If you, like me, love making a decadent WFH lunch then I think you'll want to know about this somewhat niche Ninja appliance. Ninja's 3-in-1 Toaster, Grill and Panini Press is capable of turning your kitchen into a fully fledged cafe and I am so here for it.
On sale at plenty of places thanks to Black Friday sales but at its lowest price over at QVC for just £109.96, I tried this toaster out to see what it's capable of and to establish if it's something you should splash your cash on in the sales.
Let's just say that as far as the best toasters go, this one is very kitted out. And if you too want to master the art of the Joe & the Juice Tunacado at home, you'll want to keep reading.
Is the Ninja toaster worth it?
The first thing that surprised me about this toaster is how big it is. At 40cm long, it'll take up substantial space on your worktop, but it'll also be able to deliver when it comes to toasting speciality bread.
For those looking to toast ciabatta, sourdough and baguettes, this toaster will be a winner. Another thing I wasn't expecting is that this toaster has just one slot. That makes more sense when the toaster is in grill and panini mode, but also explains the reason for the length of the slot, as it's designed for you to fit two slices side-by-side.
The next quirk about this toaster is that it has two modes corresponding to which function you need to use. Upright mode is for when you want to do everyday, straightforward, toasting and this product functions exactly as you'd expect (in other words, you press down on the lever to toast).
To use the other two functions, you spin the toaster onto its side and pull the lever down, where it will automatically lock into place.
That's where the panini press element comes into play. Complete with a handle, it slots in to grill whatever you pop inside - Ninja's included recipe book recommends filled croissants, leftover pizza and of course, paninis.
I tried the panini setting out with a shop-bought sandwich to check the credentials of this toaster.
Once you pop the sandwich in, you pick the function and the toaster auto-sets the temperature and time it grills your sandwich for.
After just a couple of minutes, my sandwich turned panini was perfectly crisp, with the bread lightly browned to perfection and the cheese melted nicely.
I was shocked at just how impressive the results with this toaster were. This was just the first of the tests I'm going to undertake with this toaster and the StayPerfect kettle and I'm excited to see what using them long-term is like. If they've already ticked your boxes, then there's also a great Black Friday deal on the set below.
