No, you should never put a regular paper towel in an air fryer.
While air fryers are incredibly versatile, you should avoid cooking foods with wet batters, loose dry seasonings, or excessive sauces, as these will splatter and burn. Likewise, avoid overly lightweight ingredients (like leafy greens), raw grains, large roasts, and large amounts of bare melting cheese.
Air frying is an excellent, diabetes-friendly cooking method. By using hot air circulation instead of vats of oil, it drastically reduces calories, fat, and harmful carcinogens like acrylamide compared to deep-frying. This makes it easier to manage blood sugar and maintain a healthy weight.
Avoid these 5 foods in your air fryer:
You can line your air fryer basket with perforated parchment paper liners, silicone air fryer pots, or aluminum foil. Always place food on top of the liner immediately after preheating so the weight holds it down, and never use a liner without food on it to prevent fire hazards.
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using an Air Fryer
Choosing between silicone and paper liners depends on what you prioritize most: hassle-free reusability or ultimate food crispiness. Both save you from scrubbing a sticky basket, but they affect airflow differently and serve slightly different purposes in the kitchen.
Cooking bacon in an air fryer is often discouraged because the rendering fat pools at the bottom, creating intense smoke and sometimes even grease fires. It is difficult to cook large batches evenly, and flying bacon strips can splatter onto the heating element.
People are getting rid of air fryers due to a mix of kitchen clutter, appliance redundancy, and safety concerns. Because air fryers are essentially mini convection ovens, many users realize they can achieve the exact same results using a standard oven, toaster oven, or emerging gadgets like halogen ovens.
"You run the risk of drying your chicken out before the inside is even safe to eat." While air fryers are capable of creating some impressively crispy skin, the lack of oil interacting with the meat as it cooks leaves it drier and lacking the signature fried chicken juiciness.
The #1 absolute worst foods for your blood sugar are sugar-sweetened beverages (sodas, sweetened iced teas, fruit punches, and energy drinks).
Air fryers may be better for you than deep fryers, but they're only as healthy as the food you put inside. They won't magically remove the saturated fat from bacon or the trans fats from a bag of processed chicken wings. To reap the benefits, reach for better-for-you options like vegetables and lean proteins.
A tuna sandwich can be a great, blood sugar-friendly meal for diabetics, provided you make smart ingredient swaps. Because tuna is high in protein and naturally carb-free, it helps keep you full and prevents blood sugar spikes.
A low-tox air fryer is designed without PTFE (Teflon), PFOA, PFAs, and microplastics. Instead, the safest, healthiest models utilize ceramic coatings, borosilicate glass, or stainless steel for their baskets and cooking surfaces.
Yes, cooking steak in an air fryer is a great, mess-free option that yields a tender, juicy interior. While it won't produce the heavy, edge-to-edge crust of a cast-iron pan, it is incredibly fast, easy, and requires minimal cleanup.
No, you should not boil water in a traditional air fryer. Doing so is highly inefficient and creates a major safety hazard.
The air fryer 20/20 rule is a, roughly, 20-25% reduction in both cooking temperature and time when converting standard oven recipes. Specifically, it means reducing the temperature by 20–25°F (or 15−20∘𝐶) and reducing the cooking time by 20% to avoid overcooking and burning food due to rapid air circulation.
Limited Cooking Applications
Air fryers aren't logical appliances for every restaurant's offerings, as their temperature settings can dry out or burn the food. Investing in combination ovens and deep fryers is a far more valuable and efficient solution for modern establishments.
To replace parts or a whole air fryer, the easiest route is to check online retailers like Amazon Air Fryer Parts or the manufacturer's official site (e.g., SharkNinja Parts & Support or GoWISE USA Accessories). Measure your current unit and have your exact model number handy before ordering.
You do not absolutely have to flip bacon in an air fryer, but doing so halfway through the cooking time is recommended for the crispiest, most even results.
Air fryers remove high-fat and high-calorie oils from the cooking process. They produce similar results to deep fryers with a fraction of the fat and calories. Lowering saturated fat intake has many health benefits, such as helping to manage cholesterol levels and decreasing a person's risk of cardiovascular disease.
Air frying is highly suitable for diabetics as it uses hot circulating air to crisp food, requiring up to 80% less oil than deep-frying. This significantly reduces calories and fat, helping you manage weight and protect heart health.
Plastic and heat are a disastrous combination. Putting any kind of plastic – such as storage containers, lids, or wraps – into an air fryer will cause it to melt, creating a sticky mess that's difficult to clean. Worse, it may release harmful chemicals into your food or the air.
To protect your countertops from the heat and potential scratches of an air fryer, the best options are dedicated heat-resistant silicone mats, heatproof felt appliance sliders, or a sturdy wooden/glass cutting board.
The rule of thumb is to lower the temperature by 25°F to 50°F when converting an oven recipe to the air fryer. This is because the air fryer's concentrated heat can cause the outside to brown before the inside is fully cooked.