I love cooking big hot meals for my family every night. But I hate the messy outdoor cleanup of a charcoal grill. Rainy days always ruined my dinner plans in the past. I needed a smart way to cook inside my warm house. I wanted a perfect dark char with zero indoor smoke. That is why I tested these two popular grills at home. I wanted to see which one works best for busy daily life.
Let us dive into my time with the first model and see how it works.
Ninja FG551 Review
Pulling this heavy box inside was quite a tough task. I cleared off a big chunk of my kitchen counter space. It looked sleek but felt very large right from the start. I grabbed some fresh food to start my first round of cooking tests.
Putting the heavy pieces together felt very easy and fast.
Assembly And Build Quality
It was mostly ready right out of the cardboard box. I just washed the heavy grate and the metal air basket. The parts felt very solid in my bare hands. Nothing felt cheap or weak at all. The heavy top lid had a very firm hinge.
It stayed open on its own while I flipped my hot food. I did notice the rear power cord was a bit short. I had to move my toaster to reach the wall plug. Still, it felt built to last for a long time.
| Part | Feel | My Note |
| Main outer unit | Very sturdy | Takes up a lot of space. |
| Metal grill grate | Super heavy | Great for holding high heat. |
| Rear power cord | Very thick | Too short for my layout. |
| Outer top lid | Heavy and solid | Stays open safely on its own. |
Cooking my first few warm meals showed me real power.
Everyday Cooking Performance
I started with thick frozen chicken breasts. I expected them to dry out or take an hour. To my shock, they cooked perfectly inside. They stayed very juicy with a thick crust outside. The hot air hits the food from all sides. I did not even flip them once.
Next, I made sweet potato fries. They crisped up fast in the hot basket. But I had to shake the tray a lot. If I did not shake it, the fries cooked unevenly. The real test was a huge thick steak. The dark sear was truly amazing. It smelled great in my kitchen. There was almost zero smoke in the room. The top metal shield kept all the messy grease trapped inside.
My kids love eating hot snacks. We made chicken nuggets and fish sticks next. They came out crunchy in ten minutes flat. The machine warms up so fast. I love saving extra time after a long busy day. But cleaning the top shield was very tough. Greasy bits get hard and stick in the tiny holes. I had to soak it in hot soapy water for an hour. I scrubbed it hard with a stiff brush.
The main bottom pot is very nonstick, though. Food wiped right off with a soft wet sponge. I used this machine daily for a whole month. It bakes and roasts fast without heating the whole house. It is quite loud, though. It sounds like a large fan blowing hard.
| Food Type | Time | My Result |
| Frozen thick chicken | 20 mins | Juicy inside with a good crust. |
| Sweet potato fries | 15 mins | Crispy but needed lots of shaking. |
| Thick cut steak | 12 mins | Perfect dark sear and low smoke. |
| Frozen kids snacks | 8 mins | Very hot and super crunchy. |
Looking at the good and bad helped me decide what matters.
Pros And Cons
Every kitchen tool has good and bad traits. I kept a sticky notepad to track my daily thoughts. Some days, it felt like pure cooking magic. Other days, the loud fan noise annoyed me while reading. Here is my final list of highs and lows.
| Type | Feature | My Experience |
| Pro | Fast heating speed | Dinner was ready so quickly every night. |
| Pro | Great hot sear | Red meat looked and tasted totally amazing. |
| Con | Loud fan noise | It sounded loudly like a running vacuum. |
| Con | Heavy base unit | It was very hard to store in a cabinet. |
Figuring out who should buy this heavy tool is very key.
Recommendation
I think this unit is great for busy tired parents. It handles heavy daily cooking with pure ease. If you have the empty counter space, you will love it. But if you live in a tiny flat, it takes up too much room.
| User Type | Recommendation | Reason |
| Busy large families | Good Fit | Cooks hard frozen food very fast. |
| Red meat lovers | Good Fit | Gives an amazing dark crusty sear. |
| Tiny kitchen owners | Not Ideal | Takes up far too much flat room. |
| Light simple cooks | Not Ideal | Too large and heavy for basic tasks. |
This indoor grill is perfect for cooking all my favorite meals at home.
Next, I swapped my kitchen setup to test the newer model.
Ninja IG651 Review
This unit looked a bit different sitting on my counter. It had a sleek front screen and a flatter shape. I wondered if it actually cooked food any better. I plugged it in and grabbed some fresh raw meat to find out.
Setting it up showed me some cool new design choices.
