Ninja Crispi MW101 Review: The Microwave That Finally Air Fries

Ninja Crispi Microwave and Air Fryer MW101 in silver on a kitchen counter with a flatbed interior Save
TL;DR: The Ninja Crispi MW101 is Ninja's first microwave, and it doubles as a real air fryer. Its FusionCrisp technology microwaves food for speed, then finishes with 450F cyclonic air for genuine crunch. A flatbed cavity adds about 40 percent more space, and the 5.5-quart CleanCrisp glassware is dishwasher-safe and PFAS-free. It suits small kitchens that want one appliance to reheat and crisp. We recommend it.

Summary#

The Ninja Crispi MW101 is Ninja's first-ever microwave, and it air fries too. Its FusionCrisp technology microwaves food for speed, then crisps it with 450F cyclonic air. Finally, a combo unit that makes leftovers crunchy instead of rubbery.


At a Glance#

Product : Ninja Crispi Microwave and Air Fryer (MW101)

Brand : Ninja

Best For : Small kitchens that want one appliance to both reheat and crisp

Form Factor : Countertop flatbed microwave with a built-in air fryer

Buy Now : Ninja Crispi MW101 on Amazon

Key Highlights:

  • FusionCrisp two-stage cooking: it microwaves for speed, then air fries for crunch, all in one automatic cycle.
  • 14-in-1 versatility: eight microwave presets, five air-fry modes, and the fusion setting in a single box.
  • Flatbed cavity: no turntable means roughly 40 percent more usable cooking space inside.
  • Real air-fry heat: up to 450F of superheated cyclonic air, a 1700W-equivalent crisp.
  • Dishwasher-safe glassware: the 5.5-quart CleanCrisp dish is PFAS, PTFE and PFOA-free.

Who Should Buy This#

If your counter is crowded and your leftovers keep coming out soggy, the Ninja Crispi MW101 was built for you. It folds two appliances into one footprint. You get microwave speed for reheating and true air-fry crunch for anything that should be crispy. That combination is rare, and Ninja is the first major brand to land it in a single unit. Most microwave-plus-air-fryer combos disappoint on one half of the job. This one is engineered so neither side feels like an afterthought. Here is who benefits most from it.

  • The small-kitchen dweller: You have no room for both a microwave and a separate air fryer on the counter.
  • The leftover reviver: You hate reheated pizza that turns to rubber and want it crisp again in minutes.
  • The busy weeknight cook: You want frozen food to go golden fast without preheating a full-size oven.
  • The declutter-minded upgrader: Your old microwave is dying and you want one smarter box to replace it.

It Crisps Leftovers Instead of Steaming Them#

Here is the problem every microwave owner knows. Microwaves heat food fast, but they do it by exciting water molecules. That means steam, and steam makes everything soft. Yesterday's crispy fries turn limp. Leftover pizza goes floppy. Fried chicken loses its crunch entirely. An air fryer fixes texture, but it is slow and it does not reheat the middle of a thick portion quickly.

FusionCrisp is Ninja's answer to that exact split. It runs the two methods back to back in one cycle. First the microwave stage heats your food through, fast, all the way to the center. Then the machine automatically switches to air frying. Superheated air rushes over the surface and restores the crunch the microwave stripped away. You do not press a second button or move the food. The transition happens on its own.

The outcome is the part that matters. Ninja says FusionCrisp can prepare full meals up to 60 percent faster than a conventional oven, with no preheating at all. Some frozen foods travel from frozen to crispy in about ten minutes. That is faster than waiting for an oven to warm up. For reheated leftovers, you get the interior hot and the exterior crisp at the same time. That is the trick every other combo unit fumbles.

Think about what that changes day to day. Frozen spring rolls come out shatteringly crisp, not chewy. Reheated fries taste close to fresh. A slice of pizza gets a firm base again instead of a soggy one. Chicken nuggets crisp up for the kids without the oven tax. You stop choosing between fast and good. FusionCrisp gives you both in the same run, and that is genuinely new for a countertop appliance at this class.

