5 Foods to Avoid Cooking in an Air Fryer

Sometime in the 2010s, everyone decided that the air fryer was the most convenient way to cook quickly, and very few have looked back since. While Alton Brown may be that one air fryer holdout, many people are making just about everything in these handy small-to-medium-sized appliances. Of course, there are some foods you aren’t cooking in your air fryer but should be, and then there are others that you maybe never should.

Fortunately, Food Republic spoke to Aleka Shunk, a food blogger, to get the skinny on which items should stay out of the air fryer, and she had some sound advice. Air fryers can only do so much, you see. They cook food by circulating hot air all around, and while there are two distinct models — the basket variety and the oven-shaped type — both leave something to be desired when cooking any of the five foods listed below.

“I avoid cooking wet foods in an air fryer, such as pancakes or battered items like fish and meats,” said Aleka Shunk. “They won’t crisp up properly and can create a mess.”

Imagine the disaster you’d have to clean up after attempting to air fry homemade General Tso’s in your perforated basket — the coating would drip everywhere, then cook and harden into place. Best to leave battered foods to traditional cooking methods where they touch a hot surface immediately, like a skillet or deep fryer.

Unfortunately, there is no way to infuse dry goods with moisture in an air fryer; the point of the appliance is to remove moisture, after all. “Pasta and rice are also not suitable for air frying because they require boiling rather than dry heat,” explained Aleka Shunk.

Even if you put rice or pasta in an air fryer-safe bowl with water, it likely wouldn’t be able to bring the water to a boil efficiently enough to actually cook the dry goods through. Just leave your uncooked rice and pasta to the stovetop (or appliances meant for boiling).

Thinking about mixing things up by popping your saucy enchiladas divorciadas or wings into the air fryer? According to Aleka Shunk, “Dishes with sauces are better suited for the oven, where you can contain the liquid in a dish rather than having it drip and burn.”

While air fryer-safe cookware exists as a workaround for this conundrum, it might not fit your particular appliance. And in the case of barbecue sauce-coated wings, you won’t get even doneness all around because so much of the food is in contact with a solid surface (those perforations in the basket are there for a reason).

Air fryers work by circulating hot air throughout the chamber, essentially like a mini oven. However, the fact that the hot air is blowing around is an important distinction.

“Lightweight foods, such as fresh spinach or loose breadcrumbs, can get blown around by the air fryer’s fan,” advised Aleka Shunk, “so consider not just what you’re cooking, but also any toppings or coatings.” Not only can super light foods get tossed around the basket, but they can also fly up and touch or get caught in the air fryer’s heating element, causing them to burn and smoke.

Using your air fryer to cook eggs can be a nice shortcut to have up your sleeve. You don’t have to dirty a pan, and you don’t need to hover over the stove — but Aleka Shunk has some practical tips.

“Eggs can also be temperamental in an air fryer,” she said. “If you want to cook them, using a ramekin is a great way to make over-easy, medium, or even hard-boiled eggs without a mess.” Instead of cracking them directly into the air fryer basket, try using a silicone air fryer egg mold — like this one by Grevosea — or an air fryer-safe ramekin.