Oven to Air Fryer, Fan Oven & Slow Cooker Converter
A recipe says 180°C fan forced for 60 minutes, but you would rather have the convenience of your trusty air fryer. Perhaps you have a slow cooker and want to do the prep in the morning for a recipe that was written for an oven. Ovens, fan forced ovens, air fryers, and slow cookers do not heat food the same way, so swapping the temperature and time straight across burns or undercooks your dish. Pick the appliance the recipe was written for and the one actually in use, and this calculator works out the matching temperature, cook time, and when to check to see how it is going. It covers:
- Oven to air fryer: lower the temperature by 20°C and cut the time by about 20%.
- Conventional to fan oven: lower the temperature by 20°C and keep the time the same.
- A packed air fryer basket: add a few minutes, since a full basket cooks more like a small oven.
- Any oven bake to a slow cooker: get the LOW and HIGH hour range instead of a single time.
- Slow cooker time back to the oven: see roughly how long the same dish takes baked or air fried.
Convert an Oven Setting
180°C, 48 minutes
- Shake or turn the basket halfway through cooking so everything browns evenly.
- A full basket cooks more like a small oven, so add 3 to 5 minutes if it is packed.
- Start checking at 36 minutes so it does not overcook.
Common Oven Temperature Conversion Chart
| Conventional | Fan Forced | Air Fryer |
|---|---|---|
| 140°C | 120°C | 120°C |
| 160°C | 140°C | 140°C |
| 180°C | 160°C | 160°C |
| 200°C | 180°C | 180°C |
| 220°C | 200°C | 200°C |
A slow cooker has no straight temperature match for an oven setting, so use the converter above to turn an oven time into LOW and HIGH hours.
How the Oven Converter Works
The difference between the cookers here is heat delivery. A conventional oven surrounds food with still, radiant heat. A fan forced oven pushes that heat around with a fan, so it cooks faster at a lower temperature, typically 20°C (about 36°F) less than a conventional recipe calls for. An air fryer takes that fan effect further in a smaller chamber, so it runs at the fan oven temperature but finishes roughly 20% faster. The reference table above shows five common conventional oven temperatures, from 140°C to 220°C, next to the matching fan oven and air fryer setting.
Slow Cooker Time Bands
Slow cooking has no direct temperature equivalent to an oven, so the calculator maps oven time to an hour range instead of one figure: a 45-minute oven bake is LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours in a slow cooker. A recipe with a longer bake time needs more hours either way. LOW and HIGH are fixed settings on the slow cooker, and they are roughly 90°C to 100°C and 120°C. A slow cooker suits braises and stews, so it is not a good fit for a crispy bake. Cutting the added liquid by about a third keeps a recipe written for a conventional oven but cooked in a slow cooker from turning watery since there is less evaporation in the slow cooker. For a plain Celsius, Fahrenheit, or Gas Mark conversion with no appliance adjustment, use the temperature converter.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I convert oven recipes to an air fryer?
- Lower the temperature by 20°C (about 36°F) from a conventional oven recipe, then cut the cook time by roughly 20%. A conventional bake at 200°C for 60 minutes becomes about 180°C for 48 minutes in an air fryer, so start checking a few minutes before that time is up to avoid overcooking. See the temperature converter
- What air fryer setting matches 180°C fan, 60 minutes?
- Set the air fryer to 180°C for about 48 minutes. A fan oven and an air fryer use the same temperature relative to a conventional oven, so the temperature itself does not change, only the time drops by roughly 20% because the fan is closer to the food. Check around the 36 minute mark.
- Does a fan oven need a lower temperature?
- Yes, most manufacturers recommend cutting the temperature of a conventional oven recipe by 20°C (roughly 36°F) because a fan circulates hot air more efficiently around the food. Cooking time generally stays the same as the conventional recipe calls for. A 200°C conventional bake becomes 180°C in a fan oven, with the timer left unchanged.
- Why does a full air fryer basket need longer?
- A packed basket blocks the hot air an air fryer relies on to cook evenly, so food near the middle cooks slower than the guide time assumes. Add 3 to 5 minutes and shake or flip the basket halfway through so every piece gets even contact with the moving air, then check a little early.
- Can I cook any oven recipe in a slow cooker?
- No, a slow cooker suits braises, stews, and other liquid-based dishes rather than baking or anything that needs a crisp surface, since it never reaches oven temperatures that brown food or set a cake's crumb. When adapting a recipe, cut the added liquid by about a third because moisture cannot evaporate from a sealed pot.
- What temperature are the slow cooker low and high settings?
- LOW is about 90°C to 100°C (194°F to 212°F) and HIGH about 120°C (248°F), though exact numbers vary by model. These are fixed settings rather than a temperature dial you set directly, so match a recipe to the oven-time band it falls into: shorter bakes need less time, and longer ones need more on either setting.
More conversions
Convert ingredient measurements or fresh fruit and vegetables.
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