Air Fryer Sausages

Cooking sausages in the air fryer is hands-free, quick, and the sausages turn brown and crispy on the outside, and juicy in the middle.

When I first got my air fryer I thought I’d be using it for foods that are traditionally fried. However, it turns out that the air fryer can be used like a mini oven in which you can cook just about anything.

Why Cook Sausages In The Air Fryer

I love using my air fryer to cook the meat portion of our dinners, like over here where I show how to cook ground beef in the air fryer, and how to make salmon with crispy skin. I find that it’s a great hands-free way to cook one thing if I need to pay more attention to something else.

That’s how I discovered that sausages are amazing when cooked in the air fryer. Unlike cooking them on the stove, when you put sausages in the air fryer, you don’t need to watch them or flip them or anything. They cook and brown evenly all the way around and you don’t have to do anything.

The result is a sausage with a crisp and brown exterior that is nice and juicy on the inside.

How To Cook Sausages In The Air Fryer

First, start with thawed sausages. If your sausages are frozen, defrost them like this.

Then, use a paring knife or a fork to poke holes in the casings. For an average Italian sausage, I poke it three times with a knife. Poking the sausage is simply so that the fat is able to escape easily from the casing.

Next, arrange the sausages in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Set the air fryer to 400°F and then cook the sausages until they’re well-browned on the outside and cooked through in the middle if you cut into them. It takes about 8-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the sausages and how many you have in the basket. See cooking times for different kinds of sausages below.

What Kind Of Sausages To Cook In The Air Fryer

You can do any kind of sausages in the air fryer.

If you’re doing thin breakfast-type sausages, they’ll be ready a little bit sooner than thicker sausages, but not by much. For 10 breakfast sausages, cook them for 8-10 minutes at 400°F. They will be brown on the outside and fully-cooked inside. You don’t need to poke holes in the casings of these before cooking.

I really like using my air fryer to cook Italian sausages, those nice thick ones that have fennel and red pepper flakes inside. You can cook up to 6 of these at a time, if they fit in a single layer in your fryer basket. Cook them for 9-12 minutes at 400°F until well-browned outside and no longer pink inside. Other thick fresh sausages like bratwurst and fresh (not cured) kielbasa are the same.

The other kinds of sausages that you can cook in your air fryer are the fully-cooked ones that just need a little color and to be heated through. For kielbasa, I slice it about 3/4 inch thick and then arrange the slices in a single layer. Cook them for 4-5 minutes at 400°F, just until lightly browned in places.

You can also get fully-cooked sausage links at the grocery store. Wieners count, as do a variety of chicken sausages that usually have other flavorings too. For these, just put the links in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook until heated through and browned in places, 5-7 minutes at 400°F. You don’t have to poke holes in the casings of these before cooking them.

I really hope you like cooking sausages in the air fryer. I find it to be such a delicious, quick, and easy way to do it and I think you will too!

Christine
xo

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This post originally appeared in June 2020 and was revised and republished in March 2021.