Ninja Air Fryer in the motorhome

Reading time 6 minutes

Updated - February 9, 2025

The Ninja Air Fryer AF400EUalso Foodi in motorhomes enables the energy-saving, quick and low-fat preparation of a wide variety of dishes.

No, I am by no means a cooking enthusiast. In the past, my role was limited to doing the dishes, sometimes faster than the house cook could see: Where's the spoon? - Washed up and in the drawer. - But I still need it ...!
This ultimately led to the arrangement: everything on the right is hers, everything on the left is for the washing up, so it's mine.

Well, with the introduction of the above-mentioned Air Fryer, a small part of the "cooking" has now also been allocated to me. Anything that can be prepared in it: you do it ...,

While the previously used microwave/hot air combination had been working without complaint for a good 15 years, it had been making strange noises from time to time recently, so we researched what kind of replacement we should get if the worst came to the worst.

Microwave-hot air combi vs. air fryer

In most cases, you simply buy a replacement and that's that. Nevertheless, the question remains as to which appliance, which manufacturer, etc.. Then the appliance should also fit in terms of dimensions, ensure sufficient air on all sides to the surrounding cabinet area for the purpose of air exchange during operation, etc..

In a kitchen, such clear widths are usually around 56 cm, the depth is similar and the height can be adjusted flexibly if necessary thanks to shelves.
In a motorhome, however, the space available is quite modest, which is why there is no such flexibility here and the choice of appliances is therefore clearly limited.

The microwave function was mainly only used for brief heating, while the hot air function prepared the morning baked rolls. In other words, apart from health aspects, the microwave was almost dispensable, but the hot air was mandatory.

The decision was made in favor of an Air Fryer.

An air fryer, even in a version with two spacious inserts next to each other, is surprisingly compact, with a slightly smaller width and depth and a slightly greater height. Perfect for the space available here, where the microwave/hot air combination used to reside.

The next step was to decide whether the appliance should have one or two drawers. As space was not a decisive factor in this case, the two-drawer version was chosen.

According to this, Air Fryer from Philipps, Ninja and Cosori for election, Panasonic and Kenwood do not offer any significant product variety, and I would prefer to avoid various no-name products for warranty reasons. If the worst comes to the worst, you may not be in Germany and need to be able to fall back on a worldwide service network.

Phillips and Cosori This is because the Air Fryer is located in the upper cabinet area and you need a control panel that can be seen and operated from the front, whereas these manufacturers arrange displays and controls at an angle or directly upwards. Only the Ninja AF400 fulfilled this criterion with its front-mounted and clearly arranged control panel.

Ninja AF400 in practical use

Studying the manual helps to overcome the initial hurdles of simply mastering the basic functions, operation and various features, such as coordinating different preparation times so that both drawer contents are ready at the same time.

Operation is limited to switching on the appliance, selecting the drawers (1 and / or 2), their respective temperature (60 ... 240 °C), cooking time (1 min. ... 12 hours) and function (max crisp, hot air, roasting, reheating, drying, baking) and finally starting the selected process by pressing the central, round function selection button.

Only two additional buttons enable simultaneous completion despite different cooking times (SYNC) or copying the setting for drawer 1 to drawer 2 (MATCH).

The simplicity of operation with just a few elements is convincing compared to devices from other competitors, which - in my opinion - tend to cause confusion with a multitude of symbols and buttons.

The icing on the cake would have been if you could save your own programs to adapt the device to your personal needs.

Practical accessories

Although cleaning is very quick and easy, there are a few useful accessories that either further reduce the cleaning effort, which is already very low, or open up possibilities that you would not have thought of in connection with a "hot air fryer".

Who would have thought their waffle iron was in the Air Fryer? Suitable BPA-free silicone inserts make it possible to prepare waffles, even if it takes longer. Anyone who doesn't want to do without temporary waffle baking in their camper van and has neither space nor weight reserves will appreciate this aid.

Matching silicone inserts not only protect the coating of the drawers and their inserts, but also prevent possible burns when removing prepared food.

Despite the greatly reduced use of grease, splashes against the upper heating coil cannot be ruled out. And to be honest: who turns their Air Fryer upside down after every use to clean the heating coil and the surfaces behind it?
Splash guards fitted to the tops of the drawers for this purpose (also secured against accidental slipping after a small modification) meet this requirement exactly.

