Yes. A paper towel can catch fire in an air fryer, so you should not use a loose paper towel inside the cooking chamber while the appliance is operating.
For home cooks in the United States, the safest answer is simple: keep ordinary paper towels out of a running air fryer. A paper towel is a lightweight cellulose product, and an air fryer combines heat with strong circulating airflow. That combination can move an unsecured towel toward the heating element, where it can scorch, ignite, or interfere with normal airflow.
Paper towels are useful before and after cooking. You can use one to pat food dry or wipe a cooled basket, but it should be removed before cooking begins. The U.S. Fire Administration advises keeping materials that can catch fire away from cooking appliances, while air fryer safety guidance also warns that lightweight paper can move into contact with heating elements.
The risk does not mean every paper towel placed near an air fryer will immediately burst into flames. Ignition depends on temperature, exposure time, airflow, moisture, the towel’s position, and its distance from the heating element. The practical point is that there is no good reason to accept that risk when safer cooking surfaces and purpose-designed liners are available.
A paper towel is primarily made from cellulose fibers, which are combustible. Cellulose materials can decompose, char, smolder, and eventually ignite when exposed to sufficient heat and oxygen. The exact ignition behavior varies with the paper’s composition, moisture content, mass, heating rate, and surrounding conditions, so there is no single temperature that guarantees every paper towel will ignite.
An air fryer creates a particularly unsuitable environment for a loose paper towel because it uses a heating element and a fan to circulate hot air. The fan is useful for cooking food evenly, but it can also move lightweight materials. A towel that shifts upward can enter a hotter region near the heating element.
This is why the question should not be reduced to whether an air fryer normally operates below or above a particular paper ignition temperature. Even if the selected cooking temperature appears lower than a published ignition range for cellulose, the towel can experience localized heating, radiant heat, airflow, and changing moisture conditions that make its behavior unpredictable.
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Heat
The cooking chamber becomes hot enough to dry and brown exposed paper, especially when the towel is close to the heating element.
Airflow
The circulation fan can lift, fold, or move a lightweight towel from its original position.
Oxygen
Air circulation continually supplies oxygen, which supports combustion once paper reaches an ignition condition.
Position
A towel lying safely away from the heater can become hazardous if airflow moves it upward or against a hot surface.
Does a Wet Paper Towel Make It Safe?
No. Moisture can initially absorb heat as water warms and evaporates, but that does not make a paper towel an appropriate air fryer liner. As the towel dries, its thermal behavior changes. A wet towel can also tear, move, or leave paper fibers behind. The safer practice is to use the towel to dry food outside the appliance and remove it completely before cooking.
Moisture delays heating
Water absorbs heat while it evaporates, which can temporarily keep wet paper cooler.
Drying changes the risk
Once moisture is gone, the remaining cellulose fibers are more exposed to the air fryer’s heat.
What Happens if You Put a Paper Towel in an Air Fryer?
The outcome depends on where the towel is placed and how the air fryer operates, but several things can happen. The towel may remain in place and become dry or browned, it may shift because of the fan, it may contact a hot surface, or it may be drawn toward the heating element and ignite.
A towel used underneath food can also obstruct the perforations in an air fryer basket. Those openings are part of the appliance’s airflow path. Covering too much of the basket can reduce circulation and change cooking performance. More importantly, a loose sheet can move during cooking.
A towel may also absorb grease from food. Once saturated with oil or fat, the material can become an additional combustible fuel source. This is another reason that using a paper towel as a makeshift air fryer liner is not a good substitute for a purpose-designed cooking accessory.
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It may scorch
The paper can become brown, brittle, or charred as it dries and heats.
It may move
The circulating air can lift an unsecured towel from the basket.
It may touch the heating element
Contact with a sufficiently hot heating element can produce rapid scorching or ignition.
It may increase smoke
Paper, absorbed grease, and food residue can contribute to smoke and unpleasant burning odors.
Can a Paper Towel Catch Fire at 350°F or 400°F?
It can become a fire hazard at common air fryer settings, but it is misleading to treat 350°F or 400°F as an automatic ignition threshold. Published fire research shows that cellulose ignition varies substantially with experimental conditions. The temperature of the surrounding air is also not necessarily the same as the temperature reached by a small section of paper exposed to radiant heat or a hot heating element.
For everyday cooking, the practical conclusion is more useful than a single ignition number: an ordinary paper towel should not be deliberately exposed to the operating environment of an air fryer.
Temperature is only one variable
Heating rate, airflow, paper construction, moisture, exposure time, and proximity to the heating element also affect ignition.
Localized heat matters
A small portion of a towel can become much hotter than the food or the air temperature you selected on the control panel.
Can You Use a Paper Towel to Absorb Oil in an Air Fryer?
