Air fryer to replace oven

[whatswrongwivme]

I am thinking of removing my oven and replacing it with an air fryer. I also have a hob and microwave.

I have not used an air fryer yet.

Is there anything that MUST be cooked in an oven?

How large is your air fryer? What will you put into the space you remove the oven from?

I don't think there is anything that MUST be cooked in the oven, but its a matter of space. You can cook a whole, roast chicken, roast potatoes and sides in an airfryer, but it would take ages and the first things would be cold before you've cooked the rest.

Edited to say- use the airfryer several times before removing your oven!

How many people are you cooking for - both regularly & occasionally?

I've had my AF >8 years, use it every day, but I still need my oven.
Recently, I've made lasagne that won't fit in, & simple roast chicken & spuds ditto

We use our air fryer most days but i still like the oven for roasts, cakes and big family events like Christmas. If you arent much of a cook or entertainer and don't have a big family you may manage.

Our aga broke and we had a ridiculous quote to mend it.Knowing we were putting the house on the market in a few months, I only had a hob and an air fryer for 11 months - family of 4, cook from scratch etc and managed just fine.

My oven has an air fryer option - idk how good it is though as I've not used it but might be worth checking it out so you have every option still?

You'd need a massive air fryer to cook pizza.

My oven is just for pizza (that's every weekend), baking and the odd Sunday roast now.

I make a lot of recipes from The Roasting Tin recipe books. The ingredients need to be cooked in a single layer in a large roasting tin. I also bake, make pizza and cook for lots of people. I would never be without an oven and it would put me off buying a house if it had no oven.

I think pizza is about the only thing I cook in my oven. And occasionally cakes or something that is too big for the air fryer. Although for pizza you can cut it down a bit smaller and cook it. Not quite as great a way as oven though.

You can get a combi microwave/convection oven/airfryer. I managed the turkey in it at Christmas.

I just had a new kitchen built and didn’t install a built in oven. Instead I have a ninja 12 in 1 combi - air fryer, oven, slow cooker etc. and it cooks pizza just fine! Bloody game changer - love it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ninja-Multi-Cooker-Functions-Family-Size-SFP700UK/dp/B0CYLS4SHB/ref=sr_1_3?crid=306YN2GV55XUN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HGRyCMAWdswsIBOtihETuwNUpIIo14q9vOmDAnaKfsfo86JQXKGfx_x-Ovtw_GTZEB6hnToZVWJru1GisQ8kI9Og5NBYY7A9sADUBeeOfItbCwCzaKuY7qwgsRGTipzoa0NlhEbBrqSuQERKf90vULlsb_IMOgQkY8pLfS5QY3QA9yXbO8VJH3OlPk-e_fyhTUh5LS4ClU2v3fm0pG2bs-2ybsBVzW7X2Q_AO-DAlxk.kixeIrwSPQBoDh6ICg5-xZxuGIDUk8BlG9qNZGAhL00&dib_tag=se&keywords=ninja%2B12%2Bin%2B1%2Bcombi%2Bmulticooker&qid=1742760415&sprefix=Ninja%2B12%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.16386313-b7bf-4b29-bfa1-0d3d5f3a0dd5&th=1

Thanks everyone for all the replies. I followed the link to the Speedi and watched an hour of videos about it!

I realise now how stupid I was not to have explained what I want to use it for. I am rather dim in this respect, somehow thinking everyone knows my situation.

I mostly only cook for myself and I follow a grain free diet.

I think ifyou're cooking for one, and don't do a lot of baking etc, then yes, you don't need an oven and a decent sized air fryer would be fine (go for a large one, preferably with two drawers).

I personally would never completely abandon an oven though. I like to entertain so need the space (even if I didn't have the full family to cook for currently) and while I dont' do a lot of baking, I do enough that I need an oven. Plus we do like pizza night! :)

I live alone, and I thought an air fryer would transform my life. It hasn't. It has its uses, but no way would I get rid of my oven.

What foods do you use the oven for, that could not be done in an air fryer?

I've done it! I just bought one with two drawers!

What would you put in the oven space ?

That's completely bonkers, surely you'd just buy an oven?? It's not like saying you wouldn't buy a house without a garden which is understandable, but a house without an oven would put you off is just mad.

Don't get rid of the oven! Air fryer is no substitute just complimentary

That's what my thread is about. What cannot be cooked in an air fryer? I have watched some videos today and turns out that an air fryer can cook baked potatoes and a whole roast chicken, which are the only things I use mine for.

I am going to sell my oven and all the pans that go with it and use the space for a cupboard for the air fryer and all its accessories.

I thought about this. I decided that, IF I am ever forced to sell this house (I say that because I intend to stay in it for the rest of my life) then I will tell the agent to explain to any potential buyer that the 600 wide base cabinet can just be removed and replaced with an oven housing unit, as the electrics are installed to power an oven. They can knock £500 off the price if to cover it. The house is worth about £750k.

If you've got a two drawer one, you'll only fit a tiny chicken in it.

But if you genuinely don't cook anything other than chicken and jacket potatoes and never for more than one, then you could try dispensing with your oven, but I'd give it at least six months before you make that decision.

I do traybakes, casseroles etc in the oven, as well as baking. And sometimes I use my oven simply because I can't be bothered with the faff of having to monitor and turn things in the air fryer, when I can just ignore them when they're in the oven.
There seems to be a conspiracy to hide the fact that air fryers only cook one side at a time. Trying to turn things over regularly in a very tight and deep space is a pain in the neck, and I usually end up with things falling apart when I try to do so.

If the kitchen was designed without an oven wouldn't it be too expensive to just put an oven in without redesigning the kitchen?

What cannot be cooked in an air fryer?

Loads of things

Traybakes
Cakes
Pies
Curries
Casseroles (althugh I would use my slow cooker for these)
Mince and dumplings
Lasagne
Roasted vegetables
Batch cooking for several meals
Keeping food warm
Bread
Pizza
Biscuits.

I clearly do a lot more cooking for more people than you do @whatswrongwivme

I don’t know why you’d limit yourself to one or the other.
I don’t find I use an air fryer half as much as I thought I would.

I have a Speedi; the oven hasn't been used since I bought it (summer 2024). I usually cook for two, but I imagine catering for family gatherings, etc would be difficult without an oven.

I appreciate you said you never intend to sell, but IME life has a habit of changing plans. We're about to revamp the kitchen, and the double oven will be replaced by a single oven with a combi microwave above it. I view it as future-proofing - in much the same way as we haven't got rid of the bath, although we only ever shower. At some point we'll probably sell this house, and not every purchaser can afford, or has the inclination, to start installing an oven or a bath, and we wouldn't want to limit our market.

Are you so pushed for space that it would make a big difference? Why limit yourself,sounds daft to me.