Top 9+ things you definitely shouldn’t cook in your air fryer

It might be hard to imagine your kitchen without an air fryer now, but a decade or so ago very few of us actually had them. They've soared in popularity over the past five years as we all look for ways to cut our energy bills while speeding things up and a 2024 survey by The Good Food Nation revealed 58 per cent of us use one. But just because the air fryer might have many uses, it doesn't mean you can just throw anything and everything into it. Here's a list of things you should never attempt to cook in your air fryer - and why doing so would be a very bad idea...(Picture: Getty Images)

1. Broccoli

While many vegetables do well in the air fryer - with butternut squash, turnip, parsnip, potatoes and carrot all very fryer-friendly - it's a different story for broccoli. While it's not dangerous to shove your florets in the fryer, it's not generally recommended, since cooking it this way could dry the vegetable out, leaving it chewy and flavourless. BBC Good Food suggests roasting it instead, or even investing in a steamer for delicious results. If you do decide to air fry it however, Chew Out Loud suggests cutting the florets into smaller sized pieces, use powdered spices instead of fresh, and add one tablespoon of water to the bottom of the fryer to prevent burning (Picture: Getty Images)

2. Toast

Your air fryer may be useful for many things but - unfortunately - it's not a toaster. The simple reason is that the results just won't be very good, with the bread moving around and not cooking as you might hope. The real key to making good toast? A toaster. Who knew? (Picture: Getty Images)

3. Pasta and rice

This one's a bit more complicated. If you're warming up a leftover portion of pasta bake for lunch or something else pre-cooked, you'll likely be fine (as long as you follow the cooking instructions). But using the air fryer for uncooked pasta or rice? Don't even think about it. Good Housekeeping points out that your air fryer is not designed to reach a temperature high enough to boil the water needed to cook pasta or rice. And from a safety point of view you should avoid putting large amounts of water into it since it could create a fire hazard. So cook your conchiglie on the hob like a normal instead (Picture: Getty Images)

4. Wet batter

While foods which are already battered and fried - such as fish fingers or chicken nuggets- are the perfect match for an air fryer, you should steer clear of cooking anything coated in a wet batter. That's because it would likely drip off the food and pool at the bottom of the basket where it could burn and prove tricky to clean, as well as creating smoke fumes which is never good. If you want to make crispy golden fish and chips from scratch consider other methods of cooking - or use an air fryer recipe hat avoids wet batter (Credits: Getty Images)

5. Anything in a sauce

Hopefully you're able to work this one out for yourself but sauce based dishes are a no-no. Much like batter, there's a risk the sauce will drip through the basket and burn on to the base - which will not only be tough to clean but could result in dry, tasteless food. Stick to the stovetop or the oven for this one (Picture: Getty Images)

6. Leafy greens

Looking to make your leafy green vegetables a little more exciting? The bad news is that cooking most of them in an air fryer isn't advised, mainly because they can blow around inside and come into contact with the heating element. While it is possible to cook some dishes involving the veg - for example kale chips - you should still be careful when doing so and follow the instructions given (Picture: Getty Images)

7. Popcorn

Who doesn't love settling down in front of the latest Netflix blockbuster with a big bowl of freshly-made popcorn? It's easy enough to make at home, but one place you shouldn't cook popcorn? You guessed it, the air fryer. The issue here is the same as it is with pasta - the fryer isn't designed to reach a temperature high enough to pop the corn. This means at best the kernels will sit there unpopped and at worst they could fly around inside the machine and hit the heating element or the internal fan - which, once again, could damage the device or even cause a fire (Picture: Getty Images)

8. Too much cheese

It's well-known that you can never have too much cheese - except where the air fryer is concerned. While certain cheeses such as halloumi might do just fine in the fryer, you shouldn't stuff it full of delicious melty cheddar, nor try and whip up an air fryer toastie. The reasons for this one are pretty familiar. When cheese melts, it's inclined to drip and cause the aforementioned issues. So stick to the grill or - even better if you have one - a sandwich toaster (Picture: Getty Images)

9. Too much food

Finally, as versatile and useful as an air fryer might be you shouldn't overwhelm it. The basket is only designed to take so much food and the actual amount will vary depending on the size of your device. Putting too much in your air fryer at once will mean that some items may not cook properly, while others may end up being overcooked. All of which could leave you with a half-raw, half-burned dinner. For bigger meals, it's often better to stick to the oven (Picture: Getty Images)