If you've just unboxed your first air fryer, here's everything you need to know before your first cook — most of it takes less than a minute to learn, and applies across brands even though the exact dial or display will look a little different.
Do You Need to Preheat?
Most modern air fryers heat up in 2–3 minutes, and many manufacturers say preheating isn't strictly essential for everyday cooking. For anything you want extra crispy — chips, breaded food — a 3-minute preheat still helps, giving the surface an immediate hit of hot air rather than gradually warming up alongside the food.
How Much Oil?
Far less than deep frying — usually one tablespoon is enough to coat a full basket of fresh-cut vegetables or chips. Frozen pre-cooked food (chips, nuggets, breaded items) needs none at all, since the factory coating already contains enough fat to crisp on its own.
Why You Shake the Basket
Shaking or turning food halfway through cooking redistributes it so every piece gets even contact with the circulating hot air, rather than the pieces underneath staying in one position and steaming instead of crisping. This matters more for smaller, loose items (chips, vegetables) than for single larger pieces like a chicken breast, which only need one flip rather than a full shake.
Reading Your Model's Presets
Preset buttons (chips, chicken, fish, bake) are a starting point tuned to average-sized portions, not a guarantee — always check food a few minutes before the preset's default time the first few times you use a new preset, and adjust up or down based on your own results. Once you've dialled in a preset for your typical portion size, it becomes reliable.
Cleaning
Let the basket cool slightly before washing, then clean in warm soapy water — most baskets and trays are dishwasher-safe, but check your specific model's manual first, as a small number of budget models have hand-wash-only coatings that degrade faster in a dishwasher's higher heat.
Common Beginner Mistakes
The three we see most often: overcrowding the basket (blocks airflow, causes soggy rather than crisp results), too much oil (works against crisping rather than helping it), and skipping the shake or flip halfway through (leads to uneven browning). None of these are hard to fix once you know to watch for them.