While it is possible to use foil in an air fryer, there are some important things to keep in mind to ensure safety and optimal cooking results.
Whether you’ve just snapped up an air fryer or have been using one for a while, there are lots of air frying tips that can make your cooking experience easier. While the best air fryers are becoming increasingly popular, they can be quite messy to clean – especially if you’ve cooked meat, or added oil during cooking. There are lots of options that can help make cleaning easier, one of which is foil.
“Foil can be such a great tool to keep your air fryer clean,” says Clare Andrews, air frying expert and author of The Ultimate Air Fryer Cookbook. The foil also prevents food sticking to the bottom of the basket, making sure you get the whole of your delicious dish on your plate and not at the bottom of the air fryer.
In addition, it makes removing food from the basket a lot easier – especially if it’s likely to break up as you take it out.
Finally, there’s a school of thought that says the foil helps food cook more evenly. It works as a distributor, sending heat across the basket and not in just in one, literal, hot spot. The foil will also boost any flavours. Without a barrier, marinades or natural juices will drip through the holes in your basket, potentially leaving your food a bit tasteless.
Be careful and you should be OK
It all depends on who you ask. While many air fryer experts, like Andrews, agree it’s a great way to reduce mess, many manufacturers advise against using tin foil in an air fryer.
Philips, for example, says it’s not recommended to use tin foil in their air fryers as it will reduce performance and could even start to burn if the foil gets pulled into the heater. The air flows through the bottom of the basket to distribute the heat, so if these are covered then Philips says the air fryer can’t do its job.
On the other hand, Ninja says that foil is fine to use with their roasting tray option.
If you are going to use tin foil, there are some things to consider.
Clare Andrews really rates silicone moulds, as they are heatproof, available in different sizes and most importantly, are easy to wash up. She uses cupcake silicone moulds for cooking smaller items, while she chooses bigger silicone moulds for cooking sauce-based dishes, as these are one of the things not to cook in an air fryer.
Try these silicone air fryer liners (£13.99, Amazon), which are not only a great price but also a good sustainable buy as they can be used time and time again, unlike tin foil.
Using a cupcake silicone mould or a ceramic ramekin is a great way to poach eggs in the air fryer says Andrews. Add some boiling water to the dish, crack the egg in and away you go. Cook for around five minutes – although timings will vary with each air fryer. It’s ready to eat once the egg white looks done and doesn’t fall apart when you poke it.
Any cookware you use in your oven can, in theory, be used in your air fryer, so that includes metal roasters, ceramic plates or glass dishes.
Copper containers and cast-iron skillets are also safe to use. You’re unlikely to be able to use the ones from your oven, though, as they will probably be too large, but you can pick up cookware sized for air fryers easily enough. This kit includes a cake barrel and pizza pan (£15.99, Amazon), which will add lots of cooking options to your air fryer repertoire.
If you don’t want to use tin foil, baking paper does the same job. Again, ensure you’ve cut it to size and weighed it down.
You can also buy pre-made liners (£7.99,Amazon), which save having to cut the baking paper to fit each time.
As well as some foods that should never be cooked in an air fryer, there are some utensils that you need to swerve with this particular kitchen gadget. Anything made from plastic is a no-no, as it will just melt.
Double check that any pans or pots that you use in the air fryer don’t have plastic handles.
It’s also best to avoid cookware that has a non-stick coating. Even though air fryers use convection heat to cook, some oil is needed to get the best results, and unfortunately, that can break down the non-stick coating.
