By Dana Beninati and Alice K. Thompson for Food Network Kitchen
Dana is a host, chef and sommelier. Alice is a contributing writer and editor at Food Network.
Think of your air fryer as a miniature oven. Would you hesitate to put tinfoil in an oven? Of course not, and you can feel comfortable putting tinfoil in an air fryer, too. Using an air fryer already means minimal cleanup – goodbye, big pots of hot oil – and lining the basket with tinfoil seems like a shortcut to even less mess.
However, there are a few keys to using tinfoil safely and successfully. Read on to learn how to use tinfoil in an air fryer, plus when to skip it to prevent waste and let foods cook more evenly.
Is It Safe to Use Tinfoil in an Air Fryer?
Tinfoil is safe to use in an air fryer so long as you follow three basic rules: never let the tinfoil touch the heating element; make sure the tinfoil is weighted so it doesn't blow around the basket; and avoid contact with acidic ingredients, which can cause the tinfoil to leach onto your food.
An airfryer is simply a small countertop oven that runs on convection heat. The heat is circulated around a tight space by a powerful fan that lies just below or behind the heating element depending on what model you have. Basket air fryers have a removable basket that sits in the belly of the appliance. If that's the sort of model you have, only use foil in the basket. Meanwhile, air fryer ovens have racks to put foods on, usually in a basket as well, and can be a combination air fryer and toaster oven. If you’re using an oven-style fryer you can use foil either in the basket or on the drip pan as long as you follow the rules above.
When and How to Put Tinfoil in an Air Fryer
Reaching for tinfoil can sometimes speed cleanup and/or increase the numbers of food you can cook conveniently. When properly secured, in instances like those below, tinfoil can protect sticky sauces and rogue crumbs from burning onto the appliance’s surface. It can also help you cook difficult foods.
Saucy foods: We love to use tinfoil with wet foods like our Air Fryer Spare Ribs because it nearly eliminates the need to scrub off any burnt sauce after cooking. Line the basket with tinfoil; or, in oven-style fryers, line the drip pan.
Foods that might roll around: Tinfoil is great to secure items that may roll around or drip through the basket while cooking, like these Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs.
Leftovers already wrapped in tinfoil: Perhaps you have leftovers stored in foil? They will reheat beautifully in the air fryer. You can also meal prep items like breakfast burritos, individually freeze them in tinfoil, then reheat directly in your appliance.
Foods cooked in batches: An inconvenient truth about air fryers? Most are on the small side. If you’re forced to cook in batches, lining the basket with tinfoil will save you having to clean it between each batch.
Delicate foods: Some foods are difficult to turn or remove from the fryer, so a tinfoil “sling” is recommended. To make one, fold two strips of tinfoil in half to make them sturdier. Make a cross with the strips in the basket and place the food in the center. The ends of the strips will be “handles” for moving the food, but make sure they’re tucked during cooking so they won’t flap around and touch the heating element.
When Not to Use Tinfoil in the Air Fryer
Always save yourself a step and don't waste tinfoil in these instances.
Don’t Use Tinfoil When It’s Not Necessary
One of the reasons air fryers cook foods so quickly and crisply is that they allow air to circulate all around the food. That’s why they employ a mesh or perforated basket for foods to sit in. If you line the basket with foil you’re preventing the air from circulating over the bottom; foods won’t cook as speedily and the bottom may be soggier. Cook directly on the basket when you can for best results and to avoid wasting foil.
Don’t Use Tinfoil With Acidic Foods
There are certain foods that don't play nice with tinfoil, no matter the sandbox. Acidic ingredients like citrus fruits, tomatoes, bell peppers or anything marinated in vinegar or citrus juice react poorly to foil. Their high acid content breaks down the alumininium, causing it to leach into food. While the amount of aluminium you would ingest is minimal, it’s best to avoid it.
Can You Put Parchment Paper in the Air Fryer?
You can use parchment paper in the air fryer if it is evenly weighed down with food. Otherwise, because it’s lightweight, it can blow around and burn like regular paper if it touches the heating element. You can buy any number of specially designed parchment liners for air fryers if you don’t want to cut your own. You can even find parchment circles for lining the basket that have holes punched in them to allow heat to circulate around the food — an important benefit of air frying.
When won’t parchment work? It’s not sturdy enough for liquid items like eggs or sauces; in these instances reach for foil, or invest in silicone moulds or a silicone basket liner designed for an air fryer. One common kitchen paper not to use in the fryer is wax paper because it’s not sufficiently heatproof.
