Appliance Debate: Should I Buy a Convection Oven or Not?
Are you wondering if a convection oven is a good pick for your kitchen? Or what a convection oven actually does?
Keep reading for the pros and cons to see if a convection oven is really worth having, some top-rated brands, and what our whole team thinks about them (I was surprised by the responses)!
What’s the difference between a convection oven and a conventional oven?
Convection ovens:
A convection oven cooks food by circulating air via a fan placed in the back of the oven. Continuously moving air results in faster cook times and more evenly cooked food.
I love how Fine Cooking put it: “To help understand this further, consider the wind chill: When cold air blows against you on a blustery winter day, you feel colder more quickly than you do on a windless day of the same temperature.”
Conventional ovens:
Conventional ovens cook via radiant heat originating from the inside top and bottom of the oven. There is no fan to move air.
Pros (and Cons) of Convection Ovens:
Pros of Convection Ovens:
- Faster cook times.
- Foods cook more evenly.
- You can place 3 racks of cookies in at a time without rotating the pans for even cooking.
- Acceleration effect positively impacts cooking.
- Browns meats faster and keeps them juicier.
- Butter is released more quickly, creating flakier bread.
- Vegetables become nice and crisp on the edges and stay juicy in the middle.
- Food cooks about 25% faster than a traditional oven.
- Temperature inside stays more consistent.
- Self-cleaning feature.
- No flavor transfer, so you can cook multiple types of food at once.
Cons of Convection Ovens:
- Some fans can be louder than a traditional oven.
- They’re more expensive than traditional ovens.
- The fan can sometimes blow around foil or parchment paper, interfering with your food.
- Food is more susceptible to burn if the cooking time is not properly adjusted.
- Baked goods may not rise properly.
Here are 3 highly-rated convection wall ovens:
1. GE
GE – 30″ Built-In Single Electric Convection Wall Oven | $1,569.99 (open box from $470+)
“I swapped out my 15-year-old black GE profile for a stainless steel version. My old one still worked perfectly, I just needed the stainless color to match my kitchen renovation. This new model is so great and even quieter than my old one! I also love cooking with the convection option, which is nice for roasts and saves me time.”
– Steve ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. KitchenAid
KitchenAid – 30″ Built-In Single Electric Convection Wall Oven | $1,899.99
“I’m very pleased with my new KitchenAid oven! It bakes very consistently and the temperature is extremely accurate, unlike a previous oven where the temperature fluctuated frequently. The features are great and make baking all my cookies so simple, and the oven overall is very easy to use. Plus, the glide-out rack is great, too!”
– Stacy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Bosch
Bosch 800 Series 30 in. Single Electric Wall Oven with European Convection | $2,250
“I bought my Bosch wall oven earlier this year and really love the convection features I didn’t have on my previous oven. The built-in thermometer is amazing – my meats always come out perfect, and I like the fact the oven shuts itself off, so I don’t accidentally overcook anything. I also rely on the proof setting when I’m baking bread and rolls, and it has been so helpful on a few occasions where I’ve had to use the delay cook feature and loved coming home with a meal completely done! I’d buy this oven again in a heartbeat!”
– Drew ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So what’s the Hip2Save team verdict about convection ovens?
Convection Ovens 
Conventional Ovens
“I do use the convection setting on my oven quite regularly. I’ve noticed that things cook faster and at a lower heat. I’ve also noticed with cakes, cookies, and even pizzas that they cook more evenly with the convection setting on.” – Jenna
“We don’t have one at our apartment but my parents do, and I love using the convection setting. I think it cuts down a third of the cooking time, which is not only great to have food ready quicker, but you don’t need to have the oven on as long. It can make all the difference in the summer! I know that when we move into our new house, it’s going to be a must-have for us!” – Emily
“I went to look at my oven to see if we even had a convection setting and – come to find out – that’s ALL I have ever used! Now looking back, I can say I think it has made a huge difference in baking. I’ve never had a baked good cook unevenly, and almost everything I made has come out perfectly. And here I thought it was my good cooking all these years. LOL.” – Sara
Conventional Ovens Convection Ovens
“I paid more for a standard oven with convection capabilities because of the resale opportunities. I honestly never used the feature myself unless it was on accident. That said, the blue interior was AWESOME, but the convection fan was noisy. I wouldn’t pay more for convection again.” – Jamie
“One time my aunt tried using hers, it ruined Thanksgiving dinner (LOL) but being in an Italian family, there is always pasta stocked, so we didn’t go hungry.” – Alana
“The house that we bought came with a convection oven, BUT even after 7 years, I still do not know how to use it properly or even what the purpose is! I just hit the Bake button when I want to cook something and do not even pay attention to whether I am hitting regular bake or convection bake. I am kind of embarrassed to admit this, but it’s the truth!” – Bryn
“I admit I forget about the convection oven setting! I do use the air fryer all the time, and I hear it works in a similar way with hot air. Thanks for the reminder – I should use it more. LOL” – Lina
“I have a convection oven (I have had both convection and a conventional), and I never use the convection. I don’t like how it cooks the food, and I personally would have never picked that, but it came with our house.” – Michelle
The verdict? Convection ovens – 3 vs. Conventional ovens – 5
It seems most of our team prefers cooking with conventional ovens, whereas some of us can’t live without our convection oven! Overall, many team members didn’t even realize they had the convection option on their oven or have never used it before.
See which kitchen countertops are really the best for your home!
Your findings are inconclusive. You need to have everyone actually use the convection option in order to form an opinion.
I’ve used both. Keep your fan.
I’m trying to decide if I need to buy a PowerXL
Air FryerOven?
I purchased a Ninja foodie XL and I love it. Air fry, grills, roasts, bakes, and dehydrates. No smoke
Convection ovens are easy to use, cook beautifully and save energy/electricty. I have a Breville counter top, use it for everything and love the results. I can’t imagine choosing a conventional oven again.
Ignorance of how something works, is no reason to fault it. I use mine often, it crisps things, and browns things beautiful. It is also energy efficient, by cooking things quickly. If in doubt about time and temp, ask. There is a great deal of great information and recipes out there.
I asked for COUNTER TOP CONVECTION OVENS but was shown built-ins
We have had our GE built-in with convection oven. I really don’t know how to use it, and it really doesn’t have any way to figure out what the settings should be. Where can I get some help? Are there specific cook books for convection baking?
I would like some receipts for a convection oven
Would you have to adjust recipes from cookbooks to suit how the convection oven bakes?
Most haven’t answered this correctly as they don’t know what setting they are using or if there is a separate setting on their oven to begin with, and some don’t know what the difference is anyway. My question would be to this really is can you add a fan to a basic oven to turn it into a fan confection oven ??? Now if you can answer that it will be more of use to myself than which cooks better as everyone should know if the heat is circulating because of the fan you are going to get a quicker and more even bake than just having heat do one area as more likely to burn and overcook if you don’t get the timing and the temp spot on.
So happy to hear you’re loving the posts! 💕