How to Clean an Air Fryer Basket

What would I do without my air fryer? I can’t imagine going back to the days of soggy oven-baked meals, or the excess oil of traditional cooking. Not to mention the mess of cooking on a stovetop, or the burden of keeping your eye on the pan while the burner is on. 

Air fryers can quickly get dirty and impact the quality of our cooking. What can we do to keep an air fryer clean? Regular cleaning of the basket plays a large role.  You can clean an air fryer basket by putting it in the dishwasher or by scrubbing it after every use.

Here are more tips on how to clean your air fryer’s basket.

Each time you finish cooking with your air fryer, it’s important to clean it. This typically includes shaking out the crumbs from the basket, and a simple wipe-down with a dishcloth or paper towel. Since most air fryer baskets have a non-stick coating, wiping it should be enough. 

If you continuously skip the post-cooking wipe down, it could lead to problems for your air fryer down the line.  The grease and food will start to build up, leading your fryer to smoke, smell gross, and hold onto germs.

If your air fryer basket has a layer of grease or residue that is getting more difficult to wipe down after each use, it’s time for a deep clean. 

Many air fryer baskets are dishwasher safe. You should check your air fryer’s instruction manual for specifics about this. If yours is, you can run it through a load with the rest of your dishes and see if this helps. 

If it’s not, or if you want to wash it by hand, that’s not a problem at all! 

• dish soap
• vinegar
• water
• dish towel or scrubbing brush
• sink or a basin

Step 1: Empty out all of the crumbs and wipe it down as much as possible with a dry and clean cloth or dish towel. 

Step 2: Fill your sink or basin with water, and mix in about ½ cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of dish soap. Mix up the cleaning solution, and submerge your basket under the water. Leave it for a minimum of 15-20 minutes. 

Step 3: Drain the water and remove the basket. Use your dish towel or brush to scrub away the (now soft) bits of dried food and build up. 

Step 4: Dry the basket thoroughly before using again. 

If your air fryer basket has a thick coating of grease and/or stubborn bits of baked-on food remaining, you will want to give it an extra deep cleaning. 

• baking soda
• vinegar
• dish soap 
• water
• dish towel or scrubbing brush
• sink or a basin

Step 1: Exactly like every other time cleaning it, you’ll need to give it a dry wipe down and remove as much grease or foot pieces as possible. 

Step 2: Mix your baking soda with water in a small bowl until it creates a paste-like texture. Layer this onto the areas where the grease is the heaviest, or where there is a lot of caked-on food that can’t be scraped off. Let this rest for about 15-20 mins, and then try to clean the tough areas with a brush.  

Step 3: Make a dish soap and vinegar bath in your sink or in a basin. Use about a 1/2 cup of vinegar and a tablespoon of dish soap with the water. Mix it up, and submerge your basket. Let it sit for a minimum of 20 minutes. 

Step 4: Remove the basket and wipe it down one last time. The grease and left overs should be very easy to remove by this point. Lastly, dry the basket completely before using it again.  

Although it’s true that you must regularly clean your air fryer basket, luckily this process is simple and quite easy. Especially if you keep up with removing grease and food often so that it doesn’t build up, your air fryer will keep helping you cook delicious food in return.

Some of the most common questions about cleaning your air fryer basket.

Again, regularly wipe it down after each use.  But doing a deep or “deeper” clean depends on how often you use it and the type of dishes you cook (ones that tend to stick or leave a lot of greases, versus ones that don’t).  

Since it’s an electrical appliance, you must make sure it’s totally dry before use. 

Nope! Baking soda is super effective at getting rid of grease but it’s also quite gentle on the material of the basket.

Yes, tin foil is a great way to prevent your food from making direct contact with the basket.  Tin foil can greatly reduce the amount of mess caused by cooking things in the air fryer.