Ninja Flip 8-in-1 Combo Air Fryer Toaster Oven Review

We have been trying to find something like the Ninja Flip Air Fryer Toaster Oven SP151 for the longest time — a powerful small toaster oven that has air frying capabilities. Admittedly, it’s not the most affordable option compared to other top contenders on our list, at $213.91 at the time of writing. However, based on our satisfying experience with the larger Ninja Foodi XL Pro, we were quite optimistic about what the Ninja Flip can offer. So, let’s get to it!

8.7 Performance

The Ninja Flip SP151 is one of our best performers, even considering larger air fryer toaster ovens. Judging its top tier pizza, chicken wings, and French fries scores, it fixed one of the main weaknesses of small toaster ovens — having a low power output and no convection fan. It’s also mentioned in the oven’s advertised OvenCrisp Technology, although we have no way of confirming it being 50% faster than traditional ovens. Moreover, its air frying function and basket helped tremendously in our tests of savoury dishes.

7.6 Toast

Scoring Components ↓

For our Toast test, we’ll be using 4 slices of white bread at room temperature to keep the testing procedure the same as with other ovens, but you can fit two more slices if you really try — something no other small ovens can do. We started off with the default shade level 4 (3 min 17 sec) and the color was a bit lacking and uneven.

So, we moved on to level 5 and got the best possible result with this Ninja Flip oven with a score of 7.6/10. For reference, we also provide the result of level 6 (3 min 51 sec) if you want your toast to be darker and crispier.

Level 5 for our first batch of toast was 3 min 28 sec. Most of the top was nicely golden brown, but some of the edges were significantly lighter and there was a spot that became brown.

The lighter edges were in the areas away from the center of the oven, which could be explained by the short timer. In our experience testing all these ovens, the best ones are done in around 4 min 30 sec to 5 min. The brown spot could just be due to the bread’s texture.

With how the tray is positioned at the lower level as per the guide, the bottom of the toast was golden brown in the area around the heating elements, but significantly lighter away. All in all, we scored “even surface color” at 7.5/10.

Luckily, the varied color brought along additional textures to a crispy exterior and moist interior, worthy of a 8/10 for taste. Our head chef Tuyet Pham deemed it suitable for dishes like sandwiches, omelet, and eggs benedict.

We proceeded with the second batch immediately afterward and were surprised to see that the Ninja Flip didn’t automatically reduce the timer like many other digital ovens we’ve tested. It was still 3 min 28 sec. Then, it wasn’t surprising to find the toast a little bit too brown, and the problem with unevenness wasn’t improved either.

We could only give the second batch a 7/10, though it did make the toast crispier, which is more suitable for soup. If you want it to be the same as the first batch, you can lower the timer by reducing the setting by one in either the shade level or number of slices on the control.

9.8 Pizza

Scoring Components ↓

For our second test of baking a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza, we first had to preheat the Ninja to 450°F on the pizza function. We came to find out that it could only get to 400°F after 10 minutes (which was very fast) and stayed there no matter how much more time passed. So, we had no other choice but to go ahead, and were pleasantly surprised with the final result — a pizza score of 9.8/10.

The Ninja finished baking the pizza in just 4 min 30 sec, way faster than our 8-minute benchmark for a 10/10. This is on par with some of the best toaster ovens of the large-size category, thanks to it having the same number of six heating elements and one convection fan, all powered with 1800 W.

And we haven’t even gotten to the most impressive qualities. With just the wire rack, no pizza stone, the crust was evenly golden and crunchy from the bottom to the top, worthy of an excellent 9.5/10. Despite being placed at the same position, the bottom crust didn’t suffer from the unevenness that happened in the toast test.

As for the toppings, the cheese was melty, the meat and veggies were perfectly charred, scoring a whopping 9.8/10. For the final step that was tasting, our chef approved the oven’s pizza making capabilities with a 9.8/10 for taste.

9.2 Roasted Chicken Wings

Scoring Components ↓

When we saw that the Ninja had the air roast function, we knew we had to use it for our third test of roasting 10 middle-joint chicken wings. And our expectations were met with a score of 9.2/10.

After preheating the Ninja to 400°F, we slid our air fryer basket of wings to the upper position with the sheet pan below to catch drippings. We tried to flip the wings after 20 minutes to ensure even roasting but they stuck to the metal so we could only rotate the basket instead.

That minor hiccup didn’t stop the wings from achieving a mouth-watering golden brown hue. They were also nicely crispy, which you can tell by just looking at all the rendered fat. All that with just a simple salt and pepper was very much worthy of a 9.5/10.

