If you own an air fryer, you probably cook everything in there.
Maybe you should rethink that!
Mental Floss listed 10 things you should NEVER cook in an air fryer…they are:
- Toast. It leaves bread dry and crumbly.
- Soup. Anything too liquidy will splatter in there. At best, you’ll have a messy cleanup…at worst, you’ll create an electrical hazard.
- Pasta. You can’t really cook dried pasta without water and again, liquid doesn’t do great in there.
- Loose, leafy greens. If you’re trying to cook spinach in your air fryer, you’re doing it wrong. The loose leaves will blow around the basket and get stuck to the heating elements or they’ll just burn.
- Popcorn. It’s one you MIGHT try in there, but don’t. Most air fryers don’t get hot enough to pop the kernels and loose kernels can slip into the heated part and cause a fire.
- Anything with lots of cheese. It’ll melt off of whatever you’re cooking and maybe damage your air fryer.
- Large bone-in cuts of meat. Air fryers can handle thin cuts…just don’t try cooking a whole chicken in there.
- Really greasy foods. Many people do air-fried bacon but it’s a little risky because the grease can drip down and start a fire and splattering grease can damage the inside.
- Wet batters, like tempura or beer-battered fish. They’ll drip off before it has a chance to crisp up. Pre-breaded options like frozen fish sticks are okay, though, because they’re meant to hold up to high heat.
- Cupcakes. They won’t cook evenly. You’ll end up with a scorched outside and raw batter in the middle…stick to over for these!