Last but not least, the Air Fryer also replaces the egg stove and conjures up breakfast eggs with soft yolks to perfection, even at the same time as baked rolls.

Silicone mold, baking paper or plain?

Both a silicone mold and baking paper make cleaning the AirFryer easier. However, both also require a longer cooking time if the food is to be crispy and crunchy.

Silicone molds should always have raised grooves on the bottom to allow a certain, albeit limited, air circulation around the food.

Baking paper should always cover the entire surface to prevent it from approaching the heating element. For example, two sausages placed in the middle of the baking paper in the basket will encourage the uncovered corners of the baking paper to rise, which in the worst case can lead to a fire. It is therefore more practical to cone the sausages to the left and right or top and bottom of the baking paper.

Conclusion

As with any new appliance, whether a hot-air oven, combination oven or deep fryer, the proof of the pudding is often in the eating. The experiences of other users can serve as an aid and initial guide with regard to settings, cooking times, etc. However, every food is different in terms of quality, degree of freshness, manufacturer, etc.. Accordingly, you will always have to make a few attempts to get the result that suits you best. Ultimately, the appliance surprises with convincing results, extremely simple operation, quick and easy cleaning and a powerful output of up to 2,450 W in total!

If only one drawer is used, this maximum consumption is reduced by half. This means that even very weak campsite connections are not overloaded.

After a few weeks of practical experience with the Ninja AirFryer, we can say: very versatile, quick preparation with amazingly good results, space-saving compared to the previous microwave/hot air combination and faster function selection.

Operation on generators

Generators are also able to meet this requirement. However, depending on the model, they quickly reach their nominal limits at full load.

The frequently used hybrid generator KS 3900 G, with a rated output of 2,700 W (peak 3,200 W), just covers the above-mentioned requirements. If it is operated with gas, the rated output is 10% less, i.e. only 2,430 W. If you also consider that generators should generally only be operated continuously at 80% of their rated load in order to do justice to their specified service life, it quickly becomes clear that a 5 kW generator is not an excessive luxury if you are aiming for extensive self-sufficiency in everyday motorhome use.

Recipes

If both drawers are filled with the same goods, the settings can be changed by first pressing the MATCH for both at the same time.

If the drawers contain goods that require different temperatures or times, pressing the SYNCthat the shorter cooking time only starts when the identical remaining time of the longer time period is reached. In this way, both components are ready at the same time.

When removing a drawer to shake or turn the inserted goods, both timers stop and continue as soon as both drawers have been reinserted.

Baked rolls

Preparations

Bread rolls in the AirFryer become really crispy, as you would expect in a hot-air oven, if they are not placed directly in the racks but on a baking tray. Stainless steel grate in the middle of the air stream. Do not place the buns on top of each other or vertically, but horizontally on the rack to avoid uneven browning. A maximum of 3 rolls fit in one drawer.

Setting

• Program AirFry
• temperature 180 °C
• Time 10 min.

Remark

Nturn after 5 minutesRemove immediately after the end signal, leave to cool and serve.

- French fries

Preparations

The frozen French fries are already pre-fried, so no additional oil needs to be used.
Place the chips in a bowl and season as required. Mix well.
Then pour in portions into the drawer provided.
Spread evenly over the floor.

Setting

The following settings produce golden-yellow chips. If you prefer a darker color, set the temperature to 190 °C or 200 °C.

• Program AirFry
• temperature 180 °C
• Time 14 min

Remark

Nafter 4, 8 and 12 min. shake the contents well

- Beef steaks

Preparations

Preheat the AirFryer to 200 °C, season the steaks as desired and place on baking paper in the drawers.

Setting

• Program AirFry
• temperature 170 °C
• Time 8 min.

Remark

Once the time has elapsed, remove and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

- Boil eggs

If you would like to enjoy the proverbial Sunday egg with your baked rolls, simply add one or two eggs to the rolls. The eggs should be at fridge temperature.

To prevent the egg skin from getting burn marks on the inside, the eggs should be rotated by 90° every 2 minutes. A simple mark with a pencil helps to ensure even turning. The 8 minutes cooking time given above results in three turns.

When the time has elapsed, remove the eggs first, quench well (the greater the difference in temperature, the better the egg skin separates from the egg white) and serve.

The result is a waxy egg yolk with the usual firm egg white.