How to Use an Air Fryer For Crispy, Golden Results Every Time

The air fryer has proven to be the latest indispensable appliance for a modern kitchen. Yes, it's a great way to get the crunch and flavor of deep-frying with much less effort and oil, but it's also a whole new category of cooking device that has all kinds of uses. Like the toaster oven and microwave, it's become a piece of standard kitchen equipment, and you should know your way around one.

The key to air frying is air circulation. An air fryer works like a small convection oven, with an especially powerful fan that keeps the hot air moving constantly above, below, and around food that's sitting on a grate or rack rather than a flat surface. This ensures even heating, and helps evaporate water off the surface of the food, which is critical for crispness.

Getting Started

When you first unbox your air fryer, we recommend thoroughly washing and drying all the pieces, including the removable basket and drip tray. (Follow the user manual about what can go in the dishwasher, what can rinse off in the sink, and what needs only a wipe-down.) When you set your air fryer up and plug it in, be sure to keep it at least 6 inches away from walls for adequate ventilation and cooling. Some brands also recommending running the machine empty for 10 minutes before first use to burn off any dust or residue left behind from manufacturing.

One of the best things about air fryers is that most don’t require any preheating time. Unlike with a conventional oven, you can just pop your food in and go. This is an incredibly convenient feature that cuts down on cooking time. Some recipes recommend preheating to ensure the air fryer is at the exact temperature needed, but for things like frozen foods, reheating leftovers, roasting vegetables, and most tasks that don’t require super-precise temperature, no preheating is necessary.

A main draw of air fryers is that they use significantly less oil than standard frying, but you should still use a small amount for best results most of the time. Oil transfers heat much more efficiently than air, and a thin layer on food ensures good browning and even roasting. A drizzle or a quick spritz is all you need for restaurant-quality fries and golden brown fried chicken. When reheating pizza or other leftovers, though, you don't need any extra oil.

Some advocate for spraying the drawer or rack inside the air fryer with additional oil, and while it doesn’t hurt, it’s unnecessary. The interior of most air fryers is coated in a nonstick surface specifically designed to facilitate crisping all on its own. Of course, you can always add an extra spray to amp up the fried texture, but your coconut shrimp will still get crispy without it. 

One thing to be mindful of is overcrowding the basket. Air fryers work best when there's plenty of room between individual items for air to circulate. If anything is stacked up together, air can't get in between, and you'll be left with a soft or undercooked spot where the overlap was. If all your crispy fish taco pieces won’t fit at once, your best bet is to work in batches. Amy Margulies, registered dietician behind The Rebellious RD, says, “though tempting, you cannot pile up your food in there, as it is mostly cooking from the bottom up.” She suggests putting batches in the warmer drawer or in a slow oven to keep your food crispy and hot while the rest is still cooking.

Air Fryers We Love

Instant Vortex Plus 6-Quart Air Fryer

We've tested more than 20 air fryers through cycles of revisions and updates over several years, and the Instant Vortex consistently comes out on top. It was the top finisher in our first set of lab testing, and it dominated again in the most recent round. It's stellar overall, straightforward to use, and consistent and fast in heating. (We'd expect nothing less from the maker of the Instant Pot.)

The wide, squared-off basket makes the Vortex great for big batches; it had no problem accommodating a whole chicken or perfectly crisping several servings of fries in our tests. The best thing about this air fryer is its dependable air circulation; it easily tackled coconut shrimp and Brussels sprouts, two foods that other air fryers we tested often cooked unevely. We recommend this one to anyone looking to streamline weekday dinners or impress a crowd.

Instant Omni Plus Air Fryer Toaster Oven

In our tests of combination air fryer/toaster ovens, the enormous Instant Omni came out on top for so many reasons, but most importantly, we found it a snap to use. The controls and dials are easy to understand, the pieces are all dishwasher-safe, and ten different settings take the guesswork out of air frying. Every part of this oven feels designed with user-friendliness in mind.

We were blown away by the consistent heat this oven produced. When we toasted six slices of bread, each came out the same level of toastiness, and our batch of fries was uniformly golden brown; no hot spots or uneven heating here! Baking was a tricky hurdle for many of the air fryer toaster ovens we tested, but this oven put out one of the best batches of chocolate chip cookies of all our tests.

Ninja 4-Quart Air Fryer

Ninja's model snagged the top spot on our list of best small air fryers, but it does so much more than fit into compact spaces. This is the ultimate beginner-friendly air fryer. The buttons and display are straightforward and easy to use; anyone can easily set it to the right setting. And it gave us some of the crispiest items we tasted in testing. It did especially well with shrimp, biscuits, and wings — foods other fryers struggled to get a good crunch on. It might only be able to handle a few servings at once, but Ninja's air fryer is full-featured and equally functional at home, in the office kitchen, or in a dorm room.

