Can You Use Parchment Paper In An Air Fryer? | No Smoke

Parchment paper can turn air-fryer cleanup from a scrub-fest into a quick wipe. The catch is airflow: an air fryer cooks with fast-moving hot air, so loose paper can lift, drift, and end up near the heating element. Used the right way, parchment is a handy liner. Used the wrong way, it can scorch, smoke, or ruin the cook.

This guide gives you the practical rules that matter: when parchment helps, when it hurts, how to cut it, where it goes, and what to do if your model’s manual warns against it.

Parchment Paper Rules At A Glance

Situation	Do This	Why It Matters
Preheating an empty basket	Skip parchment until food is ready	Light paper can blow up into the heater
Cooking greasy items	Use a fitted liner under the food	Catches drips and keeps the basket cleaner
Cooking light items (chips, herbs)	Use no liner or use perforated sheets	Air needs paths to crisp evenly
High-heat modes	Check the box rating and stay under it	Paper can brown fast near its limit
Food that needs full airflow	Keep parchment smaller than the base	Blocked vents mean pale spots and soggy edges
Sticky marinades or sugar glazes	Add parchment late or use a rack over it	Burnt drips can weld onto the liner
Basket with a crisper plate	Place parchment on the plate, not under it	Under-plate liners can choke circulation
Round baskets	Trim corners or use round sheets	Edges that stick up brown first

Using Parchment Paper In Your Air Fryer Safely

The safest setup is simple: parchment sits flat, stays inside the basket walls, and never flies around. That means it needs weight. Food is the weight. If you want to preheat, preheat the bare basket, then add the lined food.

Start With The Heat Rating On The Box

Parchment paper is labeled with a maximum oven temperature. Treat that number as your ceiling. Air fryers can run hot at the top of the basket, so give yourself a buffer. Many cooks keep parchment in the 350–400°F range unless the package clearly lists a higher limit. If the box is missing, choose a lower temp and watch.

Brands differ. Reynolds Kitchens states its parchment paper is oven safe up to 425°F, and it also warns against letting paper touch heating elements or open flame.

Cut It To Fit The Cooking Surface

Oversized parchment is the main reason people see smoke. If the sheet curls up the sidewall, the edge can toast before the food is done. Use the basket’s base as your template and trim so the liner sits about 1 cm inside the rim.

• Square basket: trim the corners so air can swirl.
• Round basket: fold the sheet into quarters, snip the outer curve, then open it back up.
• Dual-drawer units: cut two liners, one per drawer, so neither sheet bunches.

Add Holes Or Buy Perforated Sheets

Parchment helps with cleanup, yet it also blocks airflow where it covers vents. Perforated parchment solves that by letting air push through. If you’re making your own, punch holes with a skewer or hole punch, keeping the center and outer ring open.

If your basket already has a raised crisper plate, place the perforated parchment on top of that plate, then add the food. The plate keeps a gap under the liner so air can still circulate.

Keep It Pinned Down With Food

Air fryers use a fan. That fan will grab a loose corner. Put parchment in only after the basket is loaded, or place it down and immediately set food on top. For small loads, a few chicken wings or a burger patty can hold it in place.

Basket Styles And Placement Tips

Not all air fryers hold food the same way. Some have a flat drawer with a crisper plate. Some use a wire basket. Some are oven-style units with trays. The liner choice changes with each style because the air path is different.

If your basket has a removable plate, keep parchment on top of the plate. That keeps a gap under the food so hot air can wrap around it. A sheet stuffed under the plate can block the intake holes and leave you with soft bottoms.

Drawer Air Fryers With A Crisper Plate

These are the most common. Cut the liner to match the plate, not the full drawer. If the sheet reaches the drawer walls, it can curl and brown faster. For messy foods, set the parchment on the plate, then add the food in a single layer.

Oven-Style Air Fryers With Trays

Tray units cook more like a small convection oven. Parchment works well here since it sits on a tray and won’t lift as easily. Still, keep the sheet inside the tray edges. If you use a top rack, watch that parchment isn’t close to the upper heating element.

Quick Placement Checklist

• Keep parchment inside the basket walls.
• Keep corners trimmed so they don’t flap.
• Keep food in one layer when crisping is the goal.
• Keep drippy foods on parchment, crisp foods on bare metal or perforated sheets.

What Your Air Fryer Manual Might Say

Different brands give different guidance. Some brands allow parchment and foil when used carefully. Ninja’s Foodi Dual Zone page says it’s safe to use parchment paper in the air fry drawer. Ninja Foodi Dual Zone parchment note.

