We use our air fryer quite often, especially when preparing small portions of food and we don’t want to heat up the big oven. Not only does an air fryer consume less electricity, but it also keeps the kitchen cooler compared to a conventional oven.
When switching from oven cooking to air fryer cooking, it’s important to understand how these appliances differ:
- A traditional oven heats food slowly and evenly.
- An air fryer uses rapid hot air circulation in a smaller cooking chamber, which speeds up cooking.
Because of this difference in cooking methods, you’ll need to adjust both the temperature and the cooking time to avoid undercooking or burning your food.
General Conversion Rules: Oven → Air Fryer
- Reduce the temperature by 15–20°C (25–35°F).
- Reduce the cooking time by about 20%.
👉 These rules apply when converting recipes from fan-assisted (convection) ovens.
For recipes written for static ovens (without ventilation), you’ll need to lower the air fryer temperature by 35–40°C (65–70°F).
All temperatures listen in the tables below are in °C. If you’re working with gas ovens or recipes in Fahrenheit, check the conversion charts provided in this blog post to convert to °C before adjusting for the air fryer.
Pro Tip: Check Halfway
Since every air fryer model is slightly different, it’s always a good idea to check your food halfway through cooking. Adjust the time or temperature if needed to get perfectly crisp and evenly cooked results.
No Math? No Problem.
If you’d rather not do the calculations, you can use the time and temperature conversion charts below to quickly adapt any oven recipe for your air fryer.
Time conversion chart
Oven | Air fryer | Oven | Air fryer |
---|---|---|---|
5 | 4 | 35 | 28 |
10 | 8 | 40 | 32 |
15 | 12 | 45 | 36 |
20 | 16 | 50 | 40 |
25 | 20 | 55 | 44 |
30 | 24 | 60 | 48 |
Temperature conversion chart
Classic oven | Convection oven | Air fryer |
---|---|---|
180 | 160 | 145 |
190 | 170 | 150 |
200 | 180 | 160 |
210 | 190 | 170 |
220 | 200 | 180 |
230 | 210 | 190 |
240 | 220 | 200 |
Photo by Kam Idris on Unsplash