Assembly And Build Quality
The very first thing I noticed was the overall weight. It felt a bit lighter to lift and move around. The lid design is very smart and clever. You can cook with the hood wide open or shut closed. I loved having that extra choice for my meals.
The buttons felt very smooth to touch. The flat top plate was a super nice bonus. It felt super heavy and strong in my hands. But the shiny front finish showed every single fingerprint. I wiped it constantly with a rag. Overall, it felt very premium.
| Part | Feel | My Note |
| Flat griddle plate | Very smooth | Super heavy and well made. |
| Front control panel | Very sleek | Shows oily fingerprints easily. |
| Top lid hinge | Smart and safe | Can cook wide open or shut closed. |
| Main bottom base | Lighter frame | Much easier to slide around. |
Daily cooking taught me how this modern machine truly works.
Everyday Cooking Performance
The flat open plate changed my weekend morning routine. I cooked raw eggs and bacon right on the open top. Nothing stuck to the dark metal pan. The fried eggs slid right onto my warm plate without breaking. Hot grease drained away fast into the small side trap.
Cooking with the open lid felt like a real outdoor cookout. I watched my food turn brown and flipped it perfectly. Next, I grilled huge thick beef burgers. They turned out very juicy inside. But the open heat felt a bit weak to me. It took much longer to get a dark brown char. I closed the heavy lid for my next batch of meat. They cooked much faster with the lid shut tight.
The hot air basket did a solid job on frozen hash browns. They got hot and crispy on every single side. Cleanup was truly a breeze this time. The flat cooking plate washed totally clean in ten seconds.
Just a quick wipe with a wet soapy rag did the whole trick. The inside fan noise was much quieter, too. I could clearly hear the TV in the next room while making dinner. It handles multiple cooking jobs very well. You can roast, fry, or grill easily. But the open cooking plate is definitely the best feature by far. It makes cooking breakfast so much fun.
| Food Type | Time | My Result |
| Fresh fried eggs | 4 mins | Perfect and did not stick at all. |
| Crispy bacon strips | 8 mins | Hot grease drained away easily. |
| Thick beef burgers | 14 mins | Juicy but took slightly longer open. |
| Frozen hash browns | 12 mins | Crispy on every single brown side. |
Reviewing my sticky notes showed me the full true picture.
Pros And Cons
After a full month of heavy meals, I knew my favorite parts. Having a flat open top for morning breakfast is amazing. I saved so much daily time doing dirty dishes. Still, it is not fully perfect. The extra loose plates take up odd cabinet space. Here is my honest daily breakdown.
| Type | Feature | My Experience |
| Pro | Flat top plate | Made morning breakfast cooking so fun. |
| Pro | Open lid cooking | Loved watching my hot food turn brown. |
| Con | Shiny front glass | The pretty screen got very dirty fast. |
| Con | Extra loose parts | Very hard to find storage for plates. |
Choosing the right buyer comes down to your daily meals.
Recommendation
I firmly believe this model is perfect for morning breakfast lovers. It is a fun fast tool for a family that wants many choices. If you only want to sear steaks, you may not need the flat plate.
| User Type | Recommendation | Reason |
| Morning breakfast fans | Good Fit | Flat top plate is perfect for eggs. |
| Kitchen gadget lovers | Good Fit | Lots of fun new ways to cook. |
| Meat only daily cooks | Not Ideal | You do not need the flat open top. |
| Very messy home cooks | Not Ideal | Front screen shows too many smudges. |
Check out my new grill! It’s a 7-in-1 machine, perfect for any meal prep needs!
Putting these two machines side by side made their differences very clear.
Detailed Comparison for Ninja FG551 Vs IG651
I spent weeks testing both units to see the real winner. They both handle hot dinner well, but they shine in unique ways.
Let us look at how they both handle raw intense heat.
Performance: Ninja FG551 Vs IG651
The first unit is a total beast for intense raw heat. It locks in high temps and sears thick meat very fast. The hot air blows hard inside the box. My food always gets super crispy edges. The heat stays trapped perfectly inside the thick walls.
The second unit offers a softer daily cooking style. Open lid cooking is super fun for soft eggs or thin pancakes. But it lacks that blazing hot sear when left wide open. You lose a lot of heat into the room air. The first one clearly wins on pure raw power.
| Feature | Ninja FG551 | Ninja IG651 |
| Meat searing power | Blazing hot and fast | Good but a little bit slower |
| Daily cooking style | Closed lid intense heat | Open or closed fun flexibility |
| Best food to make | Steaks and frozen snacks | Breakfast foods and thick burgers |
| General heat speed | Warms up very quickly | Takes slightly longer to heat |
Ninja IG651 Rating: 9/10
Ninja FG551 Rating: 8/10
Next, I looked at how simple the buttons really were.
