The Ninja DoubleStack is a dual-basket air fryer that differs from other double-basket fryers like the Ninja Foodi DZ550 because its baskets are stacked instead of side-by-side. This gives it a smaller footprint compared with side-by-side models with a similar capacity, like the DZ550, which can help it fit onto cramped counters. Of course, this also makes it taller than the norm. Like other dual-basket fryers, you can cook different foods separately in each basket with different settings. Its crisper plates have a ceramic coating, which is uncommon and a plus if you want to avoid non-stick materials.
Our Verdict
The Ninja SL201 is an okay air fryer. Its dual-drawer design lets you cook multiple foods at once, and its drawers have a big cooking surface area. However, it cooks unevenly. Fried foods like chicken wings or vegetables don't get evenly browned, with a big proportion under or overcooked. It cooks food slowly for an air fryer. However, it's pretty versatile, with a temperature and fan speed range that's big enough for methods like baking and dehydrating.
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Good cooking surface area.
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Large 8-quart capacity.
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Cooks slowly.
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Makes sub-par fried food.
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Preheats slowly.
The Ninja DoubleStack (Ninja SL201) is good for large-batch cooking but has its fair share of compromises. Its dual drawer design lets you cook different foods simultaneously, and its 8-quart overall capacity means you can cook for 5-6 people. The drawers have a good cooking surface area, meaning you have room to spread food out in a single layer. However, its size aside, it doesn't perform very well. It doesn't fry food evenly or quickly.
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Good cooking surface area.
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Large 8-quart capacity.
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Cooks slowly.
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Makes sub-par fried food.
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Preheats slowly.
The Ninja SL201 has a mediocre frying performance. It has good temperature stability but otherwise doesn't perform very well. It's slow and produces sub-par fried food, so by the time your food is cooked, a significant proportion is either over or undercooked.
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Good cooking surface area.
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Cooks slowly.
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Makes sub-par fried food.
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Preheats slowly.
The Ninja SL201 is slow for an air fryer. It takes a long time to preheat and longer to cook food than most air fryers.
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Cooks slowly.
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Preheats slowly.
The Ninja SL201 has a very good cooking capacity. Its 8-quart overall capacity is enough for 5 or 6 people. Each basket has a big cooking surface area, giving you more room to spread food out in a single layer than some 8-qt air fryers.
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Good cooking surface area.
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Large 8-quart capacity.
The Ninja SL201 is a big air fryer and requires a lot of space on your counter. It will stick out far from the wall and needs a lot of vertical space. That said, because of its stacked design, it's not that wide.
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Very tall design.
- 6.6 Air Frying
- 7.4 Large Batch Cooking
Performance Usages
- 6.2 Frying Performance
- 6.8 Cooking Speed
- 7.9 Cooking Capacity
- 6.3 Size
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Ninja DoubleStack comes in 'Black'. Here's a photo of our unit's label.
If you encounter another variant, let us know in the comments, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Air Fryers
The Ninja DoubleStack is a big two-basket air fryer. While you can't combine both baskets into one big basket like you can with the Ninja Foodi DZ071 or the Beautiful 9QT TriZone air fryer, it comes with cooking racks for two-level cooking in each basket, so you can cook food on four levels. However, because of its design, its heating elements are at the back, and food at the front of the basket gets cooked less. As a result, it produces worse-quality fried food compared with side-by-side dual basket fryers, like the Ninja Foodi DZ201.
If you're looking for a recommendation, check out our list of the best air fryers.
Test Results
It has a big enough capacity for five or six people. The baskets provide a big cooking surface area, giving you more room to arrange your food in a single layer compared with some other 8-quart models like the BELLA 8qt Pro 90088.
You can place the crisper trays in a higher or lower position in each drawer. You can see the higher position here and the installation process in a video here. There are also cooking racks included that let you divide each basket for 2-level cooking, with each level about 1.8" high.
Because of the stacked design, you can't combine both drawers into one when you're cooking bigger items, like a whole chicken. Some dual air fryers have side-by-side drawers that you can combine into one, like the Beautiful 9QT TriZone air fryer.
The crisper trays have a ceramic coating, which is more difficult to clean by hand, but you might prefer it if you want to avoid traditional non-stick materials. The basket has a PTFE non-stick coating, though.
It's a very versatile air fryer. It has six different presets, a variable fan speed, and a good range of temperature settings for various purposes. Settings like 'Air Fry' and 'Broil' use a higher fan speed. 'Dehydrate' uses the lowest fan speed.
- Air Fry
- Air Broil
- Bake
- Roast
- Reheat
- Dehydrate
There's a dedicated 'DoubleStack' button for 2-level cooking in each basket. The manual says to follow its recipe guide when using that feature. Generally, meat goes on top for extra crisping, while vegetables go on the bottom. You can use 'Smart Finish' to cook different foods with different settings in either basket and have them finish at the same time or the 'Match Cook' setting to program both baskets the same way. Removing a basket doesn't automatically pause cooking, but you can manually pause each basket individually. It doesn't have a preheat mode or a shake reminder.
Unfortunately, its buttons feel cheap and require quite a bit of force, especially 'Time,' 'Temp,' and the arrow buttons. The beep for each button press is also unpleasant and gives the impression of poor quality.
It makes sub-par fried food. When about half of it is golden brown and crispy, the rest is either over or undercooked.
This air fryer's heating elements and fans are on the back of the air fryer instead of on top. This affects the frying quality since heat doesn't reach food in the front of the basket as much.
It has very good temperature stability. It comes back up to temperature decently quickly after you open the drawer to add food. It maintains a very stable temperature during cooking, which can help you accurately follow recipes and cook delicate foods like fish.