Ninja Foodi Dual Heat Air Fry Oven Review (2021) Ninja SP301

The Ninja Foodi Dual Heat Air Fry Oven or the Ninja SP301 is a much-needed upgrade for the classic flip-away toaster oven. It offers more vertical space and a new sheet pan design.

They turned the sheet pan into a proper griddle. It now acts as secondary cooking equipment where you can sear, bake, and grill. The searing tray, as they call it, was made thicker to retain some of the heat. If you’re familiar with a sizzling plate, it works the same way.

As a result, it works better for baking cake and pizza.

By the way, it comes in two modes: Air Oven Mode and Dual Heat Mode.

The Air Oven Mode is the traditional setting for air frying, broiling, roasting, toasting, and dehydrating without the need for dual-zone heating.

Alternatively, the Dual Heat Mode works hand in hand with the SearPlate.

Here’s the full line of Ninja flip-away ovens.

Ninja SP301	Ninja SP201	Ninja SP101
Ninja Foodi Dual Heat Air Fry Oven	Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven Pro	Ninja Foodi Digital Air Fry Oven
$$$	$$$	$$
13 cooking functions	8 cooking functions	8 cooking functions
Dual heat technology	-	-
with Sear Plate	Regular sheet pan	Regular sheet pan
20.21” x 15.33” x 8.15“	20.21” x 15.33” x 8.15“	20.1″ x 15.33″ x 8.15″
Get at Ninja Kitchen →	Get at Amazon →	Get at Ninja Kitchen →

If you’re looking to upgrade your countertop toaster oven, the Ninja SP301 Flip-Away Dual Heat Air Fry Oven is one of the best out there. On top of its space-saving design, it also offers a ton of extra cooking functions.

In the meantime, let’s go over its pros and cons.

What can you cook with the Ninja Foodi Dual Heat Air Fry Oven?

The Ninja SP301 Toaster Oven offers two cooking modes—Dual Heat Mode and Air Oven Mode.

Like the Ninja SP101, the Air Oven Mode can help you air fry, roast, bake, broil, toast, bagel, reheat, and dehydrate. These are the eight default functions for their air fryer ovens; even the Ninja SP201 offers the same features.

Moving on to the Dual Heat Mode, that’s where things get more interesting. I haven’t seen an oven with a sheet pan that also serves as a grill.

Here’s a list of recipes that you can make.

The main issue of its predecessor (Ninja SP101) is heat distribution. The fan is located on one side, so you have to rotate your recipe at one point for even cooking. On the other hand, the Smart XL Pro Air Oven doesn’t have that quirk since the convection fan is at the center of the back panel.

On that note, heating up the sheet pan with their line of flip-away oven would really help distribute the temperature more evenly. Hence, the brand came up with the Dual Heat Mode.

Along with the traditional capabilities, you can now sear and grill with your countertop oven toaster.

See the Ninja SP301 Air Fryer in Action

Here’s how the Ninja Digital Air Fry Oven works, plus how you can flip it away.

See your buying options at Amazon →

Is the Ninja Foodi 13-in-1 Air Fry Oven easy to use?

Compared to the very first Flip Away Air Fryer Oven, the user interface of the Ninja SP301 is a bit more polished. Despite having two modes, in my opinion, it’s very intuitive.

The only part you’ll find confusing at first is the searing plate. It works in tandem with the Dual Heat Mode. To prevent under or overcooking your dish, it has to be preheated before baking, searing, grilling, baking your pizza, or using it as a griddle.

I also have to note that the searing plate can get pretty intense. It can reach 500℉. As a safety precaution, use oven mitts that can take that high of a temperature.

How to clean the Ninja Foodi SP301?

Thankfully, cleaning is not much of an issue with the Ninja Foodi Dual Heat Air Fry Oven.

After letting your toaster oven cool down, you can start cleaning the accessories. Wash the wire rack, air fry basket, and sear plate with warm soapy water, then thoroughly rinse and dry.

If you want to skip that part, the wire rack and air fry basket are dishwasher safe. However, washing those accessories by hand is still recommended to prevent them from wearing more quickly.

After dealing with those racks, you can wipe the interior walls with a damp sponge. For the exterior panels, a damp cloth will do the trick.

Pro Tip: Line the searing pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil to save on cleanup time.

Ninja Foodi SP301 Accessories

Since the Ninja Foodi SP301 has massive cooking real estate, it doesn’t have that many accessories. You only need your searing tray, wire rack, and air fry basket most of the time. And those accessories are already included in your purchase.

If you have baking trays that will fit a 20.21” x 15.33” oven space, those will work perfectly fine with the Ninja Dual Heat Air Oven.

*Product Images and Video Courtesy of Shark Ninja

Technical Specifications

Is the Ninja Foodi Dual Heat Air Fry Oven worth it?

If your current oven at home is not equipped with convection technology, getting the Ninja Foodi SP301 Dual Heat Air Fry Oven is definitely worth the upgrade. It’s the only countertop oven I know that also doubles as a griddle and air fryer.