Air Fryer Sausage
Cooking sausage has never been easier! This Air Fryer Sausage recipe is a foolproof method for crisp, juicy sausage whether you’re working with fresh, frozen, or fully cooked links. Just pop them in the air fryer and they’re ready in minutes. Serve them in a bun, over pasta, or alongside roasted veggies for a quick and satisfying meal!
I’ve been making sausage in a skillet on the stove top for years, and I was always unhappy about the clean up afterward. The pan was always hard to clean and don’t get me started about the messy spatters all over the stove top.
I tried cooking bacon in the air fryer years ago because of the same problem and it changed my life, so I figured it would work equally as well with sausage.
Obviously I was right. Cooking sausage links in the air fryer crisps them up while keeping the inside nice and juicy. Best of all, cleanup is a breeze since the air fryer contains the mess from the juicy sausage.
Unlike traditional stovetop or grilling methods, you don’t have to stand over the sausages and flip them repeatedly to ensure even cooking. The air fryer circulates hot air around the sausage links to cook them evenly — you only have to flip them once!
Air fried sausage can be served in a bun and loaded with your favorite toppings, but it’s also great sliced and served over pasta or with your choice of vegetables for a super simple low-carb dinner!
I also love slicing them up and serving them with grainy mustard for a quick and easy appetizer.
This is a fast, easy, and versatile recipe that works with fresh, frozen, or pre-cooked sausage links.
I told you it was life changing. 🙂
If you love easy one pan dinners, be sure to try my sheet pan sausage, peppers and sweet potatoes!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Air fryer sausage is crispy on the outside but moist and juicy on the inside.
- It’s a quick and easy recipe that takes less than 15 minutes to cook any type of sausage.
- It’s easy to customize using fresh, frozen, or cooked sausage links.
- The sausage can be served as an appetizer, dinner or even for breakfast.
Recipe ingredients
There’s just one star ingredient in this recipe: sausage. There’s no oil necessary as the sausage gets plenty brown and crispy all on its own.
I suggest using fresh sausage links, but fully cooked and frozen work equally as well. Try air frying Italian sausage, kielbasa, andouille sausage, bratwurst, chicken sausage, breakfast sausage links, and more!
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to cook sausage in an air fryer
Air fried sausage couldn’t be simpler to prepare. Just pull the sausage out of the package and cook!
Pro tip: Cooking time will vary depending on how thick your sausages are, and whether they are fresh, frozen or fully cooked. See the recipe card notes for more information.
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
- Place the sausage links in the air fryer basket in a single layer with enough space in between them for the air to circulate.
- Cook for 5 minutes, flip and cook for 3-5 minutes longer or until browned and cooked or heated through. Be sure that the internal temperature of fresh sausage is 160 degrees. See the recipe card notes for cooking times for fresh, fully cooked and frozen sausage.
Recipe FAQs
Set the air fryer to 400 degrees F. Frozen sausage links will take between to 13 to 15 minutes to cook, while pre-cooked sausage links will take around 5 to 6 minutes.
Nope! The frozen sausage can be added straight to the air fryer. If the sausage links are stuck together, cook them until you’re able to pry them apart, then continue cooking until done.
The outside will be browned and slightly crispy all over, and the internal temperature should register 160 degrees F on a meat thermometer.
Serving suggestions
Air fryer sausage is incredibly versatile and can be served as a main dish or appetizer.
- Serve the sausage in pretzel hot dog buns and garnish with your favorite toppings.
- Slice into 1/2 inch thick rounds and pair with grainy mustard for a simple appetizer.
- Pair with roasted vegetables like roasted cauliflower, crispy smashed potatoes, or roasted butternut squash.
- Slice and add the sausage to pastas, like this red pepper pasta.
- Serve over a bed of mashed sweet potatoes, or low-carb mashed cauliflower.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: Fresh sausage should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. A meat thermometer is handy for recipes like this!
- You can air fry any variety and flavor of sausage you like including Italian sausage, bratwurst, breakfast links, kielbasa, chicken sausage and more.
- Thicker sausages (like bratwurst) will need to cook longer than thinner sausages (like breakfast sausage), so adjust the cooking time as necessary.
- See the recipe card notes for cooking times for fresh, fully cooked and frozen sausages.
More air fryer recipes you’ll love
- Air fryer chicken thighs
- Air fryer chicken drumsticks
- Air fryer meatballs
- Air fryer hamburgers
- Air fryer pork chops
- Air fryer salmon
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Air Fryer Sausage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 fresh Italian sausage links see notes 1 and 2
Instructions
- Place the Italian sausage links in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Be sure to leave space in between them to ensure they cook evenly.4 fresh Italian sausage links
- Air fry for 5 minutes, then flip and cook 3-5 minutes longer or until browned and the temperature of the sausage reaches 160 degrees. See note 1 in the recipe card for cooking times for fully cooked and frozen sausage.
Notes
- Pro tip: You can also cook fully cooked or frozen sausage in the air fryer as well! Fully cooked sausages should be cooked at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes until crisp and heated through. If frozen sausages are stuck together, cook at 400 degrees until you can pull them apart. Cook 13-15 minutes, flipping halfway through, until browned and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- The amount of sausage listed is a base line. You can cook as many sausages at once for the same amount of time as long as they are in a single layer with enough space in between them so the air can circulate.
- The best sausages for air frying include fresh links such as Italian sausage, bratwurst, chicken or turkey sausage, chorizo, andouille, smoked sausage and even breakfast sausage.
- Nutrition information will vary based on the size and type of sausage that you use. The information listed is a rough estimate only.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
