Last Updated: Apr 2024 Best Halogen Ovens 2024
If like me you thought halogen was a type of light bulb, that is used for making car headlights, then you’d be right. They also make halogen light bulbs for indoor use too and the technology has advanced way past just halogen lights. Lights that are brighter than traditional bulbs, and use less energy to run.
Amazing you might think, well it gets better, how about halogen ovens? Don’t know what they are? Or maybe you’re up to date with the latest technology and you’re not sure which halogen oven is right for you. Then read on because here is the guide you’ve been looking for, the guide to the best halogen ovens.
Best Selling Halogen Ovens
- 73% CHEAPER TO RUN – Save on your energy bills and still enjoy warm, healthy, delicious meals. (Based on energy consumption £ per K/Wh when compared to an average 5000W Electric Oven)
- HEALTHIER EATING – Enjoy your favourite meals without compromising on taste, with air circulation technology you can now cook with no oil or use a little spray oil for browning and enjoy guilt free. Cook crispy flavourful fried chicken or tasty vegetables
- [SPACIOUS& VERSATILE]: With a generous 17-liter capacity, this air fryer provides ample room to prepare meals for the entire family. From crispy fries to succulent chicken, cook a wide range of dishes effortlessly.
- [PRECISION COOKING]: The adjustable temperature feature allows you to fine-tune the cooking process, ranging from 125 to 250°C. Achieve the perfect texture and flavor for your favorite recipes with ease.
- Powerful 1400W Halogen Oven with 17L Max Capacity: In comparison to the standard, smaller sized halogens available, this one boasts a large 17L capacity, allowing you to provide enough portions for you and any hungry guests. Not to mention, the 1400W power rating means that you can create much healthier dishes without the oil usually required – this means unhealthier dishes are much easier to fit into your diet, retaining the same great taste.
- Adjustable Temperature and Timer: Featuring two turnable controls on the top panel, the halogen oven has never been so easy to use. Simply turn both to your required level for your chosen dish and you’re ready to go. With the EMtronics EMHO17EXB halogen oven you can cook poultry, vegetables and more with one click of a button.
- The high capacity 12-17 Litre Premium Halogen Oven is multi-functional and allows you to roast, fry, steam, grill and more
- Variable time and temperature dial gives you full cooking control
- 12-17 LITRE HALOGEN OVEN WITH HINGED LID & 10 ACCESSORIES -- Cook everything from roasts to cakes with the Andrew James 12L Halogen Oven. The halogen oven hinged lid makes the whole process easier for you, including getting food in and out. Also includes 5L extender ring.
- ECONOMICAL COOKING -- Halogen ovens can cook food up to 40% faster than a standard oven. As there isn’t any need to preheat, you can also save on your electricity bills. This 12L machine is large enough to cook meals for the whole family.
How Do Halogen Ovens Work?
Halogen ovens work by using halogen bulbs to cook food in a much faster way than conventional gas or electric ovens. The halogen bulbs create infrared heat at high levels, this coupled with convective fans, to evenly distribute the heat around the whole oven. This leads to perfectly cooked meals, in much quicker than normal times, and due to the way the air circulates, these ovens clean themselves!
Not Just An Oven
As you’d expect from an oven, halogen ovens bake, roast and broil, but it doesn’t stop there. The halogen oven is capable of toasting, steaming, grilling and even frying. If your family like traditional chicken and chips, they’re in for a healthy treat.
Because the halogen oven is more than capable of air frying, this healthy alternative to conventional frying uses just a fraction of the oil needed to fry food, but gives full flavour and cooks much faster. The only difference your family will notice is how fast the meal was cooked.
Self Cleaning Oven
If you’ve ever had the task of cleaning an oven after cooking a full roast, then you know how time consuming, and how much hard work it is. With a halogen oven that’s a thing of the past. All you do, after cooking, is place water in the bowl, add some washing up liquid, and turn on the self clean switch.
The water will spin around the glass bowl and clean all oil, grease and food scraps away. When finished remove the bowl and give a quick rinse, job done!
Safe Frozen Food Thawing
Halogen ovens have a low setting, used to thaw out frozen food. This is safe, fast and much more convenient than leaving frozen meat in a bowl of water to defrost on the work top for hours on end.
What Are The Benefits Of Halogen Ovens?
There are many benefits to owning a halogen oven, first and foremost has to be the size.
Good Things Come In Little Packages
Halogen ovens are so much smaller than conventional ovens, or even microwave ovens. While on the subject of microwaves, there is still some controversy concerning microwaves, it is said that some of the nutrients can be destroyed when using microwaves; this is not the case with halogen ovens.
Healthy Option
Halogen ovens use less oils and fats during the cooking process this is a proven health benefit. Less fat, healthy heart and body.Added to this cooking high fat foods like sausages and burgers which are high in saturated fats, in a halogen oven lets the fat drain away from the food. Meaning a lower fat content overall.
Energy Efficiency
Using a halogen oven allows you to halve your cooking time in most cases, that means not only do you have more time for yourself, but also it means you’re using less electricity. So what you have is a full meal, cooked in half the time, using half the power, thus it’s environmentally friendly too.
Versatile Appliance
The halogen oven is much more than an oven, it bakes roasts, broils, steams, fries, grills and toasts. Plus don’t forget that self-cleaning cycle.
Relatively Inexpensive
Compared to conventional ovens, the halogen oven is a cheap option. That’s no reflection on how it’s made, just on price.
