Air fryers have become very popular in recent years because they are a healthier alternative to deep frying food. An air fryer is multipurpose and can be used for different cooking methods; you can broil, fry, reheat, bake, dehydrate, and more in it. This makes people wonder if they can also defrost food in their air fryers.
Yes, you can defrost frozen food in an air fryer; however, the total cooking time will increase this way. You will first have to set the time to defrost the food; then air fry it for the specified cooking time.
Defrosting food in the air fryer: Safe or unsafe?
It is safe to defrost food in an air fryer; however, you must follow all the instructions carefully. Remember, just because a food has been frozen doesn’t mean it is completely germ-free. It can still contain germs, so you need to defrost it properly.
Frozen food contains germs, but they’re inactive during the cold. When the food is defrosted and is warm again, the germs become active again. This could lead to many diseases if the food isn’t handled properly.
A bacteria known as Listeria is mostly found in frozen food. You can get rid of it by cooking your food properly and ensuring that the food has been defrosted adequately too.
How to defrost food in an air fryer
Defrosting frozen food in an air fryer is pretty easy. You can follow this process:
- Take your frozen food out of the freezer. If it is in a plastic bag or wrap, you should first peel it off, as plastics are not safe for air fryers. If the plastic isn’t peeling off, put it in water for about 10 minutes, and it should come out easily.
- Put your frozen food in the air fryer. The air fryer can often get dirty because the food releases oils and water when defrosted. To make cleaning easier for later, put an air fryer-safe dish beneath your frozen food so the air fryer tray does not get dirty.
- Make sure that the food is evenly spread out and the tray isn’t overloaded. You wouldn’t want to overlap the frozen items; otherwise, they won’t be defrosted evenly.
- Turn on your air fryer and set it at the lowest temperature. The defrosting time can range from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on what you are defrosting and its quantity.
- Keep checking on your food after every 5 minutes to see if it is done. If you are defrosting something like fries or fried chicken, you may want to put it on for a longer period of time so that it can get crispy.
Defrosting temperatures & times of frozen items in an air fryer
Here are the defrosting temperatures and times in an air fryer for some common frozen items:
| Frozen item | Temperature | Defrosting time |
| Hot wings | 360°F or 180°C | 8 minutes |
| Chicken thighs | 360°F or 180°C | 20 minutes |
| Chicken bites | 360°F or 180°C | 12 minutes |
| Chicken breast | 280°F or 140°C | 24 minutes |
| Chicken wings | 360°F or 180°C | 12 minutes |
| Chicken strips | 360°F or 180°C | 12 minutes |
| Chicken fingers | 360°F or 180°C | 10 minutes |
| Whole chicken | 180°F or 80°C | 70 minutes |
| Sausage links | 320°F or 160°C | 12 minutes |
| Meatballs | 320°F or 160°C | 17 minutes |
| Pork chops | 250°F or 120°C | 18 minutes |
| Steak | 320°F or 160°C | 20 minutes |
| Sausage patties | 320°F or 160°C | 17 minutes |
Helpful tips for defrosting food in an air fryer
Defrosting food does seem pretty easy, but you still need to remember several important tips when doing so. We’ve listed some helpful points below:
Always remove the plastic packaging
You should never put frozen food that is still covered in packaging directly into the air fryer. The plastic will melt due to the air fryer’s heat and mix in with the food. This is very dangerous and is carcinogenic. Instead, foods can be wrapped up in aluminum foil; however, that, too, varies from food to food.
Avoid overlapping
Make sure to put the frozen food in a single layer in the air fryer tray or basket. If you overcrowd the basket or layer the frozen food, it blocks the air circulation and wouldn’t defrost the food correctly.
Do not increase the temperature
Remember to always run your air fryer at the lowest temperature when defrosting food. Do not crank it up to a higher degree if the food is taking time to thaw. Higher temperatures will turn the food hard.
Defrosting quickly
If you want to defrost the frozen food quickly, make sure to preheat the air fryer. Secondly, thaw the frozen food a little in the fridge before popping it into the air fryer.
No dishware in the air fryer
Do not put any dishware into the air fryer. Always take the frozen food out and directly put it in the air fryer tray or basket, or use air fryer-proof or oven-proof dishes. If you put any other dish inside the air fryer, it can crack.
No hot water bath thawing
Never thaw the frozen item in hot water before putting it into the air fryer. This way, the outer layer of the food will cook quickly in the air fryer while the inner will thaw slowly. This will give you uneven defrosting and raw inside.
Foods you can defrost in an air fryer
Anything that is previously cooked or fried can be defrosted in an air fryer.
You cannot put anything raw, like frozen raw meat, into it and expect it to come out properly defrosted. For this, thaw the meat for a few hours at room temperature, and then air fry it.
Here is a list of foods that you can defrost using an air fryer:
- Chicken wings
- Fried fish
- Bagels
- Hot pockets
- Pizza
- French fries
- Fried chicken
Foods you should never defrost in an air fryer
There are some foods that you should avoid defrosting in the air fryer:
- Loose frozen ground beef
- Expired frozen food
Final thoughts
Air frying is a new and easy way of defrosting frozen food. The process is really simple; it’s just like air frying for a little while longer. Just remember to peel off any kind of plastic around the food so that the food doesn’t get exposed to harmful chemicals!