Air fryers have become the most popular small kitchen appliance in recent years, and it’s easy to see why. They promise crispy food with way less oil than deep frying. But here’s the thing most people don’t realize: not everything belongs in that little basket. Some foods come out terrible, some make a huge mess, and others just waste your time. Before you toss something random into your air fryer and cross your fingers, it helps to know what actually works and what definitely does not.
Wet batter turns into a sticky disaster
Ever tried to make beer-battered fish at home and thought the air fryer would be perfect? It seems like it should work, right? The problem is that wet batters need super hot oil to set them instantly. When you deep fry something coated in wet batter, the scorching oil makes that coating puff up and turn crispy in seconds. Without that instant blast of hot oil surrounding the food, the batter just drips off. It leaks through the basket and makes a gooey mess at the bottom of your machine.
The good news is you have options. Frozen battered foods like store-bought fish sticks actually work great because the freezing process sets the batter solid before cooking. Another option is to skip wet batters and use a breading instead. Panko bread crumbs create an amazing crunchy coating that gets golden and crispy in the air fryer. You can also line your basket with parchment paper if you really want to try battered foods, but expect mixed results and keep the smoke alarm in mind.
Cheese by itself melts into the basket
Dropping a block of cheese directly into an air fryer basket seems like a fun experiment until you’re scrubbing melted cheese off the bottom of your machine for twenty minutes. Cheese melts at pretty low temperatures, and without something to contain it, you’ll end up with a smoky, sticky situation. The hot air circulating around just makes things worse because the cheese has nowhere to go but down through all those little holes in the basket.
There’s a smarter way to get air-fried cheese if that’s what you’re craving. Line the basket with parchment paper first if you want to make something like baked Brie. Even better, coat your cheese in a thick breading first, like with mozzarella sticks. The key word here is thick because a light coating won’t hold back the melting cheese. String cheese works perfectly for homemade mozzarella sticks. Just freeze them after breading so the coating sets before cooking.
Muffins and cakes come out dry and hard
The compact size of an air fryer makes it look like a cute little Easy Bake Oven. This tricks a lot of people into thinking it would be great for muffins, cupcakes, or other small baked goods. Unfortunately, the way an air fryer works actually ruins these items. The circulating hot air sucks moisture out of baked goods instead of letting them rise and become fluffy. You end up with a muffin that’s crispy on the outside and rock-hard in the middle.
That doesn’t mean you can’t make sweet treats though. Air fryer chocolate chip cookies actually turn out really well because they’re supposed to be a bit crispy and chewy. Donuts also work great in the air fryer since they benefit from that hot dry heat. The real issue is anything that needs to stay moist and fluffy inside. For muffins and cakes, stick with your regular oven. You’ll save yourself disappointment and wasted ingredients.
Rice never cooks evenly no matter what
With so many things working in the air fryer, it makes sense to wonder about rice. Can you just throw some rice and water in there and call it dinner? People have tried all kinds of methods, including using cake pans covered with foil. The results are pretty much always bad. Rice needs steam and moisture to cook properly, and the air fryer’s dry environment just can’t provide that. You end up with rice that’s crispy and burnt in some spots while completely raw in others.
Even adding extra water and covering the pan doesn’t really help because the fan can’t get the water hot enough to steam the rice correctly. One person tried the foil method with both cold and boiling water. The cold water version came out crispy on top and undercooked throughout. The boiling water version just stuck to the pan. Here’s the silver lining though: leftover cooked rice actually makes amazing fried rice in the air fryer. So cook your rice the normal way first, then air fry it later.
Baby spinach blows around and burns
Making crispy vegetable chips sounds like a healthy snack idea, and kale chips from the air fryer are actually pretty good. Baby spinach seems like it would work the same way, but it really doesn’t. Those tiny delicate leaves are way too light. The powerful fan inside the air fryer blows them all over the place. Some leaves end up completely charred while others never even cook at all. It’s frustrating and wasteful.
The solution is to pick heartier greens that won’t fly around. Curly kale works great because the leaves are sturdier and heavier. The trick is to remove the thick center rib from each piece first because those parts stay chewy even when the leaves get crispy. Keep batches small, no more than three packed cups at a time, and toss the basket a couple times during cooking. Season with olive oil and your favorite spices for a crispy snack that actually works.
Toast dries out into stale cardboard
Making toast in an air fryer sounds convenient, especially if you don’t own a toaster. The internet is full of people claiming it only takes three minutes and works perfectly. In reality, air fryer toast comes out more like stale bread that’s been left out for a week. The circulating hot air removes all the moisture from the bread, leaving it hard and dry instead of nicely toasted. It’s the kind of toast that makes you incredibly thirsty after eating it.
Testing at different temperatures from 350 to 400 degrees doesn’t really improve things. After three minutes, the bread is just hard and crispy without any of that nice golden brown color you want from real toast. After six minutes, one side might be golden while the other stays pale white. A regular toaster or toaster oven does a way better job and takes about the same amount of time. Sometimes the simple old tools are still the best.
Hard-boiled eggs get a rubbery texture
Many recipes online swear by air fryer hard-boiled eggs, and plenty of people say they love this method. But there’s a catch that not everyone mentions. Eggs cooked in the air fryer can develop a chewy, rubbery texture that’s pretty different from what you get with traditional boiling. The dry heat affects the proteins in the egg whites differently than hot water does. If you’re picky about egg texture, you might be disappointed.
The bigger question is why bother with the air fryer when other methods work so well. Boiling eggs on the stovetop takes about the same amount of time and gives more consistent results. Pressure cookers also make perfect eggs that peel easily every time. Some people don’t mind the texture difference and love the convenience of the air fryer method. But if you’ve tried it and noticed something seemed off, now you know why. Stick with water-based cooking for eggs with the best texture.
Large cuts of meat cook unevenly
Air fryers are amazing for chicken wings, nuggets, and thin cuts of meat. But trying to cook a whole chicken or a giant roast? That’s asking for trouble. The compact space means hot air can’t circulate properly around something that takes up most of the basket. You might end up with the outside overcooked or even burnt while the inside is still raw. This is especially dangerous with poultry where undercooked meat can make you sick.
The fix is simple: keep portions small and cook in batches if needed. Chicken thighs work great because they’re individual pieces that allow air to flow around them. Spareribs can be separated and cooked to golden perfection. The air fryer really shines with items that have space between them. If you absolutely need to cook something large, flip it several times during cooking and check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer before serving.
What actually works great in the air fryer
After all this talk about failures, let’s remember what the air fryer does incredibly well. French fries come out crispy with just a teaspoon of oil. Frozen foods like mozzarella sticks, egg rolls, and corn dogs cook faster and crispier than in a regular oven. Vegetables like Brussels sprouts, zucchini, and broccoli get that beautiful charred edge without deep frying. Bacon cooks quickly and gets super crispy without the stovetop splatter.
The best air fryer recipes take advantage of the circulating hot air rather than fighting against it. Breaded items work great. Small pieces of meat with space between them cook beautifully. Foods that benefit from being a little dried out, like bacon or kale chips, turn out perfect. The key is understanding that an air fryer is basically a small powerful convection oven. It’s not magic, and knowing its limits helps you get the best results every time.
The air fryer really is a fantastic appliance when you use it for the right things. Understanding what doesn’t work saves you time, money, and frustration in the kitchen. Wet batters, loose cheese, fluffy baked goods, uncooked rice, delicate greens, plain toast, and huge cuts of meat are better handled by other cooking methods. But for everything else, that little countertop machine delivers amazing results with way less oil and mess. Now you can make smarter choices about what goes in that basket.
