You can put aluminum foil in an air fryer when follow these 4 steps

Aluminum foil can block out bacteria and moisture, it makes the appliance easy to clean. so a specific recurring question always pops up: can you put aluminum foil in an air fryer? In this article, I’ll cover everything in detail, including tips.

I will also dive deep into how the air fryer works, and whether aluminum foil is toxic? (a must-read, if you ask me), mistakes to avoid when using aluminum foil, etc.

So, can you put aluminum in an air fryer?

The short answer is you can use aluminum foil in an air fryer if it is held down by the food weight so that it will not blow into the heating fan or element that could result in a fire.

In addition, you must never use foil to cover your air fryer’s fan. Doing so can prevent the fan from circulating air effectively, rendering the air fryer useless. Apart from these factors, you can use foil in the air fryer in a similar way you use it in a convection oven.

How Do Air Fryers Work?

Air fryers cook food using rapid air technology when the hot air or heat circulates in the cooking compartments. As the hot air heats food, it allows it to cook evenly for a delicious taste and with a crispy texture.

Air fryers have a heating element and fan to heat the air. When you are ready to cook food, you will put your food in a basket, like you’d for a deep fryer. The food cooks as the hot air or heat flow around it. The air fryer will “air fries” the food as the hot air circulates the food.

Can You Use Aluminum Foil in An Air Fryer?

The answer is definitely YES!

You can use aluminum foil in the air fryer, I suggest browsing through the user manual before applying the methods I want to talk about. While you won’t have any issue using foil with your air fryer, there could be specific models that you would need to handle differently.

When cooking in an air fryer, you can wrap your food in aluminum foil. Also, you can use the foil as a liner in the basket. When cooking for your family, ensure sufficient space in your air fryer’s basket. Forcing too many ingredients into the basket will restrict enough hot air supply.

It is also critical to have enough weight on the aluminum cover. The foil will not blow away when you power your air fryer. Then, cover a part of the basket. However, ensure to contain all edges of the aluminum foil are within the basket.

Don’t use aluminum foil to cover the entire basket. Your air fryer won’t get proper airflow when you cover all of the basket’s holes. Ultimately, don’t cover anything outside of the basket. Many of us experienced the temptation to put aluminum foil on the bottom of our appliances. Some even claimed to place the foil under the basket to collect meal or food particles or grease.

However, resist doing this. Ensure to keep the foil in the basket.

Is Aluminum Foil Toxic?

No, aluminum foil is not toxic and considered safe. However, cooking with it can increase your diet’s aluminum content by a small fraction. You can consider stopping cooking with aluminum foil if it is not healthy for you or you are concerned about the quantity in your diet. There is an insignificant amount of contribution of aluminum from foil in your diet.

The truth is, you will find aluminum around you. It is in your soil, air, water, and even preservatives and additives. It is a myth to think it can cause neural issues or cancer.

Now that we have resolved that, is it safe to put it in your air fryer? Here are more tips for you.

Is It Safe to Put Aluminum Foil in An Air Fryer?

It is perfectly safe to put aluminum foil in an air fryer. However, you need to consider one essential factor; avoid putting loose aluminum foil over your food in the air fryer or even oven. The result you will get from doing this is to have your foil coming free from the food. It will end up in your air fryer vents and can potentially break the air fryer.

However, you won’t have this issue if you take the time to cover your food tightly with foil in the air fryer.

But, how do you properly use aluminum foil in your appliance?

Keep reading for more tips.

How to Use Aluminum Foil in An Air Fryer

Before continuing, I strongly encourage you to read through this step carefully and refer to it if you’re lost.

Step 1

After getting your aluminum foil, you have to cut it to your desired size. Hold your fold tightly and pull it to cover the basket by an inch on both sides. Then, cut the foil with scissors.

Step 2

Take a few pieces of foil and put them underneath the air fryer’s basket. Ensure it lines the bottom with the edge covering a half-inch lip. With that, oil from food won’t drip off the sides.

Step 3

Though the air fryer uses circulating hot air to cook your food, the amount of hot air that will hit the bottom of your food will be reduced when you use foil. It’s better to use the least amount of foil to allow air circulation.

