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Besides being a boon for crisping food at the office, on vacation, or whenever you need a makeshift kitchen, the Ninja Crispi air fryer is powerful, petite, and is easy to collapse and store. But after all those recrisped wings, reheated dips, and revived pizza slices, you may start to notice it developing some greasy build-up.
A special air fryer requires special care. Here’s how to clean all the weird parts of the Ninja Crispi.
Start with the pod
The Ninja Crispi is one of my top air fryer picks for 2025 because of how portable it is. That’s owed primarily to how it breaks down. It consists of two major components: the glass container, and the pod. The pod is the business end of the air fryer; it sits on top of the glass container and contains the engine, fan, and heating coil. While most air fryers have the coil and fan around five inches above the food, the Ninja Crispi’s parts get up close and personal with the bubbling sugars and popping oils in your food—the fan and heating coil are only a couple inches away. That’s great for quick heating, but not great for a clean pod.
The heating element has a metal grate, like a splash guard, over it. This protects the coil from getting direct splashback, but you also don’t want this grate to form a layer of buildup, which can lead to smoke, or even a fire.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
To avoid that, you must wipe the pod clean every time: Once you’ve finished air frying, take the pod off and set it on the counter. The glass container will still be screaming hot, so put it aside to cool. Unplug the pod. Get a damp dish sponge with a scrubby side and a soft side. Add a drop of soap to the scrubby side, rub it in a little, and squeeze the sponge to get rid of excess water. Use the scrubber to lightly wipe the grate. Little bits of oil or food should come off. Flip the sponge and use the soft side to wipe off any suds left behind.
What do you think so far?
Cleaning the containers
The Crispi’s containers are pretty straightforward glass squares. They wouldn’t really have a place in this article if it weren’t for the black plastic holster on the bottom of both containers. This thing ideally will stay clear of food. It’s meant to keep your hands and surfaces safe from touching the glass, but it’s also non-removable, and food can get cozy in the crevices.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Any blobs of dip that end up falling onto the handles or oils that end up running underneath can be removed with a straw brush or thin bottle brush. I have a wire brush with bristles that can sneak through most hard to reach places, and it’s great for my Ninja Crispi. This one will work just as well, and the key ring that keeps it together appeals to my sense of organization.
Besides that, the Ninja Crispi’s containers and grates are easy to clean with soapy water. The pod should never be submerged in water (it’s filled with electronics and whatnot), but the containers, their grates, and the pod adapter for the large container can all go in the dishwasher. If you’re washing by hand, let the glass containers drip dry at an angle so water doesn’t get trapped in the thin space between the container’s bottom and the plastic underneath.
