Shopping writer Narin Flanders has had several different air fryers but has found the Ninja Speedi to be her and her family’s favourite. The review below shares her thoughts and ideas on how to use kitchen gadgets.
I’ve tested many air fryers over the years. The one I’ve used the most, Ninja’s Speedi, is now down to a record-low £129.99 for Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Day and if, like me, you’ve ever struggled trying to juggle cooking decent midweek family meals while working from home, it is an absolute must-buy before the event ends at 11.59pm.
The air fryer that made me understand the hype of the cooking method when everyone first started going mad for it, was a Tefal Actifry. The model, which was relaunched at a lower price point recently, is round and has a paddle in it that can turn continually through cooking, making it great for ensuring nothing sticks. I soon fell into a rhythm where I had two or three favourite meals we could cook in it – it also makes the best chips I’ve ever had in an air fryer – but the shape of it made it impractical for full meals for the entire family.
Next, we had an air fryer oven in similar style to this Cosori one that’s been reduced to £99 for the event. The multi-functional gadget does much more than air frying, it is great for cooking entire joints of meat and was used repeatedly to make the ultimate healthy American fried pickles. But it took up a lot of counter space and, as I still used my oven for some things, actually ended up more than I needed a lot of the time.
When comparing sizes, if my first air fryer was too small and my next one was too big, when I got the Ninja Speedi it turned out to be just right. Foodie tech firm Ninja, of course, makes dozens of different permutations of air fryers, most recently an innovative Double Stack, a small-in-footprint but tall-in-height version perfect for kitchens with less room on the sides.
In my opinion, the Speedi ends up often overlooked. The Ninja Speedi 10-in-1 Rapid Cooker not only has the functions of many of the brand’s other popular air fryer and grill models, acting as a steamer, grill, air fryer, roaster, dehydrator, saute pan and slow cooker, but it also has a new function that gives the gadget its name and which allows you cook a full meal in around 15 minutes.
The kitchen gadget is ideal for people who don’t have the time or inclination to regularly use kitchen gadgets. You know what it’s like. Whether you’re wrangling children or dashing in from work, weeknight meals always seem a bit of a pain.
Before getting the Speedi and with two children in the house, our dinners tended to either be ready meals or several shades of beige. Despite my best intentions doing the weekly shop, weeknight meals regularly featured chicken strips, sausages or fish fingers, usually paired with oven chips, pasta or hash browns and some sweetcorn, peas or other frozen veg so I could vaguely reassure myself that they were getting at least a few vitamins.
Everything cooked quickly while I was working from home, meaning that my first job of the night once I’d turned off my laptop was washing up various baking trays and pans and trying to make the kitchen look less of a bomb site. The thing that surprised me most the first time I used the Speedi was that I was able to whip up chicken, pasta and vegetables in a creamy sauce despite never having used it before and without constantly having to go back and check it.
It took a few minutes to pre-heat to the right temperature but, once it had, it then simultaneously steamed the pasta and veg in the bottom of my pot and air-fried and baked the chicken, which I’d liberally coated in Nandos lemon and herb rub to keep my children happy.
It only took 18 minutes between pressing start and dishing up the meal and not only was it minimal faff, no remembering to get up after ten minutes to turn things over or chuck vegetables in the microwave, but every element was perfectly cooked.
The pasta still had the right amount of bite to it, while the chicken was both pleasingly crispy but also notably much more moist than when I cooked it in the oven. The children both ate the lot, while I rejoiced at the fact the cooking pot and trivet used for cooking could go straight into the dishwasher once they’d cooled.
It’s 18 months since I originally reviewed the Speedi and it remains the air fryer of choice in my kitchen. Originally we stuck to the format of protein at the top (salmon was a favourite with the grown-ups and done in just 8 minutes, a new record and no smell of fish afterwards) and then a carbohydrate like pasta, rice or bulgur wheat in the bottom but as my confidence built we increasingly branched out.
I ended up joining a Facebook group for ideas and advice to help with planning meals and getting the timings right.
But now we have a series of family-pleasing meals that regularly get cooked in it and, mostly powered by Poppy Cooks, Pinch of Nom and a Readly trial subscription that means I can browse all the foodie magazines of my dreams totally free for recipe inspiration, the variety and rotation means none of us are bored but, consistently, we can cook a hands-off midweek dinner in 25 minutes or less, with most of the effort being chopping the bits to go in it before it starts, dishing up and loading the dishwasher afterwards.
Last Amazon Prime Day the Speedi went down to £139, which made it 45% off the launch price, but with it reduced a further £10 to £129.99 for this year’s Amazon Prime Big Deal Days event, this is absolutely the best time to buy it if you’ve ever been tempted. It even comes in a limited edition copper colour.
If you miss out on the sale, Ninja is selling it directly for £169 in their autumn sale which, while slightly more expensive, is still absolutely worth the money and works out better value than Lakeland where it’s still the full £229 price.
