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Oct 15, 2024

Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill review | Homes & Gardens

We tested Ninja's first outdoor air fryer, and we absolutely loved it When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. There isn’t anything on the

We tested Ninja's first outdoor air fryer, and we absolutely loved it

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

There isn’t anything on the market quite like the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill. It can air fry, bake, roast, grill, dehydrate, broil, and best of all – smoke meats and vegetables to perfection. Portable and compact too, it has become our favorite grilling toy.

Powered by electricity

No charcoal, gas or flames

Good size for beach houses and patios

Quick and easy to use

Doubles as an air fryer

Lacks a thermometer

Doesn’t include a grill stand or protective cover

Cooks faster than estimated times

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Ninja has become a household name for making some of the best air fryers on the market – and their first outdoor air fryer is no different. The Woodfire passed our tests with flying colors. Essentially, it's a portable electric grill with seven different functions, including air frying, roasting, baking, dehydrating, and broiling. The standout feature, however, is the smoker – which uses mini wood pellets to infuse dishes with a delicious, smoky flavor.

To test the best grills on the market, we look for exceptional cooking performance and taste. One of our testers, Alex, who is based in Texas, smoked various cuts of meat, grilled salmon, dehydrated beef jerky and even used the baking function to make cinnamon rolls. She used the grill over a few weeks, culminating in a show-stopping pork tenderloin for her guests on New Year's Day.

As a trained chef and kitchen appliances editor, I also tested this grill in my small backyard and focussed on vegetarian side dishes, like grilled fruits and vegetables, air-crisped fries and halloumi cheese. During the taste tests, we looked for perfectly crispy fries (like we've seen in the best air fryers), tender juicy meat, and that iconic smoky BBQ flavor you'd expect from traditional grills.

We also assessed capacity, clean-up and durability. While it can't quite match the full-sized Weber grills at the top of our buying guide, we think this model is ideal for small families, beach houses and camping trips. We can see why it's a favorite with BBQ afficionado, David Beckham.

The Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill is delivered in a medium-sized box. At 30 lbs, it requires some strength to move around. Thankfully, two handles are included in the box. You just need to screw them onto the grill, then it's easier to carry the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill between your home, garage and outdoor grilling space.

Beyond the grill itself, the box contains a grill plate, an air crisper basket, grease pan, recipe booklet, two different pellet bags – an All Purpose Blend and a Robust Blend – and a scooper to measure the pellets.

The included recipe booklet really stood out to me. I've tested many kitchen products that have disappointed me with unhelpful manuals, but Ninja's booklet is packed with inspirational recipes for grilled meats, fish, vegetables, BBQ sauces, and spice rubs. The grill chart was particularly impressive, offering a quick guide to cooking temperatures and flipping guidelines for tons of fresh and frozen ingredients. I'm sure it will be confidence-boosting for beginners.

The Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill uses 1760 watts of power, so it can only be plugged into a 15-amp circuit breaker. Alex tried plugging the grill into the same outlet as her hot tub and it tripped the breaker. She says, 'If I’d read the instructions more clearly, I would have noticed that Ninja suggests that this grill is the only appliance plugged into an outlet at a time. Be mindful of this before you buy, as you wouldn’t want the breaker to trip when you’re halfway through cooking.'

I also struggled with the short cable provided in the box. It's about 4ft long, so I needed to buy a heavy-duty, outdoor extension cord to make it work with my backyard setup. But once you're connected, it's easy to slot in the grill plate, grease tray and get grilling with the flick of a switch.

Testing salmon and squash in the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill

Alex says, 'For my first run with the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill, I decided to grill salmon and yellow squash. I wanted to add some smoky flavor, so I filled up the smoke box with a scoop of the All Purpose Blend pellets. You don’t have to measure the pellets out; the provided scoop is the exact dimensions of the smoke box and there's almost exactly enough for every function.'

'After filling the smoke box, I simply turned the dial to 'Grill' and hit the Woodfire Flavor button. According to Ninja's Recipe Book, I needed to set the temperature to high and the time to 10 minutes. While the grill preheated, I prepared the food. After about ten minutes, the screen read, 'Add Food.' Very quick and intuitive. I could already see smoke billowing around the grill and it smelled fantastic.'

'Even though I set the salmon and squash to cook for ten minutes, I ended up removing the food after seven minutes. It cooked incredibly fast. In fact, I wish I had only set the food to cook for five minutes because the fish was slightly drier on the outside than I preferred. Despite that, the fish was incredibly tasty and moister inside than I expected. There was a delicious smoky flavor to the fish and vegetables that wasn’t overwhelming. The char created by the grill grate was incredible.'

The smoke box of the Ninja Woodfire outdoor grill

You don't have to use the woodfire pellets with the Ninja grill. I left the smoky meats to Alex, while I experimented with some side dishes to test the grill's versatility. I tried grilling cheeses and peaches without the pellets, and they turned out delicious. I was looking for perfect char lines and gentle caramelization on the peaches, which you can see below.

