Appliances
Move a recipe between the oven, the slow cooker, the pressure cooker and the air fryer without guessing.
4 calculators in this section
- Slow Cooker Time ConverterTurn an oven or hob cooking time into slow cooker hours on low or high.
- Slow Cooker Low to High ConverterSwap between the low and high settings without ruining dinner.
- Pressure Cooker Time CalculatorHigh-pressure times for common foods, with release method and liquid needed.
- Air Fryer Cooking Time CalculatorAir fryer temperatures and times for chips, chicken, sausages, fish and more.
At a glance
A slow cooker turns an hour in the oven into six to eight hours on low, and needs about a third less liquid because nothing evaporates. A pressure cooker cuts a long braise to under half an hour, but the time depends on the food rather than on a single formula. An air fryer is a small fan oven: roughly 20°C lower and a fifth less time than a conventional oven.
Safety when converting
Never put frozen meat into a slow cooker. It spends too long at a temperature bacteria like before it gets hot. Dried red kidney beans must be soaked and boiled hard for ten minutes first. And whatever the appliance, chicken, pork, sausages and mince still need to be cooked all the way through, the middle reaching 70°C for two minutes, or an equivalent combination such as 75°C for 30 seconds.
Questions and answers
Common questions about appliance conversions
Why can't I just use the same time and temperature across different appliances?
Each appliance cooks differently, an air fryer circulates hot air fast, a slow cooker holds a gentle sealed heat for hours, and a pressure cooker cooks under pressure at a higher effective temperature. A converted time and temperature accounts for that; the original oven figures do not transfer directly.
Do I need to preheat every appliance the way I would an oven?
Not always. Air fryers benefit from a short preheat for crisp results, slow cookers are generally started cold, and pressure cookers need time to build pressure before the cooking time itself begins.
Should I reduce the temperature when converting a recipe between appliances?
Often, yes, particularly for an air fryer, which usually needs a lower temperature than the equivalent oven recipe. Use the specific converter for the appliance you're moving to rather than guessing.
Does crowding the appliance actually make a difference to cooking?
Yes, in appliances that rely on air or steam circulating around the food, an overcrowded air fryer basket or an over-full slow cooker cooks less evenly than one filled to a sensible level.
Is a converted appliance time exact, or does it still need checking?
Converted times are a guide only. Appliance models vary in power and size, so always check food is properly cooked through before serving, whichever appliance you use.
Which converter should I use for my appliance?
Use the Air Fryer Converter for oven-to-air-fryer conversions, the Slow Cooker Converter for oven-to-slow-cooker, the Slow Cooker Low/High tool to switch between its two settings, and the Pressure Cooker Converter for pressure cooking times.
Air Fryer ConverterSlow Cooker ConverterPressure Cooker Converter
Can I put frozen food straight into any of these appliances?
It depends on the appliance and the food, some oven-frozen foods work in an air fryer from frozen, but raw meat and poultry should be fully defrosted in the fridge before it goes into a slow cooker or pressure cooker.