Proteins
Chicken (raw)
400°F for wings and thighs, 380°F for breasts. Bone-in pieces want the higher end; boneless breasts dry out above 380°F if they're more than an inch thick. Finish on a meat thermometer, not a timer — 165°F at the thickest point.
Beef and pork
Steaks and thick chops: 400°F, short time, flip once. The goal is a crust before the inside goes past your target doneness. Ground beef patties at 375°F cook through without drying. Pork tenderloin wants 380°F; bacon is happy at 380°F on a rack.
Fish
375–380°F, and watch it. Fish goes from perfectly flaking to dry in 90 seconds. Thinner fillets can even drop to 370°F if you want a gentler cook. Salmon is a good benchmark — check at 7–8 minutes for a 1-inch fillet.
Starchy sides and frozen foods
Fries (fresh-cut)
A two-stage cook is best: 360°F to cook through, then 400°F for 3–5 minutes to crisp. A single-stage 400°F works if you're OK with slightly softer interiors. Shake the basket twice.
Frozen pre-cooked foods (fries, nuggets, tots)
400°F straight from the freezer. These are already parfried; the air fryer's job is to crisp and reheat the interior, which happens in 10–16 minutes depending on thickness. No oil needed if the package already has fat in the coating.
Baked potatoes
380°F for 35–45 minutes. Poke with a fork. The skin gets dramatically crisper than an oven-baked potato because of the faster airflow — a genuine air-fryer win.
Vegetables
Almost everything wants 380°F. Hardier vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, carrots) can go to 390°F if you want more char. Leafier or more delicate vegetables (asparagus, snap peas, zucchini) are better at 370°F with a shorter time. Tossing with a teaspoon of oil helps heat reach the surface and prevents dried edges.
Baked goods
This is where air fryers punish you for shortcuts. Baked goods were designed for the still, even heat of a regular oven; the fan in an air fryer sets the top too fast.
- Cookies: drop to 325°F and expect the tops to brown before the middles are set. Pull early.
- Muffins: 320°F, in paper liners, on the middle rack if your model has one.
- Reheating bread: 325°F for 2 minutes works; any longer and the crust goes from crisp to tough.
- Pie / pastry: use a regular oven if you have one. The air fryer's fan will lift edges and uneven-bake the filling.
Reheating
350°F for most savoury reheats, 325°F for anything with a delicate crust (pastries, leftover fried chicken). Reheating is where air fryers outperform microwaves dramatically, because they actually re-crisp — a microwave re-softens. A minute or two shorter than the original cook is almost always right.