Ninja Air Fryer AF101 (4 QT)
The #1 bestselling basket air fryer. Its basket and crisper plate use a PFAS-free ceramic (sol-gel) nonstick coating - genuinely better than a Teflon basket, but still an applied coating food scrapes at 400F, so it is not coating-free.
The verdict: Minimal plastic contact
The AF101 is the model most people mean when they say "air fryer" - Ninja's 4-quart basket unit and a perennial bestseller. Its saving grace is that the basket and crisper plate are NOT Teflon: Ninja states both are a ceramic (sol-gel) nonstick that is PTFE-free and PFOA-free. That is a real step up from the standard fluoropolymer basket, and worth separating from the Teflon-basket crowd. But "ceramic nonstick" is still an applied coating on an aluminum basket, running at 105-400F with food tumbling against it and being scraped out every use - sol-gel coatings wear and eventually shed. So it lands at minimal-contact: better than PTFE, not coating-free. If you want to avoid a coating entirely, a bare convection/toaster oven with a stainless tray, or one of the glass-basket picks, puts nothing coated under the food.
What it's made of
| Part | Material | Food contact |
|---|---|---|
| air fryer basket ceramic (sol-gel) nonstick on aluminum; Ninja states PTFE-free and PFOA-free | Ceramic Nonstick sol-gel coating | Yes primary |
| crisper plate ceramic (sol-gel) nonstick; food rests directly on it during cooking | Ceramic Nonstick sol-gel coating | Yes primary |
| housing / controls exterior plastic body and digital control panel, outside the food path | Plastic other / unspecified | No |
The 4-quart basket unit most people mean when they say "air fryer" - a perennial bestseller in the familiar pull-out-drawer form factor, cheap, with a dishwasher-safe basket and crisper plate. Treat it as the least-bad coated basket; reach for a bare oven-and-stainless setup or a glass-basket model if you want no coating in the food path at all.
Pros
- Hugely popular and cheap, with a dishwasher-safe basket and plate
- A real improvement over a Teflon-basket air fryer
Cons
- Applied ceramic sol-gel coating on aluminum that food scrapes at 400F and that wears and eventually sheds over time
- Housing and controls are plastic (outside the food path)
Common questions
Does the Ninja Air Fryer AF101 (4 QT) have plastic in it?
Yes. On the Ninja Air Fryer AF101 (4 QT), the air fryer basket and crisper plate are plastic and sit in the food path. There is plastic in the housing / controls, which never touch your food.
What is the Ninja Air Fryer AF101 (4 QT) made of?
Part by part, the Ninja Air Fryer AF101 (4 QT) is: air fryer basket — ceramic nonstick; crisper plate — ceramic nonstick; housing / controls — plastic.
Where is the Ninja Air Fryer AF101 (4 QT) made?
The Ninja Air Fryer AF101 (4 QT) is made in China.
Categories: Air Fryers
Sources
Every material claim above is backed by these. This is the scattered info we centralized.
- manufacturer https://support.sharkninja.com/article/AF100-Series-Ninja-Air-Fryer-FAQs Ninja FAQ stating the AF100-series basket and crisper plate are ceramic-coated nonstick, PTFE-free and PFOA-free
- manufacturer https://www.sharkninja.com/air-fryer-crisper-plate/103KY100.html replacement crisper plate listing (ceramic nonstick) for AF101/AF150/AF161
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