Our favorite sets of liners—one parchment and one silicone—were lightweight and had low sides, which allowed heat to circulate around the food without extending cooking times. The liners contained grease and sticky glaze so well that we usually didn't have to clean our air-fryer baskets at all.
Lining your air fryer with parchment paper is the best way to keep your appliance clean and your food delicious.
Disposable parchment liners are also an option, but they are wasteful and a fire risk as they can get blown into the heating element. On the other hand, the best silicone air fryer liners stay in place, are reusable and dishwasher-safe, and can make removing your food from the basket easier.
“Most of these foods slide out without any parchment,” Fleming adds. While generally you can put parchment paper in an air fryer for anything you're cooking, it's not required for any foods. It may make cleaning up easier, but it's not a necessity.
Laurence says she always chooses parchment paper over aluminum foil in the air fryer. Parchment paper is more versatile because it is non-reactive, whereas aluminum foil is reactive. "Whatever food you're putting on that aluminum foil is going to react with aluminum," Laurence says.
Like most people, if you also hate cleaning your air fryer after cooking, then air fryer liners are what you need. This air fryer accessory is mainly designed to protect the air fryer basket from crumbs & greasy build-ups. Liners are a fantastic way to do cleaning after cooking easier.
If you don't have parchment paper, you can use aluminum foil to line your air fryer basket. Or you can leave out the parchment paper completely and just spray your air fryer basket with a little oil to prevent food from sticking. You can also use a silicone liner in your air fryer.
Compared to parchment paper, silicone typically makes for a better air frying experience: These liners are usually heat resistant up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Air Fryer Cook, so you can safely crisp up most foods without worrying about the inside of your device catching on fire.
The main advantage and what I think is the biggest reason most people use an air fryer liner is they are much easier to clean than the air fryer basket itself. Silicone liners can usually go straight in the dishwasher and disposable paper liners and foil can be disposed of.
Make your own, homemade!
Yes, it's easy to make if you only plan on using the liners a few times a year. Just cut regular parchment sheets to the size of your air fryer. Use a hole puncher and punch a bunch of holes in the paper. The more holes, the more air circulation you'll get during cooking!
So, the question many people are asking is, can you put paper towels in air fryer? The answer is no; you can not! If you want to use them, they will pose a fire hazard and cause a fire in your home and your air fryer to combust. So, never, ever use a paper towel in the air fryer!
Do not put a slow cooker liner in the oven, Instant Pot, microwave, air fryer, convection oven, toaster oven, grill, or other appliance. Also, note that slow cooker liners are not meant to be used as food storage bags.
An air fryer liner is a pre-cut paper that sits in the bottom of the air fryer to absorb grease and trap crumbs. Tiny pre-cut holes allow hot air to circulate and crisp up food—something you won't get if you cut your own parchment paper into circles.
An air fryer is simply a small oven that runs on convection heat. The heat is circulated around a tight space by a powerful fan that lies just below or behind the heating element. Just as in a standard oven, it is perfectly safe to use aluminum foil in the air fryer.
Air fryers are a very intense way of cooking, and some granite countertops have cracked and even melted under the extreme heat. it's best to find some silicone mats for countertops to protect them properly.
However, since most silicone baking mats are only oven-safe up to about 480 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, you can't use them while broiling food or cooking at very high temperatures.
FAQ. Yes you can wrap chicken in foil in an air fryer if it is ok to use foil in your air fryer model (check your manual if you are unsure). However, don't wrap chicken in foil to cook if you are using any acidic ingredients in the marinade or seasoning (e.g. tomatoes, chili, citrus).
Preheat your air fryer FIRST.
Adding the parchment paper to the air fryer while preheating will cause the liner to fly up to the heating element or heating coil and catch fire.
In your oven, you often use parchment paper to prevent food from sticking to the baking pan. But in your air fryer, you don't have to because a simple spray of oil is enough. So I only recommend using parchment paper to carry food that loses shape when transferred from your kitchen working surface to the basket.
You let fatty foods drip
Before you hit the start button, make sure you put water in the bottom of the cavity under the frying basket. This way, when the fat drips onto the hot surface, it will hit water—not hot metal, where it will burn, smoke, and smell.
It is safe to use parchment paper in the air fryer, just as it is in the oven. The same precautions should be taken. As an added safety check, never leave the air fryer unattended when using parchment paper in the basket and make sure the paper doesn't touch the heating element.