What Can You Cook in a Halogen Oven: A Starter’s Guide

Last Updated on November 22, 2022

Halogen ovens are amazing products that you can use to cook so many different dishes. You can think of these devices as a more portable, more efficient conventional oven. They provide the same cooking capabilities but take up much less space and use less electricity.

Halogen ovens are small cookers that use a halogen bulb as the heating element. This is usually combined with an air fan that circulates the heat around the glass bowl of the oven to cook the food evenly.

If you have a halogen oven, you will undoubtedly be itching to try it out. Think of the delicious dishes that await and the fantastic meals you can create! But what can you cook in a halogen oven? This is something that is often overlooked. Halogen ovens often contain recipe books that can help. But to help further, we have created a guide below and provided a host of useful ideas on what you can cook in a halogen oven – enjoy!

The Types of Food You Can Cook

There are so many types of dishes you can cook and the best thing about it is it is fairly easy to make them! Let’s check some of them below.

Meat

If you love meat or a hearty oven roast dinner, there are some amazing halogen oven recipes you can use. These devices are perfect for cooking meat. Not only can you use it for cooking small quantities of meat, but you can also use them for cooking a whole chicken! The following are examples of some of the meats you can cook in a halogen oven:

• Chicken breasts
• Roast chicken
• Pork joint
• Pork chops
• Lamb joint
• Beef joint
• Brisket

Imagine cooking a sumptuous roasted chicken in your halogen cooker. You could surround it with roasted vegetables and potatoes sprinkled with herbs and garlic. The flavours would combine to produce a fantastic meal for your family.

Halogen ovens also cook items like roast beef and chicken much quicker than a conventional oven. This means you do not have to wait all day for a traditional Sunday roast!

Used my new halogen oven earlier & it cooked the meat beautifully

— Kelly Prentice (@Kelly_Prentice) October 13, 2010

You can also quickly cook smaller pieces of meat like chicken fillets and pork steaks. When cooking meat, it is advisable to use the included cooking racks. This is to ensure any excess fat can drain away. Also, if you want to create a fantastic gravy or coat your potatoes, you could capture any juices that drain from the meat with a drip tray!

Potatoes

One of the best things that people use their halogen oven for is potato-based food! You can cook potatoes in a myriad of ways in a halogen oven, including:

• Oven chips
• Roast potatoes
• Jacket potatoes
• Skin-on fries
• Potato wedges

It is advisable to use some oil like olive oil to cook chips and wedges in a halogen oven. This will help the cooking process and ensure that they are golden brown and crispy. You can use two different methods also.

One option involves boiling the potatoes first in a separate pan. This is a popular Slimming World diet method and is the best way to cook if you don’t want hard chips or wedges.

If you want to cook your potatoes this way, please follow these steps:

• Once the potatoes are boiled, you can then put them into the oven for a minimum of 10 minutes at approx 150C.
• After 10 minutes, it is advisable to check the progress. If they are soft enough, you can turn the temperature up and finish the chips off for a further 5 minutes to give them a crispy finish.
• Alternatively, you can skip the boiling step and cook your chips straight off the bat. This method will require a longer time in the oven and slightly higher temperatures.

Jacket potatoes are also one of the easiest recipes to cook in these ovens. You can cook the perfect baked potato in under 50 minutes, much less than in a standard oven.

To cook jacket potatoes, you must:

• Wrap the potatoes in foil, and cook for 30 minutes first.
• After 30 minutes, check them, and see if you need to alter the temperature.
• Once they are finished, you can create various accompaniments like cheese and beans, tuna mayonnaise, or chilli, for example.

Vegetables

As we all know, vegetables are an essential part of a healthy and balanced diet. You can easily use your halogen oven for cooking vegetables, including peppers, carrots, peas, broccoli, and more. There are two methods – steaming or roasting.

Steamed vegetables are the healthier option, and steaming also retains more of the nutrients in the vegetables than boiling. Alternatively, roasting offers greater flavour and taste, but as you have to use some oil, they are less healthy.

To steam vegetables, you need a steaming tray accessory. Many halogen ovens come with this attachment as standard. Alternatively, many manufacturers will sell the steaming tray accessory.

The steaming trays are generally simple to use, and all you have to do is add a small amount of water and set the desired temperature. The steamed water will pass through the cooking bowl and cook your vegetables. You can also use this steaming tray to steam other items like fish and some meats.

Roasting vegetables is much easier, and you do not need any special accessories. You can place your vegetables on a tray in your halogen oven and start the cooking process! It is advisable to use some oil for your halogen oven recipe to help the roasting process.

