Can I manage without an oven?

[BexyGr]

Hi, I’m separating from my husband and moving into a smaller property, an old Victorian terrace which needs a complete overhaul. I’m moving the kitchen from the basement up to the ground floor, it’s lovely but not a massive space. I’m wondering if I can manage without an oven and get an airfyrer and a combi oven-microwave instead. I do use a microwave so I definitely want one of those, and I do like to cook, but won’t be doing big meals anymore (just me and dd but she’ll also be at uni). I bake sometimes, but I can maybe use the combi for this? Has anyone given up their traditional oven and done this? Or is it just not worth it and I should just find the space? Thanks x

We have an oven but go months without using it. We would only really use it for a roast, and now a joint of meat or whole chicken is so expensive, we might have 3 a year.

Why do you find them annoying @BertieBotts ?

Easy- get an Air fryer! We hardly ever use the oven now and when we do it’s because everyone is having different meals.

I have drawers under my hob. Much more useful in that space if the OP won't need a full oven.

@BertieBotts that's why I decided against a combi microwave. Didn't sound like they really do anything particularly well, and I wanted to make sure each function was top notch.

I haven’t had an oven for thirty years ( well, did have one already installed in a flat, but never turned it on). I have had a Panasonic combi ever since they came out, this one is my third in UK, yes, they do last. We use it for roasts (combi chicken is the best!) as a convection oven for bread and cakes, microwave for re heating. As long as you have a hob, you can cook pretty much anything, I have done dinner parties for eight with a four burner hob and Gaston the M/c.

If you have a combi you will not need an air fryer, the Mc does the same thing more quickly. The other thing you will need is a toaster, more efficient for, well, toast. Oh, and a kettle for tea….

At one stage we had two m/ c as we were in the process of moving, but we really didn’t need both.

I don't have an oven or a microwave. I have an air fryer and a small tabletop oven which is used for pizzas, cakes, tray bakes but everything else is airfryed.

But get a free standing one, it can go under the worktop ( with proper spacing) or on top of a freestanding low fridge freezer. They are much more efficient (and cheaper) than the integrated ones. I actually have my current one at worktop height in an oven housing, we put pullout wire drawers in the rest of the space for storage.

I had integrated appliances in my last house and didn't buy a cooker when I moved. I have a two ring plug in hob, an air fryer, a slow cooker and a microwave. The only thing I can't really do is make cakes or lasagne, but I didn't do that anyway! I am looking to upgrade my airfryer to a two drawer model, but generally it works really well. My mum has a microwave oven combination but doesn't use the oven part since buying the airfryer.

A relative moved into a new build about three years ago. She has never used the oven , nor does she have an air fryer , has never had a takeaway, just a microwave. So it can be done.

I haven’t had an oven for years - two broke just after warranty. I have an air fryer (Instant Pot Duo Crisp) and combi microwave. Can’t be bothered to replace oven til we do refurb. I feed 2 adults and 2 late teens
Roast dinner works fine
I make lovely roasts by half pressure cooking and half air fry - turkey crown, large roast chicken, beef rib
Roast potatoes in air fryer when joint resting, then Yorkies go in combi
I can do tray bakes, muffins and cupcakes, lasagnas, roast veg etc in the combi but it’s not ideal - have to cover with foil to start with or they’d be overcooked on top. Pies, pasties, crumbles work well but I pre part cook the filling.
The Instant Pot roasts amazingly but bakes less well, I haven’t worked on this because surface area in my model is small.
I’ve done Christmas Dinner for 9 with this set up plus hob and grill and top of wood burner for keeping things hot. It’s a bit of a juggling act

Incredibly difficult to clean due to the grill element thing.

Just completely useless at cooking anything as a grill/oven - the most miserable sad experience ever trying to eat nuggets and chips cooked on the "crusty cook" mode.

Because of the combination of microwaving producing a lot of steam (which can easily be wiped out with a standard microwave) and the grill being in the way of cleaning it easily, our combi one went rusty and started sparking off the inside of the door so I replaced it with the most basic, cheap, old fashioned one I can find and it's so much better. The only thing I do wish is that I'd got one with buttons instead of dials because I miss the 30 second button and the second beep 1 minute after the old one finished.

I have been in my new home for a 16 months without an oven, after a split. The vendor left an aging oven but failed to mention it didn't actually work 🙄 and I am saving for renovations.

For a few months (5 or so) the combi microwave and airfryer were fine but it was limited... I actually hate the combi microwave. After a lot of research I bought this tefal multifunction airfryer and it's been great.. It has airfryer, bake, roast, pizza, grill settings (+others I don't remember). It's been perfect for a more medium term substitute but the big compromise is capacity if you are considering this as a long term option.