This is the first outdoor air fryer/grill of its kind, so I couldn't wait to try the crisper basket and air fry setting. I tested it with a classic side of frozen French fries. Once the timer reached the halfway point, it told me to flip or shake the food. While I appreciate this intuitiveness in Ninja's best air fryers, I actually preferred checking on the food myself, as this grill cooks much faster than the suggested times. I found that after just ten minutes, my fries were already crispy and evenly cooked.

It's also worth noting that you can't air fry and grill at the same time, so you'll need to stagger ingredients if you're planning to make a meal which combines different cooking techniques.

Alex broiled some leftover takeaway pizza and baked some delicious-looking cinnamon rolls. She says, 'It was incredibly easy, especially since I didn’t use Woodfire Technology to do so (I don’t think that would have been tasty!) Just as with most of the other cooking functions, the cinnamon rolls cooked a lot faster than I expected, so I’m glad that I checked on them throughout the baking process.'

Testing cinnamon rolls in the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill

On New Year’s Day, Alex smoked a 1.5lb pork tenderloin. She says, 'The recipe book said it would take 45 minutes to smoke to an internal temperature of 145 degrees. It took about 40 minutes instead, and the result was fantastic. The exterior of the pork loin had caramelized, and the inside was exceptionally juicy. I shared some of the tenderloin with a neighbor who doesn’t usually like eating pork and they said it was the best tenderloin they’ve ever had.'

'I should add that the Woodfire Technology doesn't taste quite like a traditional smoker. There is a marked difference, and fans of hours-long smoked barbecue on traditional smokers shouldn't expect Ninja’s Woodfire Technology to be the same. It’s definitely not, but the Ninja still produces unbelievably tasty meals that are juicy, smoky, and fall-off-the-bone. With this grill, you can enjoy a similar taste without as much time and effort as doing it the old-fashioned way.'

'After this success, I tried to dehydrate round steaks into beef jerky. According to the dehydrate chart in the back of the Ninja recipe guide, beef jerky should take 5-7 hours of dehydrating time in the Woodfire Outdoor Grill. However, it only took two hours for the round steak to become beef jerky, and it tasted so good thanks to the Woodfire Technology. Once the beef jerky was done, I ate it all in one sitting!'

A smoked pork tenderloin cooked in the Ninja Woodfire Grill

Testing dehydrated beef jerky in a Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill

The Ninja Woodfire Grill has a family-sized capacity, allowing you to create an entire meal in one go. There's enough room to roast a medium-sized whole chicken and place veggies around it. For grilling, it can accommodate up to four steaks or salmon fillets at a time, with some asparagus on the side too.

It's important to note that you can't air fry your carbs at the same time. A good strategy is to grill your meat first, let it rest, and then use the air fry function for French fries or potato wedges.

For those needing more capacity, Ninja have now released the Woodfire Pro Connect Premium XL model. This larger model provides even more space for cooking. It can grill ten burgers at a time, making it more suitable for bigger families or gatherings.

The standard version of the Woodfire Grill is missing a few features. Unfortunately, the version that we tested did not have a built-in thermometer which would have been incredibly helpful during the cooking process.

The XL Pro Connect model (David Beckham's preference) includes two built-in thermometers, Bluetooth and cooking notifications via the Ninja app, so you can sit back and enjoy the cookout. For those who love smart features, this pro version is a great upgrade, while the standard grill remains a solid, budget-friendly choice.

It’s not particularly difficult to clean the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill, but it takes a bit of time. Once the grill has cooled down, you must remove the grill grate, crisper basket, and grease tray and wash them by hand. Only the pellet scoop is dishwasher safe. If you have a good-sized sink and washing-up brush, you shouldn’t have a problem cleaning. The removable parts are made from non-stick ceramic coating, so food residue easily slides off and actually, hand-washing is a great way to make your air frying appliances last longer.

To make cleaning the grease tray easier, Ninja suggests covering it with aluminum foil, which allows you to throw away the greasy foil and prevents the tray from being too greasy. The smoke box doesn’t need to be cleaned, but you will have to dump ashes that may still be inside.

I'd also suggest that you clean the inside of the hood with a damp rag each time you’re done cooking, or else grease will build up over time. This is the case with the smoke box – grease has made its way into there and causes the lid to stick a little. Unfortunately, this is such a tight space that it’s very hard to clean with a damp rag. Perhaps an old toothbrush would be a better option.

Although the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill is constructed with high-quality materials designed for year-round outdoor cooking, it’s best not to leave it exposed to the elements. The grill’s compact size makes it convenient to store in a garage or large cupboard when not in use.

For those who prefer to keep it outdoors, investing in the grill cover offered by Ninja is a wise choice. The cover enhances the grill's durability by protecting it from weather conditions, helping to maintain its condition and performance over time.

