frying is slow and not as effective as a dedicated machine. It's impressively easy to use, and the option of app control (something the Ninja doesn’t offer) will appeal to some.

For more information, check out our full Samsung Combi Smart Microwave review

Ninja Crispi Pro

This countertop air fryer is super-sized for families and entertaining, allowing you to make hot and crispy goodies for up to 10 people at once. Its 6-in-1 cooking modes bring extra versatility - although there’s no microwave function.

For more information, check out our full Ninja Crispi Pro review

How I tested the Ninja Crispi Microwave

• I used the Ninja Crispi Microwave for several weeks
• I cooked a variety of food, including fries, cake, popcorn, chicken and potatoes
• I tested the various cooking modes, and the cleaning process

I used the Ninja Crispi Microwave for a number of weeks at home during my review testing period, cooking a wide variety of food and testing out the various functions and modes that this appliance offers.

I baked a cake, air fried fries and chicken wings, reheated pizza and pasta, popped popcorn, warmed up soup, baked crispy potatoes, and even tested the “soften butter” setting.

I hand-washed the glassware and crisper tray, and put them through a dishwasher, while running a damp cloth around the interior of the microwave to ensure cleaning and maintenance was easy.

First reviewed September/October 2026