Can you put glass in an air fryer?

Glass is a versatile material and can be very useful when cooking or baking food.

Many people use glassware for its strength and comfort in the oven.

You can make lasagna in a square glass tray and then put it whole in the oven without removing anything else. But when it comes to air fryers, how does glass fare?

Can you put glass in an air fryer?  The short answer is yes, you can. Most glassware is durable enough to withstand the heat generated by ovens and air fryers, but there are still a few things you should be careful about, especially when it comes to air fryers. 

There’s so much more than just putting glassware in an air fryer. If you want to keep yourself and your appliance safe, read below to find out how you can use glass inside an air fryer without damaging anything.

How are air fryers different?

Air fryers cook food using the convection method, in which hot air circulates around all sides of the fryer.

All air fryers have a “basket” inside that contains the food that needs to be cooked. If you look at the bottom of the basket, you’ll see that it has open slots.

These slots are essential because they help to let in the hot air coming from above.

When you turn on the air fryer, a heating element is electronically charged, causing it to heat up. A fan then blows air over the heating element, transporting the extremely hot air into the chamber. 

If you think of this in terms of a hair dryer, it can help you better understand how an air fryer “releases” heat into food. But how does the hot air get to the bottom of the basket? That’s where air circulation comes in!

It turns out that the slots we mentioned above help redirect air under and over the basket.

When hot air is blown from the central fan above, it hits the food directly and the excess air travels upwards and circulates the basket causing it to heat up on the outside as well. 

Excess air also finds its way to the bottom of the basket, where these specialized slots direct heat upward from below.

This is how air fryers are able to cook food evenly on all sides, just like when frying food in hot oil.

Air fryers can reach very high temperatures. You can of course adjust the heat, but how will that affect the contents inside, i.e. the glass containers?

Using glass in air fryers

So how is glass used in air fryers?  You’ll need to opt for heavier glassware that’s certifiably oven-safe. This is the best way to ensure the safety of your food and your appliance.

This type of glassware is specially designed to withstand high temperatures.

They are made for all types of baking and cooking scenarios. For example, you can bake a cake, cookies, and other things in a glass container that is certified oven-safe.

Also, another thing to be aware of is the fact that placing a glass container inside the air fryer basket blocks the airflow underneath.

You can counteract this problem by preheating the air fryer for 15 minutes on high, then placing the glass container inside.

It would also be a good idea to check the cooking status every 10-15 minutes, depending on what you are doing.

Most recipes don’t account for air fryers, but we’re glad to see things changing as more and more people are opting to go the air frying route instead of typical cooking methods.

You can follow the same instructions, cooking time and temperature as in a conventional oven. 

But keep an eye on the food to better understand how your air fryer works with certain containers and recipes. A good tip is to keep a digital or offline journal of cooking time and notes when using your air fryer.

This will ensure you only experiment once and then enjoy the fruits of your labor without worrying if you decide to use the air fryer for more baking or cooking later on.