Air fryers have revolutionized home cooking, offering a faster, healthier alternative to traditional frying methods. With their ability to crisp up foods using little to no oil, they’ve become a staple in many kitchens. However, while air fryers are incredibly versatile, they’re not suited for every type of food. Some ingredients simply don’t cook well in them, leading to disappointing results, messy cleanup, or even potential damage to the appliance. Whether it’s due to the high-speed air circulation, lack of moisture retention, or temperature limitations, certain foods just don’t belong in an air fryer. Ignoring these limitations can lead to soggy, burnt, or undercooked meals that fail to deliver the crispy, golden perfection you were hoping for. Knowing which foods to avoid can save you time, frustration, and even prevent unnecessary wear and tear on your device.
Understanding what not to cook in an air fryer is just as important as knowing what works best.
Many people assume that anything can be thrown into an air fryer with great results, but that’s simply not the case. Foods with excessive moisture, lightweight ingredients, and delicate textures often struggle under the intense heat and airflow. Some items, like wet-battered foods, create a sticky mess, while others, like popcorn, simply don’t reach the required temperatures to cook properly. Additionally, attempting to prepare whole roasts or raw grains in an air fryer can lead to uneven cooking and unappetizing textures. To make the most of your air fryer, it’s essential to recognize its strengths and limitations. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can ensure that every meal you make turns out just as crispy, delicious, and effortless as you intended.
1. Wet-Battered Foods
Foods coated in a wet batter, such as tempura, beer-battered fish, or homemade corn dogs, do not cook well in an air fryer. Unlike deep frying, where the hot oil instantly solidifies the batter into a crispy coating, an air fryer circulates hot air, causing the wet batter to drip off before it has a chance to set. This results in a sticky mess at the bottom of your air fryer basket, unevenly cooked food, and a lack of the crunch you’d expect from a properly fried dish.
Additionally, the burning batter can create smoke, which could set off your kitchen smoke alarm. If you’re craving crispy, breaded foods in your air fryer, consider using dry coatings like breadcrumbs, crushed cornflakes, or panko. Pre-frozen battered items, which have a solidified crust, also work better. Spraying a light coat of oil over breaded foods before air frying can enhance crispiness. Alternatively, if you prefer wet-battered foods, stick with traditional deep frying or pan frying for the best results.
2. Leafy Greens
Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and lettuce are too light and delicate for the powerful fan inside an air fryer. The rapid air circulation can cause these greens to fly around the basket, leading to uneven cooking and charring in some spots while others remain completely raw. This makes it difficult to achieve a consistent texture, leaving you with an unpleasant mix of burnt and undercooked leaves.
If you’re thinking about making kale chips, be prepared to use a significant amount of oil to keep the leaves weighed down, and check frequently to prevent burning. Instead of using an air fryer, consider using an oven with a lower temperature for drying out leafy greens into chips. If you want to air fry vegetables, opt for denser varieties like Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, or zucchini, which hold up well to circulating hot air. Tossing vegetables in a bit of oil before cooking can help them achieve a better texture. When in doubt, if a food is too light, it’s probably not suitable for the air fryer.
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3. Cheese
While melted cheese is delicious, placing cheese directly in an air fryer without a protective coating leads to disaster. As soon as the air fryer starts heating up, the cheese melts and seeps through the basket, creating a gooey mess that is difficult to clean. Not only does this cause an unpleasant burning smell, but it can also damage the heating element and reduce the efficiency of your air fryer. Soft cheeses, such as brie or mozzarella, are especially prone to melting quickly, making them nearly impossible to cook properly in an air fryer.
If you want to air fry cheese, make sure it is properly enclosed in a crust, such as breaded cheese sticks or cheese-stuffed jalapeño poppers. The breading acts as a barrier, preventing the cheese from oozing out too soon. Another option is using cheese as a topping on foods that cook quickly, like burgers, where the cheese can melt without dripping excessively. For standalone melted cheese dishes, use a stovetop, oven, or microwave instead.
4. Raw Grains and Pasta
Cooking raw grains such as rice, quinoa, or pasta in an air fryer is ineffective because the appliance is designed to circulate hot air rather than boil water. Unlike traditional cooking methods that require grains to absorb liquid to soften, an air fryer lacks the necessary moisture to achieve this. If you attempt to cook raw grains in an air fryer, you will likely end up with hard, undercooked kernels that are far from edible. Even adding a small amount of water does not provide the sustained heat needed to cook grains properly. If you want to incorporate grains into an air fryer meal, it’s best to cook them separately using a stovetop or rice cooker.
Once they are fully cooked, you can use the air fryer to crisp them up, such as making crispy rice cakes or adding texture to quinoa bowls. Some pre-cooked frozen rice products can be air fried with success, but always check the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure proper cooking.
5. Whole Roasts
Air fryers are not designed to handle large cuts of meat like whole chickens, pork roasts, or beef brisket. Because air fryers use rapid air circulation for cooking, thick cuts of meat can end up with an overcooked exterior while the inside remains raw. This uneven cooking makes air frying a poor choice for whole roasts unless you have a model specifically designed for larger portions.
Furthermore, stuffing a large roast into a small air fryer basket restricts airflow, further preventing the meat from cooking evenly. For better results, use an oven, slow cooker, or instant pot to cook large cuts of meat, as these appliances provide the even, gradual heat needed for thorough cooking. If you still want to use an air fryer for meats, stick with smaller cuts like chicken thighs, pork chops, or steak. Always check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer to ensure proper doneness.
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6. Toast
Although some people attempt to make toast in an air fryer, the results are often disappointing. The rapid air circulation causes the bread to dry out too much, leading to a texture that is more brittle and stale than the crispy, golden-brown finish achieved with a toaster. Additionally, lightweight slices of bread may fly around inside the air fryer basket, causing uneven toasting or even getting stuck in the heating element. For proper toast, it’s best to use a traditional toaster or toaster oven, which provides more controlled heating.
If you do choose to air fry bread, use thicker slices and keep an eye on them to prevent burning. Air fryers work better for reheating pre-toasted foods like leftover garlic bread or crispy bagels.
7. Popcorn
While it may seem like an easy snack to make, popcorn does not work well in an air fryer. Popcorn kernels require extremely high temperatures—usually around 400–460°F (204–238°C)—to pop effectively. Most air fryers do not reach these temperatures consistently, meaning many kernels remain unpopped.
Additionally, kernels can become lodged in the heating element, which may damage the appliance over time. A safer way to make popcorn is using a microwave, stovetop, or dedicated popcorn machine. If you want a crunchy snack from your air fryer, try roasting chickpeas, nuts, or air-fried potato chips instead. These options provide the satisfying crunch of popcorn without the risk of damaging your appliance.