A no-nonsense buyer’s guide to the accessories that earn their drawer space.
Search “air fryer accessories” and you’ll drown in 20-piece kits full of stuff you’ll use exactly once. The truth is that most air fryer add-ons are clutter. A handful, though, genuinely make the appliance easier to use, easier to clean, and capable of more than reheating fries. If you’re just getting started, read our complete air fryer guide first, then come back here for the gear that’s actually worth your money.
Below are the 12 accessories I’d buy again, what each one does, and who should skip it. Everything links out to a solid, well-reviewed option on Amazon.
1. Perforated Parchment Liners
These pre-cut paper rounds and squares have holes punched through them so hot air still circulates underneath your food. They catch grease and crumbs, which means the bottom of your basket stays clean and cleanup drops to about ten seconds. Cheap, disposable, and the single accessory most people reach for daily.
One rule: never preheat with an empty liner in the basket, or it can lift into the heating element. Always weigh it down with food.
→ Katbite Perforated Parchment Liners on Amazon
2. Silicone Basket Liner
The reusable answer to parchment. A food-grade silicone liner drops into your basket, is dishwasher-safe, and lasts for years, so it’s the greener, cheaper-over-time choice. Great for saucy or sticky foods that would weld themselves to bare metal.
The trade-off: a solid-walled silicone liner can slightly reduce airflow and crisping versus cooking directly on the basket, so reach for it when easy cleanup matters more than maximum crunch.
→ Collapsible Silicone Basket Liner on Amazon
3. Oil Mister
A refillable oil sprayer lets you put a fine, even mist of your own oil on food instead of using aerosol cooking sprays, whose propellants and additives can degrade non-stick coatings over time. You use dramatically less oil, get better browning, and control exactly what goes on your food.
Look for a glass bottle with an anti-clog filter; the cheap all-plastic ones tend to clog or spit after a few weeks.
→ ChefVantage Oil Mister on Amazon
4. Instant-Read Thermometer
The accessory that pays for itself in food safety and quality. Air fryers cook fast and unevenly, so guessing doneness on chicken, pork, or a thick steak is a gamble. A good instant-read probe gives you an accurate temperature in a few seconds and ends the cut-it-open-to-check habit.
This is the one item on the list I’d call non-negotiable if you cook meat.
→ ThermoPro TP01A Instant-Read Thermometer on Amazon
5. Silicone-Tipped Tongs
Short, silicone-tipped tongs are perfect for the tight space of an air fryer basket. The silicone won’t scratch your non-stick coating or a silicone liner, and they grip well enough to flip wings or fish halfway through without tearing them apart. A 9-inch pair is the sweet spot for reach without being unwieldy.
→ OXO Good Grips 9-Inch Silicone Tongs on Amazon
6. Grill Rack Insert
A raised metal rack adds a second level to your basket, so hot air reaches all sides of your food and you can cook more at once, or elevate meat above the grease that drips off it. It’s the simplest way to increase capacity in a single-basket fryer.
Measure your basket before buying; racks are sized to fit, and a too-large one won’t seat properly.
→ Air Fryer Grill Rack Insert on Amazon
7. Skewer Rack
A vertical skewer stand turns your air fryer into a mini kebab machine. Thread on chicken, shrimp, or veggies and the 360-degree airflow cooks every side evenly with no flipping. It’s a genuinely fun accessory that unlocks a whole category of meals, and it stores flat.
→ Stainless Steel Skewer Rack (with skewers) on Amazon
8. Cake Barrel
A deep, non-stick pan with a lifting handle that fits inside the basket. Despite the name it’s not just for cake, it’s your go-to for anything liquid or loose: quiche, banana bread, mac and cheese, mini casseroles, egg bakes. The handle makes lowering and lifting a full pan in and out of a hot basket painless.
→ Non-Stick Cake Barrel on Amazon
9. Egg Bite Mold
A silicone tray with individual cups and a lid. Best known for copycat sous-vide egg bites, but equally handy for muffins, mini frittatas, portioned brownies, and freezing baby food or sauces. The lid means it doubles as a storage container, and it flexes so bites pop out clean.
→ Instant Pot Silicone Egg Bite Mold on Amazon
10. Cleaning Brush Set
Air fryer baskets, mesh trays, and heating-element guards collect baked-on grease in crevices a sponge can’t reach. A small set of detail and crevice brushes, ideally including a soft nylon one for non-stick surfaces and stiffer ones for metal racks, makes deep-cleaning quick and keeps your fryer from developing that burnt-oil smell.
→ Detail Cleaning Brush Set on Amazon
11. Kitchen Scale
Not air-fryer-specific, but it quietly makes everything better. Weighing portions gives you even cooking (same-size pieces finish at the same time), lets you follow recipes precisely, and helps with portion control. A slim digital scale with a tare function costs very little and tucks into a drawer.
→ Etekcity Digital Kitchen Scale on Amazon
12. Airtight Storage Containers
The unglamorous finisher. Air-fried food is best fresh, but a set of airtight containers keeps leftovers crisp-able and your prepped ingredients (breaded cutlets, seasoned veg, marinated proteins) ready to go. Stackable, clear, BPA-free sets keep the fridge and pantry organized around your new cooking habit.
→ Vtopmart Airtight Storage Containers on Amazon
If You Only Buy Three
Start with a pack of perforated parchment liners, an instant-read thermometer, and a pair of silicone-tipped tongs. Those three cover cleanup, safety, and everyday handling, the essentials that make you actually reach for your air fryer instead of the oven. Add a cake barrel and a skewer rack once you want to branch out.
For temperatures, timings, and the basics of getting great results, head back to our air fryer guide.
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