Pizzas

If you love a home-baked pizza, then you can go wild with different topping choices and base styles with your halogen cooker! You can cook different types of pizza in these ovens. You can even warm up pizza the next day if you had a takeaway and didn’t quite finish it all!

Alternatively, you can cook frozen store-bought pizzas too. Many supermarkets like Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Tesco have a brilliant range of frozen pizzas. They are usually of excellent quality and only take 10-15 minutes to cook in your halogen cooker!

Also, you could even try making your pizza dough if you are an adventurous cook! This is undoubtedly a challenge, but it’s a fun endeavour, and your halogen cooker will allow you to make it much quicker.

You can choose a range of different toppings. For example, you could make a meat-feast pizza with pepperoni, ham, bacon, and ground beef. Alternatively, you could make a vegetarian pizza with pineapple, peppers, and onions – the possibilities are endless!

Bread and Puddings

A halogen oven is also handy if you enjoy baking bread. You could purchase a bread maker, but why do that when you can bake bread directly in your oven? There is nothing quite like homemade, freshly baked bread – the smell and taste are fantastic!

Also, halogen ovens can be used for cooking some puddings. You cannot use your oven for every type of dessert, though. Some examples you can cook include:

• Crumble (Apple, cherry, blueberry, etc.)
• Tarts (Lemon etc.)
• Savoury or sweet scones
• Popcorn
• Coffee cake
• Fruit cakes
• Cupcakes
• Carrot cake

If you enjoy baking, you will find that your oven is handy. Halogen oven cooking methods for baking differ little from using a standard oven. If anything, these devices offer greater flexibility as they are easy to clean, and you can set them up next to your preparation and baking area.

Tips When Using a Halogen Oven

Indeed, you cannot wait to try out your halogen oven and start cooking some fantastic dishes. To help you further, we have listed some simple tips that should help when cooking food:

1. Watch the cooking process and adjust cooking times if necessary.
2. Always use oven gloves when handling food and removing items from the cooker.
3. Make sure the food is cooked properly to avoid illness and stomach bugs.
4. Consider creating a halogen oven cooking times chart for regular meals you make.
5. Clean your cooker regularly, including the racks, lid, and glass bowl.
6. Ensure the oven and food has excellent air circulation for even cooking.

When using your halogen oven, you will get used to the cooking time. We always advise using the times stated on any packaging. However, it is always ideal for checking the cooking progress. You may find, for example, that some dishes cook a lot faster than you expect. Alternatively, you may find that you need to cook other food types for longer than expected.

Food inside the cooker is incredibly hot. Also, hot air and steam will escape from the lid when you open it. As a result, you must make sure to take care when opening the lid and removing food.

Pro Tip: Always check the inside of your oven when cooking meats like sausage, pork, and oven chicken. If the meat is still pink, you may need to increase the oven temperature and cook for longer.

Maintenance is also vital for these devices. As with any cooking device, halogen ovens get dirty. The main culprit is food splatter, fat, and grease. You should therefore clean the lid and wipe the cooking bowl regularly. Also, remove any interior racks or trays and clean them in warm soapy water too.

Halogen Oven Cooking FAQs

Check out below some of the frequently asked questions when using a halogen oven.

Can You Place Foil in a Halogen Oven?

Yes, like a conventional oven, you can place foil on baking trays inside a halogen oven. This is a good idea to catch fat and other juices that may drip from your cooker.

Baked ham. Wrap in foil and chuck in halogen/oven 20mins per pound. Baby new potatoes and sweet corn. Peach chutney and loads off butter.

— AnnieM (@northernfd) June 27, 2016

Can You Use Oils in a Halogen Oven?

Yes, any oven recipes that would use oil are perfectly safe to use in the halogen cooker. For example, you can make chips or roast potatoes coated in oil in your halogen cooker.

Are There Any Useful Accessories for This Type of Oven?

Yes, depending on the model and manufacturer, you can buy an extender ring and an air fryer attachment. An extender ring increases the distance from the heating element, and the air fryer is perfect for frying chips!

Are These Devices Safe to Use?

Yes, from a technical point, they are safe to use. Also, there are no associated side effects from using this type of oven from a cooking perspective that you would not get from a standard oven.

What’s Next?

So, what can you cook in a halogen oven? There are so many dishes you can make! These are only a few of the top ideas of the recipes you can create with your new appliance. Remember to take note of how to use it and the precautions you need to keep in mind.

Did you enjoy reading this article? What are the delicious dishes you’ve made using a halogen oven? Share your thoughts in the comments!