If you’re on the market for a healthier way to cook fried foods, air fryers and convection ovens are the top options that offer all the benefits you will need.
Both appliances make use of similar technologies to ensure food is not only cooked faster but also that it tastes better. The right choice would depend on your needs and the features you’re looking but if you’re looking for help to make that decision, Reddit is a great place to start.
Air Fryer vs. Convection Oven – Reddit Users’ Opinions
On Reddit, you will not only get accurate information from other individuals like yourself but also people that own one or both appliances and use them to cook fried foods.
This article gives you a review of both cooking systems as well as the most helpful comments from Reddit users that will help you make a better buying decision.
Air Fryer
An Air Fryer is more like a portable version of a convection oven. It also comes with a high-powered fan that circulates hot air and allows the food to cook quickly and evenly. The smaller the air fryer, the larger the fan as this allows them to cook foods more quickly. In air fryers, the heating elements and fans are situated at the top of the unit allowing for rapid cooking.
Pros
- Food is cooked fast and evenly
- Requires little oil to cook food
- Frozen food is cooked more quickly
Cons
- Small capacity
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Convection Oven
A convection oven is more like a high-powered countertop oven that makes use of a strong fan to circulate air. This goes on constantly which results in the food being more evenly cooked than a traditional oven that only heats from the bottom or top. You won’t have to buy a specific convection oven if you own a modern full-sized oven. It should come with a convection setting that has the same functionality as a convection oven.
Pros
- Features a wide array of different cooking functions
- Easy to clean
- More affordable
- Large capacity will takin in more food
Cons
- Take a lot of counter space
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Air Fryer vs. Convection Oven – What Reddit Users Think
Reddit Comment #1
They are, in theory, the same. BUT, in their quality and speed of cooking, they are very different.
I own a Samsung convection oven/range that we’ve had for 5-6 years now and have put a lot of different food items through it. What I’ve noticed is that it cooks much more evenly than our 25 year old oven. Also, you have to adjust the cook temp/time just a bit due to the convection fan. The Samsung can’t get really crispy wings no matter how hard I tried. Even using the ‘baking soda’ trick which takes a lot longer and we don’t like the texture or taste of the soda on the wings.
Last year my wife purchased a Cosori air fryer for our RV. After cooking one batch of chicken wings, I loved it. The speed of cooking and the way it cooked the wings so crispy was leaps and bounds better than with our convection oven.
So… in summary, yes, air fryers and convection ovens share a lineage but that’s about as far as you can take the comparison. We still use our big oven for things too large for the Cosori, like cakes and the turkey during Thanksgiving, but that’s about it. – TheSurferGeek
Reddit Comment #2
I have both a convection toaster oven and an air fryer. The are very different animals.
Convection ovens will circulate the air to ensure that the air temps are even throughout the oven which results in a nice even cook, and while it may be faster and more efficient, it’s still effectively cooks like a regular oven.
Air Fryers use forced air – the air circulation is orders of magnitude difference.
Think of convection as sitting in a room with a space heater and a ceiling fan. Whereas air fryers are more like sitting in front of a hundred hair dryers on high. One gently circulates hot air throughout the space for even heating while the other forces hot air against what’s being heated.
Hot air being forced directly against the surface of the food has an effect similar to dipping it in hot oil, thus Air Fryer. – fastlerner
Reddit Comment #3
I have both. My experience is that:
Air fryers are smaller (better/cheaper for smaller portions) and faster (less heating up time, if any, cook things quickly) but less versatile (they need air circulation so they’re not good for baking, large items, casseroles etc.).
I live alone so, on a day to day basis, I use the air fryer more than the convection oven because it’s better at cooking for one. That said, if I had to choose one or the other, I’d pick the convection oven simply because it’s more versatile. I definitely wouldn’t give up the microwave for one. Too handy for reheating. Air fryer would suck for heating up something like soup or doing microwave meals. – PurpleWomat
Reddit Comment #4
An air fryer is to a convection oven what a microwave is to a stove.
They do the same job for the most part. But your getting convenience. Primarily in speed to heat up, practically instant.
There’s also efficiency in price, a 200$ air fryer will get you the equivalent of a $1500 convection for heat control and air flow. But it won’t be nearly as big and won’t have all the other features – Nerdtron93
Reddit Comment #5
I purchased an air fryer when my oven started to lag on heating up. It easily takes 30-40 mins to heat up to moderate temp and wastes electricity doing so. I bought an air fryer to use instead.
Can’t comment on the larger air fryer options but surely it would be cheaper to run that an old, slightly broken oven? – boo_32
Image Credit: Corrie Cooks
