12 Surprising Foods That Don’t Work In An Air Fryer

Air fryers may feel like the ultimate kitchen sidekick, delivering crisp results with barely any oil, but even superheroes have limits.

That powerful blast of hot air isn’t friendly to every ingredient, and some foods react in ways that can surprise even experienced cooks. Certain items splatter, scorch, or dry out so badly they become completely inedible.

Others create smoke, stubborn messes, or textures that just don’t work outside of a pan or oven. Before you toss anything and everything into that basket, it helps to know which ingredients are better left to traditional cooking methods.

These twelve unexpected no-go foods will save you from frustration and keep your air-frying adventures smooth and delicious.

This article is intended for general kitchen guidance and informational purposes only. All cooking suggestions and cautions have been carefully reviewed for accuracy at the time of writing. Appliance performance can vary, so readers should follow manufacturer instructions and use proper safety practices when preparing any food. No endorsement of specific products or cooking methods is implied.

1. Wet-Battered Fish

Beer-battered cod sounds like a crispy dream, but your air fryer will turn it into a drippy nightmare. Without a deep pool of hot oil to instantly seal that wet batter, the coating simply slides right off the fish.

What’s left behind? A puddle of burnt batter at the bottom of your basket and sadly naked fish that’s anything but appetizing. Stick to traditional deep frying for this classic comfort food.

2. Loose Leafy Greens

Imagine tossing fresh spinach into your air fryer and watching it perform an unplanned aerial ballet. Those lightweight leaves get caught in the circulating air, flying everywhere inside the basket.

Some pieces scorch to a crisp while others barely cook at all. Worse yet, stray leaves can lodge themselves near the heating element, creating a potential fire hazard that’s totally not worth the risk.

3. Popcorn Kernels

Movie night might get canceled if you try popping corn in your air fryer. Most models simply don’t reach the consistent high temperature needed to transform those hard kernels into fluffy snacks.

Even worse, loose kernels can bounce around and wedge themselves into the heating element. That’s a fire hazard waiting to happen, and nobody wants their kitchen smelling like burnt popcorn disaster for days!

4. Raw Rice

Rice needs a nice hot bath to become edible, something your air fryer absolutely cannot provide. Dry grains require simmering in water to hydrate and soften properly.

Toss raw rice into an air fryer and you’ll end up with rock-hard, inedible kernels that could probably break a tooth. Save yourself the dental bills and stick to your trusty rice cooker or stovetop pot instead.

5. Raw Pasta

Spaghetti night takes a weird turn if you try cooking dry pasta in an air fryer. Just like rice, pasta desperately needs boiling water to transform from brittle sticks into tender noodles.

What happens instead? Your pasta just dries out further and turns an unappetizing brown color without ever softening. Keep your pasta pot handy because this shortcut simply doesn’t work, no matter how much you want it to.

6. Uncoated Soft Cheese

That beautiful wheel of Brie might look elegant on your cheese board, but it’ll become a melted mess in your air fryer. Soft cheese melts and oozes way before it can develop any kind of crispy exterior.

You’ll end up with burnt, stuck-on cheese welded to your basket that requires serious scrubbing. If you want crispy cheese, coat it in breadcrumbs first or just admire it in its natural state.

7. Whole Stuffed Roast Chicken

Cramming a whole stuffed chicken into your air fryer basket sounds ambitious, and unfortunately, it is. Large roasts need even airflow on all sides to cook properly, something most air fryer baskets simply can’t deliver.

The result? Overcooked, dried-out skin on the outside while the interior and stuffing remain dangerously undercooked. Roast your holiday bird in a proper oven where it belongs.

8. Saucy Stews And Chilis

Liquid-heavy dishes and air fryers mix about as well as oil and water. When that powerful fan starts blowing hot air, your stew or chili will splatter everywhere inside the machine.

Not only is this incredibly messy to clean up, but it can also be unsafe if liquid reaches electrical components. Save your slow-cooked comfort foods for actual pots and slow cookers designed to handle them.

9. Single Slices Of Toasted Bread

Your regular toaster is feeling pretty smug right about now. A lone bread slice is so lightweight that it can flip, tumble, and dance around inside your air fryer basket.

This leads to uneven browning, and in the worst-case scenario, that slice might actually hit the heating element. Why complicate breakfast when your trusty toaster delivers perfectly golden toast every single time?

10. Large Delicate Cakes

While tiny muffins or cookies can succeed, big fluffy cakes face serious challenges in air fryers. The intense circulating heat dries out the top and edges long before the center has a chance to set properly.

What should be moist and tender becomes crusty and uneven instead. For birthday cakes and special desserts, your conventional oven remains the undisputed champion of even baking.

11. Very Greasy Bacon

Bacon lovers, proceed with caution here. Super fatty cuts render their grease incredibly quickly in the confined space of an air fryer, creating a smoky, splattering situation.

That excess fat has nowhere to go, leading to potential smoke alarms and a kitchen that smells like a bacon explosion. Some experts recommend avoiding extra-fatty meats altogether, or at least choosing leaner cuts for air fryer success.

12. Loose Fresh Herbs

Chopped parsley and other delicate herbs become tiny green projectiles inside your air fryer. Just like leafy greens, they’re too lightweight to stay put when that fan kicks into high gear.

Instead of clinging beautifully to your food, they blow around wildly, burn instantly, or get stuck near the heating element. For herb-crusted dishes, press them firmly onto your protein before cooking or add them after.