The Stacked Air Fryer Vs The Side By Side Air Fryer

Wondering about getting the stacked air fryer? Heard all the stories about uneven cooking but love the idea of freeing up space in your kitchen. Well, let your air fryer experts put the Ninja Stacked air fryer to test and compare it to the Ninja Dual and see if the stacked air fryer is really as bad as you have read.

What Is A Stacked Air Fryer?

A stacked air fryer, a stack air fryer, double stack are all names in the air fryer world to describe the double drawer air fryer, that has the drawers on top of each other.

Unlike the Ninja Dual where two drawers sit side by side, with the stackable air fryer they are on top of each other.

Created with space in mind because if you have a small kitchen it frees up space but at the same time allows you to cook more food with your air fryer.

The height is not much different compared to the dual air fryer and the idea itself is a genius so why is everyone moaning about it?

Because Of Uneven Cooking

This is the number 1 complaint with the stackable and why so many people have returned them. We have had emails and social media conversations with many that have returned them, because even though they love the idea, it doesn’t cook the food right.

I had people complaining about steak, sausages, pork chops and even chips when cooked in the new stacked air fryer. I had not used a stackable air fryer at that point (decade plus with the basket air fryer and plenty of dual air fryers) so I went and bought one and decided to test it myself.

I wanted to share with you the good the bad and the ugly about using a stackable air fryer, and if the complaints were right.

So, I started with some sausages and yes, cooked in the front of the drawer they had colour and at the back near the heating elements and it looks raw.

That made me want to take it further so we tested several of our favourite air fryer staples using the new stackable air fryer and these were the results.

Why Does The Stacked Air Fryer Cook Food Unevenly?

The stacked air fryer (we used the Ninja Stacked Air Fryer for this experiment) has the air fryer technology and heating elements coming from the back instead of from the top.

This means that if the food isn’t positioned a certain way in each of the drawers, that the technology is going to be above or below the food so it will stop it browning.

Look again at these sausages. This is a close-up picture of them in my hand.

One looks raw the other cooked. They did the same cooking time and temperature in the same drawer.

The sausages closest to the back are the ones that look raw, even though they registered a temperature of 90c/195f which is way over the recommended 70c/165f+ for pork.

The heat is getting in, but its not focusing on the sausages at the back so its like cooking food in a slow cooker the way it doesn’t have colour on it. As most of us look with our eyes we assume those sausages are in fact raw, when they are cooked.

But of course, air fryers are there to make our food look good and the fact that those at the front are brown is putting many off this type of air fryer.

You will also notice an area at the back of the air fryer, and this is where the heating comes in from.

So, if you are cooking food that is very low down or high up, it’s just not going to add any colour to it.

Another food that shocks people for uneven cooking is the steak. A more expensive experiment compared to sausages, but again perfectly cooked just the colour puts me right off!

What Food Is Better Using The Stackable Air Fryer?

Whilst there are negatives there are also positives with this style of air fryer. Whilst the cooking from the side is a problem for food you want to brown, what about food you don’t want to brown?

Bring on the baking…..

Think of all the baking you would love to do in the air fryer (or do already) and you’re always complaining its too brown on top. Well, with these foods they are cooking from the back instead of up top so you don’t have this same worry.

We made a vegetarian version of our cheese muffins from our cookbook The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook and check out the colour difference. The browner ones are in the dual and the light looking one is in the stackable.

You could also achieve the same with all your air fryer tea loaves, cakes, breads etc.

How Should You Cook Differently In The Stacked Air Fryer?

You understand that uneven cooking is a problem and which are the worst and the best foods to cook in it. But for the best results, how would you do it differently?

Overall, with most foods we found that it just needed a couple of extra minutes to the cooking time as it was just slower compared to other air fryers. Add 20% extra to the cooking time i.e. going from 10 minutes to 12 minutes. Like we show you in the temperature guide inside of The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook.

Move food about. The food often cooks well from the front but not at the back. If doing some sausages or steak for example swap the food around at the halfway point. Then both types of food are getting the same amount of time at the front and the back.

Lift food up. The biggest problem with your uneven cooking is that you are cooking below or above the air technology so it’s missing the food. By placing it in the grill in lower position, it gives it a little extra height for a more even cook.

Understanding The Stackable Air Fryer Vs Side By Side Air Fryer

The main difference between the two is the shape and where it cooks from. For example, the stack is just how it sounds, two drawers stacked on top of each other. Whilst the side by side is how it sounds too, two drawers that are joined side by side.

The air technology that cooks your food comes from the top in a standard air fryer, an air fryer oven and a side by side air fryer. This is the norm with air fryers.

However, with the stack the heating elements are at the back (as shown below) this means that if the food doesn’t match the height of the heating, then it’s not going to brown your food.

Then setting the time and temperature, matching and syncing works very similarly, but its just one in a narrow unit and then other is wide.

To set the time and temp on the stackable, you turn it on first. Then you click which zone you want to cook for i.e. 1 for the top drawer or 2 for the bottom drawer.

Then you can set your temperature first, or your time first its totally up to you.

Many air fryer recipes cook at 180c/360f as this is like a medium using the air fryer so the chances are you will use this.

Then cooking times can vary a lot.

But for example, a large jacket potato (baked potatoes for the USA) are cooked at 180c/360f for 50 minutes.