Tips for Using Your Air Fryer

Air fryers work differently than regular ovens, so adapting recipes can take some practice. Most foods cook much faster and also brown quicker in an air fryer, so it’s best to start with less time and lower temperature. A good guideline to adapt and oven-baked recipes — especially with pre-packed foods — is to reduce the temperature by 25 degrees and the time by 25 percent. For example, if your frozen chicken nuggets would normally bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, you'd air fry them at 350°F for 15 minutes.

Another helpful technique is periodically shaking the basket during cooking. This helps rotate and mix up the items so that they stay separate and cook evenly, but pulling the basket out of the machine drops the temperature. Do your shaking quickly, and then put the basket back in place.

Compared to conventional ovens and toaster ovens, air fryers are much safer, but there are a few things to look out for. The exterior can get very hot, especially metal parts. The inside basket and grate can also get extremely hot, so grab an oven mitt and always handle all the parts like you would a hot pan coming out of the oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

What can and cannot be cooked in an air fryer?

Air fryers aren’t just for greasy snacks; you can quickly whip up dishes like salmon, meatballs, and even a Thanksgiving turkey breast in a fraction of the time. They’re also convenient for getting deeply roasted vegetables without the time or oil of traditional roasting — Brussels sprouts are a special air fryer superstar, since they're especially delicious when browned and crisp.

It may seem like nearly everything can be cooked in an air fryer, but a few things are best left to other cooking methods. Any kind of liquid batter — tempura, for example — will drip off items in an air fryer before it solidifies. Full-sized baked goods like cakes and breads also don't work well in an air fryer, as they start to burn on the outside before getting done on the interior. Additionally, because of the rapidly circulating air, anything with lots of loose crumbs, nuts, seeds, or small pieces isn’t well suited to the air fryer since those pieces can easily dislodge and fly around or burn.

How often should you clean your air fryer?

It’s best to think of an air fryer like a pot or a pan and clean it every time you use it, always following the instructions listed in the manual. Each model's exact technique varies, but in general, the basket or tray should be cleaned with each use. If there’s a drip tray or a drawer under the basket, be sure to wipe that out each time as well. Many air fryers have dishwasher-safe pieces that don't require much upkeep, but you have to be much more careful with the base unit, which typically has to stay away from water. You should wipe out the inside after every cooking session, with a deeper clean to prevent grease build-up once a week or every few weeks depending on how often you use it.

Can you put foil in an air fryer? 

It's safe to put foil in an air fryer; it won't cause sparks or a fire like putting foil in a microwave. But we still don't recommend it. Foil blocks air flow and causes uneven cooking. The side touching the foil will never get as crispy as the top, and some breaded or frozen items might even stick. Foil can also scratch the nonstick surface inside your air fryer, which can cause food to stick to the grate or basket over time. For easier cleanup, you can try a reusable silicone liner, which has holes to facilitate airflow.

Can you put parchment paper in an air fryer?

Yes, though we suggest using caution. Make sure to have food on the paper to weigh it down so it does not touch the upper heating elements; parchment paper can easily burn. Disposable paper air fryer liners and other inserts are engineered to be the right shape for the inside of your air fryer and can be a more convenient and safer choice. Also, make sure you use parchment paper and not wax paper; parchment has a heatproof lining, while wax paper can catch fire at oven temperatures.

Are air fryers healthy?

Air fryers are often advertised as a healthier alternative, though their health benefits depend on what you cook with them. Jessie Hulsey, RD, LD, a consulting nutritionist behind Health Down South, recommends air fryers as a healthier alternative to traditionally fried foods. ”Through the air frying process, food is cooked with minimal amounts of oil or fat, creating a healthier nutrition profile compared to other conventional cooking techniques such as deep frying and pan frying," she says. "Air-fried recipes can help reduce saturated fats in the diet and increase nutrition with every meal making it an ideal choice for anyone trying to improve their overall health.”

Air-frying with little to no oil is healthier than traditional deep-frying, so if you're using your air fryer as an alternative to fried foods, it can definitely be healthier. However, many frozen or processed foods aren’t the most nutritious, regardless of how you heat them up. But an air fryer's quick cooking and convenience can make it much easier to prepare veggies quickly and add healthier variety to meals. Just pick up an air fryer cookbook for some inspiration.

Our Expertise

Nick DeSimone, former chef of nearly ten years, authored this piece. They have both professional and personal experience using air fryers and have used many types and brands over the years. You can find more of their work in Allrecipes, EatingWell, USA Today, VegNews, and The Kitchn, among others.