The Ninja Foodi XL Pro indoor grill is perfect for apartment living

Loving to cook and living in New York City are often in conflict. City apartments typically come with numerous complicating factors for cooking.

The ovens are small. The apartments are tiny and the ceilings are low, which means high-heat cooking inevitably results in smoke alarms. My previous apartment’s alarm would go off if I just set my oven to anything 400 degrees or higher. And, in most apartments, there is no outdoor space for grilling.

Keeping all that in mind, I can’t imagine a much better kitchen tool for apartment living than the Ninja Foodi XL Pro indoor grill.

The indoor grill gets rip-roaring hot — 500 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the company — while apparently putting off shockingly little smoke. And the grill is actually more than just a grill. You can use it also use it to grill, air fry, griddle, bake, roast, dehydrate, and broil, the company says.

The Foodi XL Pro is an indoor appliance about the size of a large toaster oven. It has a bottom half, where you insert the cooking surface you prefer, and a top half that hinges open. Here’s what it looks like placing raw salmon on the open grill.

And here are some steaks, fully cooked and about to be pulled from the grill.

The super hot grill pan, plus the heat containment of the hood, and circulating air promises effective, 360-degree high-heat cooking. Think of how hot a closed grill gets, then add the air circulation of an air fryer or convection oven. The hood, splatter shield, and other features also work to keep smoke to a minimum.

But I was most interested in testing the indoor grill because that is the highest degree of difficulty. Incredible grill marks with no fire alarm in an NYC apartment? That’s a small miracle. Can an electric, countertop grill really get that hot and not turn your home into a smoky mess? In short, yes.

The tasty results

Over the course of a couple weeks I put the grill to the test. I really put it through the ringer, grilling items I thought would create lots of smoke or make the Ninja falter: marinated chicken thighs, asparagus, bok choy, salmon with soy sauce, and steaks marinated for hours in a salty-sweet Kona-style homemade concoction. I thought for sure the sugars in the marinades, or the fat in the steaks, or the rigidness of thick asparagus would cause some problems with the grill. Maybe there would be tons of acrid smoke, or a huge mess on the grill-plate, or the surface would barely create a sear.

Yet all the items turned out great. Look at these steaks.

Or here, look at these chicken thighs that I absolutely soaked in an herb, jalapeño, yogurt marinade. I didn’t bother patting them dry before loading them on. They turned out super tasty.

So much of good cooking is having the correct tools. I still prefer a charcoal grill to the Ninja, but I’m not sure the Ninja is really any worse than your typical propane grill. Propane doesn’t add any flavor, it just provides high heat. The Ninja does the same. Granted, the Ninja is much smaller than your typical backyard grill — two steaks was about all I could comfortably fit. I doubt you’ll be grilling for a big Super Bowl party on it. But the Ninja still beautifully seared those two steaks on the countertop in barely any time at all. That is a dream for apartment dwellers who might not have the outdoor space for a big propane grill.

That is a dream for apartment dwellers who might not have the outdoor space for a big propane grill.

Learning Curve

I think most people who cook a bit could use the Ninja grill and pretty much immediately churn out decent results. It’s a lot like an air fryer: You choose the setting, let it preheat, toss your food on, then keep an eye on it until it’s done. Since you’re grilling, it’s good to flip a regular intervals. The deluxe version of the grill comes with a built in meat thermometer that will even continuously track your food’s internal temp to let you know when it’s done. That model sells for $349.60 and includes some add-ons like a chopper and roasting lifts. The basic version sells for $199.80. (Note: Both versions are on sale right now and may rise in price later.)

I pretty much exclusively used the grill setting. You just set it to preheat, let it crank to your desired setting — I almost always used high — then grilled once it was ready. I also found when you closed the hood, food seemed to cook quickly, which I suspect could be the Ninja circulating air as it would if it were air frying.

Everything else is pretty easy with the grill, too. The grill plate, griddle, and air fryer attachments click right into place on the machine. The grill, despite having its nooks and crannies, is also incredibly easy to clean. It’s made of nonstick material with a ceramic coating and can go in the dishwasher. I found, however, that it was pretty simple to wash with your classic soapy sponge. A few minutes and you were done.

I loved that there was a grease trap at the bottom of the grill, sort of like an old school George Foreman. (Please note, however, that this is much better than a George Foreman, which was a glorified panini press.)

And, again, there was hardly any smoke. Ninja says its splatter shield and cool zone help achieve this. I’m not sure how it works but it does. There remains some smoke, of course, but I’ve put off more smoke frying eggs.

The drawbacks

This thing isn’t exactly cheap. Unless you feel you absolutely need the built in thermometer, I would almost certainly go for the regular version. Ninja sent me the so-called Smart version and while I came away super impressed, it was not because of the built-in meat thermometer. I tried to use it and ended up finding it easier to just use a regular meat thermometer because I wanted to test every piece of protein, not just one. After all, every piece of meat is a different size than the next.

The machine is also pretty bulky while still having a relatively small cooking surface. I maxed out at six chicken thighs on the surface, which is better than, say, most cast iron pans but far less than a traditional outside grill. The machine is pretty heavy as well. It wasn’t a huge struggle for me to get it on the counter, but it’s not super light, either. It weighs nearly 28 pounds. If your plan is to store it in a counter up high somewhere, you’d better be careful not to bop yourself on the head with it.

The Ninja grill is also pretty dang loud. I supposed that’s to be expected since it gets super hot and it circulates air. Still, it kind of sounds like a small jet taking off in your home. Don’t plan on a Zoom call while grilling with it.

The final verdict

For lots of people in small homes, or those without outdoor space, high temperature grilling is a white whale of sorts. At least it was for me at one point. I think the Ninja Foodi XL Pro indoor grill does a fine job at solving the problem. It’s not cheap — you should be sure you would actually use it — but it will deliver on its promise of grilling indoors with very little smoke and mess.