If you are concerned about resale value etc then not having an oven is going to be a problem, It would be worth considering having gas /electric services/supply set up now in case you want to change in the future

Good luck and congratulations on the new home

I Remodelled my kitchen recently (it’s a good size) and deliberately did not install a built in oven. Instead I have a cupboard with a pull out shelf in which sits my portable ninja combie oven/air fryer. It’s brilliant and my partner loves it (he cooks a lot from scratch) And it only cost about £250. They look small but you can fit a lot in them. The only thing you can’t fit in is an entire pan like they do on masterchef (which we never do anyway).

I have both a combi microwave/oven and a full
size oven.

The large oven gets used at Christmas sometimes, otherwise it’s just storage for roasting tins etc.

The combi works perfectly well, and takes much less time and energy than a full size oven. It’s worth investing in a good brand, but should cover all
your needs. I’d rather lose my large oven than the combi, and it suits the needs of 2 of us 99% of the time.
Plus if it’s built in you will save a lot of counter space.

I have a combination microwave and use it all the time. Hardly ever use my big oven now.

A decent air fryer, microwave and perhaps an electric slow cooker (use mine loads) is really all you need. That’s what I’ve got and hardly ever switch oven on these days.

Really interesting thread! I haven’t had an oven for three years as house needs renovation. Use the air frier or microwave most days and love them /must more flexible than a tread oven. Now in the process of doing that /don’t have a lot of space and honest on don’t want an oven /never gonna bake a cake!
Would like to put an air fryer in the oven space but seems from pp that’s not possible, but like the ode of the pill out shelf in that space to use air fryer…
Talking to kitchen designers (nowt posh Wicks/Howdens etc / are they au fair with this type of arrangement?

We gave our Bertazzoni range (which I bloody hated!) to the buyers of our last house and the oven left in the cottage we purchased last September didn't work (probate sale so guess the executors weren't aware).

Since then we've managed with the hob (which did work!), two airfryers and a microwave. We'd never had an airfryer prior to this and only bought two to see us through Christmas. It's been a revelation as I wasn't aware I could make airfryer roast potatoes that were as good as those cooked in an oven.

The cottage is a project and back in Feb we removed out the 1960s kitchen along with the cooker, so we've been boiling stuff on a two ring bottled gas camping stove.

I can't imagine not having any kind of hob and actually - as great as the airfryers are - I'm so done with not having a proper oven! Imo, there are some things that airfryers or microwaves or a combination of the two cannot get right - baked potatoes for example!

Therefore I can't wait till our new range cooker is installed in the Autumn, although we will still keep one of the airfryers (the Phillips two drawer) and imagine it will be used a few times per week.

We have a Ninja 15 in 1, mini oven essentially, I think you could get away with it but you need a hob

Have you seen mini Everhot ovens, if you have a fireplace you could get one of those for baking

https://everhot.co.uk/products/everhot-stoves/electric-stove/

I got rid of my cooker when I got the air fryer as it wasn't getting used. I have a little work top size oven/hob combination..... works fantastic

Frozen baked potatoes -a few minutes in the microwave-more nutritious and fluffier than doing in the oven from raw.

You don't want an air fryer inside a contained space as they do kick out a lot of heat and need a certain amount of clearance or they will melt their own vents. Obviously built in appliances are designed to dissipate the heat safely.

The idea of having a build in air fryer in the oven space is making me though - an air fryer is basically just a small convection oven. Most of the benefits of it over the oven are because it's so much smaller meaning it heats up faster and more evenly. If you had an air fryer in an oven space, built in, it would just be... a normal oven!

We have the Sage smart oven / airfryer. We have it about 3 years & rarely use our big oven any more (only for big meals eg Christmas Day). It is brilliant. We have a separate microwave too.

We have the Sage Combi Wave 3in1 (oven / airfryer / microwave) in our holiday home & it’s good in terms of space saving but is just ok in terms of how it cooks. In fact we have bought a cheap small airfryer as chips etc were particularly disappointing.

Of the two, I would choose the smart oven over the 3in1.

This

https://fromourplace.co.uk/products/wonder-oven?variant=44168898576561&fbclid=IwQ0xDSwLa95RleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHiI2mjmTqfLfdxmDy3cnGb9YqZDECYpfuaS3zkiKYngpKbb2FqL99r3PHPIl_aem_uVpd-JNmQL8n4rU5xrTN3g