On the Ninja website, the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill has a 4.7-star rating out of 450 reviews. However, it should be noted that the reviews combine those of the grill I tested and the premium Ninja Woodfire Pro Outdoor Grill with Built-in Thermometer and Premium Package. The grills differ only slightly in that the Pro Outdoor Grill has a built-in thermometer and includes additional accessories like a grill cover, veggie tray, and roasting lifters.

On Amazon.com, the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill has a 4.7-star rating among 1,362 ratings and is the number one best-seller in Outdoor Grills.

Most reviewers loved this grill. They raved about its portability, how easy it is to clean, and the smoking features. I saw many reviews saying it makes a perfect gift for keen outdoor cooks. The only negative feedback came from those who seem to have a lot of experience with smoking on large traditional smokers. They weren’t always satisfied with the smoky flavor that this grill produces and had some trouble figuring out how to do multi-hour smokes of meat. These comments were very few, but they should be mentioned because it showcases how avid smokers might be too used to smoking the traditional way to like the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill.

If you ask me, I think that this grill and smoker is better designed for beginners or those who want a smoky flavor without the multi-hour-long experience of a traditional smoker.

We both fell in love with Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill. With a small cup of wood pellets, the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill infuses smoke into meats and vegetables as you grill, roast, or dehydrate meats and veggies. And it doesn’t take hours of prep, cooking, or clean up time to do so.

Add in the benefits of being able to air fry, bake, and broil on this grill and it’s a win in the H&G book. Yes, we wish the grill came with a stand, cover and a built-in thermometer, but they can always be bought as additional accessories. Plus, it’s easy to take this grill on the road whether that be a tailgate, camping trip, or a friend’s house. Everyone will be impressed by this grill's cooking capabilities.

The price is affordable too, considering how many things this grill can do. Go ahead and clean out your garage or kitchen of the numerous appliances because the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill can do it all.

Ninja recently introduced the XL version of their Woodfire Outdoor Grill, which offers all the functionalities of grilling, smoking, baking, roasting, just with a larger cooking area. There's space to grill ten burger patties. It also includes built-in thermometers and smart notifications through the Ninja app, so you can sit back and enjoy the cookout. For those needing more space and versatility, the XL version is a great upgrade for $100 more, while the standard Woodfire Outdoor Grill remains a solid, budget-friendly choice.

The Ninja® Foodi® Smart XL 6-in-1 Indoor Grill & Air Fryer lacks the smoking feature but includes all the other cooking modes and can be used indoors, which is great for rainy days. If I were going to invest in one or the other, I’d invest in the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill for the smoking feature alone. Even if you live in an apartment, you could use the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill on a small patio or balcony.

Traeger has their Ranger Pellet Grill and Smoker and Halo sells the Prime300 Countertop Pellet Grill. Unfortunately, they’re only designed for smoking and grilling and don’t provide the same diversity of cooking options as the grill I tested. In my search online, I could not find anything that comes close to the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill.

No, the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill is not designed for indoor use. Always use this grill in a well-ventilated outdoor area to ensure it's safe. Due to the smoking wood pellets, it works best in an open backyard space.

We began by assessing the cooking performance on all the traditional BBQ favorites. Between us, we grilled steak, fish, veggies and cheeses, smoked whole joints of meat and air-crisped fries. We tasted all the results (it's a tough life) in search of crispy fries, tender meat, perfectly-cooked veggies, and that quintessential smoky BBQ flavor.

Ease of use is crucial, so our tests evaluated the intuitiveness of the controls, instruction booklet and the accuracy of recipe presets. Between us, we tested every single cooking mode – including dehydrating beef jerky, broiling pizza and baking cinnamon rolls – to assess the versatility.

Capacity was another key factor, as we needed to see how if this grill could stand up to entertaining and family-sized meals. We also evaluated smart features like app connectivity and safety mechanisms such as auto shut-off and cool-touch exteriors.

Cleaning up can be a hassle, so we checked if removable parts are easy to wash, whether by hand or in the dishwasher. We also examined the materials for sturdiness and durability. As much as we value David Beckham's stamp of approval, we also scoured the web for the best and worst customer reviews to assess the grill's reliability and overall customer satisfaction.

Finally, when you're making a kitchen investment, price really matters, so we weighed up the grill's features and performance to see if it offers good value for money.

Lydia is the Kitchen Appliances Editor for Homes & Gardens, testing everything from coffee machines and juicers to air fryers. Lydia trained in Culinary Arts at Leiths School of Food & Wine and was previously Recipe Editor for Mindful Chef.

Alex Temblador is an award-winning author and freelance writer based in Dallas, Texas. Her work in the home space has appeared in outlets like Real Homes, Gardeningetc., Tech Radar, Tom’s Guide, Dwell, Architectural Digest, Culture Trip, and Neighborhoods.com. She has tested everything from vacuum cleaners to fitness equipment and pizza ovens.

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Lydia is the Kitchen Appliances Editor for Homes & Gardens, testing everything from air fryers and mixers to juicers and coffee machines. She trained in Culinary Arts at Leiths School of Food & Wine and previously served as the Recipe Editor for Mindful Chef.

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