Oven Temperature Conversion Chart

You are following a recipe written for a different country's oven. The American recipe calls for 350°F. Your UK oven is marked in Celsius and gas marks. Which setting do you turn the dial to?If you have a fan oven, you need a lower temperature instead. The exact oven temperature conversion for every common cooking temperature is provided, along with an explanation of why recipes round the numbers and instructions for adjusting for a convection oven.

The table below covers the standard oven temperatures you will encounter in recipes from the United States, the United Kingdom, and continental Europe. Each row gives the Fahrenheit setting, the standard Celsius setting, the fan-forced Celsius setting (reduced by 20°C), and the UK gas mark number. These values are the rounded ones you will find in published conversion tables from BBC Good Food and Delia Smith, which are the conventions used by British cookbook authors.

These are the low end of the range and the conversion is less critical because the cooking time is long anyway.

The exact conversion of 350°F to Celsius using the formula C = (F − 32) × 5/9 gives 176.667°C, which rounds to 177°C. Every recipe book and conversion chart from BBC Good Food and Delia Smith writes it as 180°C. The reason is practical: oven thermostats cycle on and off by about 25°F (14°C) from the set point, so the difference between 177°C and 180°C is smaller than the oven's own variation. Rounding to the nearest ten degrees Celsius also makes the numbers easier to remember. The same rounding applies to every common temperature: 375°F converts to 190.56°C and is written as 190°C; 400°F converts to 204.44°C and is written as 200°C. Do not try to set your oven to the exact mathematical value. Use the rounded numbers from the chart above. They are the ones every professional kitchen uses.

A fan-forced oven, also called a convection oven, circulates hot air with a fan, which cooks food faster and at a lower temperature than a standard oven. Bosch and Miele oven manuals both state the same adjustment: reduce the temperature by 20°C from the standard setting. If the oven temperature conversion chart above says 180°C for a standard oven, set your fan oven to 160°C. The manuals also note that you can reduce the cooking time by 10 to 15 minutes per hour, but temperature reduction is the primary adjustment because it prevents the outside from browning before the inside cooks.

The failure case is when you do not adjust. A recipe written for a standard oven at 350°F (180°C) will overcook on the outside and undercook on the inside in a fan oven set to the same number. The high air circulation dries out the surface and sets the crust too early. If your oven has a switchable fan, turn it off when following a standard-oven recipe. If it is fan-only, you must apply the 20°C reduction to every oven temperature conversion you make.

UK gas marks are an arbitrary scale used on British gas ovens. The system assigns a number to each temperature range, with gas mark 1 at 275°F (140°C) and each subsequent mark adding about 25°F (14°C). The conversion is not a simple formula; the BBC Good Food and Delia Smith tables are the standard references. Here is the full sequence from the research:

Gas mark 1: 275°F / 140°C standard / 120°C fan.
Gas mark 2: 300°F / 150°C standard / 130°C fan.
Gas mark 3: 325°F / 170°C standard / 150°C fan.
Gas mark 4: 350°F / 180°C standard / 160°C fan.
Gas mark 5: 375°F / 190°C standard / 170°C fan.
Gas mark 6: 400°F / 200°C standard / 180°C fan.
Gas mark 7: 425°F / 220°C standard / 200°C fan.
Gas mark 8: 450°F / 230°C standard / 210°C fan.
Gas mark 9: 475°F / 245°C standard / 220°C fan.

If your recipe says "gas mark 4", it means 350°F or 180°C in a standard oven. If you have a fan oven, use the fan column above, not the standard one. The gas mark itself does not change for fan ovens; the temperature reduction is applied after you convert from the gas mark.

These five temperatures cover nearly every baking, roasting, and general cooking recipe you will encounter. Here is what each one is used for and the exact oven temperature conversion.

325°F (170°C Standard, 150°C Fan, Gas Mark 3)

This is a low to moderate oven. Use it for slow-roasting meats like pork shoulder or brisket, for baking large cakes, and for custards. The exact Celsius conversion is 162.78°C, rounded to 170°C. Fan ovens: 150°C.

350°F (180°C Standard, 160°C Fan, Gas Mark 4)

This is the most common baking temperature in American recipes. Cookies, muffins, quick breads, and many casseroles use 350°F. The exact conversion is 176.67°C. The convention of 180°C is universal in UK sources. Fan ovens: 160°C.

375°F (190°C Standard, 170°C Fan, Gas Mark 5)

Used for roasting vegetables, baking yeast breads, and cooking pastries like croissants. The exact conversion is 190.56°C. Fan ovens: 170°C.

400°F (200°C Standard, 180°C Fan, Gas Mark 6)

A hot oven for roasting potatoes, chicken, and fish, and for cooking puff pastry and pizza. The exact conversion is 204.44°C. Fan ovens: 180°C.

425°F (220°C Standard, 200°C Fan, Gas Mark 7)

The highest common setting, used for searing meat, roasting at high heat, and making bread with a thick crust. The exact conversion is 218.33°C. Fan ovens: 200°C.

The most common error when searching for these temperatures is using the "double and add 30" shortcut, which works for weather but fails for oven heat. For example, doubling 180°C and adding 30 gives 390°F, not the correct 350°F. Always use the exact conversion from a table, not a mental rule.

Home cooks moving between US and UK or European recipes, parents following a child's fever chart who need to know the difference between 98.6°F and 37°C, and students who need the Celsius to Fahrenheit formula are the intended audience.

It is not for scientists doing thermodynamic work, who should be using Kelvin, nor for programmers who need a code library. The single thing that most often goes wrong is assuming a fan oven needs the same oven temperature conversion as a standard one. Apply the 20°C reduction and you will never burn the outside while the inside is raw.