Then once you have set the time and temp, air fry (the button used the most), which zone I.e. top or bottom, you can press start.

Then if you want to match it – this means setting the same time and temp for both, then also press match and then you are just setting it once for both drawers. Kind of a lazy way to use an air fryer!

Then to sync – this is if you are cooking two foods with different time and temps, then you set each of these, then the air fryer drawers will finish at the same time.

Ninja Double Stack Air Fryer – How To Use It For The First Time

If you are looking for Ninja Double Stack air fryer instructions let me talk you through your first ever recipe using it.

We are going to do some toast as it’s a brilliant beginner food to do. I have a friend that I met first as my food stylist. When I would dump a new air fryer on her to try and to photograph our recipes, she would always cook some toast.

It would help her get used to the different buttons, how everything worked and the level of doneness.

So, start by placing the toast in your air fryer. In our experiment we did some in the dual and some in the stacked air fryer. That way we could compare notes and see who did it best.

As you can see from the photo, we used the grill insert to see how it performed.

Then turn on your stacked air fryer and set it to air fry, temperature of 180c/360f and a cooking time of 3 minutes. Plus select your zone so if doing the top go for “1” and then press start.  

Then when it beeps, check your toast and flip over and repeat if you want it toasted more and then just get a feel for it.

With any new gadget its always about the first time and getting going with it and dealing with the unknown.

Then of course, enjoy your lovely toast.

Let’s Talk About The Racks

One question that is coming up a lot lately, is the racks, how to position them and what position to put them in.

Like with the Ninja Foodi 9-in-1 you could have the rack upside down and it will change its position from low to high. You can do the same with the racks that come with the Ninja Stack. Just flip them over if you want them higher.

Ideally, you will only use them in higher position if you have other food underneath.

I do believe one of the reasons people complain about the uneven cooking is due to the racks. They are told that they can cook 4 lots of food at once with the stackable air fryer, like it’s the reason to buy it. You then put food in both drawers, then use the racks to add extra food on top of them. Creating four lots of food.

But the big problem here is that you are then overfilling the air fryer and it turns your fast air fryer into a slow cooker!

So, I would only use the racks if you had cooked food and just want to warm up a small amount of food to go with it. Such as you have made some chicken for dinner and you are warming up a flatbread on top. 

My Top 8 Takeaways Of The Stackable Air Fryer

Before you jump into using your stacked air fryer here, are 8 things we have learnt the most from using the stackable air fryer and how it compares to our other air fryers.

They are not shaped to the base unit unlike the dual air fryer. When we put the dual air fryer drawers back in, it’s obvious which is left or right. Kind of like putting your shoes on, you know when they are on the wrong foot. But with the stacked air fryer you can put them back in either.

Uneven cooking is real. You have to learn to put up with it if you want to have a stacked air fryer in your kitchen. I have had a lot of air fryers over the years and have to say this is the worst one ever for uneven cooking. If you can’t cope with this flaw get the Ninja Speedi instead which is the Ninja Air Fryer we recommend the most.

Cook the food in the middle. This stops a lot of the uneven cooking. If the food is too low or too high, then you are going to have an undercooked look on your food.

Browning is the problem not cooking. This is the big thing that needs mentioning. The undercooking really just applies to the colour of the food. Therefore, when you see anaemic looking sausages they are actually cooked, they just haven’t browned.

Stack cooks better above. The stack cooks from the back and not above, this means foods you normally air fry with foil on top to stop them browning too much on top, no longer have a problem. Think of the quiche, frittata, cake, muffins etc.

A little longer. You will also find that for doneness the stackable air fryer is a little slow. An extra 2-3 minutes usually does the trick depending on what you are cooking.

The larger the food the better the result. We also found with our experiments that if you have a larger piece of food, it is big enough to hit the right spot and cooks better. The best food for example we found was an air fryer roast chicken, whilst the worst was the sirloin steak and when you think about the size difference between them.

The racks are good but just for certain things. I wouldn’t use the racks to overfill the air fryer to stack even more food. But I would use it for warming up food or if you want the food in a different position.

Now let’s continue the learning and lets help you get to grips with the ninja stack, or a ninja dual depending on what you are looking for in your kitchen. Below you will find details of the ebook of these stackable recipe and techniques along with the cookbooks we recommend for you the most.

The Stacked Air Fryer Experiment

This is everything you see on this page and more. All the key information above is included in this action packed ebook. It also includes all 18 recipes so that you print them off and follow them along at home and work at your pace.

Get The Stacked Air Fryer Experiment Here.

Air Fryer Easy Everyday Cookbook

This was our 2^nd air fryer cookbook but it was a little different to most. That is because it gave you instructions with every single recipe using the dual air fryer. As dual air fryers are very similar to stacked air fryers, it’s a great all in one air fryer cookbook to work from.

To understand how the air fryer works and how to get the most out of it for you.

Get Air Fryer Easy Everyday Here.

The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide

Are you struggling with getting your head around how long to cook food for in the air fryer? Then this cooking times and temperatures guide is perfect and many of the foods we experimented we used the same cooking times as in this guide.

It also sits on your fridge and is budget friendly too.

Get The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide Here

Love Sam xx

PS: Comment with what air fryers you have as we would love to know and have you got a stackable air fryer yet or thinking of getting one?