How does removable drip tray work and is it safe?
Sources
8 cited
A separate tray positioned below the air fryer cooking basket that catches grease, food drippings, and rendered fat during cooking. Removable drip trays make cleaning easier, reduce smoke from burning grease, and when cleaned regularly, lower the risk of grease buildup that can become a fire hazard.
Renee · Founder, R3
Also known as: Grease Tray, Drip Pan, Grease Catcher, Drip Collector, Fat Tray, Crumb Tray
Reality Check
What brands claim
What it actually means
The drip tray sits at the bottom of your air fryer, quietly doing one of the most important jobs in the appliance: catching the grease, fat, and food particles that fall through the basket during cooking. It is not a glamorous component, but keeping it clean and understanding its design directly affects both your cooking results and your family's safety.
We looked into why drip tray design matters, what materials and coatings are used, and why regular cleaning is more important than most people realize.
During air frying, several things happen simultaneously. The high-speed fan circulates hot air around your food, cooking it from all sides. As the food cooks, fat renders out of meats, moisture evaporates, small food particles break loose, and grease drips downward through the basket perforations.
Without a drip tray, all of that material would land directly on the heating element or the bottom of the cooking chamber. This creates two problems:
The drip tray catches this material before it reaches the heating element, holding it in a cooler zone where it can be safely disposed of after cooking.
Not all air fryer drip trays are created equal, and this distinction matters for both cleaning convenience and safety:
A truly removable drip tray slides out of the air fryer independently from the basket. You can remove it, empty the grease, wash it, and replace it. This is the ideal design because it allows thorough cleaning of the tray and the cavity below it.
On basket-style air fryers, the removable tray is typically the outer container that the perforated basket nests inside. When you pull the entire basket assembly out, the drip tray comes with it, and the basket lifts out of the tray for separate cleaning.
Some air fryers, particularly oven-style models, have an integrated drip tray or catch area built into the bottom of the unit. This area collects drippings but cannot be easily removed for thorough cleaning. You may need to wipe it out with a cloth or carefully pour out accumulated grease.
Integrated trays are harder to clean thoroughly, which means grease buildup is more likely over time. If you have an air fryer with an integrated drip area, make extra effort to clean it after every use.
Oven-style air fryers often include a removable baking sheet or crumb tray that sits at the bottom. While this catches some drippings, it may not be positioned directly below the cooking racks in all configurations. Check whether drippings from your most-used rack positions actually land on the removable tray or fall to the sides.
This is where the drip tray connects to the broader material safety conversation that matters for families. Drip trays are typically made from:
Aluminum with nonstick coating: The most common material. The nonstick coating (usually PTFE or ceramic) prevents grease from bonding to the surface, making cleaning easier. The same material considerations that apply to the basket coating apply here - if you are concerned about PFAS in your basket coating, check the drip tray coating too.
Stainless steel: Some premium models use uncoated stainless steel drip trays. These are the most chemically inert option but require more scrubbing to remove baked-on grease. Stainless steel is fully dishwasher-safe without coating degradation concerns.
Coated steel: Less expensive than stainless steel, coated carbon steel trays use a nonstick layer over a ferrous metal base. These can rust if the coating is damaged and the base metal is exposed to moisture.
Important: when evaluating an air fryer for material safety, consider the drip tray coating alongside the basket coating. A stainless steel basket paired with a PTFE-coated drip tray still introduces PTFE into the cooking environment, as the drip tray gets hot during operation.
For stubborn buildup, soak the tray in hot water with dish soap for 30 minutes, then scrub with a non-abrasive sponge. For nonstick-coated trays, avoid metal scrubbers that can damage the coating. For stainless steel trays, baking soda paste works well for tough deposits.
We know that cleaning the drip tray after every use feels like one more thing on an already long list. Here are some approaches that make it easier:
Line the tray with aluminum foil. This catches drippings on the foil, which you can simply remove and discard. Replace the foil every few uses. This is the lowest-effort approach and dramatically reduces cleaning time.
Soak while eating. Pull the drip tray out when dinner is done and drop it in the sink with hot soapy water. By the time dinner and cleanup are finished, the grease has loosened and a quick wipe is all it takes.
Batch clean. If daily cleaning is truly not happening, commit to a thorough cleaning at least weekly if you use the air fryer regularly. This is a compromise, not an ideal - but weekly cleaning is dramatically better than monthly or never.
Drip tray nonstick coatings (PTFE or ceramic) have the same material safety considerations as basket coatings - they get hot during operation and are a potential source of PFAS if PTFE-coated. Grease buildup from inadequate cleaning is a fire hazard. Smoke from overheated grease in the drip tray affects kitchen air quality and can irritate respiratory pathways.
There are no specific regulations governing drip tray design in air fryers. The overall appliance must meet UL Listed requirements (UL 858 or UL 1026) which include fire safety provisions. NFPA guidelines address grease accumulation as a fire risk in cooking appliances generally. Any nonstick coating on the drip tray is subject to the same FDA food contact regulations as the basket coating.