It also lowers the mental load of cooking. You are not babysitting two machines or timing a hand-off. You load the food, pick the mode, and walk away. For anyone who reheats or crisps something most days, that saved effort compounds quickly.


No Turntable Means Room for a Real Meal#

Open almost any microwave and you meet the turntable. It spins your food to even out hot spots, but it costs you in two ways. It wastes space around the edges, and it forces every dish to fit a circle. Put a rectangular casserole in and it clips the walls or refuses to turn.

The Ninja Crispi ditches the turntable entirely. It uses a flatbed cavity, a flat floor with no spinning plate. That single change unlocks about 40 percent more usable space compared with a standard turntable microwave. The interior is wide and open rather than pinched by a rotating disc.

That space is not just a spec. It is practical. The cavity swallows a 9-by-11 baking dish with room to spare. You can heat four bowls at once instead of one or two. A full dinner plate sits flat without catching a corner. For a household that reheats multiple portions, that capacity turns two microwave runs into one.

The flatbed also reheats more evenly, which sounds backwards until you use it. A turntable spins food to compensate for uneven energy. A well-designed flatbed distributes energy across the whole floor instead, so nothing has to move. In practice that means fewer cold spots in the middle of a dense portion, and fewer scorched edges. Your food comes out consistent rather than hot in one patch and cool in another.

There is a quality-of-life bonus too. Flat floors are easier to wipe clean. There is no ring, no roller guide, and no plate to lift out and wash. Spills sit on a single flat surface you can reach in one pass. Combined with the 0.9 cubic foot capacity, the flatbed makes this feel like a larger, more capable oven than its footprint suggests.


One Box Replaces Your Microwave and Air Fryer#

The headline number is 14-in-1, and it earns it. The Crispi is not a microwave with a token crisp button bolted on. It carries a full spread of cooking modes on both sides of its personality.

On the microwave side you get eight presets. There is Popcorn, Potato, Defrost, Beverage, Soup, Frozen Dinner, Frozen Vegetable, and Soften Butter. These are the everyday jobs a microwave should own, tuned so you are not guessing at times and power levels. Press the preset and the machine handles the rest.

On the air-fry side you get five modes: Max Crisp, Crisp, Air Roast, Air Bake, and Air Broil. This is where the Crispi stops pretending to be a microwave and behaves like a real Ninja air fryer. Max Crisp drives the air hard for the crunchiest results. Air Roast and Air Bake open it up to actual cooking, not just reheating. Air Broil adds a top-down blast for browning.

The power behind all of this is the reason it works. The air-fry system runs at a 1700W equivalent and pushes superheated cyclonic air up to 450F. That is a true air-fryer temperature, not a warm setting in disguise. High heat and fast-moving air are exactly what create crunch, and the Crispi has both. The microwave side runs at a standard 1000W, so speed on reheating is never compromised.

Add the FusionCrisp mode on top and you have a genuine two-appliance replacement. You can reclaim the counter space your standalone air fryer eats, and retire the aging microwave next to it. One box, one footprint, one plug. If you have been eyeing a separate air fryer but have nowhere to put it, this collapses that decision into a single purchase.

Ninja Crispi MW101 on Amazon

For a lot of kitchens, that consolidation is the whole pitch. You are not adding a gadget. You are removing one while gaining capability.


Cleanup Is Genuinely Easy#

Air fryers have a dirty secret, literally. The baskets are a pain to clean, the coatings scratch, and many people worry about what those coatings are made of. The Ninja Crispi tackles both problems with its glassware.

At the center is a 5.5-quart CleanCrisp dish paired with a crisper plate. Both are made without PFAS, PTFE, and PFOA. Those are the compounds that make people uneasy about nonstick coatings. Ninja built this cookware to skip them, so you are crisping food on glass rather than on a chemical layer that can wear down over time.