Step 4

Ensure not to put many food items in the basket while adding them. Allow more exposure to the surface area of the food. You can result in multiple batches cooking effectively.

As you air fry your food with foil, you don’t want to make some of these mistakes, especially with an air fryer basket. Please, don’t skip this section if you intend to have a better cooking experience.

Mistakes to Avoid when Using Aluminum Foil in Air Fryer

Without wasting time, let’s dive into these terrible mistakes.

Putting Foil in the Bottom of the Air Fryer Container

Sometimes, many people intend to stop the oil and drippings by placing the foil in the bottom of their air fryer containers. If you do this, your food will not cook properly, and you can mess up the airflow.

Using Foil with Acidic Foods

It is typically fine to cook acidic foil in your air fryer; don’t use foil with acidic foods like salt, tomatoes, or beans. Some food types have high acidity that can cause a reaction between the foil and the food, leading to odd black specks. Eating these small foil metals can lead to some health issues.

Poking Holes in Your Foil

The Internet is typically full of many recommendations regarding using an air fryer, which calls for caution. It was recommended that you could poke holes in the foil when using it. These people may not mean any harm since doing this can make more air reach your food.

However, it is simply dumb! The process defeats the whole purpose of using foil for air frying. Your food or oil can drip down into the bottom of your air fryer basket if you poke holes. You can prevent that in the first place by using foil, which will also save time for cleanup.

What Not to Put in An Air Fryer

One of the things you mustn’t put in your air fryer is food that is too light in weight. Since the air fryer circulates heated air throughout the unit’s cavity to cook food, light food can blow around the air fryer when its fan circulates. This impact can throw the food or liner into the heating element or fan, leading to a house fire.

Also, don’t put wet batters in the air fryer. As you can imagine, doing this can mess up the air fryer since the fan can blow batter all over it. It is recommended to use thicker batter because it will not blow all over your unit and stick to the food.

Can You Use Aluminum Pans in Air Fryer?

Yes, you can safely use aluminum pans in the air fryer. You will find little aluminum containers are more or less like a small cake. I often use aluminum pans for baking with my air fryer.  You can even use this method to make an air fryer quiche or any other food.

When using your aluminum pans, I suggest placing a baking sheet on a rack underneath the tray. You can use parchment or foil to line that sheet to prevent crumbs or drips. However, don’t try to use bakeware, liners, or aluminum foil on the oven bottom.

FAQs

Substitute for Aluminum Foil

Some of the great substitutes for aluminum foil are:

• Muslin cloth
• Parchment papers
• Cedar wraps
• Reusable glass containers
• Beeswax wrap
• Silicone baking sheets
• Silicone food covers

Can You Put Foil in Power Air Fryer XL?

Yes, you can put it, as long as you apply safety when using it. Using it safely includes avoiding uneven cooking and even damage to your machine when you cover crucial components of the unit.

Can I Wrap Chicken in Foil in Air Fryers?

You can wrap your chicken in foil in your air fryer if you have a model that allows it. However, be careful not to wrap your chicken in foil when using acidic ingredients.

Can I Put a Parchment Paper in An Air Fryer?

While you can put parchment paper in your air fryer, parchment paper is not recommended for regular use because it can block your air fryer’s airflow.

Can You Put a Wax Paper in An Air Fryer?

Wax paper is not good to put in an air fryer because it will melt and like parchment paper, is coated.

Can You Put a Tin Foil in An Air Fryer?

The answer is yes. You can put tin foil in an air fryer for cooking but only place it in the basket. Avoid using tin foil in frying citrus, peppers, and tomatoes because they can react with it.

What Is An Air Fryer Liner?

An air fryer liner absorbs trap crumbs and grease, and it is a pre-cut paper placed at the bottom of the air fryer.

Do You Need Special Pans for Air Fryer?

You don’t need any special pans for the air fryer, and you can use any ovenproof pan for your air fryer.

Final Thought

You can have a great experience with your cooking, knowing when and how to use aluminum foil in the air fryer properly. As a versatile tool, the air fryer can cook many foods. Be well informed and cautious of the risks when experimenting or cooking foods with other materials like foil in your air fryer. You can read through the article when using aluminum foil, silicone, or tin foil in your air fryer.