Air Fryer Baking: Cookies, Cakes, Muffins, and Bread — What Works and What Doesn't
Published on 2026-05-22James Reynolds
Can you really bake in an air fryer? Yes — with the right techniques. Complete guide to air fryer baking with tested temperatures, pan recommendations, and recipes that actually work.
Yes, You Can Bake in an Air Fryer
When I first heard about baking in an air fryer, I was skeptical. Baking requires gentle, even, indirect heat — and the air fryer is the opposite of gentle. It blasts food with intense, directional, dry heat from a powerful fan. The first batch of cookies I made came out dark on top, raw in the middle, and spread into a single merged cookie-blob. But with some adjustments — lower temperature, shorter time, smaller batches, and strategic foil placement — I have since made genuinely good cookies, muffins, banana bread, and even a small cake in the air fryer. It will not replace your oven for serious baking projects, but for quick small-batch baking when you do not want to heat the whole kitchen, it is surprisingly capable. Here is what I learned through trial and error.
The Three Rules of Air Fryer Baking
Rule one: lower the temperature by 25 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit compared to the oven recipe. If the recipe says 350 degrees, bake at 320 to 325. The air fryer's intense heat will burn the outside of baked goods at standard oven temperatures before the center sets. Rule two: protect the top. The heating element is directly above the food, and the top of baked goods browns much faster than in an oven. Cover the baking pan loosely with foil for the first half of the baking time, then remove the foil to let the top brown for the remaining time. Make sure the foil is secured under the pan or weighed down — loose foil will fly into the heating element. Rule three: bake in small batches. The air fryer basket can only hold a limited amount of batter or dough, and crowding leads to uneven baking. For cookies, bake 4 to 6 at a time. For muffins, use silicone cups and fill the basket without the cups touching. For cakes, use a small pan — 6-inch round or smaller — that fits in your basket with room for air to circulate around it.
Cookies: The Gateway Air Fryer Bake
Cookies are the easiest baked good to make in an air fryer because they are small, bake quickly, and the intense heat creates beautifully crispy edges with chewy centers. Preheat to 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the basket with perforated parchment — not solid parchment, you need airflow. Place 4 to 6 balls of cookie dough, well spaced because cookies spread more in an air fryer than in an oven due to the powerful fan. Press them down slightly — air fryer cookies tend to puff rather than spread if you do not flatten them. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes. At 5 minutes, check — the edges should be golden and the center should look slightly underdone. They will continue cooking from residual heat after you remove them. Let them cool in the basket for 2 minutes before transferring to a rack. Chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and sugar cookies all work well. Delicate cookies like macarons or meringues do not — the fan causes them to crack and collapse. For cookie recipes, the refrigerated dough you buy at the store works perfectly. Homemade dough works too but chill it for at least 30 minutes before baking — cold dough spreads less under the fan.
Muffins and Quick Breads
Muffins, banana bread, and cornbread adapt to the air fryer better than I expected. The key is using silicone muffin cups or a small loaf pan — individual portions work better than a full loaf. For muffins, fill silicone cups about two-thirds full. Place them in the basket with space between them. Bake at 320 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. For banana bread or other quick breads, use a small loaf pan — 6 by 3 inches — that fits in your basket. Grease the pan, fill no more than two-thirds full, and cover loosely with foil. Bake at 320 degrees for about 25 to 35 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes. Check with a toothpick at 25 minutes. The top may look paler than oven-baked banana bread because of the lower temperature — that is fine. The inside will be moist and properly baked. The texture of air-fried banana bread is actually excellent — the intense air circulation creates a slightly crisper crust than oven baking while keeping the center tender.
What Does Not Work for Air Fryer Baking
Some baked goods simply need the gentle, still heat of an oven. Cheesecake and custards — the fan causes the surface to ripple and crack. Soufflés — the air pressure changes from the fan make them collapse. Layer cakes — they need even heat from all sides, not directional heat from above. Bread that needs to rise significantly — the crust sets too quickly in the air fryer, trapping unexpanded dough inside. Macarons — they are finicky enough in a regular oven. In an air fryer, the fan destroys the delicate feet. Pies with wet fillings — the bottom crust does not have enough time to crisp before the top burns. For these, stick with the conventional oven. The air fryer is a supplement to your baking toolkit, not a replacement for every baking project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use regular metal baking pans in an air fryer?
Yes, any oven-safe pan that fits in your basket works. Dark metal pans absorb more heat and can cause faster browning — check baked goods a minute or two earlier than the recipe suggests.
Why do my air fryer cookies spread into a blob?
The powerful fan pushes cookie dough outward. Fixes: chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking, flatten the dough balls slightly, and leave more space between cookies than you would on an oven sheet.
What is the best temperature for air fryer baking?
320 to 325 degrees Fahrenheit is the sweet spot for most baked goods. It gives leavening agents time to work before the structure sets, and prevents the top from burning before the center bakes.
Want to convert your own recipes? Use our free air fryer calculator.
Air Fryer Calculator