You can use a paper towel to absorb excess oil from food before or after air frying, but remove the towel before the food goes into the appliance. For example, if you pat bacon, chicken, vegetables, or another ingredient dry, do that on a plate or cutting board and discard the towel before cooking.
Do not place a paper towel under cooked food inside the air fryer while the appliance is still running. If the goal is to catch drips or make cleanup easier, use the cooking basket or tray as designed, or use an accessory specifically approved for the appliance.
Using a towel after cooking requires the same basic precaution: remove the basket from the heat source and allow it to cool enough for safe handling before using paper for cleanup. A hot basket can scorch paper even when the appliance fan is no longer running.
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For drying food
Pat ingredients dry outside the air fryer, then remove the paper towel before loading the food.
For draining food
Transfer cooked food to a plate or tray lined with a paper towel after cooking rather than lining the active air fryer basket.
For cleanup
Turn off the appliance, let hot components cool, and then wipe the basket according to the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions.
Why Paper Towels Are Fine on the Counter but Not in the Running Air Fryer
The distinction is exposure. On a countertop, a paper towel is normally at room temperature and away from an ignition source. Inside a running air fryer, the same material is exposed to heated air, hot surfaces, radiant heat, and mechanical airflow. A material can therefore be perfectly ordinary for food preparation while being inappropriate for an active cooking chamber.
Outside the appliance
Normal countertop use does not expose the towel to the air fryer’s heating element or forced hot-air circulation.
Inside the appliance
The towel becomes part of a heated, ventilated environment where it can move and potentially ignite.
What Is Safer to Use Instead of a Paper Towel?
The safest alternative depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are drying food, use a paper towel outside the appliance and remove it before cooking. If you want a liner, use an accessory that your air fryer manufacturer permits, such as an appropriate parchment liner or another approved accessory.
Parchment paper and paper towels are not interchangeable products. Purpose-made air fryer parchment liners may be designed for high-temperature food use and may include perforations for airflow. Even then, they are not meant to float freely inside an air fryer. Manufacturer instructions commonly require the liner to be placed after preheating and held down by food so the circulating air cannot lift it toward the heating element.
Silicone accessories can be another option when they are specifically rated for cooking temperatures and compatible with the particular air fryer. The manufacturer’s manual remains the best source for determining which accessories are permitted in a specific model.
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Plain parchment paper
Use only when the air fryer and parchment manufacturer permit it, and keep the paper secured beneath food rather than using it loose.
Perforated parchment liners
These can preserve more airflow than a solid sheet, but they still need correct placement and should never be allowed to contact the heating element.
Silicone accessories
A properly rated silicone basket, mat, or mold may be suitable when the product and air fryer manufacturer allow it.
The original basket
For many foods, the simplest option is to cook directly in the supplied basket or crisper plate without adding a liner.
What About Parchment Paper Made for Air Fryers?
Air fryer parchment is a different product from an ordinary paper towel. Some manufacturers sell parchment liners specifically for air fryer use and give instructions about temperature, shape, placement, and airflow. Those instructions matter. A parchment liner should not be treated as permission to put any paper product into any air fryer.
A common safety principle is to keep the liner weighed down by food. Never preheat an air fryer with a loose parchment sheet inside unless the appliance’s instructions explicitly permit that exact setup. An empty liner can be lifted by circulating air and reach the heating element.
Check the temperature rating
The liner should be rated for the temperature you intend to use.
Check the appliance manual
Some air fryer designs have restrictions on liners, especially toaster-oven-style models.
Keep it secured
Food should hold the liner in place when the manufacturer’s instructions require this.
What Should You Do if a Paper Towel Starts Burning in an Air Fryer?
If you see flames, smoke, or a burning paper odor, treat the situation as a fire hazard rather than trying to rescue the food. Stop the air fryer if you can do so without putting yourself in danger. If the appliance has a basket or door that can remain closed, keeping the cooking chamber closed can help limit oxygen and prevent you from exposing yourself to flames or hot grease.
Do not reach into an active air fryer fire with your hands, and do not attempt to pull out a burning towel. Opening the appliance can expose the fire to additional oxygen and can put your face and hands close to flames and hot surfaces.
If the fire does not go out promptly after the appliance is switched off, or if flames are escaping the appliance, leave the area and call 911. Do not take unnecessary risks to save the appliance. Follow your household fire safety plan and use a fire extinguisher only if you have the appropriate extinguisher, know how to operate it, and can do so while maintaining a safe exit route.
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Turn off the appliance
If it is safe to do so, stop the air fryer and disconnect power without reaching through flames.
Keep the cooking chamber closed
Avoid opening the basket or door unnecessarily while a fire is active.
Move away if the fire continues
If flames persist, spread, or escape the appliance, evacuate and call 911.
Never put yourself between a fire and an exit
Your safety is more important than recovering food or an appliance.
