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Ninja is a brand that has elevated itself into cult status in the kitchen appliance world, delivering stellar blenders and air fryers that rival iconic names such as Nutribullet, Vortex, and Instant Pot. Now, with the Ninja DZ201 (also known as Ninja Foodi 2 Basket), the company offers a dual-zone model that features two cooking drawers. This means you can cook different foods at different temperatures in one appliance, or sync the same foods to at the same time.
The Ninja DZ201 works much the same way as every other air fryer on the market: It circulates hot air around food to cook them, achieving the same crisp finish you’d achieve from deep-frying but using far less oil. Ninja claims that its air fryers reduce the amount of oil required by 75%, but beware, it’s a little bulkier than your typical air fryer.
Design
- 8-quart capacity
- Two separate cooking zones
- Comes with a two frying baskets and crisper trays
The dual-basket design of the Ninja Foodi 2 Basket makes it a bulky appliance. It measures 13.86 x 15.63 x 12.4 inches and weighs 17.86 pounds, meaning this isn’t an appliance you’ll be storing in the cupboard and lifting out every time you need to use it.
Finished in a stylish matte black with chrome accents, the DZ201 offers two cooking baskets. You can place different foods into each of the frying baskets, both feature a crisper plate and select different cooking modes and temperatures to prepare them. When it comes to cooking duration, you can set each zone to complete cooking independently or use the Sync feature that delays the basket with a shorter cooking time so that both zones complete at the same time.
The Ninja DZ201 Foodi offers six cooking presets: Air Fry, Roast, Bake, Dehydrate, Reheat, and Max Crisp, which is designed for frozen foods such as chicken nuggets, battered onion rings, or other delicacies that would normally be deep-fried. This air fryer has a total capacity of 8 quarts, but there is the bigger model, the Ninja DZ401 with a larger 10 quarts capacity, which is split evenly across the two frying baskets.
Cooking temperatures in the frying baskets range from 40ºC / 104ºF to 240ºC / 464ºF, for up to 12 hours at a time, but the latter is at the lowest temperatures. When used at its maximum temperature, it can cook for up to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Cleaning the DZ201 Foodi is pretty easy, as the baskets and crisper plates are dishwasher-safe.
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Performance
- Crisp homemade fries and chicken wings
- Can synchronise cooking times of both zones
- Lacks a reminder to shake
When it comes to making crisp foods at home, the Ninja DZ201 Foodi is a winner. It cooks homemade fries and frozen steak cut fried to perfection, with crunchy exteriors and soft, fluffy potato inside. The same doneness is repeated with chicken wings, which get a crisp, golden skin while the meat on the inside remains succulent and tender.
On the other hand, this air fryer isn’t particularly effective at browning fries. Even after following the suggested cooking temperature and duration in the provided booklet, some of the fries come out looking pale and others almost burnt around the edges. Ninja recommends shaking the contents of the air fryer baskets several times during cooking, but it lacks a reminder to shale, which might leave you staring at the air fryer the entire time.
Even without a reminder, you’ll be impressed by the Sync feature, which allows you to cook different food with different cooking modes, temperatures, and durations; but they will be ready at the same time. Alternatively, you have the option of setting one zone with a cooking mode, temperature, and duration, and press the Match button to duplicate the settings in both zones, to avoid fiddling with the controls once again.
Each basket holds four quarts when filed to the top, but we don’t recommend air frying that amount all at once. You would fill up the baskets with items like chicken wings and extend the cooking time with overheads for the multiple interruptions to toss and turn, but you can’t pile fish filets on top of each other and expect a decent outcome.
In most cases, you’re limited to either a pound of food on each side or the base of the baskets, each one is 8 x 6.5 inches or big enough for two hamburgers or a few pieces of chicken. These baskets will not hold a whole chicken – but it will do a nice job if you have it loaded in pieces.
The Ninja Foodi 2 Basket does require you to use more oil than some air fryers we’ve reviewed. For chicken wings, for example, the included manual suggests brushing each wing with oil, while air fryers like the Instant Vortex Plus require no oil at all when preparing chicken wings. Similarly, 500g of homemade fries require 1 tbsp of oil; those looking to keep their calorie intake at the minimum might not appreciate this.
Bottom line
The Ninja DZ201 Foodi looks beautiful and offers a unique feature not available in most other air fryers – the ability to cook foods at different temperatures at the same time. Each basket can hold a pound of food which makes it a convenient air fryer for feeding a family, whether everyone will eat the same food or you need to cook different dishes to their satisfaction. It’s easy to use once you master the programming, but there’s a slight learning curve at the beginning.
It will fry most foods you throw in with ease, the six cooking modes cover most foods that you’d need to cook in an air fryer, but food like fries will need a little shaking. However, if you’re tight on countertop space or want to roast a full chicken in your air fryer, it may not be the best choice for you. Should you need a bigger capacity, the Ninja DZ401 Foodi offers a larger capacity (10 quarts), and the XL baskets can fit even a full chicken with ease.
Again, the DZ201 Foodi is also quite pricey, costing more than our Editor’s Choice, the Cosori Smart Wi-Fi Air Fryer, but if you think of it, you’re getting two air fryers in one, so it’s a win after all.
The Review
Ninja DZ201
The Ninja DZ201 Foodi is a versatile kitchen appliance that can deliver crisp, crunchy fries and other foods without the grease, and comes with two frying baskets for convenience.
PROS
- Cooks two foods at once
- Produces crisp, evenly browned results
- Easy to clean
CONS
- Lacks a reminder to turn function
- Bulky
Review Breakdown
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EDITORS RATING
Last update on 2023-09-27 at 20:03 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Prices Today
Ninja DZ201 Foodi 8 Quart 6-in-1 DualZone 2-Basket Air Fryer with 2 Independent Frying Baskets, Match Cook & Smart Finish to Roast, Broil, Dehydrate & More for Quick, Easy Meals, Grey
$189.88 in stock
11 used from $131.95
