Ninja Double Stack XL vs. Ninja FlexDrawer: Which One to Buy?

A two-drawer air fryer lets you turn off the oven for all but the largest meals, making cooking cheaper and easier. But they are big appliances and you need to make sure the appliance you buy works for you.

Ninja makes some of the most innovative air fryers around. If you’re looking for a dual-drawer air fryer that will give you the most cooking flexibility, two of your best choices are the Ninja Double Stack XL and the Ninja FlexDrawer.

Each variant offers a different take on the standard double-basket air fryer design. Typically, dual basket units offer two standard size cooking drawers, usually 4-5L/4-5QT each. You can see all our top recommendations in our round-up of the best double drawer models we tested.

The Double Stack XL and the FlexDrawer offer much more cooking flexibility than a standard air fryer, but they do this in completely different ways. In this article, we’ll compare the two so you can make the right choice for you.

If you live in the US, the FlexBasket is the equivalent of the UK FlexDrawer, which has a similar construction but is a smaller 7QT model, holding 2 pounds of food in each 3.5 QT basket. It’s a big step down in terms of cooking capacity from the UK model, which offers the equivalent of an 11QT capacity.

In the US the Double Stack XL is called the DoubleStack XL, but is otherwise the same model.

The main reason to buy

The DoubleStack XL

This air fryer is a space saver on the counter. We think this will save you approximately 20cm/8in over the length of your countertop (compared to the FlexDrawer or a standard two-drawer model). You can find more information in our dedicated article.

Additionally, each of the Double Stack’s two drawers can cook two layers of food, thanks to the racks that come with the appliance, potentially doubling the cooking space.

The Flex drawer

This air fryer has a unique twist. The two separate 5.2 liter cooking areas can be combined into one 10.4 liter cooking ‘mega zone’ by removing the dividing wall between the two. This gives you the opportunity to prepare large pieces of meat and bake large loaves of bread or cakes in your air fryer.

Design and dimensions of the air fryer

Both air fryers have the typical robust Ninja construction. Unlike Ninja’s specialized combination air fryer, the Ninja Foodi Max Health Grill, the Double Stack and the FlexDrawer are almost entirely made of plastic. Neither model is ugly, but they look functional at best, with a no-nonsense design that won’t bring any aesthetic flair to your kitchen.

What the Double Stack XL provides plenty of cooking space for a smaller countertop footprint. Dimensions are 38.5 (H) x 28 (W) x 47 cm (D) / 15.14 (H) x 11.25 (L) x 19.22 in (W), which is approximately standard for models with two drawers.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The difference is that Ninja has turned a conventional air fryer with two drawers on its side, so that the cooking drawers are on top of each other. It takes up much less of your kitchen worktop in width, although it is slightly deeper and may protrude beyond the line of your other kitchen appliances. It fits under standard kitchen cabinets and offers plenty of space.

Neither air fryer has a viewing window, so you have to open the drawer to check your food, which isn’t ideal while baking.

External, the FlexDrawer has a fairly conventional two-drawer design, except that it has a single, large drawer, divided in half. The dimensions are 32.7 (H) x 49.6 (W) x 31.6 cm (D).

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The smaller US FlexBasket measures 11.26 (H) x 11.81 (W) x 11.26 inches (D).

Cooking controls and modes

Both models feature an intuitive, user-friendly digital display and rotary and knob controls.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The double stack XL has fewer modes than many other air fryer models:

• Air frying
• Max. crispy (for frozen products)
• Baking
• Roast
• Heat up
• Dry out

But you can adjust these functions by time and temperature, so they cover almost anything you want to cook in the appliance.

The Flex drawer has an extra setting for letting dough rise. This makes sense, given the larger capacity. These are the cooking modes:

• Air frying
• Max. crispy (for frozen products)
• Baking
• Roast
• Heat up
• Dry out
• Prove

You can also adjust these modes by time and temperature.

In addition, both air fryers have Match and Sync functions. With Match you program one drawer and copy the cooking instructions directly to the second drawer. With Sync you program two separate cooking programs, but ensure that they are ready at the same time. This way you only have one alarm, you don’t have to keep the food warm and you can serve both drawers at the same time.

Neither model has a shake warning. A shaking alarm is an alarm that goes off 50-60% of the cooking program duration and reminds you to shake your fries. It’s a feature we missed while using both models.

Cooking capacity

The DoubleStack XL has a cooking capacity of 9.5L/10QT, divided into two drawers, each with two tiers. This means you can separate proteins and vegetables in each drawer, giving you more flexibility in the cooking space. If you tend to prepare meals that consist of a protein and two or three types of vegetables, then this is a good option for you.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The Flex drawer has an even larger capacity of 10.4 liters in total, which can handle much larger quantities of food, making it the better option for roasting and baking.

Cons

The DoubleStack XL is an excellent air fryer, but it’s not perfect. During our testing, we found that because the heat sources are located at the back of each drawer, certain foods (french fries, fried potatoes) cooked unevenly. This is made worse by the fact that there is no shake alarm. Instead, you should set an alarm on your phone to remind you to stir the food halfway through cooking.

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

Emma Rowley / Foundry

The Flex drawer also lacks a shake warning and has another limitation thanks to its design. If you have to open a drawer to check if there is food inside, you are obviously exposing both sides to the cool air, which can affect baking or rising.

Neither model has a viewing window to monitor food cooking without opening the drawer.

Price and availability

The Ninja DoubleStack XL is widely available in both the UK and the US.

It’s an expensive device in the UK, costing £269.99. Currently there is no price advantage to choosing a retailer, with an over/under difference of around £1. It is available from Ninja, John Lewis, Argos And Curries. This makes it around £50 more than the FlexDrawer and £90 more than the Ninja Foodi Max Dual Zone, both similar models in terms of functionality and cooking space. Whether or not it’s worth it to you really depends on how much you value a little more counter space.

In the US it’s a little less pricey, with a suggested retail price of $229.99. You can buy it from Ninja, Amazon and Walmart, among other retailers. Again, it’s about $50 more than the FlexBasket, which in its US version is only a 7QT device and just a little more than the 10QT Foodi with two trays.

The Ninja FlexBasket has an RRP of £269.99, but is currently available from a number of retailers for £219. You can buy it from Ninja, John Lewis, Argos and Amazon.

In the UK, the price difference makes the FlexDrawer a much more attractive option, as long as you have enough space to leave it.

In the US, the smaller 7QT FlexBasket is available from Ninja, Best Buy, Walmart and Amazon for $149.99, down from $180. This also makes it an attractive option, although the cooking capacity is considerably less than that of the Double Stack.

Pronunciation

Both air fryers are among the best double tray models you can buy.

They are easy to use and provide smart cooking solutions. The double stack is the better option if you want to prepare several smaller sides separately, but at the same time. But even though it has the advantage of having a smaller footprint on the countertop, it doesn’t produce such even results.

The Flex drawer is best for baking and roasting larger volumes. It produces great results and is significantly cheaper. Overall, we think this will be the better choice for most people and it would be our top recommendation.

It’s a tougher choice in the US, where the FlexBasket is smaller, but if a 7QT capacity is enough, it’s an excellent device at a great price.

To see all of our most recommended air fryers, check out our reviews of the best air fryers overall, the best air fryer ovens, the best Ninja air fryers, and the best dual tray air fryers.