Ninja AF101 4-Qt Air Fryer

Ninja AF101 4-Qt Air Fryer

By Ninja · Air Fryers · Kitchen & Cooking

  • 4-quart ceramic-coated basket
  • 4-in-1: air crisp, roast, reheat, dehydrate
  • 105F-400F range, 1550W
  • Dishwasher-safe parts, digital controls

Lowest price seen
~$119.99 (approx.)
from $119.99 at Amazon

Prices are snapshots. Check the current price with the store.

Problems, parts and running costs

Summary

A compact 4-quart basket air fryer with four cooking modes, a 105-400°F range and a 1,550 W element, aimed at one or two people in a small kitchen. Two things to check before buying: it takes 4 minutes 26 seconds to recover heat after you open the basket, and the model on the box may read AF100.

Strengths

  • RTINGS gave it 7.7 out of 10 for air frying and still ranks it first among the 4-quart models it has tested.
  • Food & Wine kept it as its best overall small air fryer across three rounds of testing.
  • It browned shrimp, fries and cauliflower evenly, and a chicken-wing batch came out especially crisp.
  • It reaches 400°F in under the manual’s recommended three minutes, even without an automatic preheat.
  • The 105°F floor is genuinely useful for dehydrating, backed by a variable-speed fan.
  • SharkNinja still stocks first-party replacement basket, plate and base parts.

Weaknesses

  • It takes 4 minutes 26 seconds to recover heat after the basket is opened, making recipe timing less predictable.
  • A large portion of vegetables, breaded meat and fish can end up under- or overcooked.
  • Capacity is rated only 6.8 out of 10; the round, deep basket is not intended for a crowd.
  • There is no viewing window, no shake reminder and no dedicated preheat mode.
  • The 400°F ceiling is below newer Ninja models, which reach 450°F.
  • Coating durability varies in owner reports, from bubbling within weeks to years without a problem.

Verified specifications

ModelAF101 in gray/black in the US; the UK version is the AF100UK.
Advertised capacity4 qt / about 3.8 L, but this is a nominal basket-size class rather than guaranteed usable volume.
Measured capacity4.2 qt / 4.0 L in RTINGS testing; Consumer Reports measured 2.6 qt of usable capacity under its own method.
Basket surface49.9 in² (321.7 cm²) single layer; chamber 3.3 in (8.3 cm) tall.
Temperature range105-400°F.
Cooking modesAir Fry, Roast, Reheat and Dehydrate.
Power1,550 W rated; RTINGS measured a 1,405 W maximum draw.
Fanvariable speed, about 1,200-3,000 RPM depending on mode.
Preheatno dedicated program; the manual suggests three minutes, and RTINGS reached 400°F in 2 minutes 40 seconds.
Recovery time after adding food4 minutes 26 seconds; temperature variation at a 400°F target about 20°F.
Basket and crisper plateceramic-coated nonstick, dishwasher-safe; SharkNinja lists the crisper plate as PTFE- and PFOA-free. The main unit is not dishwasher-safe.
Dimensionsabout 13.0 in high × 10.8 in wide × 13.6 in deep; about 10 lb.
Warrantyone year, limited, for the original owner from an authorized retailer.
Full research notes and sources

Cooking performance and capacity

RTINGS scored the AF101 7.7 out of 10, with 8.3 for cooking speed, 8.1 for versatility, 7.5 for size and 6.8 for cooking capacity. Food & Wine kept it at the top of its small-air-fryer roundup across three rounds, singling out even heating: fried shrimp, biscuit bites, fries and cauliflower browned well, and a chicken-wing batch was the crispiest of its round. The instrumented weakness is recovery: after the basket is opened and food added, the fryer takes about 4 minutes 26 seconds to climb back to the target temperature, so food spends longer at a lower temperature than on many rivals.

Capacity is the other limit. The single-layer surface is only 49.9 in², and overcrowding quickly hurts results. Two labs disagree on usable volume, with Consumer Reports measuring 2.6 qt against the 4 qt claim and RTINGS measuring 4.2 qt against an advertised 3.8 L, which is why the headline number should be read as a size class.

Basket, coating and cleaning

SharkNinja describes the basket and crisper plate as ceramic-coated nonstick, and its current crisper-plate page states PTFE- and PFOA-free. Both food-contact pieces are dishwasher-safe; the main unit should only be wiped clean. In one exact AF101 thread, an owner reported the basket coating bubbling after about three weeks and said Ninja replaced the whole unit under warranty; another owner in the same discussion reported two years without a coating problem. A separate owner reported the basket no longer sitting flush after three days, allowing hot air to leak, and said the first unit was replaced. These are anecdotal reports, not a model-wide defect rate. Use non-metal tools, and clean the upper coils with a brush as the manual instructs; one owner posted heavily soiled coils after never cleaning them since 2020.

Parts and running costs

There are no filters, pods or subscriptions. Replacement parts are sold directly: a 4-quart basket is $33.99, a crisper plate is $18.99, a multi-layer insert is $18.99, and a complete replacement base without accessories is $68.99. The rated draw is 1,550 W; running it 20 minutes a day at full rating works out to about 188.6 kWh a year, or about $34.52 at the July 2026 US residential average of 18.31 cents/kWh. Thirty minutes a day at the same rate is about 282.9 kWh, or about $51.79. Real use costs less because the heater cycles and RTINGS measured a maximum draw below the nameplate.

Which model you receive

This page covers the US Ninja Air Fryer, model AF101, the 4-quart basket air fryer. The Amazon listing is ASIN B07FDJMC9Q. SharkNinja groups AF101 with AF100 and AF100WM colorways in the same FAQ, and the UK AF100UK is the same appliance, so check the model number and box contents when it arrives. It is not the glass-chamber Ninja Crispi FN101GY or Crispi Pro AS101, and not the newer Ninja Pro AF141.

Is it worth it?

Buy it on sale. At $80 or less it is an excellent buy for one or two people in a small kitchen, and it stays a good buy up to about $90. Between $91 and $100 it is marginal, and above $100 skip it unless you specifically want the older ceramic-basket platform. Target lists it at $79.99, down from $119.99, Walmart at $99.99, and Best Buy’s review page has shown an $89.99 sale against a $119.99 main-page figure. Ninja’s newer 5-quart AF141 is $99.99 direct and adds capacity for about the same money, while the AF181 Pro XL adds a 450°F Max Crisp mode.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Independent reviews:

Owner reports:

Buying guides for this category

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