When to Use the Convection Setting On Your Oven (and When Not To)

Ever baked cookies that browned unevenly? Or roasted a chicken that was golden on one side but pale on the other? That’s where the convection setting on your oven can change the game.

Convection ovens use a built-in fan to circulate hot air, helping food cook faster, crispier, and more evenly. But knowing when to turn that fan on—and when to leave it off—makes all the difference.

What Is a Convection Oven?

Convection ovens are the original air fryers. If you own an air fryer, you know that it’s a heat source with a fan, blowing hot air at the food. Convection ovens have a similar principle, where a fan at the back of the oven circulates the heat, albeit at a less powerful speed than an air fryer. The result is fewer hot spots, faster cook times, and crisp textures.

European Vs. True Convection

But hold up! There are actually more types of convection out there than just “convection.” If you are shopping around for a new oven, you might see phrases like “convection” or “European convection” or “true convection” as a feature. These aren’t just marketing terms. They mean something.

Typically, if the oven is labeled as just a “convection” oven, it is an American-style or traditional-style convection. The heat is radiating from the bottom (and sometimes the top) of the oven with a fan in the back blowing air.

With “European convection” or “True convection,” a third heating element behind the fan in the back of the oven is added into the mix. This ensures more consistent heating throughout the oven than in an American-style convection oven. Ovens also preheat faster. Of course, this third heating element usually also means more money, which is why you usually only find European/True convection in higher-end models.

Convection Baking Vs. Convection Roasting

Finally, some ovens have the option for “convection baking” and “convection roasting” on their control panel. There’s no industry standard for what these buttons mean. But convection baking usually means the bottom heating element is primarily used to heat up the oven and the fan is slower.

Convection baking, as the name implies, is a more suitable option for baked goods like cookies, cakes and brownies. If you bake batches of cookies without convection but are tired of rotating your pans halfway through because the cookies aren’t baking evenly, try using the convection baking option.

Convection roasting is a great option for roasting vegetables or proteins like whole chicken or beef roasts. It uses both the top and the bottom heating element, and frequently a faster fan to help circulate the heat. This ensures the food will caramelize beautifully, giving you that Instagram-worthy roast chicken or golden-brown potato wedges.

How to Use Convection Settings

When you use convection settings, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

• Reduce the oven temperature by 25°F when you use the convection setting. This is the general recommendation because convection is more efficient at cooking food. Just know that some oven models do this automatically for convection, so check your oven manual or use an oven thermometer.
• Check your food earlier than the recommended cook time. Convection cooks up to 25 percent faster, even if you reduce the temperature.
• Convection works best if you use a pan with lower rims. Baking sheets and cast-iron skillets are great because they have low rims, and the hot air can easily flow around the food. Elevating the food on a wire rack (like a roast chicken or a prime rib) is even better, as the hot air can potentially flow under the protein as well as browning all sides at once. 

Disadvantages of Convection Ovens

Convection ovens sound great, but they do have their drawbacks. 

• Adjustments to recipes: The vast majority of recipes are not designed for convection ovens. And because convection works faster, food might cook on the outside faster than the inside, which is why you need to adjust the temperature and cooking time. 
• Drier baked goods: Food also dries out faster in a convection oven, which is often not ideal for baked goods. With all these adjustments, the first time you make the dish with convection might require more active time and constant checking of the food.
• Noise: Convection ovens do require a fan, which can make noise, though more modern and higher end ovens have insulated doors that muffle the sounds.
• Cost: Most convections ovens tend to cost more than traditional ovens.

When to Use Convection

Convection cooking excels in browning food and cooking quickly. It's great for food that does well in a drier environment, as the hot air evaporates moisture faster. Use the convection mode for:

• Roasting vegetables or meats. Because convection evaporates moisture, dishes like roast chicken, turkey, or roasted potatoes come out golden and crispy. Large hunks of meat like prime rib also benefit from convection.
• Sheet pan meals: The low-profile sheet pan allows the hot air to flow over it, cooking food like sheet pan sausage with roasted pepper and onions faster. However, be wary of fast-cooking proteins like fish or lean meats like pork, as convection can dry them out quickly.
• Multiple pans of cookies: The circulated air and heat in the oven makes baking multiple pans easier, as you don’t need to rotate the pans. That said, your cookies might be more crisp and dry. This might be great for crispy biscotti cookies, but less ideal for chewy chocolate chip cookies.
• Toasting nuts and drying out bread: The hot air will help dry and crisp nuts and bread slices to make breadcrumbs or stuffing cubes.
• Reheating food: Much like an air fryer, reheating fried chicken, French fries, or onion rings is fantastic in convection. Even leftover pizza is a great reheated in convection.
• Casseroles with lids: Using convection will cook the food faster and the lid will prevent the moisture from escaping, getting your meal from oven to table faster.

When Not to Use Convection

Though convection sounds awesome, it dries out food because the hot air evaporates the moisture in the food. I try to avoid using convection for things like:

• Most baked goods. I find that baked goods like chewy cookies, brownies, and cakes tend to dry out quickly. But I also tend to bake on one rack with one sheet pan at a time. If I were baking double batches of items, on multiple racks, maybe I’d use the convection baking option more.
• Delicate dishes: Anything that needs gentle heat, like a soufflé or batch of macarons shouldn’t be used in a convection as the air might ruin the persnickety dish.
• Lean and quick cook proteins: I avoid fish, pork, and other quick-cook or lean proteins in the convection oven. The blowing air will dry them out too quickly.
• Moisture-dependent dishes: Anything that might dry out, from casseroles (without a lid) to custards like cheesecake and flan, shouldn’t be cooked with convection. 
• New recipes: Finally, because most recipes are developed and designed for regular oven temperatures, when I’m trying out a new recipe, I usually try to make it as intended. Once I’m familiar with the recipe, if it’s one that I think is suitable for convection I’ll try it out.

Though it can sound daunting at first, I highly recommend trying out the convection option. A great place to start is to peruse our sheet pan meals or roast chicken recipes. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new favorite meal that can be cooked faster and tastier, all with a simple push of the button.