How We Convert Oven Recipes to Air Fryer Settings
The exact rule our air fryer calculator and every food page use, so you can check our numbers yourself.
How this calculator works
This page explains how Ezcalcus converts oven settings to air fryer settings. Every air fryer tool and food page on this site uses the same rules. We show the full method here so you can check our numbers.
The core rule
An air fryer is a small convection oven with a fast fan. The moving air transfers heat faster than a still oven, and the cooking cavity is small, so it heats up quickly. That’s why the same recipe needs a lower temperature and a shorter time in an air fryer than in a full-size oven.
Our base conversion applies two adjustments at the same time:
- Temperature: reduce the oven temperature by 25°F (about 15°C).
- Time: reduce the oven time by about 20% — multiply the time by 0.8.
Example: a recipe of 400°F for 30 minutes becomes 375°F for 24 minutes.
Food-type adjustments
One rule doesn’t fit every food, so we adjust the time factor by food type. The temperature rule stays the same across all of them.
| Food type | Temperature change | Time factor |
|---|---|---|
| Any recipe (general) | −25°F / −15°C | 0.80 |
| Frozen and breaded | −25°F / −15°C | 0.80 |
| Meat and poultry | −25°F / −15°C | 0.80 |
| Fresh vegetables | −25°F / −15°C | 0.80 |
| Baked goods | −25°F / −15°C | 0.85 |
Baked goods use a smaller time cut. They burn faster at high heat, so we keep more of the original time.
Rounding
Air fryer dials use round numbers, so we round the result to numbers you can actually set. Temperature rounds to the nearest 5 degrees. Time rounds to the nearest whole minute.
Safety limits
We never drop the converted temperature below 150°F (65°C). Low heat cooks food unevenly and isn’t safe for many foods. For meat, poultry, and fish, always cook to a safe internal temperature — use a food thermometer to check, and see the USDA FSIS Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart ↗ for the exact numbers by food type.
Limits of this method
Every air fryer model is different — basket size, wattage, and fan speed all change the result. Treat every result as a starting point, not a fixed rule. Check your food a few minutes before the calculated time ends, especially the first time you make a recipe in your specific air fryer.
Our sources
We built these rules from three source types:
- The common oven-to-air-fryer rule of thumb used across cooking guides.
- Air fryer manufacturer guidance for basket and oven-style models.
- Public food-safety standards — specifically the USDA FSIS safe minimum internal temperature chart linked above — for safe cooking temperatures.
The conversion rule itself is a widely used rule of thumb refined by manufacturer guidance, not a government-published formula — we want to be direct about that distinction. We review this page whenever that guidance changes.
Tested settings by food
The general rule above works well for recipes that don’t already have a known air fryer setting. But for foods people air fry constantly, a tested setting beats a generic formula — it accounts for things a formula can’t, like whether a food needs flipping or what doneness actually looks like. That’s what these guides are for:
- Chicken Wings — 380°F (193°C), 24–26 min
- Chicken Breast — 375°F (190°C), 18–22 min
- Frozen Fries — 400°F (205°C), 15–18 min
- Salmon — 400°F (205°C), 7–9 min
- Bacon — 350°F (175°C), 8–10 min
- Steak — 400°F (205°C), 10–12 min
- Frozen Chicken Nuggets — 400°F (205°C), 8–10 min
- Broccoli — 375°F (190°C), 8–10 min
- Baked Potato — 400°F (205°C), 35–40 min
- Frozen Mozzarella Sticks — 360°F (182°C), 6–8 min
Sources & references
The formulas and guidelines used on this page are based on publicly available data from: