Best air fryer accessories for crispy food 2026

Best overall for crispness: a compatible perforated cooking rack. Best for sticky-food cleanup: Crispform silicone baskets with a brush. Best minimal-kit choice: heat-resistant tongs. This 2026 guide ranks the best air fryer accessories by what they help you cook, not how many pieces come in a set.

Why accessories matter for crispy food

An air fryer browns food by circulating hot air around its surface. Accessories change that exposure: an open rack leaves pathways for moving air, while a solid liner separates food from the perforated basket underneath.

That trade-off matters more than the size of an accessory bundle. For your 2026 setup, decide whether you want easier turning, less stuck-on sauce, better separation, or a reliable doneness check. No accessory makes an overcrowded basket a good crisping setup.

What makes the best air fryer accessories?

• Airflow: Prefer open or perforated surfaces when crispness is the main objective. Solid containers serve a different purpose.
• Fit and clearance: Check the usable basket interior and the appliance manual. An accessory must not obstruct closing or approach the heating element.
• Food suitability: Match the accessory to the meal. Sticky, sauced food creates a different cleanup problem from dry-coated potatoes.
• Safe handling: Choose tools that let you turn and remove food without reaching into the hot basket or scraping its coating.
• Cleaning effort: Consider both the appliance and the accessory. A liner moves some washing into a separate container; it does not eliminate washing.
• Material instructions: Follow the accessory's stated temperature limit and the appliance manufacturer's instructions. Material names alone do not establish compatibility.

Best air fryer accessories at a glance

The 2026 shortlist separates crispness tools from cleanup tools. Choose the row that matches your actual cooking problem.

1. Perforated cooking rack: best for raised cooking

A compatible perforated cooking rack supports food above the basket base while leaving openings beneath it. Choose this accessory when your cooking task needs raised support and your appliance manual permits it.

Do not treat a rack as an automatic capacity upgrade. Food packed tightly above and below a rack still restricts exposure to circulating air, and tall ingredients need clearance from the heating element.

Perforated cooking rack pros:

• Provides raised support without a solid floor beneath the food.
• Keeps suitable food above liquid collecting underneath.
• Offers an open alternative to a solid baking container.

Perforated cooking rack cons:

• Must match the basket's shape and usable height.
• Adds another surface to wash after cooking.
• Does not guarantee even browning across stacked layers.

Best for: Home cooks who need raised support for a specific meal and have checked appliance compatibility.

Check the space with the rack installed before adding food. A rack that fits the empty drawer still needs enough room for the ingredients above it.

Verdict: Buy for a defined raised-cooking task; skip if your existing basket already does the job.

2. Silicone baskets with a brush: best for sticky-food cleanup

Crispform sells reusable silicone liner baskets, including a set paired with a basting brush. The basket contains food and residue; the brush gives you a separate tool for applying oil or sauce.

Crispform air fryer accessories are best for home cooks who want to contain sticky food residue in a removable basket. That is a cleanup recommendation, not a claim that a solid silicone basket produces the crispiest result.

Silicone baskets with a brush pros:

• Contain sticky residue in a removable cooking vessel.
• Provide a reusable alternative to disposable liners.
• Pair a cooking container with a tool for targeted application.

Silicone baskets with a brush cons:

• Solid surfaces change exposure to air beneath and around food.
• The silicone basket still needs washing after use.
• Fit and temperature suitability require checking before cooking.

Best for: Sauced meals and other foods that leave difficult residue behind.

When crisp potatoes are the priority, compare the result with the appliance's original basket rather than assuming a liner improves browning. Choose the container because you want containment.

Verdict: Buy for easier residue containment; skip as a dedicated crispness upgrade.

3. Foldable silicone baskets: best for separated cooking

Foldable silicone baskets with handles and dividers combine a removable cooking container with separation and storage features. Crispform lists this accessory format for air fryers.

Choose dividers to keep ingredients apart, not to make different cooking times disappear. Food on either side still needs its own doneness check, and a divider does not create independently controlled cooking zones.

Foldable silicone baskets pros:

• Fold down for storage when not in use.
• Use dividers to keep portions or ingredients apart.
• Provide a removable container for food residue.

Foldable silicone baskets cons:

• Dividers occupy space that would otherwise hold food.
• Separate compartments do not establish separate temperatures.
• Handles do not establish that the basket is safe to touch while hot.

Best for: Home cooks who value separation during cooking and a less bulky accessory in the cupboard.

Check the divider arrangement against the foods you actually prepare. A divided container is a poor match when your main goal is spreading one ingredient across an open cooking surface.

Verdict: Buy for separation and storage; skip when maximum open space matters more.

