Can You Put Water in an Air Fryer?
Reviewed by the RecipeAirFryer editorial team · Updated
Yes - a little water in the drawer beneath the basket is a genuinely useful trick for fatty foods, and it is safe as long as it stays below the basket and away from the element. What you must not do is pour water into the basket to steam food.
Quick answer
- 1Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the drawer under the basket, not into the basket itself.
- 2Use it for high-fat foods - bacon, sausages, wings - where dripping fat would otherwise smoke.
- 3Never fill above the basket base, and never let water reach the heating element at the top.
- 4Empty and dry the drawer after cooking so it does not sit and corrode.
Why water under the basket helps
When fat drips onto the hot metal of an empty drawer it burns and smokes. A shallow layer of water gives the fat somewhere to land where it cannot reach smoking temperature, so a batch of bacon comes out without filling the kitchen with haze.
It changes nothing about how the food cooks. The water sits below the basket and the air still circulates freely around the food above it.
What not to do
Do not pour water into the basket hoping to steam vegetables. An air fryer is not a steamer - the fan drives hot air, and water in the basket just leaves food soggy and pale while the fan sprays droplets around the chamber.
Never add so much water that it could slosh up to the element when you slide the drawer in. A thin layer at the bottom is all you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you put water in the air fryer to stop it smoking?+
Yes. A couple of tablespoons in the drawer under the basket stops dripping fat from burning, which is the usual cause of smoke with bacon, sausages and wings.
Can you steam food in an air fryer?+
Not really. It moves hot air rather than trapping steam, so water in the basket just makes food soggy. Use a hob or microwave to steam.
Will water damage my air fryer?+
Not in the drawer below the basket. The rule is that water must never reach the heating element at the top, and you must never immerse the main unit.