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AI Summary
Air Fryer Accessories Worth Buying (And the Ones to Skip)
Most air fryer accessories are marketing. A handful genuinely improve cooking or cleanup. Here's the honest breakdown of what's actually worth your money - and the gimmicks that just clutter your kitchen drawer.
In just one week after you've purchased an air fryer, you'll be recommended around forty accessories, such as cake barrels, skewer racks, silicone mitts, parchment paper in nine different shapes, and 'all-in-one' kits containing twelve items.
The majority of it is just intended to attract customers. Only a very small number actually help with your cooking or make cleaning up easier. The rest just fill up a drawer until you eventually get rid of them.
I looked at the accessory roundup articles and owner feedback from a number of sources—including CrispyPicks (which had analyzed more than 40 accessories based on owner reports), Salt and Umber, and a few other ones—and the general agreement is very clear regarding what's worth buying. Here's a frank breakdown: which items you actually should purchase and which ones you should completely leave out.
The short version
Four accessories are truly worth buying for most people:
The parchment liners have holes in them - this makes it easy to clean without obstructing the airflow.
- Reusable silicone liners, suitable for sticky and saucy foods.
Here is a stainless steel rack, which allows you to double your cooking capacity.
A sprayer that uses refillable oil - for applying the oil in an even and controlled manner.
That's all there is to it—four points that address real problems. The following explanations show why these four have been selected and why the others mostly haven't.
Worth buying: perforated parchment liners
They are the kinds of paper liners which have holes pre-punched in them and which go into the bottom of your basket.
The reason they're worthwhile is that the cleaning process becomes almost immediate. Instead of the basket picking up the sticky marinades, the melted cheese, and the greasy build-up, it's the liner that ends up with these substances. You simply remove the liner, throw it away, and the basket remains clean. The holes are important because they allow hot air to still reach the food, unlike with solid liners, which would destroy the crispness.
They are cheap (100 in a pack cost $8 to $15), and they help to prolong the non-stick lining of your basket by reducing the number of times you need to scrub it.
The only rule is to place the food on the parchment paper before switching on the air fryer, since if nothing is weighing it down the fan may blow the liner up into the heating element and cause a fire. We deal with this in full in our parchment paper guide.
Worth buying: reusable silicone liners
Silicone liners (or silicone pots, which have handles and are deeper) are an alternative to parchment that can be used again.
The reason they're worth buying is that with sticky and spicy foods—such as honey-glazed wings, BBQ chicken, or any food that has been marinated—they stop the mess from sticking to the basket. Since they can be used again and again, they decrease waste over time when compared to single-use parchment. Also, the deeper silicone pots are suitable for more moist dishes that would otherwise drip through the basket.
The drawbacks are that they allow less airflow than perforated parchment and therefore give a slight reduction in crispness. There's also a safety point: you should use food-grade, BPA-free silicone from well-known brands. Cheap, unbranded silicone may off-gas chemicals when heated and so it's not worth buying the cheap version.
Most people who cook a lot of sticky foods keep both a parchment paper for use in ordinary cooking where a crisp result is wanted and a silicone mat for the more messy preparations.
Worth buying: a stainless steel rack
It is the item which actually alters the way you cook.
It's worth it because a rack provides an additional cooking level within your air fryer, allowing you to cook chicken on the bottom while cooking vegetables on the top at the same time. This effectively doubles the air fryer's capacity for families or anyone who cooks in batches without having to buy a larger air fryer.
What you should do is to buy a good stainless steel rack rather than a cheap one that is coated. The cheap racks tend to warp when exposed to high heat repeatedly. Those made from stainless steel (they cost about $15 to $28) will last for many years, do not rust, and are generally safe to put in the dishwasher.
As a precaution, when using a multi-layer rack you have to rotate or swap the layers halfway through the cooking process since the layer nearest to the heating element cooks more quickly. This requires a slight extra effort but provides a large increase in capacity.
People should leave it out if they are single or if they are in a couple and only cook one dish at a time, since they will probably never make use of the second level. It is an accessory suitable for families and those who prepare meals in advance.
Worth buying: a refillable oil sprayer
One of the best inexpensive improvements is a small reusable oil sprayer (for example, the Evo, costing about $10 to $15).
It's worth it because rather than pouring the oil which gives you an uneven flow, it dispenses a light and even mist of oil. With even coverage of the oil you get better and more consistent crisping, and since less oil is used in total there is less smoking while cooking. You fill the device with the oil of your choice—olive, avocado or otherwise—so that you have complete control over what comes into contact with your food.
It also overcomes a genuine issue since commercial aerosol cooking sprays contain propellants and additives (for example, lecithin) which accumulate on and damage the non-stick coating of your air fryer over time, and many manufacturers expressly advise against the use of such aerosol sprays; a refillable sprayer that uses plain oil completely avoids this problem.
At that price, it's about equal to being essential.
Optional: baking pans and silicone pots
They receive a "maybe" depending on the way you interpret them.
An oven-safe baking dish or a silicone pot enables you to prepare foods which would otherwise be impossible to make in an air fryer—such as cakes, egg bites, casseroles, and any damp or batter-based dish that would drip through the holes in the basket.
It might be worth doing so because, when you use your air fryer rather than turning on a full oven for small baking tasks, this is truly practical and turns the air fryer into a mini oven.
The drawback is that a solid pan obstructs airflow and therefore reduces the crisping effect, which is what air fryers are best at doing. Hence, such a pan is suitable for baking and for use with moist foods rather than for foods that you want to have crispy. You should only buy it if you actually intend to bake in your air fryer; if you never plan to bake, then don't buy it.
The same idea goes for pizza pans. They are worth buying if you make pizza every week. If you only have pizza now and then, you don't need one.