Glass brings a second benefit beyond peace of mind. It is easy to clean and it does not hold onto odors or stains the way scratched nonstick does. Both the dish and the crisper plate are dishwasher-safe. You do not scrub a basket by hand after every crispy meal. You load it, run the cycle, and you are done. For anyone who cooks often, that removes the biggest friction point of owning an air fryer.

The 5.5-quart size is worth understanding honestly. It comfortably feeds a small family and handles a solid batch of fries, wings, or a tray of vegetables. It is not a restaurant-scale vessel. If you routinely cook for a big crowd, you will run more than one batch. For singles, couples, and small families, though, it hits the sweet spot between capacity and counter footprint.

Living with the Crispi day to day is refreshingly low-fuss. The flat interior wipes down in seconds. The glassware goes in the dishwasher. The presets remove guesswork. You spend your time eating, not maintaining an appliance. That is the quiet luxury of a well-thought-out design, and it is where the Crispi separates itself from cheaper combo units that look good on a spec sheet and frustrate you at the sink.


Technical Specifications#

Model : MW101

Microwave Power : 1000 watts

Air Fry Power : 1700 watts equivalent

Max Air Fry Temperature : 450F superheated cyclonic air

Microwave Capacity : 0.9 cubic feet

Glassware Capacity : 5.5 quarts (CleanCrisp dish and crisper plate)

Cavity Design : Flatbed, no turntable, about 40 percent more usable space

Total Functions : 14-in-1

Microwave Presets : 8 (Popcorn, Potato, Defrost, Beverage, Soup, Frozen Dinner, Frozen Vegetable, Soften Butter)

Air Fry Presets : 5 (Max Crisp, Crisp, Air Roast, Air Bake, Air Broil)

Glassware Material : PFAS, PTFE and PFOA-free, dishwasher-safe

Dimensions : About 16 by 19.65 by 14.08 inches

Weight : About 50 pounds

Finish : Silver (a black version is also offered)


Pros & Cons#

Pros:

  • Crunch that actually lands: FusionCrisp crisps leftovers and frozen food instead of steaming them soft.
  • Two appliances in one: it retires a standalone air fryer and frees your counter.
  • Roomy and even: the flatbed fits big dishes and reheats without cold spots.
  • True air-fry heat: 450F cyclonic air delivers real texture, not a warm setting.
  • Cleaner cookware: glassware is dishwasher-safe and free of PFAS, PTFE and PFOA.
  • Covers every job: 14 functions handle reheating, defrosting, roasting, and crisping.

Cons:

  • It is big: at around 50 pounds it needs real counter space and a sturdy surface.
  • Premium outlay: it costs more than a plain microwave, so it is an investment.
  • Batch limits: the 5.5-quart dish suits small households, not large-crowd cooking.
  • Too new to know: as a fresh launch, long-term reliability data is still limited.

Final Verdict#

Buy it. The Ninja Crispi MW101 does the one thing every microwave-and-air-fryer combo has promised and failed to deliver. It reheats at microwave speed and then crisps at real air-fryer heat, automatically, in a single cycle. FusionCrisp is not marketing gloss. It solves the soggy-leftovers problem that has annoyed people for decades, and it does it fast.

The rest of the package backs up that headline feature. The flatbed cavity gives you more room and more even heating than a turntable ever could. The 14 functions mean you are genuinely replacing two appliances, not adding a third. The dishwasher-safe, PFAS-free glassware removes the cleanup and coating worries that sour so many air-fryer owners. Yes, it is large, it is a premium buy, and it is brand new. Those are fair caveats. But none of them undercut what the machine does well.

Our recommendation: If you have a crowded counter, dying microwave, or a stubborn hatred of rubbery leftovers, this is an easy call. It is one of the smartest kitchen consolidations we have seen, and the first microwave that earns the words air fryer on its badge.

Ninja Crispi MW101 on Amazon

Category: Kitchen

Tags: ninja crispi mw101, ninja microwave air fryer, fusioncrisp, ninja crispi review, 14-in-1 microwave, flatbed microwave, air fry microwave combo, ninja crispi microwave