Temperatures and technique
400°F vs 375°F in an Air Fryer: Which Foods Use Which
Published by the RecipeAirFryer editorial team · How we source times · Updated
Of 304 air fryer recipes, 89 cook at 400°F / 200°C and 95 at 375°F / 190°C, so the two settings are used almost equally. The hotter setting is not faster in practice: its median cook is 12 minutes against 11 at 375°F, because it is chosen for foods that need longer to crisp.
Key findings
- Chicken: 20 recipes at 400°F and 12 at 375°F.
- Potatoes: 17 recipes at 400°F and 3 at 375°F.
- Fish and seafood: 17 recipes at 400°F and 14 at 375°F.
- 84 of the 89 recipes at 400°F need a flip or shake, against 79 of 95 at 375°F.
- Chicken20
- Potatoes17
- Fish and seafood17
- Beef and steak7
- Green vegetables5
- Pork and sausages4
Which foods go where
| Food | At 400°F / 200°C | At 375°F / 190°C |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 20 | 12 |
| Potatoes | 17 | 3 |
| Fish and seafood | 17 | 14 |
| Pork and sausages | 4 | 12 |
| Beef and steak | 7 | 11 |
| Green vegetables | 5 | 8 |
The two settings side by side
| 400°F / 200°C | 375°F / 190°C | |
|---|---|---|
| Recipes | 89 | 95 |
| Median cook time | 12 min | 11 min |
| Median prep time | 12 min | 10 min |
| List an internal temperature | 45 | 43 |
Choose 400°F when the surface is the point: skin you want crisp, a crust you want brown, potatoes you want crunchy. Fat under the skin of a chicken thigh needs that heat to render.
Choose 375°F when the middle is the point: a thick chicken breast, a piece of fish, a sausage. The lower heat gives the centre time to cook before the outside dries. If a recipe gives 400°F and your food is thicker than usual, dropping to 375°F and adding a few minutes is the safer change.
How these figures were worked out
The figures are counted from the 304 recipes published on RecipeAirFryer.com on 2026-10-08. Each recipe has one temperature, a time range, a prep time, an ingredient list and a serving count, and those fields are what is counted here.
The times and temperatures are the starting points given on each recipe page for a standard basket air fryer. They are not laboratory measurements, and air fryers differ between models, so treat the counts as a description of this recipe set, not of every air fryer.
Foods are grouped by keywords in the recipe name, so a recipe can only be counted where its name makes the main ingredient clear.
You may quote these figures with a link to this page. If you spot an error, tell us through the contact page and we will correct it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 400 or 375 better for an air fryer?
Use 400°F / 200°C for crisp skin, potatoes and breaded food. Use 375°F / 190°C for thicker meat and fish that need to cook through. Both are used about equally across our recipes.
Does 400°F cook faster than 375°F in an air fryer?
For the same food, slightly. Across recipes it does not, because 400°F is chosen for foods that take longer: the median cook is 12 minutes at 400°F and 11 at 375°F.
What is 375°F in Celsius for an air fryer?
375°F is 190°C, and 400°F is 200°C. Most air fryers step in 5°C or 10°F increments, so those are the settings to use.