Other brands are stricter. Philips says baking paper and foil are not recommended because covering the basket bottom reduces airflow and cooking results. Philips Airfryer baking paper guidance.

If your manual says “do not,” follow it. You can still get most of the cleanup benefit by lining your food in a small, oven-safe dish that fits your basket, or by using a reusable silicone liner that matches your model.

Where Parchment Paper Works Best

Parchment shines when food drips, sticks, or breaks apart. It’s less helpful when you rely on full airflow for crisping.

Great Matches

• Chicken thighs, wings, bacon pieces, and sausages where fat renders.
• Marinated tofu or salmon where the glaze likes to cling.
• Frozen dumplings and sticky bites that can glue to a basket.
• Reheated saucy leftovers that tend to leak.

Skip It Or Use Perforated Only

• French fries, hash browns, and battered items that need hot air contact.
• Dehydrating herbs or thin slices where airflow is the whole point.
• Anything you want to drain hard, like breaded chicken cutlets.

Step-By-Step Setup For No Scorching

1. Preheat bare. If you preheat, do it without parchment in the basket.
2. Trim the liner. Cut parchment to sit flat and stay inside the walls.
3. Perforate when crisp matters. Add holes, or use pre-cut perforated rounds.
4. Load food first. Put the parchment down, then place food on top right away.
5. Keep edges tucked. No corners sticking up into the air stream.
6. Cook under the paper’s rating. Choose a temp that stays under what the box lists.
7. Pull and toss while warm. Let the basket cool, then discard the liner and wipe.

Common Problems And Fast Fixes

Parchment Turns Dark Or Smells Toasty

This usually means the sheet is too big or too close to the heater. Trim it smaller, keep it flat, and drop the temp a notch. Also check if you’re using a “max crisp” style mode that runs hotter than the number on the display.

Parchment Flies Around

That’s a weight issue. Add the liner only when food can hold it down, and don’t run the unit empty with paper inside. If you’re cooking a single small item, set it on a small rack or in a small oven-safe dish, then line that dish instead of the basket.

Food Is Less Crispy

Airflow got blocked. Switch to perforated parchment, cut the sheet smaller than the basket base, and avoid lining under a crisper plate. You can also shake or flip more often to expose more surface to moving air.

Grease Pools On The Liner

If the liner sits flat with no airflow underneath, fat can pool and soften the bottom. Using a crisper plate, a rack, or a perforated liner helps fat move away from the food.

Picking The Right Type Of Parchment

Most kitchen parchment is silicone-coated paper. Some rolls are bleached, some unbleached. Both work. The real differences are thickness, coating quality, and how easily the sheet stays flat.

• Pre-cut sheets: Easy sizing, less curl, faster setup.
• Perforated rounds or squares: Better browning and fewer soggy spots.
• Rolls: Cheapest per foot, yet they need trimming each time.

Check the label for the heat limit and any warnings about direct contact with heating elements.

Air Fryer Parchment Paper Vs Other Liners

You’ve got options if parchment feels fiddly. Each one changes airflow and cleanup in its own way.

Liner Option	Where It Shines	Trade-Off
Perforated parchment	Quick cleanup with decent crisping	Needs correct sizing and weight
Solid parchment sheet	Sticky glazes and fragile foods	More airflow blocking
Silicone liner	Reusable, good for saucy reheats	Can soften bottoms, needs washing
Foil with vents	Heat reflection for some roasts	Can tear, can block air if flat
No liner	Best crisping and browning	Most scrubbing

Can You Use Parchment Paper In An Air Fryer? In Real Cooking

So, can you use parchment paper in an air fryer? Yes, for plenty of daily cooks. It’s at its best when you want an easy cleanup and you’re cooking something that sits in one layer.

Use it on wing night, on sticky salmon, or when you’re reheating saucy leftovers. Skip it when crisp edges are the goal, or switch to perforated sheets and keep the liner smaller than the base so the fan still does its job.

If you ever smell paper, pause and check the basket. A quick trim and a small temp drop usually fixes it, and you’ll be back to clean baskets and crunchy food with less mess.

Before you start a batch, run a fast check: basket clean, liner trimmed, holes open, food set in one layer, edges tucked, and temp set under the paper rating. Midway, peek once. If you see a corner lifting, pause and press it down with tongs. After cooking, lift the liner out while the basket is warm, then wipe with a damp cloth so grease doesn’t bake on.

And if you landed here still asking, “can you use parchment paper in an air fryer?” you now have the safe play: keep it fitted, keep it weighted, and keep it under the heat rating always for most air fryers.