The Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone AF400UK is a large-capacity, dual-drawer air fryer designed to replace or at least heavily supplement your oven. With a total 9.5-litre capacity and six cooking functions, it’s built for families and keen home cooks who want faster, healthier meals without juggling trays.
Ninja has a strong reputation in the UK for powerful, well-designed kitchen appliances, and this model fits that mould. It promises to cook with a fraction of the oil of traditional frying, while also roasting, baking, reheating and even dehydrating.
With a superb 4.9 out of 5 rating from over 2,000 reviews, it’s clearly a crowd-pleaser. It’s not a budget purchase, but it aims to justify its price with capacity, flexibility and energy savings compared with using a full-size oven.
The AF400UK is ideal for families and households that regularly cook for three or more people. The generous 9.5-litre capacity across two drawers means you can comfortably handle a full meal – think chicken in one drawer and potatoes or veg in the other – without turning the oven on.
It suits busy households that want to cut down on both cooking time and energy bills. With a 2470W heating element and focused air circulation, it can cook faster than a conventional oven and use less energy, especially for smaller portions or midweek meals.
If you’re upgrading from a smaller single-drawer air fryer, this is a great step up. The dual-zone compartments and multiple functions (air fry, roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate, plus Max Crisp) make it a good fit for enthusiasts who want to experiment a bit, but it’s still straightforward enough for first-time air fryer users thanks to its touch controls and clear display.
It’s less suited to very small kitchens or anyone with minimal worktop space, as the footprint is larger than compact models. If you live alone and rarely batch cook, a smaller, cheaper air fryer may be more practical.
The standout benefit is capacity. With 9.5 litres split between two drawers, you can cook a complete meal in one go, or cater for larger families and batch cooking without constant shuffling of food.
The dual zone design is a genuine upgrade over single-drawer models. You can cook different foods at different temperatures and times, yet still have everything finish together, cutting down on faff and keeping meals hot and fresh.
Air frying with only 0.017 litres of oil makes everyday favourites like chips, chicken and sausages significantly less greasy, while still achieving a crisp finish thanks to Ninja’s Max Crisp technology. It’s a strong option if you’re trying to eat a bit healthier without giving up fried textures.
The range of functions adds real flexibility. As well as air frying, it can roast, bake, reheat and dehydrate, so it can take on roles usually reserved for the oven or even a dehydrator. That makes it more of a mini countertop oven than a one-trick fryer.
Maintenance is straightforward. The removable bowl and dishwasher-safe components mean cleaning up is far easier than dealing with oily baking trays or a traditional deep fryer.
The main drawback is size. At around 32.5cm high, 41.5cm wide and 27cm deep, this isn’t a small appliance. If your worktop is limited, you’ll need to think carefully about where it will live.
Power draw is relatively high at 2470W. While it’s efficient compared with heating a full oven for small meals, it will still demand a decent chunk of power while it’s running, which is worth bearing in mind if your kitchen sockets are already heavily loaded.
There’s no viewing window, so you can’t check on food without opening the drawer and interrupting the cooking. This is common for air fryers, but some users may miss the ability to visually monitor browning.
The touch controls and multiple settings may feel a little overwhelming at first if you’re used to a simple dial-based fryer. Most people will adapt quickly, but there is a short learning curve.
Finally, the price sits at the premium end of the air fryer market. You’re paying for capacity and dual zones; if you only cook for one or two people, you may not fully use what you’re paying for.
Living with the Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone AF400UK is largely about convenience. The touch controls and built-in display make it simple to set temperature and time, and the clearly defined programmes reduce the guesswork for common tasks like chips, roasting meat or reheating leftovers.
The dual drawer layout comes into its own on busy evenings. You can load one side with protein and the other with sides, set each to its ideal settings and let the fryer handle the rest. Once you’re used to it, it feels far less stressful than juggling multiple trays in an oven.
Cleaning is refreshingly straightforward. The removable bowls and dishwasher-safe components mean you can either rinse and wipe them in the sink or pop them straight into the dishwasher. There’s no lingering deep-fryer smell, and far less splatter than pan frying.
Physically, the unit is solid and stable, helped by non-slip feet. The integrated handles on the drawers make them easy to slide out even when hot. The trade-off is bulk: it will take up a noticeable portion of your worktop, and you’ll want to measure your space before committing.
With a 2470W power rating and a 9.5-litre capacity, the AF400UK is built to deliver fast cooking on a generous scale. Air Fry mode circulates hot air around food to mimic the crispness of frying while using only a tiny amount of oil. It’s particularly effective for frozen foods and homemade chips, cutting down both fat and cooking time.
Max Crisp technology is a highlight if you love crunchy textures. It drives high heat and airflow to quickly crisp up foods straight from frozen, so you can go from freezer to plate without defrosting. That makes it ideal for quick weeknight dinners or last-minute snacks.
Beyond standard air frying, the additional functions give it broad appeal. Roast mode can handle joints of meat and vegetables, delivering tender centres and crisp edges. The bake function lets you tackle things like brownies, traybakes or even small loaves, while the reheat setting revives leftovers without drying them out in the way a microwave sometimes can.
The inclusion of a dehydrate programme is a bonus not all air fryers offer. It opens up options for homemade dried fruit, vegetable crisps, jerky or herbs, which is great for anyone who enjoys prepping their own snacks.
Features such as variable temperature control, a built-in thermostat, dishwasher-safe components, dual zone compartments, non-slip feet and removable bowls round out a very complete spec sheet. While it lacks extras like a viewing window or app connectivity, it covers the essentials – and then some – for a modern, high-capacity air fryer.
This is a premium-priced air fryer, and there are certainly cheaper models available if you only need basic air frying for one or two people. Where the AF400UK earns its keep is in capacity, flexibility and potential energy savings compared with running a full-sized oven.
The dual zone design effectively gives you two appliances in one, and the 9.5-litre capacity can easily stand in for your oven for many everyday meals. If you frequently cook for a family or like to batch cook, that efficiency can quickly justify the higher initial outlay.
The very strong 4.9 out of 5 rating from over 2,000 owners suggests that buyers generally feel they’ve had good value from it over time. Add in the 2-year manufacturer warranty (with registration), and it looks like a solid long-term investment for a busy kitchen.
If your budget is tight or you don’t need the dual drawers, a smaller Ninja or alternative brand could offer better value. But for households that will use the size and features regularly, the AF400UK offers strong overall value for its specification.
The Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone AF400UK is one of the most capable family air fryers around, combining a huge 9.5-litre capacity with genuinely useful dual-zone cooking and a broad range of functions. It can comfortably replace many tasks you’d normally use the oven for, while delivering faster results and using far less oil.
Its main compromises are its physical size, relatively high power draw and a price that sits above basic models. For smaller households or those short on worktop space, it may be more fryer than you realistically need.
If you regularly cook for a family, want to streamline weeknight dinners and are ready to invest in a versatile countertop cooker, the AF400UK is an excellent choice. Its strong owner feedback, thoughtful design and all-round performance make it easy to recommend.