Ease of Use: Ninja FG551 Vs IG651
I found the first model very simple to run every day. The big clear buttons are super easy to read quickly. You just pick a mode, set a fast time, and walk away. But the loud running fan gets old quickly. It hums loudly the entire time it cooks.
The second model feels much more sleek and fresh. Leaving the hood open while flipping hot food felt totally natural. The smooth digital screen responds fast to dirty kitchen fingers. It is also quite a bit quieter while running a cycle. It does not annoy me during long cooks.
| Feature | Ninja FG551 | Ninja IG651 |
| Main button controls | Simple and very direct | Sleek and very modern |
| Front display screen | Basic push down buttons | Glossy digital glass display |
| Running noise level | Loud like a big vacuum | Much more quiet inside room |
| Flipping hot food | Must open the heavy lid | Can leave the top lid wide open |
Ninja IG651 Rating: 7/10
Ninja FG551 Rating: 9/10
Comparing their physical frames showed which one lasts much longer.
Build Quality: Ninja FG551 Vs IG651
The first grill is built like a heavy brick. It is heavy, bold, and feels very tough inside and out. But the whole machine eats up a massive amount of flat counter space. The short rear power cord was always a hassle for my kitchen layout. It forced me to move other items away.
The second grill feels slightly lighter but still very strong. The flat cooking plate is thick metal and fully nonstick. The only sad part is the shiny front control panel. It looks dirty right after you touch it just once. You will wipe it down every single day.
| Feature | Ninja FG551 | Ninja IG651 |
| Overall base weight | Very heavy and solid | Slightly lighter outer frame |
| Kitchen counter footprint | Takes up huge table space | Fits a bit better on edges |
| Outer box finish | Matte and very easy care | Glossy and smudges very easily |
| Metal cooking plates | Heavy single bottom grate | Thick flat top smooth griddle |
Ninja IG651 Rating: 8/10
Ninja FG551 Rating: 8/10
Nobody likes doing dirty dishes, so cleaning speeds really matter.
Maintenance: Ninja FG551 Vs IG651
Cleaning the first unit was half good and half very bad. The main bottom pot wipes down easily with soap. But the top mesh grease shield is a huge pain to scrub. Hot food bits lock into the tiny metal holes. I ruined a sponge trying to clean it out.
The second unit was a total joy to wash in the sink. The smooth flat plate wipes clean in ten seconds flat. The lower slide out grease cup pulls out easily to dump in the trash. I barely spent any time standing at the wet sink.
| Feature | Ninja FG551 | Ninja IG651 |
| Main bottom plate | Very easy to wipe down | Super fast to wash clean |
| Top grease shield | Very hard to scrub clean | Much easier to manage daily |
| Bottom grease trap | Normal cup drain style | Easy pull out slide tray |
| Sink washing speed | A little bit slow today | Super fast and very simple |
Ninja IG651 Rating: 6/10
Ninja FG551 Rating: 9/10
Finally, I checked which kitchen unit gives you better overall value.
Value for Money: Ninja FG551 Vs IG651
The first unit is a bit older now on the market. This means you can often find it for a much better price. It does heavy daily meat cooking perfectly. If you just want fast weeknight dinners, it is a great buy. It lasts a long time without breaking down.
The second unit costs a bit more cash upfront today. But you get far more ways to cook your daily meals. The open flat plate basically replaces your flat stove pan. If you cook many types of odd meals, the extra cost makes total sense.
| Feature | Ninja FG551 | Ninja IG651 |
| Best price deal | Great for standard fast meals | Better for fancy home cooks |
| Cooking options | High searing meat power | Lots of fun cooking styles |
| Extra plate parts | Basic single grill setup | Included flat top metal plate |
| Heavy daily use | Good for heavy dinner use | Good for every single meal |
Ninja IG651 Rating: 9/10
Ninja FG551 Rating: 8/10
Wrapping up this giant food test was quite fun for me.
Conclusion
Both machines totally changed how I cook dinner. But they serve very different needs. If you want pure searing power for steaks, pick the first one. If you want to make Sunday morning pancakes, the second model is the clear winner for you.
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