Last Updated on January 30, 2024
The air fryer and oven are the two common cooking devices. Both of them have specific cooking time durations. Choosing the best one for your desired food is critical to get better temperature control and even cooking.
Generally, an air fryer cooks only one dish at a time. On the other hand, an oven is appropriate for cooking several items simultaneously.
The cooking time of air fryer and oven is not the same. An air fryer takes less time than an oven to cook any food. Sometimes, it takes about half of an oven’s cooking time.
What is an air fryer?
An air fryer is a small cooking device. It uses hot air and cooks food with the air. There is a basket inside the air fryer. The fryer uses the basket to hold the food and fry it. The hot air circulation of an air fryer is faster. So, it prepares food more quickly than convection ovens.
What is an oven?
An oven is a slightly larger cooking device than an air fryer. It generates cooking heat by using two separate heating elements. A range includes a hollow chamber inside it. The room is heated, and therefore it heats the cooked food. The heat of an oven remains under control. Most of the ovens are 24 inches, 27 inches, or 30 inches wide. The size range is adequate for a large amount of food storage. The height of single-wall ovens is 27 to 29 inches.
Cooking time of an air fryer and an oven
If you want faster cooking, an air fryer is the best option. The major differences between an air fryer and an oven are their cooking times and sizes. Generally, an air fryer cooks in half the time it takes a range. Now, we are presenting a short comparison of cooking times between an air fryer and an oven.
| Food/dish | Air fryer cooking time | Oven cooking time |
| Large baked potatoes | 30 minutes | 60 minutes |
| Potato slice | 8 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Fish fry | 10 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Chicken fry | 20 minutes | 40 minutes |
It shows that an air fryer uses less time to prepare any dish. An air fryer takes only 1–3 minutes to preheat. On the other hand, if you want to preheat your oven, you have to allow about 10–15 minutes.
Compare other features
- Larger space
Although an air fryer takes longer to heat the food, it also has a more temporary space. It is why you cannot cook much food at a time with an air fryer.
But an oven gives an extended space for cooking. It is an excellent opportunity to prepare food for a small family program.
- Size Variety
Air fryers are available in a variety of sizes. The small size of the air fryers is 2.6 quarts, and the largest ones can be up to 5.8 quarts.
But the size range of the ovens is from 24 inches to 29 inches. So, the ovens are almost the same.
The size variation of the air fryer is necessary for some users who need an exceptional size to cook food.
If you can use them in the best way, each of them will ensure excellent utilities. So, enjoy buffalo chops, salmon cakes, or large potatoes using an air fryer or a suitable oven.
Cooking items with an air fryer and an oven
Both an air fryer and an oven have significant cooking time durations. Likewise, the cooking items are also different. Their cooking processes are different, but their foods are not the same.
What can you cook in an air fryer?
Various foods can be cooked in an air fryer—chicken wings, French fries, roast chicken, frying salmon, etc. Significantly, an air fryer is used for making all of the mentioned foods crispier.
What can you cook in an oven?
The oven can cook chicken, roasted vegetables, and chicken roasts like an air fryer. But, the difference is – if you want to get crispier foods, you should choose an air fryer. On the other hand, you can cook almost all the delicious foods in an oven, but not brittle foods.
The comparison of air fryers with other cooking devices
There are different cooking devices, and we will now compare them with air fryers. After the discussion, you can easily understand why an air fryer is a good option for cooking.
Difference between an air fryer and a pressure cooker
| Air fryer | Pressure Cooker |
| An air fryer is good for frying food items. | Generally, a pressure cooker is suitable for boiling foods. |
| The air fryer works with dry heat circulation. | The pressure cooker cooks foods using moist heat. |
| An air fryer is very easy to operate. | There is a little bit of a learning curve in using a pressure cooker. |
| The cooking process of an air fryer is slower. | A pressure cooker cooks faster. |
| An air fryer is a suitable cooking device that gives us healthier frying foods without any touch of oil. | More nutrients will remain in the food of a pressure cooker if you cook it with less heat. |
Bottom lines
If you are confused about buying an air fryer or an oven, you must know their cooking times properly. Then, you can easily understand which one will save time, and then you can purchase the right one.