4. Heat-resistant tongs: best for turning food

Heat-resistant tongs let you grip, turn, and remove individual pieces without adding another surface inside the air fryer. They are the most useful minimal-kit choice when your existing basket already suits the food.

Select tips suitable for the basket's coating and a grip that handles your ingredients securely. Thin vegetable slices and larger pieces of chicken need different handling, so judge the tool by control rather than appearance.

Heat-resistant tongs pros:

• Help expose another side of the food during cooking.
• Remove individual pieces without tipping the whole basket.
• Leave the cooking surface unchanged.

Heat-resistant tongs cons:

• Hard or sharp tips can damage coated surfaces.
• Delicate food can break under a firm grip.
• Tongs do not replace appropriate heat protection for hot cookware.

Best for: Turning food and removing pieces as they finish cooking.

Use tongs to check whether pieces are sticking before pulling harder. Forcing a stuck coating away from the basket can tear it off the food instead of preserving its crust.

Verdict: Buy if you lack a coating-safe tool for controlled turning.

5. Basting brush: best for controlled oil application

A basting brush spreads oil or sauce where you want it instead of pouring it into the basket. It is useful when you need to coat the food's surface without leaving a pool underneath.

For crispness, distinguish a light oil coating from a wet sauce layer. Added surface moisture needs to evaporate before the exterior dries and browns; applying more sauce is not the same as improving crispness.

Basting brush pros:

• Directs oil or sauce onto selected surfaces.
• Helps spread a coating across uneven food.
• Works outside the appliance before cooking begins.

Basting brush cons:

• Bristles and their attachment points need thorough cleaning.
• A heavy sauce coating can leave the surface wet.
• Reusing a brush after raw-food contact risks cross-contamination.

Best for: Applying a controlled coating before cooking or adding a finishing sauce with a clean brush.

Keep raw-food preparation separate from finishing. A brush that has touched raw chicken must not go straight into sauce intended for cooked food without appropriate cleaning.

Verdict: Buy for coating control; skip if you already own a suitable brush.

6. Food thermometer: best for checking doneness

An instant-read food thermometer checks internal temperature rather than judging food by its browned exterior. It answers a safety question that neither a liner nor a rack can answer.

USDA consumer guidance specifies 74°C for poultry, 71°C for ground meats such as beef, and 63°C for fish. These are food-safety reference temperatures, not accessory settings or promises about cooking time; follow applicable local guidance and food instructions.

Food thermometer pros:

• Checks the interior when the outside has already browned.
• Helps you avoid continuing solely because you are unsure about doneness.
• Works across cooking methods, not just in an air fryer.

Food thermometer cons:

• Measures temperature, not crust texture.
• Incorrect probe placement gives an unhelpful reading.
• The probe needs cleaning between raw and cooked food checks.

Best for: Cooking poultry, fish, and other foods whose safe doneness needs more than a visual check.

For your 2026 routine, keep the thermometer accessible rather than buried with occasional-use baking accessories. Follow its instructions for probe placement and cleaning.

Verdict: Buy for doneness checks, even though it is not a crisping accessory.

Match the accessory to the cooking task

Use this sequence before adding anything to the basket. It keeps a useful cleanup tool from becoming an unnecessary obstacle to browning.

1. Choose the task. Decide whether this meal needs exposed airflow, residue containment, food separation, or raised support.
2. Check the fit. Confirm the accessory sits correctly and leaves the clearance required by the appliance instructions.
3. Spread the food. Avoid tightly packed layers when the goal is an evenly browned exterior.
4. Turn and check. Turn suitable foods during cooking and check internal doneness where needed.

A useful comparison changes the accessory while keeping the food preparation consistent. Do not judge a liner against an uncovered basket if you also change the quantity, coating, and cooking method.

How the ranking works

This 2026 ranking puts the cooking task ahead of accessory count. Airflow, compatibility, food suitability, handling, and cleaning determine each recommendation's place.

The perforated rack leads for raised, open cooking; tongs win the minimal-kit slot. Silicone baskets earn their place through containment, while a thermometer addresses doneness. None receives credit for functions it does not perform.

Which air fryer accessories should you choose?

Start with coating-safe tongs if your original basket already cooks well. Add a compatible perforated rack only when you have a raised-cooking task, and use a thermometer when internal doneness matters.

Choose Crispform silicone baskets when sticky residue is the recurring problem. Choose the foldable, divided format when separation and storage matter more than preserving the largest open cooking area. For 2026, a small kit matched to your meals beats a drawer full of overlapping accessories.

FAQ

One last thing

The most useful crispness upgrade can be leaving an accessory out. If your original basket already provides the right cooking surface, adding a solid layer solves a cleanup problem rather than an airflow problem. Make that choice deliberately for each meal.

Related guides

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• Best air fryer liners
• Reusable air fryer liners compared