An air fryer is a small convection oven with an aggressive fan. That single fact explains almost everything about how to cook in one: heat moves faster, food browns sooner, and oven timings will overcook your dinner if you use them unchanged.
These are typical starting points. Wattage, basket size and how full the basket is all shift the result, so treat the chart as a first attempt and note what your machine actually does.
Typical settings by food
- Chicken breast: 190°C / 375°F, 16–20 min, flip halfway — cook to 74°C / 165°F internal.
- Chicken wings: 200°C / 400°F, 20–24 min, shake twice for even crisping.
- Salmon fillet: 190°C / 375°F, 8–11 min, skin down, no flip.
- Homemade chips: 190°C / 375°F, 18–24 min, shake every 8 minutes.
- Frozen chips or nuggets: 200°C / 400°F, 12–16 min, shake once.
- Roasted vegetables: 190°C / 375°F, 12–18 min depending on density.
- Halloumi or tofu: 200°C / 400°F, 10–14 min, turn once.
- Reheating pizza: 160°C / 320°F, 3–4 min, better than any microwave.
Converting an oven recipe
- 1Drop the temperature by about 20°C / 25°F.
- 2Cut the time by roughly 20 per cent.
- 3Check at 70 per cent of the original time — air fryers finish sooner than you expect.
- 4Cook in a single layer. Overlapping food steams instead of crisping, whatever the recipe says.
- 5Use a thermometer for meat rather than trusting the clock.
Why shaking matters more than preheating
Most baskets have a hot zone near the element. Shaking or flipping halfway is what turns "crisp on one side" into evenly cooked food, and it matters more than whether you preheated.
Preheating still helps for anything you want to sear — steak, halloumi, chicken thighs with skin. For chips and frozen food the difference is small.
Using the timings in AirFryer Chef
- 1
Open the recipe
Temperature in °C and °F, total time and preheat guidance are on the recipe itself.
- 2
Follow the shake prompts
Steps tell you when to shake or flip rather than leaving it to your memory.
- 3
Run the built-in timer
The timer lives inside the step, so you are not juggling a separate clock.
- 4
Scale the servings
Change the serving count and ingredient amounts recalculate automatically.
Free to download on iPhone & iPad
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to preheat an air fryer?
For most foods, two to three minutes helps, and for anything you want to sear it matters. Frozen foods and chips are fine without it.
Why is my air fryer food not crispy?
Almost always an overfull basket. Food needs space for air to circulate — cook in two batches rather than one crowded layer.