What If There Is Only Smoke and No Flame?
Switch the appliance off and investigate only after it is safe and sufficiently cool. Smoke can come from food residue, grease, parchment, paper, or an electrical problem. If the smell is unusual, persistent, or accompanied by sparking, melting plastic, or repeated smoke, stop using the appliance and contact the manufacturer or a qualified service professional.
Food smoke
Grease and food residue can smoke at high temperatures, especially when the basket or heating area needs cleaning.
Burning paper
A scorched towel or other paper product can produce smoke before visible flames appear.
Electrical symptoms
Sparking, melting, unusual noises, or persistent burning odors require the appliance to be taken out of service until the problem is evaluated.
Common Air Fryer Paper Mistakes to Avoid
Most paper-related air fryer problems come from treating different paper products as though they have the same heat and airflow characteristics. They do not. A paper towel, parchment liner, waxed paper, napkin, printed paper, and cardboard product can behave differently when heated.
Another common mistake is assuming that a liner is safe simply because it fits the basket. Fit is not the same as suitability. The material must tolerate the cooking temperature, and its placement must preserve safe airflow and prevent movement toward the heating element.
It is also a mistake to assume that a wet or food-covered paper towel cannot move. Food may hold down part of a towel while another part remains exposed. The exposed section can still lift, fold, dry out, and move toward the heater.
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Using a paper towel as a basket liner
Avoid this because the towel is lightweight, combustible, absorbent, and not designed as an air fryer cooking liner.
Preheating with loose paper inside
Do not place an unsecured paper liner in an empty air fryer where the fan can lift it.
Using wax paper instead of parchment
Wax paper is not the same as heat-rated parchment and should not be substituted without explicit manufacturer approval.
Covering all basket holes with paper
A solid sheet can interfere with the airflow that makes an air fryer work as intended.
Ignoring the appliance manual
Air fryer designs vary, so the manual should take priority over generic advice about liners and accessories.
A Simple Decision Rule for Paper Products
If the item is an ordinary paper towel, napkin, tissue, printed sheet, or other disposable paper product that was not specifically designed and approved for high-temperature cooking, keep it out of a running air fryer. If the item is a purpose-made cooking liner, check its temperature rating and the air fryer’s instructions before using it.
Ordinary paper towel
Do not use inside a running air fryer.
Napkin or tissue
Do not use as a cooking liner because it is lightweight and combustible.
Wax paper
Do not substitute it for parchment unless the manufacturer specifically permits the product for the intended temperature.
Air fryer parchment liner
Use only according to both the liner’s instructions and the air fryer’s manual.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q
Can I put a paper towel under food in an air fryer?
No. A paper towel should not be used as a liner inside a running air fryer. It can move in the circulating air, become exposed to intense heat, interfere with airflow, and potentially ignite. Use the supplied basket or an approved cooking accessory instead.
Q
Can I use a paper towel to pat chicken dry before air frying?
Yes. Patting food dry with a paper towel before cooking is fine. The key is to remove the paper towel completely before putting the food into the air fryer.
Q
Will a paper towel always catch fire in an air fryer?
No. Ignition is not guaranteed every time. It depends on factors such as temperature, heating time, moisture, airflow, towel position, and proximity to the heating element. The fact that a towel might survive one cooking cycle does not make the practice safe.
Q
Is parchment paper safer than a paper towel in an air fryer?
Purpose-made parchment liners can be appropriate for some air fryers when their temperature rating and placement instructions are followed. Parchment designed for air frying is different from an ordinary paper towel. Always follow the air fryer’s manual and the liner manufacturer’s instructions.
Q
What should I do if my paper towel catches fire in the air fryer?
If it is safe, turn the appliance off and keep the cooking chamber closed. Do not reach inside or pull out burning paper. If flames continue, escape the area and call 911. Do not risk burns or smoke exposure to save the appliance or food.
✦ Wrapping Up
Conclusion
Yes, a paper towel can catch fire in an air fryer, and using one as a cooking liner is an unnecessary safety risk. The combination of combustible cellulose, high heat, and strong airflow means a towel can move from a harmless position to a dangerous one during cooking.
Use paper towels for tasks such as patting ingredients dry before cooking or draining food after it has been removed from the air fryer. For lining the basket, rely on the appliance’s normal cooking surface or a purpose-made accessory that the manufacturer permits. When paper is allowed, it still needs to be secured and kept away from the heating element.
If you notice smoke, a burning smell, or flames, stop the appliance if you can do so safely and keep yourself away from an active fire. When in doubt, prioritize personal safety over the food or appliance.
💡 Key Takeaway
Keep ordinary paper towels out of a running air fryer. Use them before or after cooking, and choose only manufacturer-approved cooking liners or accessories when a liner is actually needed.
