Ask people what they love about their air fryers, and they’ll give you a thousand answers. However, cleanup, regardless of the appliance, is never easy. So, is it safe to put air fryer parts in a dishwasher?
All of an air fryer’s removable parts are dishwasher safe. Just put the food basket and the pan on the bottom dishrack, run a full wash cycle, and the air fryer’s parts will be ready for your next air-frying adventure. In addition, most air fryer accessories are also dishwasher safe.
In this guide, I’ll go into greater detail about which parts of an air fryer, as well as which of the various accessories, are dishwasher safe. I’ll also explain how you can clean your air fryer by hand if you don’t have a dishwasher.
Parts of an Air Fryer (And Which Are Dishwasher Safe?)
Air fryers are comprised of 3 main components—a base, a food basket, and a rack.
Base
The base of an air fryer houses the electrical components, including the heating element, timer, and motor. It has a power cord sticking out from the back, which you plug into a regular outlet to deliver power to the air fryer.
For obvious reasons, you should never wash an air fryer’s base in a dishwasher. Even getting water on the control board can be fatal to the air fryer, especially if it comes with dials to control the cooking temperature and time.
At most, you should wipe down the base after each use with a moistened paper cloth. Don’t let solid food remnants or grease cake onto the exterior of the base since it may liquify due to the cooking heat and make its way into the air fryer’s inner workings.
Food Basket
The food basket is the part that holds the air fryer’s pan. It fits into the motor base and should lock into place before you set a cooking temperature and time. The food basket usually has a plastic exterior and a metal interior. Needless to say, the food basket will become soiled with old food remnants after each use.
The good news is that you can safely wash an air fryer’s food basket in a dishwasher. Just rinse the basket to get rid of the remaining grease, gently pry away any stuck-on food particles, and place the basket in your dishwasher’s bottom dishrack upside down.
However, because the food basket is made almost entirely out of plastic, you might not want to run it through a super-heated wash cycle. This is why I advise washing the food basket, as well as any washable air fryer part, by hand.
Pan
The pan is the detachable portion from the food basket. It’s what holds the food while it cooks inside your air fryer. It comes with a perforated base that allows heated air to cook your food from the bottom, enhancing the crispiness factor of your dish without added oils and grease.
Like the food basket, you can place the pan in a dishwasher. Because of its size, it should go in the bottom dishrack at an angle or upside down. It has a plastic handle that can withstand heat, but if you want to prevent its finish from peeling, you should wash it by hand.
How to Handwash an Air Fryer
If you don’t want to stick the food basket and/or rack in your dishwasher, you should wash them by hand after each use. Here’s how you do it:
- Shut off the air fryer and allow it to come down to room temperature.
- Fill a basin with hot tap water and add a few tablespoons of regular dish soap. Agitate the water to create a bubbly solution.
- Submerge the food basket and the pan in the soapy solution for 10 minutes.
- Use a sponge to remove all of the set-in debris in and on the food basket and pan.
- When the food basket and pan are clean, rinse them in cool water and allow them to air-dry.
- Moisten a microfiber cloth in water and wipe down the exterior of the air fryer base.
- Wipe the basket holder—the cavity where the food basket fits into.
- Flip the air fryer upside down and check the heating element for caked-on debris. Use a damp cloth to remove the debris. You can also use a soft-bristle brush to carefully remove hardened food particles.
Which Air Fryer Accessories Are Dishwasher Safe?
Most air fryers, especially entry-level and mid-range models, don’t come with a large collection of accessories. At most, they’ll come with a metal crisper and nothing else. However, if you want to enhance the versatility of your air fryer, you should consider picking up the following accessories. I’ll also explain whether or not the accessories are dishwasher safe.
Silicone liners
A silicone liner is a bowl-shaped accessory that fits inside the food basket. Its non-perforated base traps moisture and grease, preventing them from soiling the bottom of the basket. Also, silicone liners aren’t very hot to the touch when your air fryer is done cooking, so you can easily pull your food out of the appliance. One downside of silicone liners is that they don’t prop your food up, so the bottom of your food might be a bit soggy.
The great news is that silicone liners are 100% dishwasher safe. You can fit them in the top dishrack along with small-size dishes and cooking utensils. However, I suggest placing them upside down in the bottom dishrack for maximum cleaning.
Baking cups
Baking cups are single-portion containers for baking muffins, quiches, and cupcakes. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you can fit up to a dozen cups at once to prepare large batches of your go-to dessert in a single cooking cycle.
These cups are also made of silicone, which is dishwasher safe. However, placing them in a basin of soapy water and scrubbing them with a brush will be more than enough to clean them and use them time and time again.
Toast rack
If you want to make toast in an air fryer, you don’t have to attempt to stand the slices of bread and hope for the best. Instead, you can get a toast rack for your air fryer, which spaces the slices while keeping them upright throughout the cooking process. Toast racks are made of stainless steel, and you can use them in your BBQ pit or oven!
Although toast racks are dishwasher safe, you’ll have an easier time washing it by hand. The rack’s design can make it difficult for a dishwasher to clean completely.
Cake barrel and pizza pan
Have you ever wanted to bake a cake or a pizza from scratch in your air fryer? Well, you can do both of these things as long as you have a cake barrel and a pizza pan. Simply fill the barrel with batter or place raw pizza dough on the pan, set your air fryer to the appropriate cooking temperature, and you’ll have a fully baked cake or pizza in no time at all.
Cake barrels and pizza pans usually have a Teflon coating, so your food won’t stick. The good news is that Teflon is dishwasher safe, but try and keep it away from metal objects that could bump and scrape its surface.
Grill pan
A grill pan is a pan that’s, well, made for grilling. It comes with tiny legs that prop the pan up and away from the base of the food basket, while perforations promote airflow to crisp the bottom of your roasts, veggies, and whatever else you decide to grill.
Like cake barrels and pizza pans, grill pans have a Teflon surface, which is dishwasher safe. Again, as long as it doesn’t scrape against sharp objects in your dishwasher, it’ll be completely fine.
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