Ninja Foodi Smart XL Pro 7-in-1 Indoor Grill & Griddle (IG651) review

Short verdict: The IG651 is a real redesign of the Ninja Foodi indoor grill I already cooked on, not a new paint job. The biggest change is that you can grill with the lid open once it’s preheated, so it sizzles and behaves more like an outdoor grill. Every accessory also stores inside the closed unit, which my older Foodi couldn’t manage. My one real complaint is the grill plate, which slopes forward like a George Foreman. Burgers creep toward the front, and a hot dog ended up in the grease trap. The bigger problem in 2026 is buying one. As of October 26, 2026, I couldn’t find a new IG651 sold by Amazon or by Ninja itself. The only live Amazon offer I found was a third-party seller at $450.00, well above what this grill should cost.

What I tested, and what I didn’t

My video is from June 2022. In it I set up the IG651, cooked frozen egg rolls, burgers and hot dogs, and took it apart to clean it. I compared it throughout with the older Ninja Foodi grill I’d been using, and my wife weighed in on how it looks on the counter. The video doesn’t say whether I bought this unit or Ninja sent it. The description carries an affiliate link and a Ninja discount code (ALLELECTRIC20, $20 off at the time), so treat this as a review with an affiliate relationship.

Some things I did not test in the video: the Foodi Smart Thermometer, the dehydrate function, a steak (I said I’d be comfortable cooking one, but I didn’t), and how the ceramic coating holds up over months. Anything below on those comes from Ninja’s or Amazon’s listing, and I’ve marked it that way.

Quick specs (sourced, not measured by me)

Ninja’s naming on the box and in my video counts the modes a little differently. On the dial I read off grill, roast, air fry, barbecue, griddle, bake and broil. Amazon’s listing puts dehydrate on the list and folds barbecue into “BBQ griddle.” The count of seven matches either way.

The redesign, side by side with the old Foodi

The first thing I noticed out of the box was the styling. The older Foodi looks like an appliance. The IG651 is cleaner, and my wife’s verdict was that this one could stay out on the counter. If you’ve lived with a countertop grill, you know that’s the deciding question, because a grill you have to haul out of a cabinet every night is a grill you stop using.

The shape changed too. The IG651 is wider but shorter than my old one. That trade matters for two reasons. It fits under cabinets more easily, and the extra width is what lets every accessory nest inside the closed unit for storage. With the old Foodi I had a grill and then a separate pile of plates and baskets. With this one, it’s one box.

The controls moved to a single dial with buttons for power, mode, temperature and time. You pick the mode, turn the dial, and press start. I used it without reading the instructions, which I’ll admit is how I use most things, and I didn’t get stuck. You can also change the temperature and time while it’s cooking, which comes in handy when something is browning faster than you expected. Grill mode has three heat levels: low, medium and high.

Preheat, then cook with the lid open

Like the older model, the IG651 preheats before you add food. In my video, preheat took somewhere between about 3 minutes and 5 to 6 minutes depending on the mode and temperature. When it’s ready, the display tells you to add food. Partway through a cook it beeps to remind you to flip.

The lid has to be closed during preheat. After that, on this model, you can leave it open. That’s the feature I’d point to if someone asked what’s actually new. With the lid open on the grill plate, it sizzles the way a real grill does. You can see the food, move it around and flip it when it’s ready, not when a timer says so. My old Foodi was a closed-lid machine, which made it feel closer to an air fryer that happened to leave grill marks.

The fan is a small improvement. On the IG651 it ramps up gradually instead of kicking on at full speed. Overall noise is about the same as the old model, though, so if fan noise bothered you before, this won’t fix it.

Egg rolls: the easy win

I started with frozen egg rolls and followed the package directions. They came out perfect, crispy all the way around and hot in the middle. I called them restaurant quality in the video, and I’d stand by that for frozen egg rolls. This is the kind of food these machines handle best: something that wants circulating hot air and doesn’t care about sear marks.

Burgers, hot dogs and the slope

Then I moved to the grill plate, and this is where my main complaint showed up. The IG651’s grill plate tilts toward the front, the way a George Foreman grill does, so grease runs down into a trap at the front edge. The idea is sound. The angle is steeper than I’d like. Food rolls forward. Burgers slowly slid toward the front, and one hot dog rolled all the way into the grease trap.

If I could change one thing on this grill, it would be less slope.

The capacity is generous. I fit at least eight burgers on the plate at once. For hot dogs, my tip is to lay them front to back (pointing down the slope) instead of side to side. You fit more, and they don’t roll.

With the lid open and the plate on high, the burgers sizzled the way they would outside. I said in the video I’d be comfortable cooking a steak on it. I didn’t actually cook one, so I can’t tell you how the sear compares to a cast-iron pan or a gas grill.

