Two-minute review
The Ninja Double Oven Air Fryer is a unique entry among the exploding kitchen-scape of these types of cooking appliances. With oven-style air fryers in the minority compared to the cheaper basket-style variety, as far as I can tell, there aren’t any other models that come with two separate cooking compartments. For that, you’ll have to stick to a handful of basket air fryers, including models from Ninja.
Ninja’s product line appears to consist of two oven-style air fryers – the DCT451 reviewed here and the slightly cheaper (by $20) DCT40. However, they’re actually the same unit, with the more expensive one arriving with a smart thermometer.
The rarity of this air fryer’s form factor might not be enough for it to stand among the best air fryers available right now; but, luckily, it performs exactly as it should, leaving little room for concern. In fact, outside of its price, which can certainly be considered premium, the only issue is cleaning the inside of the compartments.
Basket-style air fryers enable you to remove the entire basket for cleanup; but cleaning an oven-style air fryer such as this one from Ninja is very very much like cleaning the inside of a toaster oven. That said, you can’t cook a pizza, roast a chicken, or toast a number of slices of sourdough all at once in the former. And, with the Ninja Double Oven air fryer, you can engage two different cooking functions at the same time.
Ninja Double Oven review: price and availability
- List price: $349.99 (about £274 / AU$532)
- Available in the US only
The Ninja Double Oven is only available Stateside. While Ninja does offer oven-style air fryers in the UK or Australia, there are none with a dual oven setup.
That’s unfortunate, since the Ninja Double Oven is certainly worth its admittedly high price of $349.99 (about £274 / AU$532), because not only does it arrive with a dual oven setup, but each has its own separate functions, too.
If you’re not in the US, you’re limited to basket-style air fryers such as the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Air Fryer AF300, which sells for £179.99 / AU$399 (about $263). There are models that feature dual compartments that can be set to cook separately or finish at the same time just like the Ninja Double Oven. However, because of the basket form factor, you have less surface area to space out your food.
Of course, if that dual oven functionality isn’t so important, you can spend quite a bit less than you would on the Ninja Double Oven. The Cuisinart TOA-60 Air Fryer Toaster Oven at $229.95 / £250 does an excellent job, with seven cooking functions and the capacity to cook things like pizza.
Value: 3/5
Ninja Double Oven review: specifications
Ninja Double Oven review: Design
- Double-oven design with individual functions and controls
- Smart finish
- Lots of accessories, but only one crumb tray
The most striking thing about the Ninja Double Oven is its two cooking compartments. Each offers six cooking functions, with different options to choose from.
The size of each compartment reflects this dual functionality, with the upper oven a fair bit smaller than the bottom. For instance, the top can broil, toast, bagel, reheat and keep warm, while the bottom does whole roast, air roast, air fry, convection bake, pizza and rehydrate.
Each oven has its own set of three buttons, so you can select that particular oven and adjust the temperature and cooking time. There’s also a general use dial, power and backlight buttons, as well as buttons for the included smart thermometer, not to mention the button for the smart finish feature.
Since I’ve mentioned that smart finish feature, it’s quite a nifty inclusion that makes the Ninja Dual Oven even more convenient by letting you sync both ovens to complete cooking at the same time.
The last thing I’ll mention here regarding the two-oven design is the design of the door. Along with a big handle to easily pull down the whole door, there’s a latch to the left that, when pressed, only opens the top oven for access while the bottom oven continues cooking.
As you’d expect with a souped-up air fryer oven such as this, the Ninja Double Oven comes with plenty of accessories from that smart thermometer to two sheet pans, two wire racks, an air fryer basket, and a crumb tray. While I appreciate that all the racks are dishwasher safe, I’d have liked a second crumb tray for easier cleanup. Instead, I had to resort to putting some aluminum foil along the bottom of the lower oven to keep cleanup simple.
Design: 5/5
Ninja Double Oven review: Performance
- Cooks evenly and consistently across all functions
- Very easy to use
- Cleaning is tough
When it comes to actually cooking, the Ninja Double Oven stands up to the test. Regardless of whether I used the top oven or bottom for cooking nuggets, fries, pizza, toasting bread, and so on, the results were consistent.
All the functions worked as expected. I was particularly happy with the way the oven roasted broccoli – perfect, instead of burnt or dry – as well as the convection bake, which did a great job with potatoes. It was also ideal for making a vegan egg souffle. If there are any issues cooking with the Ninja Double Oven, it’s likely to be the result of user error.
Beyond its cooking ability, setting up each and even pairing both compartments’ cooking times with the Smart Finish feature proved easy and straightforward. I didn’t have to look in the manual to figure things out.
Instead, I simply selected the functions and individual settings for each oven, hit the Smart Finish button, and then pressed the dial, which also functions as start and stop.
The only issue I have experienced with the Ninja Double Oven is trying to maintain it. The lack of a second crumb tray results in extra work to remove any oil that splatters on the side of the compartment.
If I want the air fryer looking its best, then using steel wool is probably the only way to remove that caked on oil. Unfortunately, this will likely be a common issue with oven-style air fryers. Nevertheless, it really is the only complaint here, aside of its premium price.
Performance: 4.5/5
Should I buy the Ninja Double Oven?
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How I tested
- I used the Ninja Double Oven for a couple weeks
- Cooked various items using the different functions
- Put all its features to the test
Putting the Ninja Double Oven Air Fryer through its paces over the course of a few weeks, I used it to cook a variety of foods – from pizzas to toast, to using the roasting function for veggies and the convection bake setting for an (vegan) egg soufflé. I also evaluated the different features, most notably Smart Finish, to see how well it worked.
Having spent some time with the Double Oven, I was able to come to a conclusion about the type of household it would most suit. While a single person or couple will happily be able to make use of its functions, its dual-oven design is ideal for those with limited time who want to cook bigger quantities of food that’s ready at the same time.
I’ve been testing all sorts of tech gadgets, gear, and appliances for a few years now and have used that knowledge to figure out the ins and outs of this air fryer to see how well it measures up to expectations and the competition.
Read more about how we test
First reviewed August 2023
