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Home LivingAppliancesKitchenAir FryersAir fryer vs oven – 6 ways air frying beats oven cooking (and 2 ways it very much doesn’t)Air fryer vs oven in the ultimate cook-offWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Air fryer vs oven in the ultimate cook-off
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Tower/NEFF)
(Image credit: Tower/NEFF)
Air fryer vs oven. It’s the biggest rivalry since Rocky fought Mr T, but wepity the foolwho thinks an oven is better just because it’s bigger and a more established technology. On the other hand, anyone who thinks an air fryer isn’t essentially a small fan oven that sits on your worktop will beintroduced to our friend PAIN. Apologies to anyone over 40 who has no idea what we’re on about there. Watch Rocky III and all will become clear.
If you haven’t already bought one of thebest air fryersyou might wonder what all the fuss is about. After all, fan ovens and convection ovens do exactly the same thing: they use a fan to move hot air around for faster, more consistent cooking. But while both kinds of appliance are based on the same idea, air fryers do things differently and produce markedly different results. In several respects, much better results. That’s as long as you can take heed of thesethings I wish I knew before I bought an air fryer… and avoid thesemistakes people make with air fryers, which is kind of the same thing with a different headline.
Now, here are six ways in which an air fryer beats an oven. And two where, well… not so much.
1. Air fryers are more compact than ovens
Unless specified otherwise, when we say air fryer we mean a device that’s made specifically to air fry. Many multifunction ovens include air frying too, and we’ll look at them in a moment, but for the time being let’s focus on dedicated air fryers only.
Air fryers’ smaller size is a good thing because it means they take a lot less time to heat up and their fan is much closer to the food you’re cooking, which speeds up cooking time considerably. It also means they don’t take huge amounts of countertop space compared to a countertop oven.
2. Air Fryers are all about the airflow
The best air fryers don’t just stick a fan in the back and hope for the best. They’re carefully designed to maximise the flow of hot air to ensure consistent and crisp cooking as quickly as possible. So while it is true to say that an air fryer is ‘a small fan oven’, it’s one that’s been optimised for ‘frying’ or, more realistically, roasting rapidly.
3. …So air fryers cook faster
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4. Air fryers usually use a basket, not a pan or tray
There’s no point in having brilliant airflow if something gets between it and the food you’re trying to cook. That’s why instead of sticking your food on a baking sheet, most air fryers provide some kind of mesh basket. That means the air reaches everywhere, and reduces the likelihood of getting a soggy bottom on what are supposed to be crisp fried foods.
5. Air fryers are more economical than fan ovens
As a result of points one to four, air fryers can cook any given food with lower energy usage than an oven. If you have a smart meter, try doing the same meal in an oven one day and an air fryer the next. You’ll be impressed at how much you save with the latter. And you’ll be even more impressed when energy prices soar over the coming years.
6. Air fryers are amazing for reheating takeaways
Air fryers are tremendous for reheating last night’s leftovers if they’re dry foods: chunky chips and French fries recover brilliantly, as do battered foods that have previously been cooked in a fryer such as Chinese chicken balls or chicken Pakora. Pizza reheats better in an air fryer than a microwave too. And whatever you’re cooking, the much shorter heating-up time means you get your food faster. You can even reheat rice, although you’ll need to put it in a heat-safe container and mix in a little oil so it isn’t too dry.
But it’s not all good news…
1. Air fryers can’t cook as many things as ovens
Wet-coated foods and air fryers don’t really mix. Fried foods such as tempura or battered fish cook very differently in an air fryer than they do in hot oil: when dunked in a deep fat fryer the batter quickly solidifies as it comes in contact with the oil, but in an air fryer, it tends to blow off – as does light, leafy foods such as spinach, which gets blown about so much you’re likely to end up with a mix of burnt and undercooked leaves.
If your air fryer isn’t a multi-function cooker* we wouldn’t recommend cooking cheese (it melts and falls out of the basket), roasts (unless your air fryer is giant) or red meat: while it’s certainly possible to make steaks or burgers in an air fryer, we’d rather use a well seasoned skillet.
2. Air fryers aren’t brilliant for big dinners
That smaller size is great… until it’s not. It means air fryers can’t make as much food as an oven – obviously. Some of the smaller air fryers are only big enough to make fries for two, and because there aren’t multiple shelves like in a traditional oven you can’t multitask. You can of course use your air fryer to cook one part of a meal while you cook something else in another appliance. What youcan’tdo is the Oven Tetris you can do with a conventional or countertop oven, placing different items on different shelves at different times to get everything ready at once.
* So you might prefer a multi-function cooker that can air fry too
If you want the best of both worlds, manymulti-function ovens and Instant Potscan air fry too. For example theTower 10-in-1 Air Fryer XPress Prohas a decent 11 litres of cooking space and can even do rotisserie cooking. Such models are bigger than dedicated air fryers and can take a little longer to heat up, but their multi-cooking capabilities make that a price worth paying.
That’s why we’ve included multi-function cookers in our guide to thebest air fryers; there are some compromises involved – my current fryer is a multi-function model and it isn’t quite as crisp or as quick as the dedicated air fryers I had before – but they can be good options for kitchens where you don’t have a lot of countertop space.
