How To Make Brownies In An Air Fryer | Chewy Pan Method

If you love brownies but hate heating up the kitchen, learning how to make brownies in an air fryer gives you the best of both worlds. A compact basket and steady fan give you a glossy top, chewy middle, and crisp corners in less time than a full oven. You just need the right pan, batter thickness, and timing.

This guide walks you through batter basics, air fryer settings, and pan choices so you can turn out a small batch that tastes like it came from a brownie shop. You will see how to adapt a favorite box mix or scratch recipe, how to tell when the center is ready, and what to tweak if the top burns or the middle stays gooey.

By the end, searches for how to make brownies in an air fryer will feel like old news. You will know exactly how much batter your basket can handle, how long to bake, and how to adjust for your own machine instead of chasing random times from social feeds.

Why Air Fryer Brownies Work So Well

An air fryer is just a small convection oven with a strong fan. Hot air swirls around the pan and hits the batter from several angles at once. That moving heat sets the crust sooner, which helps you get those shiny, crackly tops that brownie fans chase.

Because the cooking chamber is small, it heats up fast. That means less waiting and more control over doneness. A minute or two makes a real difference, and you can check without opening a huge oven door and dropping the temperature across your entire kitchen.

There are trade-offs. Air fryers can sit closer to the heating element, so the top of the brownie feels the heat first. That is great for a thin crispy shell, but it can scorch if the pan is too tall or sits too close to the element. You deal with that by lowering the temperature a bit compared with a standard oven and using a slightly shorter pan.

Fan strength also matters. A very strong fan gives you brisk circulation and even color, yet it can dry out thin edges if the pan is tiny. Leaving space around the pan and keeping batter at a moderate depth (about 1–1.5 inches) keeps the texture soft inside while the edges firm up.

Brownies In An Air Fryer Time And Temperature Guide

Most home cooks land in the 300–330°F (150–165°C) range for air fryer brownies. That lower setting keeps the top from burning while the center sets. Start lower if your air fryer browns food fast, and inch up if you use a deep pan or a toaster-style air fryer with a bigger cavity.

The table below gives starting points for common air fryer and pan combinations. All times assume a batter depth of about 1–1.5 inches and a temperature near 320°F (160°C). Your machine may run hotter or cooler, so treat these as guides and rely on visual cues and a toothpick test at the end.

Air Fryer Type	Typical Pan Size	Approx Bake Time At 320°F
2–3 Quart Basket	4″ square or 6″ round, metal	16–20 minutes
4–5 Quart Basket	6″ square or 7″ round, metal	18–22 minutes
5.5–6 Quart Basket	7″ square or 8″ round, metal	20–24 minutes
7–8 Quart Basket	8″ square metal pan	22–26 minutes
Oven-Style Air Fryer	8″ square on middle rack	20–25 minutes
Dual-Zone Basket	6″ square pan in one zone	18–22 minutes
Mini Loaf Pans	3–4 pans, half full	12–16 minutes
Ramekins (Molten Style)	4–6 small ramekins, 2/3 full	8–12 minutes

Use these times as a first run. Watch how your own air fryer behaves and note whether the batter pulls from the edges, the top surface turns dull and set, and a toothpick pushed near the center comes out with moist crumbs but no wet streaks. Bakers at brands such as King Arthur Baking rely on that same crumb test for oven brownies, and it translates well to air fryer batches too.

Pick The Right Pan For Your Basket

Choose a metal pan whenever you can. Dark metal absorbs heat and helps the crust set, while glass heats slower and can leave the center underdone when the top already looks dry. A snug fit is fine, but you still want air to flow around the sides of the pan.

Make sure the handles clear the rim of the basket so you can lift the pan safely. If your air fryer came with a rack or trivet, that can raise the pan a little and tame hot spots near the heating element.

Line The Pan And Preheat

Line the base of the pan with parchment and leave a sling that hangs over the sides. This makes it easy to lift the brownie slab out once it cools. Grease the parchment and sides with oil or cooking spray so slices come out clean.

Preheat the air fryer at your chosen temperature for 3–5 minutes. Short preheating keeps the first blast of hot air consistent and helps the brownies rise evenly instead of sitting in a lukewarm basket.

Step-By-Step: How To Make Brownies In An Air Fryer

This small-batch recipe gives you about eight rich squares. It is adapted for a 6–7 inch metal pan that fits into most 4–5 quart baskets, but you can scale it up or down using the table you saw earlier.

Ingredients You Will Need

• 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) brown sugar, packed (for chewiness)
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup (35–40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup (90 g) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
• Optional mix-ins: chopped nuts, mini marshmallows, or pretzel pieces

This gives you a dense, fudgy texture. If you like a cakier brownie, you can add an extra tablespoon or two of flour and beat the eggs a little longer for more lift.

Mix The Brownie Batter

1. Add the butter to a microwave-safe bowl and melt it in short bursts until liquid but not boiling.
2. Whisk in the granulated and brown sugar while the butter is still warm. Stir for a minute or two until the mixture looks thick and glossy.
3. Let the bowl sit for a short moment so it is warm, not hot, then whisk in the eggs one at a time along with the vanilla.
4. Sift the cocoa powder, flour, and salt together in a separate bowl to break up clumps.
5. Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture just until no streaks of flour remain. The batter will feel thick.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips and any mix-ins you like.

