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Can You Put Metal in an Air Fryer?

Short answer

Yes - oven-safe metal is fine

Yes, you can put metal in an air fryer. The basket itself is metal. Any oven-safe metal - a cake tin, a foil tray, a stainless steel dish, metal ramekins - is fine. Air fryers are not microwaves, so there is no risk of sparking or arcing.

Why metal behaves this way

This question comes up so often because people carry a microwave habit into an appliance that works nothing like a microwave. A microwave cooks with electromagnetic radiation, which reflects off metal and can arc. An air fryer cooks with hot air pushed around by a fan - it is a small convection oven, and metal is the material it is built from. The basket, the crisper plate and the rack are all metal already. Putting an oven-safe metal tin inside one is no more exotic than putting a cake tin in your oven.

The only real constraints are practical. Whatever you put in has to leave room for air to move, because airflow is the whole point - a pan that fills the basket wall to wall will cook slowly and unevenly. And it has to be genuinely oven-rated: a metal pan with a plastic or rubberised handle will happily melt at 400°F. Check the handle, not just the pan.

The rules

  • Use any metal you would put in a conventional oven - tins, foil trays, stainless steel, cast iron.
  • Leave clearance around the pan so hot air can still circulate.
  • Check handles and grips are oven-rated, not plastic or rubber.
  • Keep it clear of the heating element above the basket.

What goes wrong

  • A pan that fills the basket blocks airflow and gives slow, uneven cooking.
  • Plastic or rubberised handles on an otherwise oven-safe pan will melt.
  • Metal gets extremely hot - use tongs or gloves, and never grab it bare-handed.

Metal in an air fryer: FAQ

Can you put metal in an air fryer?

Yes. An air fryer is a small convection oven and its own basket is metal, so any oven-safe metal container is fine. The microwave rule about metal does not apply here - there is no radiation to arc.

Will metal spark in an air fryer?

No. Sparking and arcing happen in microwaves, where metal reflects electromagnetic waves. An air fryer heats with an element and a fan, exactly like an oven, so metal simply gets hot.

Can you put a cake tin or baking pan in an air fryer?

Yes, as long as it is oven-safe and small enough to leave a gap around the sides for air to circulate. A tin that fills the basket edge to edge will cook unevenly because the airflow has nowhere to go.

Can you put a metal bowl in an air fryer?

Yes, if it is stainless steel or another oven-safe metal with no plastic parts. Bear in mind it will get very hot and a deep bowl shields the food from the airflow, so it will cook more like a conventional bake than an air-fry.

What else can go in an air fryer?

See the full list on what can you put in an air fryer.