Today’s best deals on T3’s favourite air fryersPhilips Airfryer XXL$112.47ViewSee all pricesInstant Vortex Air Fryer$139.95ViewSee all pricesBreville the Combi Wave 3-in-1$499.95ViewSee all pricesNinja Air Fryer AF100UK$89.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best deals on T3’s favourite air fryersPhilips Airfryer XXL$112.47ViewSee all pricesInstant Vortex Air Fryer$139.95ViewSee all pricesBreville the Combi Wave 3-in-1$499.95ViewSee all pricesNinja Air Fryer AF100UK$89.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best deals on T3’s favourite air fryersPhilips Airfryer XXL$112.47ViewSee all pricesInstant Vortex Air Fryer$139.95ViewSee all pricesBreville the Combi Wave 3-in-1$499.95ViewSee all pricesNinja Air Fryer AF100UK$89.99ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best deals on T3’s favourite air fryers
Philips Airfryer XXL$112.47ViewSee all pricesInstant Vortex Air Fryer$139.95ViewSee all pricesBreville the Combi Wave 3-in-1$499.95ViewSee all pricesNinja Air Fryer AF100UK$89.99ViewSee all prices
Philips Airfryer XXL$112.47ViewSee all prices
Philips Airfryer XXL$112.47ViewSee all prices
Philips Airfryer XXL
Philips Airfryer XXL
$112.47View
$112.47
$112.47
See all prices
Instant Vortex Air Fryer$139.95ViewSee all prices
Instant Vortex Air Fryer$139.95ViewSee all prices
Instant Vortex Air Fryer
Instant Vortex Air Fryer
$139.95View
$139.95
$139.95
See all prices
Breville the Combi Wave 3-in-1$499.95ViewSee all prices
Breville the Combi Wave 3-in-1$499.95ViewSee all prices
Breville the Combi Wave 3-in-1
Breville the Combi Wave 3-in-1
$499.95View
$499.95
$499.95
See all prices
Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK$89.99ViewSee all prices
Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK$89.99ViewSee all prices
Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK
Ninja Air Fryer AF100UK
$89.99View
$89.99
$89.99
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Emolife Store Multipurpose Silicone Mat$13.99ViewSee all pricesInstant Vortex Mini Air Fryer$59.99$48ViewSee all pricesDeal endsMon, Jan 20, 2025Dash DCAF150GBBK02 Compact Air Fryer$44.99ViewSee all pricesDash Compact Air Fryer$49.99ViewSee all pricesCosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501$99.99$79.91ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025Gourmia 4-Quart Digital Air Fryer with$49ViewSee all pricesChefman Turbofry 3.5L Analog Air Fryer$62ViewSee all pricesGoWISE USA 3.7-Quart Programmable Air$62.53ViewSee all pricesDreo Air Fryer$89.99$67.45ViewSee all pricesGourmia 6 Quart Digital Air Fryer GAF698$68.99ViewSee all prices
Emolife Store Multipurpose Silicone Mat$13.99ViewSee all prices
Emolife Store Multipurpose Silicone Mat$13.99ViewSee all prices
Emolife Store Multipurpose Silicone Mat
Emolife Store Multipurpose Silicone Mat
$13.99View
$13.99
$13.99
See all prices
Instant Vortex Mini Air Fryer$59.99$48ViewSee all pricesDeal endsMon, Jan 20, 2025
Instant Vortex Mini Air Fryer$59.99$48ViewSee all prices
Instant Vortex Mini Air Fryer
Instant Vortex Mini Air Fryer
$59.99$48View
$59.99$48
$48
See all prices
Deal endsMon, Jan 20, 2025
Deal endsMon, Jan 20, 2025
Deal endsMon, Jan 20, 2025
Dash DCAF150GBBK02 Compact Air Fryer$44.99ViewSee all prices
Dash DCAF150GBBK02 Compact Air Fryer$44.99ViewSee all prices
Dash DCAF150GBBK02 Compact Air Fryer
Dash DCAF150GBBK02 Compact Air Fryer
$44.99View
$44.99
$44.99
See all prices
Dash Compact Air Fryer$49.99ViewSee all prices
Dash Compact Air Fryer$49.99ViewSee all prices
Dash Compact Air Fryer
Dash Compact Air Fryer
$49.99View
$49.99
$49.99
See all prices
Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501$99.99$79.91ViewSee all pricesDeal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501$99.99$79.91ViewSee all prices
Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501
Cosori Pro LE Air Fryer L501
$99.99$79.91View
$99.99$79.91
$79.91
See all prices
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Deal endsSun, Jan 26, 2025
Gourmia 4-Quart Digital Air Fryer with$49ViewSee all prices
Gourmia 4-Quart Digital Air Fryer with$49ViewSee all prices
Gourmia 4-Quart Digital Air Fryer with
Gourmia 4-Quart Digital Air Fryer with
$49View
$49
$49
See all prices
Chefman Turbofry 3.5L Analog Air Fryer$62ViewSee all prices
Chefman Turbofry 3.5L Analog Air Fryer$62ViewSee all prices
Chefman Turbofry 3.5L Analog Air Fryer
Chefman Turbofry 3.5L Analog Air Fryer
$62View
$62
$62
See all prices
GoWISE USA 3.7-Quart Programmable Air$62.53ViewSee all prices
GoWISE USA 3.7-Quart Programmable Air$62.53ViewSee all prices
GoWISE USA 3.7-Quart Programmable Air
GoWISE USA 3.7-Quart Programmable Air
$62.53View
$62.53
$62.53
See all prices
Dreo Air Fryer$89.99$67.45ViewSee all prices
Dreo Air Fryer$89.99$67.45ViewSee all prices
Dreo Air Fryer
Dreo Air Fryer
$89.99$67.45View
$89.99$67.45
$67.45
See all prices
Gourmia 6 Quart Digital Air Fryer GAF698$68.99ViewSee all prices
Gourmia 6 Quart Digital Air Fryer GAF698$68.99ViewSee all prices
Gourmia 6 Quart Digital Air Fryer GAF698
Gourmia 6 Quart Digital Air Fryer GAF698
$68.99View
$68.99
$68.99
See all prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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