Heating the butter and sugar together first, then adding chocolate chips to warm batter, encourages a glossy, crackly top. Bakers who chase chewy brownies, including those behind the King Arthur Baking chewy brownie guide, rely on the same pattern.

Fill The Pan And Bake

1. Spray or grease your lined pan, then scrape in the batter and smooth the top. Aim for an even layer about 1–1.5 inches deep.
2. Preheat the air fryer to 320°F (160°C) for 3–5 minutes.
3. Set the pan in the basket. If your air fryer has a rack, place the pan on the rack so it sits slightly lower than the heating element.
4. Air fry at 320°F (160°C) for 15 minutes, then start checking.

Your total time will likely land around 18–22 minutes. A deeper pan or cooler machine may need closer to the upper end of that range. A shallow layer in a very hot basket can finish closer to the lower end.

Test For Doneness And Cool

To test doneness, look for three things:

• The edges pull slightly from the sides of the pan.
• The top looks dry and dull rather than glossy in the center.
• A toothpick or thin skewer inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet streaks.

If you like very fudgy brownies, stop when the center still has a faint wobble and the toothpick shows sticky crumbs. If you prefer a firm slice that holds up in lunch boxes, give the batch another 2–3 minutes until the top feels set and the toothpick shows only damp crumbs.

Cool the pan on a rack for at least 20–30 minutes. The heat inside the brownie keeps cooking the center as it rests, so patience here matters more than an extra minute in the air fryer.

Air Fryer Brownie Recipe Variations

Once you are comfortable with how to make brownies in an air fryer, it is easy to swap ingredients and tailor each batch to your taste or pantry. Here are a few fast tweaks that still keep the texture balanced.

Box Mix Brownies In The Air Fryer

Box mixes work well in an air fryer, especially when you do not want to scale down a scratch recipe. Prepare the mix according to the package directions, but pour only enough batter into your smaller pan to reach that 1–1.5 inch depth. Extra batter can go into muffin cups for bonus bites.

For most box mixes, bake at 300–320°F (150–160°C) and start checking around 16 minutes for a small pan, then every 2–3 minutes. Because box mixes vary in sugar and fat, timer values from one brand rarely match another, so watch the surface and crumbs instead of copying a single number.

Small Batch Brownies For Two

For a dessert that fits in a couple of small ramekins, cut the ingredient list in half and divide the batter among four greased ramekins. Bake at 320°F (160°C) for 8–12 minutes, depending on how gooey you want the center. This format works well for molten-style brownies with ice cream on top.

Gluten-Free Or Dairy-Free Swaps

Gluten-free all-purpose blends that are labeled cup-for-cup usually swap into this small-batch recipe with minimal change. Keep the batter thick rather than loose, and let the brownies rest a bit longer before cutting so the structure sets fully.

For dairy-free brownies, use a neutral oil or dairy-free butter in place of standard butter and pick dairy-free chocolate chips. Texture shifts slightly toward fudgy and dense, which many brownie fans already prefer.

Troubleshooting Air Fryer Brownies

Every air fryer behaves a little differently, and even the same recipe can act new once you change pans or basket size. This section helps you fix the most common problems without wasting a pan of ingredients.

Problem	Likely Cause	Quick Fix
Top burns before center sets	Temperature too high or pan too close to element	Lower heat by 20°F and raise or shield pan with foil
Center stays raw after full time	Batter layer too thick or airflow blocked	Use smaller batch, slightly deeper basket, and avoid covering pan sides
Edges turn dry and hard	Thin batter spread in wide pan or long bake time	Use a smaller pan and pull brownies once edges just set
Pale top with soft, dull surface	Sugar not mixed into warm butter or bake too short	Beat sugar into warm butter next time and add a few minutes
Brownies stick to the pan	Pan not lined or greased enough	Line with parchment sling and grease both paper and sides
Uneven rise or lopsided pan	Basket tilted or pan crowded against one side	Center the pan and rotate halfway through the bake
Greasy or heavy texture	Too much fat or thick layer of spray in pan	Measure butter carefully and use a light, even coat of oil
Brownies feel dry after cooling	Overbaked or stored without a lid	Shave a few minutes off next batch and store in an airtight box

Once you know where a batch went wrong, small adjustments bring your next pan back in line. A log on your phone with air fryer model, pan, temperature, and final time helps you land on repeatable results instead of guessing every time.

Food Safety And Internal Temperature

Brownies include eggs, so you still want the center hot enough for safe eating. Egg dishes need to reach about 160°F (71°C); that value appears on the official FoodSafety.gov egg temperature chart. For most brownie batches, the crumb and visual checks line up with that level once the top looks dry and the pan has baked for the time ranges you saw earlier.

If you enjoy very gooey brownies, use pasteurized eggs in your batter. They go through a controlled heat treatment before packaging, which adds a layer of safety when the center stays soft.

Storage And Serving Tips For Air Fryer Brownies

Let brownies cool fully before slicing so the crumb sets and the knife glides through without tearing the surface. Use a long, sharp knife and clean the blade between cuts for neat squares.

Store leftover brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days. For longer storage, wrap pieces tightly and freeze for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature or warm short bursts in the air fryer at a low setting until the edges feel soft.

A scoop of ice cream, fresh berries, or a drizzle of warm chocolate sauce turns a simple square into a plated dessert. You can even reheat single portions in a small dish in the air fryer, then serve straight from the basket for a cozy movie-night treat.