Can You Use Parchment Paper in your Air Fryer? [STICK NO MORE]

Welcome back to Air Fryer Bro. Today I am talking about the subject of parchment paper and air fryers! Can you line your air fryer with parchment paper without serious consequences? I have already talked about aluminum foil on this blog, so now is the turn of parchment paper!

What is Parchment Paper [and what is it used for?]

For any of you that have been around a kitchen for any period of time, you have probably seen parchment paper. Especially if you are in a household where baking takes place.

Parchment paper is a greaseproof paper that stops food from sticking to your baking trays, cake tins and dishes. It is heat resistant, as it is usually used in hot ovens.

You may have heard parchment paper referred to as baking paper. You may have also heard the term wax paper, which was often used in butcher shops back in the day to wrap your purchases in 🙂

Parchment paper usually comes in a roll similar to how you would buy aluminum foil. Below you can see a typical example of this from Amazon.

You may also see it in sheet form.

Can I Use Parchment Paper in My Air Fryer?

As parchment paper is designed to use in an oven, it is perfectly fine to use in an air fryer or air fryer oven. Most parchment paper can withstand heat of up to around 450 degrees Fahrenheit or 230 Celsius, a temperature that you would never get up to when using an air fryer.

Just be careful that you don’t use wax paper in your air fryer, as the wax will melt when exposed to the intense heat inside your air fryer basket or rack! Even though some wax paper is labelled to be used in baking, I still wouldn’t recommend it unless the manufacturer specifically says it can be exposed to direct heat of around 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can use parchment paper to line your air fryer and protect your air fryer baskets and baking trays from sticky and hard to clean mess. It can also be used to line the bottom of the air fryer’s cooking compartment for easy cleanup. When doing this don’t use the perforated paper recommended below or all the mess will still find its way to the bottom of your air fryer 🙂

When used properly, parchment paper is a great way to line your air fryer and stop food sticking to your air fryer accessories (without oil) and keep it clean with as little effort as possible. It is certainly used heavily in the Air Fryer Bro home 🙂

Should I use Parchment Paper instead of Aluminum Foil in my Air Fryer?

I would say yes, especially when you are using it on racks and any air fryer accessories with holes in them (like my grill pan). This is because aluminum foil (otherwise known as tin foil) can’t be perforated, whereas parchment paper can be bought in perforated form. This helps to maintain the cooking performance of your air fryer (more on that later).

The only upside aluminum foil has over parchment paper is that it is easier to secure to your air fryer and its accessories, as it can be moulded around them.

Anything Else to Consider?

Secure Your Paper

Inside your air fryer cooking compartment is an almost typhoon like gust of hot air 🙂 Therefore, any parchment paper that you place in your air fryer must be secured so that it doesn’t fly around the inside of your unit. If this parchment paper gets stuck in your appliance’s heating element, there is a possibility it could catch fire or at least smoke heavily. Stay safe and secure it down!

Look for Perforations

When looking for parchment paper to use in an air fryer, look for perforated parchment paper instead of the solid sheet. This will give the paper less resistance to the hot air swirling around your air fryer, making it less likely to fly around.

This swirling hot air also needs to flow all around the food you want to cook so that it will cook evenly on all sides. With perforated parchment paper, you are making sure that this can continue to happen.

The only time you don’t need perforations is when you are cooking with a solid pan, such as a cake tin or baking tin without holes in the bottom. For example, I use such things when I cook lasagna in my air fryer.

Air Fryer Specific Baking Paper

These days you can buy a lot of air fryer specific parchment paper, although this is only really applicable to the more traditional basket or bucket style air fryer appliance. These have a more circular cooking compartment, so you can buy parchment paper that fits this shape more easily. If you have an air fryer oven, you don’t need to worry about this.

If it works out cheaper, you could also buy bigger sheets of parchment paper and cut them to the shape of your air fryer’s basket yourself.

Below, I will recommend some baking paper from Amazon. To view the latest pricing and product details yourself, simply click on the image to be taken straight over to Amazon.

Best Parchment Paper for Air Fryer (Bucket/ Basket Style)

Now that we know that parchment paper can be used, which one would I recommend? I would personally go for the perforated variety below. It is good value and reviewed very highly by users. As it comes in lots of different sizes, it should be easy to find one to fit your specific air fryer.

Best Parchment Paper for the Air Fryer Oven

You have more flexibility with the air fryer oven, as you are using racks the same as a normal oven. It can be tricky finding good perforated baking paper in rolls though. Luckily you can buy perforated parchment paper for square air fryer baskets. What I would do if you have an air fryer oven is buy the biggest one of these you can find and place a couple on the baking tray or rack you are using to completely cover it.

You could also make your own DIY perforated parchment paper, but it might be hard making the holes big enough for the air fryer’s hot air to flow through.

Below is the square perforated parchment paper I would recommend from Amazon.

A Less Messy Air Frying Life!

There you have it, you now know all about parchment paper and airfryers! Skip the big mess, and welcome to a less messy and easier air frying life! Your air fryer basket (or rack) will thank you 🙂