The Complete Air Fryer Conversion Cheat Sheet

Air fryers are just small convection ovens. Once you know that, converting oven recipes becomes a two-line rule instead of trial and error: drop the temperature by 25°F and cut the time by about 20 percent. That's the whole cheat sheet. The rest of this post is why the rule works, when to break it, and a reference table you can bookmark for the foods most people actually cook.

The 25° / 20% rule

A convection oven moves hot air across food with a fan. That moving air strips away the cool boundary layer that normally insulates food from the oven's radiant heat, so heat transfers into the food faster and browning happens sooner. Air fryers do the same thing in a tiny chamber with an aggressive fan, so the effect is even more pronounced.

The standard convection adjustment — and the one every major cookbook publisher uses — is:

• Temperature: drop the recipe by 25°F (about 15°C).
• Time: reduce by 20 percent, then start checking earlier.

A recipe that says "425°F for 30 minutes" becomes "400°F for 24 minutes" in an air fryer. For a first pass that gets you to about 90 percent of the way to the right answer for most foods.

Our air fryer converter handles the math instantly, with food-type presets that fine-tune the output. Frozen fries want slightly higher heat than the raw rule; delicate fish wants slightly lower. The calculator has the preset baked in, so you don't have to remember the exception for each food.

Reference table for common foods

Times assume you're not overcrowding the basket. Air fryers cook by moving air; if food is stacked, the airflow can't get to everything and you end up with a steamed, pale middle layer. Cook in batches or shake halfway.

When to break the rule

Baked goods

Cakes, quick breads, and anything leavened with baking powder or baking soda don't love air fryers. The aggressive airflow forms a crust before the interior has time to rise, so the middle stays gummy. If you must, drop the temperature 25°F and keep the time closer to the original — the crust will still form fast but you'll give the middle a chance to catch up. Better: use a real oven for anything you'd call a bake.

Anything with a wet batter

Traditional battered fried foods (beer-battered fish, tempura) don't work in an air fryer. The batter drips through the basket before it sets. Use panko or a dry breading instead — those crisp up beautifully.

Anything that needs a sear plus a slow finish

Thick pork chops, whole chicken, big roasts — the air fryer will scorch the outside long before the middle is safe to eat. For anything more than about 1½ inches thick, use a conventional oven and lean on our roast cooking time calculator to get the per-pound estimate and the exact safe internal temperature. That tool always shows the USDA target — the air fryer temperature dial is not a substitute for a thermometer.

Fahrenheit, Celsius, and gas marks

Half the world writes recipes in Celsius or gas marks. If yours is one of those, our oven temperature converter gives you the exact °F ↔ °C ↔ gas mark equivalence for any oven setting, plus a full reference chart below the tool. Handy when a British recipe says "Gas 6" and you're staring at a dial that only knows Fahrenheit.

The one safety note nobody prints

The 25° / 20% shortcut gets you to the right texture. It does not replace a thermometer for anything with a safe internal temperature — poultry (165°F), ground meat (160°F), pork and whole beef cuts (145°F with a 3-minute rest), and seafood (145°F). Air fryers cook fast, so it's easy to assume "the outside looks done, it must be done." The only way to know is to probe the thickest part of whatever you're cooking. A $12 instant- read thermometer pays for itself in the first month of not overcooking chicken.

TL;DR

Drop the temperature by 25°F, drop the time by 20 percent, and start checking earlier. Use the table above for common foods. Break the rule for cakes and thick roasts. Never skip the thermometer.