The wings were cooked all the way through, of course. However, we did wish they were a bit juicier. For you cooking at home, it might be better to go 425°F for 30 minutes. As it is, it’s an 8.5/10 for doneness. Our chef agreed with the notion and gave the taste a 9/10.

9.0 Baked French Fries

Scoring Components ↓

The Ninja Flip is currently the only toaster oven we placed in the small category that has an air fry function and basket. This made us very excited precisely because of our fourth test of air-frying 12 oz of frozen french fries. And it did not let us down with a score of 9.0/10.

At 400°F, we tossed the fries after 10 minutes to ensure evenness. Five more minutes was when we were satisfied with the result and clocked a 9/10.

The color was pretty much an even golden, with shorter fries being golden brown and longer ones being light golden, scoring a 9/10. The fries were mostly crispy throughout as well, with shorter ones more crispy and longer ones slightly less so, another 9/10.

Everything culminates to one final 9/10 for taste from our chef. If we were to do it for real, we might just bump it all the way to 450°F.

9.4 Design

The Ninja Flip stays true to the brand’s reputation on quality. All of its features, from the brushed stainless steel casing, to convection and quartz heated cooking chamber, to intuitive control panel, give an impression of being built to last.

In the Box

• Model: SP151
• Warranty: 2-year limited
• User Manual
• Two quick Guides
• Baking Rack
• Baking Pan
• Air Fryer Basket
• Removable Crumb Tray

The Ninja Flip came in a nice fitting box, along with a wire rack, a sheet pan, an air fryer basket, a removable crumb tray, a user manual, and two quick guides.

9.2 Exterior

The Ninja Flip has a brushed stainless steel exterior, immediately evokes the brand’s image (+1). Our measurements of the oven’s footprint are 17.3"D x 15.7"W x 7.8"H, which matched nearly flawlessly to the manufacturer’s provided measurements of 17.01"D x 15.75"W x 7.68"H. And that’s how we know both of us took the door handle into account for the width (+1).

There are also two indents on the side to make flipping the Ninja up easier (+1). The oven has four heat-proof rubber bottom stands (+1). Out of those, the rear two extends to the back, and in combination with the two upper back buffers, make up the four stands for when the oven is flipped vertically (+1.2).

The upper back buffers not only keep the oven from being too close to the walls, they also act as cable management (+2). You can clearly see the air vents on the back as well as the cooling fan, something we really appreciate (+2).

Control Panel

The Ninja’s control panel includes an LCD display and 6 analog buttons. From left to right, there’s a power button, a function button, a temperature / toast shade button, a time / number of slices button, a start/stop button, and a light toggle. All three function, temp, and time buttons are separated into a minus of the left for going down and a plus on the right for going up in the settings.

Besides displaying the timer and temperature, the screen also says “hello” when you turn it on, “bye” when you turn it off, and “hot” when you shouldn’t be touching the outside of the oven.

Cooking Functions

• Air Fry (150-450°F / 120 min)
• Air Roast (150-450°F / 120 min)
• Bake (150-450°F / 120 min)
• Pizza (150-450°F / 120 min)
• Broil (Low - High)
• Toast (7 shades - up to 6 slices)
• Bagel (7 shades - up to 6 slices)
• Dehydrate (850-200°F / 240 min)

As the name suggests, the Ninja Flip offers 8 cooking functions: air fry, air roast, bake, pizza, broil, toast, bagel, and dehydrate. Standing out are ‘air roast’ which proved useful in our chicken wings test and ‘dehydrate’ which allows the oven to go as low as 85°F.

9.3 Interior

Inside the Ninja Flip are most of the features we want to see: six quartz heating elements, two guide rails, a back-to-front convection fan, and one light positioned on the left side (+4). However, the walls are neither non-stick coated or polished, so stubborn grease might be a pain to deal with (-1).

The heating elements are four on top and two underneath to make heat distribution as even as possible (+2). Unlike nichrome elements, these heat the food more directly rather than warming the surrounding air, which helps cook food faster without raising their internal temperature so much (+2). Usually, this can make surface coloring not as even, but convection can help with that (+2).

That said, they’re not quite as durable and can be tricky to clean if grease splatters on them (-0.7). It’s worth noting that the bottom ones have safeguards to minimize the risk of anything touching them while they’re hot (+1).

Capacity

Interestingly, the Ninja Flip’s cooking chamber has the same width as the much larger Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro at 12 inches. The depth is 13.6” and height is 5.9”, making the total volume around 16 liters instead of 17.01 cubic inches (which is very small) like listed on Amazon. Thus, you can fit a cake pan or casserole dish no problem.

Power Cord

The 3-prong flat power cord is roughly 33.9", which is a comfortable length to reach outlets at the back of your kitchen counter. When you want to flip the Ninja up, just make sure to unplug it beforehand.

Accessories: Oven Rack

The racks fit perfectly with the guide along with the safety hooks, which helps prevent accidents when placing your food in the oven. Each can fit 6 slices of toast tightly together.

Accessories: Baking Pan

The sheet pan is ample for baking and catching meat juices and drippings from the air fryer basket. This helps keep things tidy and prevents any fire hazards from dirty heating elements. While the enamel coating is dishwasher-safe, keep in mind that doing so can worsen existing damage.

Accessories: Air Fryer Basket

The air fryer basket fits the guide rail, leaving plenty of space for air and heat circulation around the food after placing the sheet pan below.

Accessories: Removable Crumb Tray

The removable crumb tray makes cleanup quick and convenient by catching loose crumbs before they accumulate inside the oven. Its snug fit helps prevent crumbs from spilling onto the bottom of the oven when the tray is removed.

9.5 Build Quality

The Ninja Flip has a durable and thick stainless steel which provides good heat insulation. In addition, it’s well ventilated with air vents and a cooling fan to prolong the lifespan of the entire oven.

The control is streamlined, making it functional while being intuitive to use and on top of that, space-saving. All of the accessories are designed well to fit their purposes and make the most out of the oven’s capacity.

9.1 Usability

The Ninja’s biggest selling point is in its name, but it also goes a step further in saving space with how compact it is. And it accomplishes this without sacrificing convenience or practicality.

9.0 User Control

All the buttons of the Ninja Flip respond smoothly and they are easy enough to understand without the need of a user manual (+2). Something we really appreciate in ovens from the brand is their temperature range going below 150°F, 85°F in this case, suitable for warm keeping, dehydrating, and dough proofing (+2).

The timer adjusts in 1-minute increments when under 1 hour and 5-minute increments when over 1 hour (+1). The temperature can be increased in 5-degree increments (+1). Holding the buttons won’t make it go any faster.

For the Toast and Bagel functions, the preset temperature is 450°F, similar to all toaster ovens. Adjusting the Temp/Shade and Time/Slice buttons simply changes to a predetermined cooking time.

You can select the number of bread slices and toast up to 6 slices. Settings can still be adjusted even while toasting, something we’ve only found in Ninja ovens (+2).

The oven has a light toggle but not convection toggle, but it’s not a big problem since the cooking functions are designed with the correct convection output, as seen from our tests (+1).

9.5 Ease of Use

By flipping the Ninja vertically against the wall, you will save 50% of the space (+2). The oven has an automatic preheating phase that lasts 1m 30s that heats up to around 200°F (+1). There’s audio cues both when preheating is done and when cooking is done (+1).

It’s very easy to adjust cooking settings during use, even compared to other digital units like the Panasonic FlashXpress (+2). You are free to experiment to find the best settings for your food, since they will be saved until after you unplug the oven.

The door opens all the way to allow for the most working space (+1). Also, the accessories are properly sized to make maneuvering easy (+1).

The oven pauses when you open the door, which is shown on the LCD as well (+1). The door can stay open partially at an 80° angle to let food cool down in the oven (+1). Just be careful when closing the door as it can slam shut - just use the handle (-0.5).

The interior light only stays on for 30 seconds after cooking starts, then turns off, and automatically resumes when there’s 30 seconds left on the timer. Although the oven goes into a standby mode and turns off all the displays, we still recommend unplugging to save electricity and minimize risk.

8.0 Cleanability

Cleaning the Ninja’s exterior was a breeze, just a few wipes with some spray (+2). As for the interior, however, there was some grease splashing onto the walls and upper heating elements while air roasting our chicken wings (-1).

So, we had to put in some dish soap for the walls, some baking soda and water paste for the heating elements, and some elbow grease in general. On the bright side, there was no difficult nooks and crannies anywhere (+2)

Cleaning up the crumbs was extremely easy thanks to the removable crumb tray (+2). The fishnet design of the air fryer basket didn’t hold onto any caramelized bits of food, even more so for the enamel sheet pan (+3). If you’re unsure about anything, just follow our toaster oven cleaning guide.

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