Subj : 5 foods you should never cook in an air fryer avoid uneven cooki To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Tue Sep 30 2025 01:15:07 5 foods you should never cook in an air fryer avoid uneven cooking and greasy mess Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 Description: Knowing your air fryer's limits is essential for successful mealtimes. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Air fryers are now so popular, their sales are even being used by economists when trying to work out inflation . Not only do they promise faster cooking, lighter results, and an easier way to make meals without drowning everything in oil, but theyre affordable and compact. The best air fryers today even blur the line between fryer, mini oven, being able to handle roasting, baking, reheating and more from your countertop. Yet while there are plenty of foods, including a host of surprising foods you can cook in an air fryer , theyre far from magic. Push them too far and youll end up with uneven (and even raw or dangerous) cooking, disgusting textures, or smoky, messy disasters. As an occasionally overzealous air fryer user myself, Ive learned there are some things you shouldnt do when using an air fryer . Ive also learned that there are things you shouldnt even be cooking in one no matter how many hacks those so-called TikTok influencers post to convince us otherwise. To save both your dinner and your appliance, here are five foods that dont belong in your air fryer basket. 1. Frozen leftovers (Image credit: Getty Images / wwing) Plenty of air fryers now come with a dedicated 'frozen' button, and theyre great for fries, nuggets, or breaded snacks straight from the freezer, working in the same way a regular oven would. But that doesnt mean all frozen food belongs in the basket. Dense blocks such as leftover lasagna, casseroles, or family-sized pies can be a problem. Unless you get the timings and temperatures just right, the hot air quickly browns and hardens the outside while the middle remains cold, leaving you with a burned crust and an undercooked, potentially dangerous core. Even with smaller frozen foods, you need to be careful. Watch for excess ice crystals theyll create steam and make things soggy and avoid overfilling the basket, since overcrowding stops hot air from circulating and defrosting/cooking the food evenly. If your fryer has a frozen setting, use it for thin, single-layer foods, and always shake or turn halfway through for even results. For anything large or dense, stick to your oven: itll save you from disappointment and potential food safety risks. 2. Pasta (Image credit: Getty Images / Stefano Madrigali) Pasta is one of those ingredients that, like rice, just isnt that well suited to the air fryer on its own. It needs water to cook properly, and dropping raw pasta straight into the basket will only give you brittle, half-cooked shards. If you boil it in a pan first it fares a little better, but even then tossing it into the air fryer without sauce or some form of liquid usually leads to dried-out, crunchy edges. It is technically possible to boil it in water in the air fryer basket but its rarely quick, often hard to control and always dangerous moving a basket full of sloshing boiling water around. Thats not to say pasta and the air fryer can never mix, you just need to be clever about it. Leftover mac and cheese in a ramekin, topped with breadcrumbs will work. As will a bolognese or other saucy pasta dish. But if your plan is to skip the pot of boiling water altogether, the air fryer wont save you. 3. Whole roast chicken (Image credit: Shutterstock / Sergii Koval) Again, an air fryer uses hot air to cook things, and putting a whole chicken to roast in there means that theres considerably less space for that air to properly circulate and cook things evenly. Thats even if youve got one of the bigger models. More to that point, the part of the chicken thats closest to the heat source will also likely end up cooking faster than the bottom, which means youll end up with a burned top and a bottom that still needs a bit more time to cook. Or worse, a soggy one! If you want the ability to cook roast chicken in an air fryer, you might want to invest in an air fryer oven like the Ninja DT201 Foodi 10-in-1 XL Pro or the Corsori Air Fryer Toaster Oven . 4. Burger (Image credit: Shutterstock / Sergio Mak) Ok, its one thing if you like your burgers well-done although, also, why?! However, if you want perfectly cooked medium-rare burgers, which is how beef should be cooked and consumed so that its still beautifully juicy and flavorful, you might want to skip cooking burger patties in an air fryer. Keeping a burger patty at medium-rare means that youll have to cook it for less time, which means that it might not be enough time for the outside to brown and have a bit of that charring. If you do cook it long enough for the outside to brown, that inside is going to be well-done and dry. 5. Popcorn (Image credit: Shutterstock / Chamille White) Popcorn kernels need between 400 and 460 degrees to pop, and most air fryers dont get that high, unfortunately. But, if you happen to have one that does reach 400F, like mine does, you might also risk starting a fire. Popcorn does what its supposed to do, which is to pop, which means some of them could accidentally get lodged within the heating element at the top, whether because a piece jumped high enough to get stuck there or there wasnt enough space to accommodate all the popped kernels in the basket. Thats a potential fire hazard, especially if that piece is still lodged in there while youre cooking another dish. Of course there are plenty of tasty meals you can cook beautifully in an air fryer, so why not check out our guides to making french fries in an air fryer , french toast in an air fryer and even fudgy brownies in an air fryer . We can also help teach you the 9 things you need to know about your new air fryer and 6 common air fryer mistakes to avoid . ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/home/air-fryers/5-foods-you-should-never-cook-in-an- air-fryer-avoid-uneven-cooking-greasy-mess-and-ruined-dinners --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .