Yes, for crisp food — fries, wings, nuggets, anything fried. Use the lowest setting or a Keep Warm preset, and keep the food above 140 °F. Saucy or soft food dries out instead.
Why it suits some food and not others
An air fryer’s whole mechanism is moving hot air that removes surface moisture.
Fries, wings, anything breaded or with a crust — held well, sometimes crisper than they came out.
Anything with a sauce, rice, pasta, vegetables, soft bread — dried out and toughened.
How to do it
- Lowest temperature or Keep Warm, about 170 to 200 °F.
- Basket in, drawer closed, without stacking — crisp food held in a pile steams.
- Check every 15 minutes: the food should stay at 140 °F or above.
- Not more than about an hour, for quality.
Food safety
The USDA’s rule for hot food: hold it at 140 °F or above. Below that, in the 40 to 140 °F range, bacteria multiply quickly; food should not spend more than two hours there in total. A preset is not a guarantee — the ThermoMonster HT09 or any instant-read thermometer settles it. See using a probe thermometer.
What to use for the second kind of food
A multi-cooker on Keep Warm, lid on: the Instant Pot Rio Mini at $90.99, the Cosori or the Ninja PossibleCooker PLUS all list it.
A toaster oven with a Keep Warm setting, dish covered in foil: the BLACK+DECKER 5-in-1 at $61.99 and the Elite Gourmet 4-slice at $34.99 both list it; the Hamilton Beach does not.
And the alternative that costs nothing
Cook to finish when you eat. On a machine this fast, that is usually possible — and a two-minute re-crisp at 375 °F revives fries better than an hour of holding.
Check your own manual before you follow anything here. Temperatures, fill limits and pressure ratings differ from model to model, and the manufacturer’s figures take precedence over anything written on this site. We report what makers publish — an oven’s range in degrees, a cooker’s maximum fill line, whether a part is declared dishwasher-safe — and we never turn those figures into food-safety guidance. Cooking temperatures and holding times for particular foods are set by manufacturers and by your national food safety authority, and this site points you to them rather than restating them.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-10-18. The live price is at the top of the page.
What readers want to know
What temperature keeps food warm in an air fryer?
The lowest setting your machine has, usually around 170 to 200 °F, or its Keep Warm preset if it has one. The food itself must stay at 140 °F or above — the USDA's line for hot holding. Check it with a thermometer; an air fryer's dial reads the air, not the food.
How long can I keep food warm?
As long as it stays at 140 °F or above, it is safe — but quality drops after about 30 minutes to an hour in moving hot air. Food that has cooled into the 40 to 140 °F range should not sit there for more than two hours in total; after that, refrigerate it or throw it out.
What keeps saucy or soft food warm better?
A covered pot. A multi-cooker's Keep Warm setting holds stews, rice and sauces without drying them — the Instant Pot Rio Mini at $90.99 lists keep warm among its seven functions. A toaster oven at its lowest setting, with the dish covered in foil, works too.
Last reviewed 18 October 2026