Ninja Foodi Smart XL Review 2026: Indoor Grill With a Probe

Key Specs

The number to plan around is 1,760 W. That is most of a standard household circuit, so give it its own outlet.

Can an Indoor Grill Really Sear a Steak?

Yes: the Foodi browns properly, with crust comparable to our outdoor gas grill.

Many indoor grills leave pale lines. The Foodi left real char, and in our side-by-side the crust and doneness were comparable to our outdoor gas grill, with slightly less smoky flavor. Our steak grilling guide covers seasoning and resting.

The probe reads 140°F and Medium while the grate builds the crust underneath.

Habits that get the best sear

• Pat meat dry and salt ahead: surface moisture has to boil off before browning starts, and a wet steak on a small enclosed grate steams.
• Leave space between pieces: crowding traps steam under the hood and gives you gray sides instead of crust.
• Close the hood and leave it: the Foodi cooks from above and below with the hood down, so constant peeking loses the heat that browns.
• Thick beats thin: steaks around 1 to 1½ inches have time to crust before the center overcooks.

Picking the right grill setting

The Grill function has four heat levels rather than a temperature dial. Choosing the right one does more for smoke and sticking than anything else. Ninja's guide maps them like this:

Sauced and sugary foods are the most likely to burn and smoke. If a cook smokes more than you expect, step down one level.

Oil matters too. Ninja recommends canola, refined coconut, avocado, vegetable or grapeseed oil, and advises against olive oil, butter and margarine, which smoke at grill heat. Brush oil on the food, not the grate.

How Accurate Is the Built-In Thermometer?

Very: within a few degrees of our instant-read at all five doneness levels, if the probe goes in deep and centered.

This is the reason to choose the Foodi over a cheaper indoor grill. You pick a protein and doneness, insert the probe, and the unit alerts you when to pull. Our meat temperature chart lists pull temperatures if you want to check its presets.

The one condition is placement. Shallow or off-center insertion gave less reliable readings, so push the probe into the center of the thickest part, away from bone.

How the presets and alerts work

• Beef scale: the Beef preset uses a 1 to 9 scale instead of five named levels, so you can fine-tune between medium-rare and medium.
• The pull alert: when the unit shows "GET FOOD," pull it, then rest it 3 to 5 minutes as Ninja advises.
• The progress display: it starts at Rare and steps up as the probe climbs, so a "Rare" reading when you picked Medium is progress, not an error.
• Frozen food: the probe only supports fresh or thawed protein. Frozen food can go straight in on Medium grill or Air Crisp; check it with a separate instant-read.

Cooking several pieces at once

The probe tracks one piece at a time, so cooking for a family takes a little planning. Ninja's FAQ lays out three approaches:

• Same cut, different doneness: set the preset for the most well-done steak and probe that one. Pull the others early, checking with an instant-read.
• Different sizes: probe the smaller piece first. When it's done, move the probe to the larger piece and set its target.
• Different proteins: use Manual mode and probe the one with the lower target temperature first.

Are the Air Fryer and Other Modes Any Good?

Yes: each mode behaves like a distinct tool, not a relabeled heat setting.

• Air Crisp: wings came out crispy, comparable to a dedicated air fryer.
• Roast: a whole chicken cooked evenly without a dry breast.
• Dehydrate: beef jerky dried properly, which a basic indoor grill can't do.
• Bake: salmon cooked through evenly.

Each mode has its own temperature range and timer limit, per Ninja:

Swapping between the grill grate and crisper basket means waiting for the unit to cool, so plan grilled and air-fried items in separate rounds.

Getting the most from Air Crisp

• Don't overfill the basket: air has to move around the food. A single layer, or a loose pile you shake halfway, beats a packed basket.
• Dry and lightly oil: pat wings and vegetables dry and toss them in a teaspoon or two of oil. Too much oil drips and smokes.
• Shake or flip halfway: opening the hood pauses the timer, so a quick shake costs little.

Air Crisp wings from our test: a single layer crisped evenly without being packed in.

Making jerky safely on Dehydrate

Low dehydrator temperatures alone don't reliably kill bacteria in raw meat. The USDA recommends heating beef to 160°F (poultry to 165°F) before or after drying, which you can do by roasting the strips briefly, then finishing on Dehydrate.

Slice lean meat thinly, about ¼ inch, and trim visible fat, which goes rancid in storage. Aluminum foil and parchment are both fine to use, per Ninja, which helps with sticky bakes and marinated fish.

How Much Smoke Does It Make, and How Hard Is Cleanup?

Less than a grill pan, but it isn't smokeless; cleanup is easy if you keep the splatter shield clean.

Grill mode still smokes with fatty cuts, so you need a range hood or an open window. A splatter shield over the heating element and a cooler air zone reduce smoke. Ninja says to always install the shield, since without it grease reaches the element.

A greasy shield is the main cause of extra smoke, so clean it after every grill cook. For a baked-on shield, Ninja suggests soaking it overnight and scrubbing, or boiling it in water for 10 minutes. Discoloration is normal and doesn't affect performance.

Does it make the kitchen smell?

Somewhat. Fatty meats leave a cooked-food smell like any stovetop searing, but there's no charcoal or wood smoke. Running the range hood during and for a few minutes after the cook clears most of it.

Cleaning the grate, basket and probe

The grate, basket and pot came clean easily after every cook, with no visible coating wear after three weeks. Hand-washing with a soft sponge is gentler on the coating than the dishwasher. More tips are in our grill grate cleaning guide.

The thermometer needs its own routine. Soak only the steel tip and silicone grip in warm soapy water, and never submerge the cord or jack. If the jack gets dirty, Ninja recommends compressed air or a cotton swab.

Setup and counter space

Setup is easy once you've found the counter space and a dedicated outlet. This is a large countertop appliance, so measure before you order. The hood opens upward, so it needs clearance above as well as depth on the counter. Leave a few inches from walls and cabinets, and don't run it under upper cabinets that trap heat and steam; the outside gets hot, though Ninja says the control panel and hood handle stay cool.

Most owners leave it out, because the pot, grate and basket stack inside the unit. If you plan to store it in a cabinet, check the height and weight against your shelves first.

Power: one outlet, nothing else on it

Ninja specifies a 15-amp circuit, and at 1,760 W the Foodi draws most of it. A microwave, kettle or toaster on the same circuit will likely trip the breaker. Plug it straight into the wall, not into an extension cord or power strip.

Preheat, timers and batches

Preheating starts on its own after you choose settings, and the display shows "ADD FOOD" when it's ready. Ninja quotes about 10 minutes for Grill and about 3 minutes for the other functions; our unit reached top grill heat in about 7 minutes from cold. You can skip preheat, but Ninja advises against it for grilling, and all our sticking problems traced back to rushing it.

Opening the hood pauses the timer, and it resumes when you close it. For more than two batches in a row, Ninja recommends pouring off fat from the pot and cleaning the splatter shield between rounds. Skipping that is the fastest route to a smoky kitchen by the third batch.

What to cook first

Start with the cooks that show what it does better than a grill pan: a thick steak with the probe, wings on Air Crisp, then jerky on Dehydrate. Leave fatty burgers and bacon for later, once you know how your hood handles the smoke.

Who Should Buy the Ninja Foodi Smart XL (and Who Shouldn't)

For apartment cooks who want two appliances in one and can vent some smoke.

Ninja Foodi Smart XL vs. Alternatives

Most buyers compare it with Ninja's cheaper Sizzle or an outdoor electric grill for a balcony.

Is the Ninja Foodi Smart XL Worth the Money?

Yes, if it replaces two appliances and you find it at a fair price.

Final Score