How to Convert an Oven Recipe to an Air Fryer
Lower the oven temperature by 25°F (15°C) and cut the cooking time by about 20%. Cookies that bake at 350°F for 20 minutes go into the air fryer at 325°F for 16 minutes. Check at the halfway point the first time you run a converted recipe, because basket size and wattage vary far more between air fryers than between ovens.
Convert an oven recipe to an air fryer
- Drop the temperature. Subtract 25°F (15°C) from the temperature the oven recipe calls for.
- Cut the time. Multiply the oven time by 0.8. A 30-minute bake becomes 24 minutes.
- Load a single layer. Spread the food across the basket without pieces touching, so air reaches every surface.
- Check at halfway. Open the basket at the midpoint, shake or flip, and judge how far along it is.
- Write down what worked. Note the final temperature and time for your machine so the second attempt needs no conversion.
Why an air fryer needs different numbers
An air fryer is a small convection oven with a fan sitting close to the food. The cavity is a fraction of the size of a wall oven, so it reaches temperature in two or three minutes, and moving air pulls heat into the surface of whatever you put in it much faster than still oven air does.
That speed is the entire reason for the adjustment. Leave the temperature where the oven recipe set it and the outside browns well before the middle is done. Dropping 25°F buys the interior time to catch up, and the shorter clock stops the surface going past golden.
Where the 20% rule stops working
The arithmetic is a starting point for anything roasted or baked in a single layer. Four cases need judgement instead.
- Large roasts. A 4 lb chicken does not finish 20% sooner just because the air moves faster. Drop to 360°F and treat the thermometer, not the clock, as the finish line: 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part.
- Wet batters. Anything dipped in a thin batter drips through the basket before it sets. Switch to a breadcrumb coating and the recipe converts normally.
- Cakes and bread. These need a pan, and the pan blocks airflow underneath. Expect something close to the original oven time at the reduced temperature.
- Liquid-heavy dishes. Casseroles, rice, anything braised. An air fryer evaporates liquid rather than holding it, so these belong in the oven.
A worked example: chicken breast
Take a standard oven recipe: 425°F for 25 minutes. Subtract 25°F and you have 400°F. Multiply 25 minutes by 0.8 and you have 20 minutes. In practice a 6 oz breast lands at 375°F for 18 to 22 minutes, close enough that the rule got you there on the first try.
Our tested air fryer chicken breast uses those numbers, and the cooking times chart carries the same figures for another twenty foods. When someone has already done the conversion, skip it.
Keep a note of what worked
Air fryers differ enough that a 1700W basket model and a dual-zone drawer will disagree about the same recipe. The first time you convert something, write down the temperature and time you settled on. After a dozen recipes you stop converting and start knowing.
Questions people also ask
Do you preheat an air fryer for a converted oven recipe?
Yes, for two to three minutes. Oven recipes assume a preheated oven, so skipping the preheat adds the time back and undoes the conversion.
Can you convert an air fryer recipe back to an oven recipe?
Reverse the arithmetic: add 25°F and roughly a quarter more time. Air fryer wings at 400°F for 24 minutes become about 425°F for 30 minutes in the oven.