Grease buildup in the drip tray is a fire hazard that is entirely preventable through regular cleaning. Clean the tray after every use or at minimum weekly with regular use. Nonstick coatings on drip trays have the same PFAS and material safety considerations as basket coatings. Damaged or scratched nonstick coating on the drip tray should prompt replacement. Never operate the air fryer without the drip tray in place.
Look for these
Watch out for
Grease splatter on the inside walls of the cooking chamber (separate cleaning task)Food particles that get stuck in the basket perforations (basket cleaning)Grease buildup on the heating element itself (usually requires inverted cleaning)Smoke from food that is being cooked at too high a temperature (not a drip tray issue)
After purchase, remove the drip tray and inspect it. Verify it can be fully removed for cleaning. Check the material and coating. Test whether it fits in your dishwasher if that is important to you. After cooking a fatty food, verify that drippings are captured by the tray and not reaching the heating element (no smoke from the element area).
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The drip tray sits below the perforated cooking basket, positioned between the food and the heating element. As food cooks, rendered fat, grease, and food particles fall through the basket perforations and are caught by the drip tray. The tray holds this material away from the heating element, preventing smoke and fire risk. After cooking, the tray is removed, emptied, and washed.
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After every use is ideal. At minimum, clean it weekly if you use the air fryer regularly. Grease buildup is a fire hazard, and cleaning the tray takes only 2-3 minutes. Soaking in hot soapy water while you eat dinner makes it even easier.
Yes, and we recommend it for easier cleanup. Lay a piece of foil in the drip tray to catch drippings, then remove and discard the foil after cooking. Replace every few uses. Make sure the foil does not block any air circulation holes in the tray design.
Often, yes. Grease from previous cooking sessions accumulated in the drip tray can smoke when reheated. Clean the tray thoroughly and see if the smoke stops. If it persists, the heating element itself may have grease buildup that needs cleaning (check your manual for instructions).
Yes. If you chose a stainless steel basket to avoid [PTFE](/learn/ingredients/ptfe-teflon) or [PFAS](/learn/ingredients/pfas) exposure, check whether the drip tray has a nonstick coating. The drip tray gets hot during cooking, and a PTFE-coated tray in a unit with a stainless steel basket still introduces PTFE into the cooking environment.
Yes, accumulated grease that is repeatedly heated can eventually reach its ignition point. This risk is preventable through regular cleaning. The NFPA identifies grease accumulation as a leading factor in cooking-related home fires. Clean your drip tray regularly to eliminate this risk.
Check your model's specifications. Many drip trays are labeled [dishwasher-safe](/learn/technology/dishwasher-safe-components). Stainless steel trays can go in the dishwasher without concerns. Nonstick-coated trays are technically dishwasher-safe but the coating will degrade faster from dishwasher detergent. Hand-washing extends coating life.
Air fryer parts (baskets, trays, racks) labeled as safe to wash in a dishwasher without warping or breaking. While convenient, dishwasher detergent is abrasive and significantly accelerates the degradation of nonstick coatings. 'Dishwasher-safe' means the part survives the dishwasher, not that the coating is unaffected.
The National Fire Protection Association publishes NFPA 70, also known as the National Electrical Code (NEC), which sets the baseline for safe electrical installations in U.S. buildings. NFPA also publishes fire investigation and prevention standards. With cooking equipment as the number one cause of home fires and over 3 million air fryers recalled in 2023-2024 for fire hazards, NFPA standards are directly relevant to air fryer safety, proper placement, and household fire prevention.
This is the safety point we want to emphasize most strongly. Grease buildup in the drip tray is a fire hazard, and it is an entirely preventable one.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) identifies cooking equipment as the leading cause of home fires, and grease accumulation is a primary contributing factor. While air fryer fires are relatively uncommon compared to stovetop fires, the mechanism is the same: accumulated grease reaches its ignition point.
Here is how it progresses:
The fix is simple: clean the drip tray after every use. Empty the grease, wash with warm soapy water, and dry before storing. This takes 2-3 minutes and eliminates the fire risk from grease buildup entirely.
Choose stainless steel or dishwasher-safe trays. If easy cleaning is a priority, a stainless steel drip tray can go in the dishwasher without coating concerns. Coated trays are technically dishwasher-safe but the coating wears faster in the dishwasher.
When evaluating air fryers, consider the drip tray design:
Is it truly removable? Can you take the tray out independently for thorough cleaning? Or is it integrated into the housing?
What is it made of? Check whether the tray has a nonstick coating and what type. If you chose a stainless steel basket for material safety reasons, a PTFE-coated drip tray undermines that choice.
Is it dishwasher-safe? For busy families, dishwasher compatibility makes regular cleaning more likely to happen.
What size is it? A larger, deeper tray holds more drippings without overflow. This matters for fatty foods like chicken thighs or bacon.
Can you buy replacements? Drip trays wear out over time, especially coated ones. Check whether the manufacturer sells replacement trays.
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