Air fryer cooking: 5 mistakes you’re making

Air fryers are brilliant at cooking everything from chips to chicken and beyond – but even though they’re easy to use, you can end up with lacklustre results. Common problems include burnt or dry food, under or overcooked food, or uneven results. A few meals like these can leave you wondering if air fryers are worth it after all.

Fortunately, the solution is usually just as simple, and a few small changes to your routine could make all the difference. Ensure you’re not making these common errors and your air fryer will become your go-to appliance for every meal from breakfast to dinner.

1. You’re not using the right settings

The most common problem with food not cooking properly in your air fryer is usually to do with the settings: often the temperature is too high or low, or food hasn’t been cooked for long enough – or for too long. This can result in soggy frozen food, chips that aren’t crispy enough, or meat and fish that’s cooked but dry.

If your food is crispy on the outside and undercooked in the middle, or your cakes have a crust and fail to rise, the temperature is too high. If your food is dried out, the cooking time is too long. But other cooking problems might take a bit of experimentation to solve.

Your machine is a good place to start when working out what settings to use: often there will be dedicated food presets you can use as a guide, which can be adjusted for quantity.

Check your air fryer’s instructions too: there may be a table showing times and temperatures for different foods. You might find that a combination of cooking temperatures works best for different foods, with a low and slow setting to cook the food through, followed by a hotter setting to crisp it.

Quick tip: If you’re trying to cook a recipe designed for the oven in an air fryer, don’t forget to convert the time and temperature. As a guide, reduce the time by about 20-25%, and reduce the temperature by 70°F/20°C.

Useful buy: Use a meat thermometer for foods such as steak, joints of meat, poultry and fish. You can buy one from Amazon in the US for $16.99, or from Amazon UK for £9.99.

2. You’re overfilling the basket

Air fryers work by circulating hot air around your food. This means that if you overfill the basket, air doesn’t circulate properly, and the food won’t cook evenly. It may seem efficient to cook in big batches but you’ll only end up adding on minutes and may still be presented with soggy or pale results.

If your fries won’t crisp up and you’ve tried adjusting the cooking time and temperature, the problem could well be that you’re overfilling the cooking basket.

It’s best to spread food out in a single layer on the crisper plate and reduce the overall amount.

If that proves tricky on a regular basis, it could be a sign that you need a more capacious model or dual-drawer air fryer with more surface area inside. Have a look at our round-ups of the best dual-drawer air fryers and the best air fryer ovens for our top recommendations.

3. You’re forgetting to turn or shake food

Even if you do spread your food out so air can circulate, there are some dishes that will need a helping hand to achieve maximum crispiness. Shaking the basket or drawer often, or turning food halfway through with a pair of silicone-tipped tongs means that the hot air can reach every part of the food, resulting in more even cooking and browning.

For example, homemade chips may need shaking at least twice as they cook. Some air fryers even have a shake alert to remind you. It’s best to check on all foods as they cook though, to make sure they’re not burning or cooking unevenly.

4. You’ve neglected the cleaning

Your air fryer needs cleaning after every use, even if there’s only a little residue and some crumbs. Not only can leaving this behind lead to an unappealing greasy build-up, it can also result in smoke the next time you use the air fryer, potentially contaminating whatever you’re cooking.

Pour away any oil or fat into the bin, then wash the drawer and the crisper plate or basket – either by hand, or in the dishwasher. The former will make your non-stick last longer.

However, even if the drawer looks squeaky clean, you may still notice lingering smells. These are often caused by cooking greasy foods, such as bacon, sausages and burgers, that spit as they’re air fried. You’ll need to give your air fryer a deeper clean to remove splatters around the cavity. 

Make sure the air fryer is unplugged but try to clean the grease away while it’s still slightly warm. Use warm soapy water and a cloth to wipe down the interior cavity and air filter, or you can use a degreaser: most are sprayed on, left to work for a few minutes, then can be wiped off with the grease.

For more stubborn grease, use a paste of baking soda and water with an old toothbrush before rinsing away. Don’t be tempted to use oven cleaner: it’s too harsh and can remove your air fryer’s non-stick coating.

Useful buy: You can get a specialist air fryer cleaning spray from Amazon US for $14.28 or from Amazon UK for £8.39.

5. You’re using too much oil

While it might be called a fryer, air fryers don’t need anything like the amount of oil that you might use when you’re pan frying or roasting. A tablespoon of oil, tossed through, should be enough for a batch of homemade chips, while some foods may only need a small spritz to create a crispy, browned exterior. Fatty foods, such as sausages and burgers, won’t need any oil at all, and the same goes for poultry cooked in its skin.

Useful buy: An oil spray bottle will help to ensure you spritz food, rather than soaking it in oil. It’s not expensive, either. A cleverly designed glass bottle that you can set to either pour or spray oil will set you back just $6.99 from Amazon US. The same model is available from Amazon UK for £7.99.

Finally, always check the advice given by your air fryer instructions as to whether the appliance works best when preheated. It usually only takes a few minutes to do and can help produce better results than if food is put in the basket from cold.

For more inspiration, have a look at our article on five new things to try in your air fryer.

If you’re looking to upgrade your current model, have a look at our round-up of the best air fryers across all brands and types. If you already know you want a Ninja, check out our round-up of the best Ninja air fryers and countertop cookers.