Space Saving
The halogen oven takes up a small amount of space, and will easily fit on the kitchen work surface. Much smaller than a countertop oven or a microwave, yet more than capable of cooking a full meal for a family of 4.
Stress Free Food
Not only are halogen ovens healthier than conventional ovens, they are also simple to use, and as they cook food in clear glass it’s easy to see how your food is doing at a glance. Coupled with the convenience of energy efficiency and fast cooking times, and the self cleaning mode, why worry?
What Are The Disadvantages Of Halogen Ovens?
There are always disadvantages to any product or service, but in all honesty, I’m having a hard time finding many for the halogen oven.
Bulb Failure
The first models made were said to have bulbs that didn’t last long, however, up to date halogen ovens are much more reliable. Some have bulbs that have lasted up to 2 years and that’s with constant usage plus some models come complete with a spare bulb.
On the subject of replacement bulbs, not only are they easy to fit, but are also cheap to buy and readily available too.
Size Isn’t Everything
Another criticism is the size of the halogen oven, some critics have asked how can you cook a full meal in something that small? In my opinion this is a positive factor not a negative.
Some halogen ovens with 12litre bowls have metal “extender rings” which increase cooking capacity to 17 litres, that’s nearly half as much again.
On the subject of size others have said that at 40 cm in diameter the halogen oven takes up a lot of space. But 40 cms is much less than a standard microwave, and the halogen oven is a more versatile, and healthier appliance.
Unnecessary Appliance
I can’t imagine a home that doesn’t have a cooker with an oven, so is a halogen oven a necessary appliance? Critics would say not, but when you weigh it up, halogen ovens cook faster, healthier, some are self-cleaning, cook a full meal for up to 4 people so maybe conventional ovens are the ones that are unnecessary.
Halogen Ovens Buying Guide
This is where things get interesting, there is so much choice in halogen ovens, they all work on the same principal but the variety is breathtaking. There are models with hardly any controls, that are so simple to use. Others are supplied with replacement bulbs, tongs, extender rings, various racks, baking and/or steaming tray, skewers, and more besides.
Others include a frying basket, for air frying. Another point to consider is the length of the power cable, which can vary between 20-100 cms depending on the model and make.
As with all appliances, it’s about your needs, wants, and requirements. There is no “one size fits all”. Different companies make different models to suit different requirements, do your research, and get the halogen oven that best meets your needs.
Things to consider before purchasing a halogen oven include:-
Replacement Halogen Bulbs
Not all halogen ovens include a replacement bulb, but as these are cheap and easy to obtain, it is well worth keeping a spare. Because as with everything in life, it will break just when you need it most.
They also come in various colours so you can find a halogen oven that fits in with the decor of your kitchen.
Cooking capacity
Models range between 12-17 litres which will affect how much can be cooked at one time and how many people it will feed.
Functions
What functions you need to make your life easier, like defrosting, baking, steaming, deep frying, grilling, warming, and more. Obviously the bigger the range of functions, the more you can do with your halogen oven.
Control Panel
This very much depends on your needs, some models have digital control panels which allow more precision and flexibility when cooking. While others have a manual control panel, which is easier to use as it comprises of 2 dials but is not as precise.
Wattage
The range of power in halogen ovens is between 1200-1600 watts, The higher the power, the faster it will cook your food.
Glass Or Plastic
Halogen ovens either have glass bowls or heat resistant plastic, from an environmental viewpoint, glass is better. It’s natural, won’t harm the environment,easy to maintain and will not get any damage from detergents.
If you would sooner go for the plastic bowl it will be lighter, but you need to make sure it’s Bisphenol A(BPA) free. This compound is commonly added to plastics to make them more durable, but many experts say it is similar in structure to the hormone estrogen, and may bind to estrogen receptors and affect many bodily functions.
Whilst there is still controversy concerning BPA, if you do not want to be exposed to it, you should choose a halogen oven with a glass bowl.
Plastic Or Stainless Steel
For sustainability and durability the best choice is stainless steel accessories for your halogen oven.
How Much Do Halogen Ovens Cost?
This again comes down to personal preference and the make and model you purchase. The price of a halogen oven complete with a range of accessories is between £30-£100 There are some exceptionally good models for well below the £100 mark.
Common factors that affect the price of a Halogen oven include: the number of accessories, overall capacity of the oven and various cooking settings included in the model. Another big factor when it comes to the price of the oven is the brand name. Some brand names will sell for over £200, with customers more than happy to pay for the reliability that comes with the name.
Frequently Asked Questions
As halogen ovens use infrared technology to cook food at least twice as fast as conventional ovens, and they cook healthier foods using less fats, plus saving energy, the answer is a resounding yes!
On paper halogen ovens cost more to run than conventional ovens, however, in reality due to the speed in which they cook food, halogen ovens use less power. And are therefore not as expensive as conventional ovens.
As they use much less oil and fat, and cook using a clean source of heat, yes halogen ovens are healthy. Plus as they use less power they are environmentally friendly too.
Using foil can help to prevent foods from browning too quickly, but caution should be used. Due to the convections fans that are very strong, the foil could be loosened and torn off which could cause it to damage the heating element.
Unlike the microwave oven, halogen ovens cook pizzas perfectly.
Halogen ovens save space, provide an all in one cooking solution, give the convenience of one pot cooking, and they are energy efficient, saving you money.
Not in a countertop halogen oven, cooking bags can only be used in full sized ovens. But due to the speed of cooking in halogen ovens, the bag is unnecessary.
Depending on the size of the chicken, it takes around 35 minutes to cook a chicken in a halogen oven.