Cleanup

Cleanup is where countertop grills live or die, and the IG651 did fine. The grill plate and griddle plate hook in at the front and click in at the back, so they come out without fuss. There’s a hidden red button on the back that releases the bottom tray. I didn’t find it at first, so now you know where it is.

The parts stay hot for a while after cooking. Give them time before you grab them.

The nonstick plate cleaned up easily with dish soap and a brush. In the video I wasn’t sure whether the bottom tray was dishwasher safe. Amazon’s listing now describes the removable ceramic nonstick parts as dishwasher safe. I’d still hand-wash nonstick to make it last, but that’s habit, not something I tested.

What it costs now, and why that’s a problem

This is the part of the review that changed most since 2022. As of October 26, 2026:

• Amazon’s IG651 listing has no featured offer. Amazon isn’t selling it directly.
• The lowest live offer I found was a third-party seller at $450.00.
• SharkNinja’s own site lists a replacement base for the IG651 (part XBASEIG651) at $272.99, but I didn’t find the complete grill for sale there.

If you find a new IG651 from a retailer you trust at close to the AG301’s price, it’s worth buying. At $450 from a third-party seller, I’d buy one of the rivals below instead.

How it compares

All prices were checked on live retailer pages on October 26, 2026.

The AG301 is the older 5-in-1 I cooked on for months, and the one my family used instead of our propane grill. It’s a closed-lid design with no griddle, and it holds five or six burgers. If you mostly want grilled chicken, burgers and air-fried sides, it does the job for about half what the IG651 costs from a third party today. My full review is on the Ninja Foodi AG301 page.

The FG551 is Ninja’s 6-in-1 XL with a thermometer, at $279.99 on Amazon. I haven’t tested it, so I can’t tell you if its plate slopes like the IG651’s.

The Sizzle Pro XL GX101 is a grill-and-griddle unit without the air fryer. At $99.99 on sale from Ninja, it’s the budget pick if you don’t need air frying. I haven’t tested it either.

Pros and cons

Pros

• You can grill with the lid open after preheat, and it sizzles like an outdoor grill
• All the accessories store inside the closed unit
• Wider and shorter than the old Foodi, and good-looking enough to stay on the counter
• One dial, and you can change time and temperature mid-cook
• Frozen egg rolls came out perfect on the package directions
• Fits at least eight burgers
• Plates clean easily with soap and a brush, and pop in and out without tools

Cons

• The grill plate slopes forward enough that food rolls, and a hot dog ended up in the grease trap
• About as loud as the older model
• The bottom-tray release button is hidden on the back
• As of Oct 26, 2026, no new unit sold by Amazon or Ninja that I could find; the live third-party price is $450.00

Who should buy it, and who should skip it

Buy it if you find a new one at a fair price from a retailer you trust, you want both a grill and a griddle in one countertop unit, and you like to watch and flip your food rather than close a lid and wait.

Skip it if the only offer you can find is a marked-up third-party listing. Skip it, too, if the sloped plate would drive you crazy. For sausages, hot dogs and anything round, it’s a real annoyance. And if you mostly air fry, a dedicated air fryer or the AG301 costs less.

FAQ

Can you cook with the lid open? Yes, once preheating is done. The lid must be closed while it preheats.

How long does preheat take? In my video it ranged from about 3 minutes to about 5 or 6 minutes, depending on mode and temperature.

How many burgers fit? I fit at least eight at once.

Is it dishwasher safe? Amazon’s listing says the removable ceramic nonstick parts are dishwasher safe. I hand-washed them with soap and a brush, and that was easy.

Is it louder than the older Ninja Foodi grill? About the same overall. The fan does ramp up more gradually.

Any recalls? I found no CPSC recall for the IG651 as of October 26, 2026. SharkNinja’s recalls have involved other products, such as some Foodi pressure cookers.

Where can I buy it? As of October 26, 2026, Amazon isn’t selling it directly, and I didn’t find the full grill on Ninja’s site. A third-party Amazon seller listed it at $450.00.

Why this review stops here

My video is an 11-minute first cook: setup, egg rolls, burgers, hot dogs and cleanup, with a running comparison to the older Foodi. I didn’t test the thermometer, the dehydrate mode, a steak or long-term coating wear, so I’ve left those out instead of guessing. The specs come from the Amazon listing, not from my own measurements.

Sources

• My video: Ninja Foodi Smart XL Pro Grill & Griddle (IG651) review, June 2022
• Amazon: Ninja IG651 listing, accessed Oct 26, 2026
• Amazon: Ninja FG551 listing, accessed Oct 26, 2026
• SharkNinja: Ninja Sizzle Pro XL GX101, accessed Oct 26, 2026
• SharkNinja: IG651 replacement base XBASEIG651, accessed Oct 26, 2026
• CPSC recalls, accessed Oct 26, 2026