Skip these: the accessories that waste money
The research continually indicates that the following are not worth purchasing.
Complete accessory sets. Such bundles include between 7 and 9 items, although most people only end up using 2 or 3. You end up paying for cake barrels, skewer racks, egg moulds and pizza pans that you'll never actually use. It's better to buy just the items that you'll actually need. (Although such kits do offer a sensible gift option for someone who has just obtained their first air fryer, they aren't really good value when purchased for yourself.)
Any item made of plastic will warp or melt when exposed to air fryer temperatures. You should avoid using any plastic that is placed in the cooking chamber.
Cheap, unbranded silicone. As has been noted, the risk of off-gassing isn't worth the few dollars that can be saved. Either buy food-grade silicone from established brands or simply don't buy silicone at all.
Attachments for rotisseries look impressive but are seldom used every day; most owners use them once or twice and then stop altogether.
Molds and all kinds of gadgets such as egg-bite molds, specially shaped pans, and the like are generally single-purpose items which occupy space in a drawer. You should only buy them if you have a particular recurring need.
Anything that completely covers the bottom of the basket since this prevents the airflow which is what enables an air fryer to function. Accessories must always be smaller than the basket so that there is room for air to circulate.
The one rule for buying any accessory
Before you purchase anything, make sure that you check the size of your air fryer and the shape of its basket.
Square baskets should have square accessories and round baskets should have round ones. If an accessory is too big it will block the airflow and result in food that is cooked unevenly, while if it is too small it will waste the space.
As a general guideline, you should purchase accessories that are a bit smaller than the interior dimensions of your basket in order that air may continue to circulate around the sides. Make sure to check the quart capacity and basket shape of your air fryer before making your purchase.
The bottom line
The average air fryer user finds that four accessories do a real improvement to the experience: perforated parchment liners, reusable silicone liners, a stainless steel rack, and a refillable oil sprayer. All of these together cost less than $60 and address the actual problems such as cleanup, sticky foods, limited capacity, and uneven oil coating.
If you bake in your air fryer then a baking tray or a silicone pot is worth having; all the rest of it – the kits, the plastic accessories, the rotisserie attachments and the novelty moulds – is mainly just marketing intended to make you spend money.
Go for the four that work and leave the others aside. Your air fryer doesn’t require forty accessories; it only needs the few that deal with the problems you really have.
If you'd like related advice, our guide on parchment paper and our article about aluminum foil go into detail regarding liners. For information on how to keep everything clean, our cleaning guide sets out the process. And our full guide to air fryers looks at all the other topics.
Sources and further reading
The information in this article is based on the following sources:
- CrispyPicks - The best air fryer accessories worth buying in 2026
- Salt and Umber - The 15 Best Air Fryer Accessories for 2026
- The Bridge Finds - "Best Air Fryer Accessories 2026 (Worth Buying or Not?)"
- Shark Fryer - The 9 Best Air Fryer Accessories in 2026
The prices are based on those seen during the research and are subject to frequent changes. Before making a purchase, you should always check the current prices and verify the accessibility of accessories with your particular air fryer model.
Four accessories genuinely earn their place: perforated parchment liners (for easy cleanup and airflow), reusable silicone liners (for sticky foods), a stainless steel rack (to double your cooking capacity), and a refillable oil sprayer (for even, controlled oil use). Everything else is mostly optional or gimmicky. These four solve real problems most air fryer owners have.
Usually not. The bundled all-in-one kits typically contain 7-9 items, of which you'll realistically use 2-3. You pay for cake barrels, skewer racks, and pizza pans you'll never touch. It's better to buy the specific accessories you'll actually use individually. Kits make decent gifts for new owners but are rarely the best value for yourself.
Only if you want to cook two foods at once or batch-cook for a family. A stainless steel rack adds a second cooking level, letting you cook chicken on the bottom and vegetables on top simultaneously. For singles or couples cooking one thing at a time, it's optional. For families and meal preppers, it's the single most useful accessory.
Food-grade silicone liners from reputable brands are safe and reusable. The concern is cheap, unbranded silicone, which can off-gas chemicals at high heat. Stick to food-grade, BPA-free silicone from known brands. They're great for sticky and saucy foods, though they slightly reduce crispiness compared to cooking directly in the basket.
Both have a place. Perforated parchment is disposable, lets more air through (better crispiness), and is ideal for everyday use. Reusable silicone liners are better for sticky or saucy foods and reduce waste over time but block more airflow. Many people keep both - parchment for crispy foods, silicone for messy ones.
Yes, a refillable oil sprayer is one of the best inexpensive accessories. It lets you apply a light, even coat of oil rather than over-pouring, which improves crispiness and reduces smoking. Refillable sprayers (like the Evo) also avoid the propellants and additives found in aerosol cooking sprays, which can damage non-stick coatings over time.
Skip: anything plastic (it can warp or melt), cheap unbranded silicone (off-gassing concerns), large all-in-one bundle kits (full of items you won't use), rotisserie attachments (rarely used daily), and most novelty molds. Also avoid accessories that cover the entire basket bottom, since they block the airflow that makes air fryers work.
No. Accessories must match your air fryer's size and basket shape. Square baskets need square accessories; round baskets need round ones. Always check your air fryer's quart capacity and basket shape before buying racks, pans, or liners. An accessory that's too big blocks airflow; one that's too small wastes space. Buy slightly smaller than your basket dimensions.
Yes, a small oven-safe baking pan or silicone pot lets you make cakes, egg bites, casseroles, and dishes that would otherwise drip through the basket. The trade-off is airflow - a solid pan reduces the circulation that crisps food, so it's best for baking and wet dishes, not for foods you want crispy. Make sure it fits with room for air to circulate.
