We Tried It: This Glass-Bottom Air Fryer Is the Best That Money Can Buy

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Written by  Pamela Vachon

Written by  David Watsky

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Pamela Vachon Contributor

Pamela is a freelance food and travel writer based in Astoria, Queens. While she writes about most things edible and potable (and accessories dedicated to those topics,) her real areas of expertise are cheese, chocolate, cooking and wine. She’s a culinary school grad, certified sommelier, former bartender and fine dining captain with 10 years in the industry. When not sitting at the keys, she leads in-home cheese classes, wine tastings and cocktail demonstrations.

Expertise Wine | Cheese | Chocolate | Cooking

David Watsky Senior Editor / Home and Kitchen

David lives in Brooklyn where he’s spent more than a decade covering all things edible, including meal kit services, food subscriptions, kitchen tools and cooking tips. David earned his BA from Northeastern and has toiled in nearly every aspect of the food business, including as a line cook in Rhode Island where he once made a steak sandwich for Lamar Odom. Right now he’s likely somewhere stress-testing a blender or tinkering with a toaster. Anything with sesame is his all-time favorite food this week.

Expertise Kitchen tools | Appliances | Food science | Subscriptions | Meal kits

CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.

Ninja Crispi

Pros

• Cook, serve, and storage capabilities
• Easy to clean: almost everything is dishwasher-safe
• Intuitive operation
• No concern about PFAS
• Ability to see cooking in progress
• Can buy additional glass vessels for maximum food prep
• Small storage footprint with nesting capabilities
• Portable

Cons

• Price is on the high side for air fryers
• Some exposed hot elements during operation

Not too long ago, Ninja released a glass-bottom air fryer. Before it was made available to the public, two CNET kitchen writers were able to test the innovative appliance and we both agree that The Crispi, despite its relatively high cost, is the best air fryer money can buy in 2025.

Truth be told, a glass air fryer cooks about the same as a nonstick-coated air fryer. Most air fryers make all the same foods, but what sets the $180 Crispi apart is its glass cooking chamber that makes cleaning your air fryer much easier, regardless of whether you was it in the dishwasher or by hand. 

The glass material also carries no risk of chemical toxins seeping into food, which can happen when nonstick coatings get to hot. As if that wasn’t enough, the same glass cooking chamber transforms into food storage with the included airtight lids. 

After several weeks of cooking a range of foods in the Crispi, we gave it an enthusiastic CNET Editor’s Choice award. Here’s everything you need to know about the Ninja Crispi and why it just might be the best air fryer we’ve tested.

Ninja Crispi 4-in-1 portable glass air fryer at a glance

• Style: Modular air fryer with two sizes of glass cooking vessels and a separate cooking pod in three color options
• Dimensions: 13.5 by 12 by 13.5 inches
• Power: 1,500 watts
• Weight: 15.74 pounds
• Price $160

Ninja Crispi setup

Despite not looking anything like a typical air fryer, the Ninja Crispi was intuitive to set up and use. Each of the glass cooking vessels has a built-in stand with feet that keeps it off the counter surface. Side handles are also fitted on the stands of the bowls, which allow not only for easy transporting between the counter and the table (because the vessels can also be used to serve) but also make it easy to shake the contents as needed during the cooking process.

The nonstick crisper plates were packaged separately and simple to place inside the bowls and to remove for cleaning. Lids for the 6-cup and 4-quart bowls were also included: a snap-on lid for the smaller and a simpler press-on lid for the larger. 

The cooking pod itself has an ergonomic shape for easy lifting and also has feet for safe placement on the counter when not in use. The cooking pod sits easily on top of the 6-cup bowl and a big-batch adapter frame fits the cooking pod onto the larger bowl. Between unwrapping and rinsing all of the washable parts, I was ready to go in about 2 minutes.

Ninja Crispi operation

The cooking pod itself includes crisp, bake, air fry and max crisp functions. Crisp is intended to revive leftovers, while max crisp is the ideal setting for packaged frozen foods. While it is tempting, given its baking dish look, the glass TempWare bowls are not intended to be used as the actual cooking vessels for batters in bake mode, because air still needs to circulate below the cooking vessels to be effective. (Will I try anyway? The temptation is real…) 

Pressing any button will indicate a digital timer to which you can add or subtract minutes. (The timer defaults to 10.) Below 1 minute, the timer changes into seconds and the device beeps to alert you when the cycle is complete. Overall, the sound level of the Ninja Crispi was similar to conventional air fryer models, with just a moderate whir when operating.

What I liked about the Ninja Crispi

As expected, the ability to see the cooking in progress was really satisfying, both from a nerdy perspective and also to be able to look for visual cues in terms of when to flip your items or to assess doneness. Both chicken parts and Brussels sprouts were cooked evenly and efficiently with little risk of over-cooking given the 360-degree window into the proceedings.

The versatility, however, makes the Ninja Crispi tremendously interesting, especially for avid meal preppers. Full meals or individual cooked components can go right from cooking into the fridge, with the included lids for easy storage. (Although I am bound by refrigerator logistics to tell you to let it all cool first, so you don’t inadvertently raise the temperature inside your fridge.) 

Additional cooking bowls in a variety of sizes can be purchased separately, allowing for the possibility of a multitude of individually cooked meals with no cleanup required in between use: just transfer the cooking pod from one cooking vessel to the next, assembly-line style. Sunday meal prep has never been easier, nor required fewer dishes.

The Ninja Crispi is also easy to store, with a footprint and height requirement that is far less than a lot of conventional models. It also makes for easy portability — ideal for a potluck situation or even just a hot-meal self-care moment — where you could even justify cooking on site. Either of the cooking bowls and the cooking pod could easily fit in a shoulder bag. If I worked in an office, it would thrill me to bring the whole thing with me to have a hot, healthful lunch without reheating. Although if you’re contemplating being the person to cook fish directly at your desk — maybe don’t.

Not only can the larger 4-quart bowl be used directly as a family-style serving vessel — whose practical feet preclude the need for a trivet or pot holder — but one could argue that the smaller 4-cup vessel can be used to eat out of directly, significantly reducing the number of dishes to wash. Speaking of washing, everything except the cooking pod itself is dishwasher-safe. 

What I didn’t like about the Ninja Crispi

As a modular device with a ton of built-in practicality and versatility, I do think the Ninja Crispi is a game-changer in the air fryer market. That said, at $180 it’s on the higher side, price-wise, for an air fryer. 

Those with little ones in the house also may want to note: When the cooking pod is being used with the adapter for large batches, the adapter can become hot and is potentially exposed once the heating pod is removed. Never minding little ones, if you’re an absent-minded cook yourself, it can be a hazard.

Read more: 8 Foods That Go From Good to Great in an Air Fryer

Final verdict on the Ninja Crispi

If you’re a disciple of air fryer cooking and, especially if you have a serious commitment to meal prepping, the Ninja Crispi is arguably one of the most versatile models on the market. It’s satisfying to use and easy to store and clean. I may look for it on sale during Prime Days or the like, but even without a discount, its utility and the reputation of the Ninja brand merits its price tag.