Yes, you really can cook the tastiest sausages in an air fryer! Fresh or frozen, breakfast or supper, read on to find out how to make the best air fryer sausages every time!
Air fryer sausages
Full English breakfast or sausage baps at the supper time, we all love a good sausage – and we all know that bangers popping in too much fat isn’t so good for us.
See also
- Air fryer cherry tomatoes are delicious with sausages
- A sausage tray bake with butternut squash and peppers makes the easiest of main meals
- For a warming, satisfying dinner, you can’t beat sausage casserole
- Easy and hands off, slow cooker beef curry is perfect for cooler evenings
With an air fryer sausages cook far faster, the fat drains away and there are no fat splatters to clean up! Win win win!
I am quite annoyed that I didn’t embrace the air fryer sooner, as it has more than earned its place on the kitchen counter. I love the results and am feeling positively evangelical about it!
Cooking sausages in the air fryer gives them all the qualities you want from a conventional fried sausage without the mess and excess fat. They have all the flavour and the texture is just right.
So if you haven’t tried it yet, it’s definitely time to press the air fryer into sausage service.
Why make air fryer sausages
- economical, mess-free cooking
- you’re free to walk away
- minimal smoke and cooking smells lingering in the kitchen
- lower in fat but all the flavour
Air fryer sausages – ingredients
- Sausages – we choose good-quality traditional pork sausages but you use your favourites and adjust the timings for thinner sausages or frozen sausages (see notes on this below)
- Oil – just half a teaspoon. If you want to use spray oil, make sure there is nothing else in the bottle besides oil. The additives in spray oil can wreck the non-stick coating in your air fryer. It’s an expensive mistake to make.
Can I use an air fryer liner?
You can use a liner but for best results, cook your sausages directly in the air fryer basket. It is designed for circulation and the optimum results.
If I am air frying sausages for just the two of us and I really want to avoid mess, I sometimes stand them on a trivet in a silicon liner. The sausages are good – but not as good as cooking them directly in the basket. It takes a bit longer too.
How to cook sausages in the air fryer – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – Preheat the air fryer to 185°C / 365°F. This takes about 5 minutes depending on your air fryer.
While the air fryer heats up, prick the sausages. They’re nicknamed ‘bangers’ for a reason, and you don’t want them to burst.
Step Two – Brush the air fryer basket with oil. You can use a spray bottle with oil but don’t use oil mixed with anything else (see hints and tips below).
Step Three – Put the sausages in the air fryer basket. Space them out so that they do not touch, allowing the skins to crisp up. Set the fryer to cook for 12 minutes.
Fuss Free Tip
Don’t overcrowd the sausages; they need space around them. I cooked 5, as the ones I buy come in a packet of 10. I would not add more than 8 regular sausages to my 8″ square air fryer basket.
Step Four – Turn the sausages half way through cooking for even results. I find a pair of silicon tongs invaluable for this, though if you are good with a pair of chopsticks, that works too.
Step Five – After 12 minutes in the air fryer, your sausages should be perfectly cooked.
If in doubt, you can check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer (they should be 72°C / 160°F). If necessary, cook for a further minute or two.
Serving suggestion
Serve as part of a traditional breakfast or enjoy in a floury bap. Don’t forget the English mustard, ketchup, brown sauce, onion marmalade, or bacon jam!
Serve with mash, greens and gravy for a traditional dinner.
Frozen sausages in the air fryer
To cook frozen sausages in the air fryer, preheat the air fryer as above, but extend the cooking time. I cook frozen traditional ‘fat’ sausages for 20 minutes, turning half way through.
You will not be able to prick the sausages when they are frozen, so do it when you turn them.
Adjusting the time
Sausages vary enormously in size and shape. The 12 minutes I have suggested in this guide is for typical raw traditional British sausages.
If you are cooking something else, use your common sense in increasing or decreasing the timing. Always preheat the air fryer and don’t forget to turn them half way through.
Here is a rough guide to cooking times for raw sausages. You will need to add several minutes more for frozen sausages (I allow 20 minutes rather than 12 for frozen traditional sausages).
| cocktail sausages | 8–10 minutes |
| chipolatas and small meat sausages | 10 minutes |
| vegetarian sausages | 10 minutes |
| traditional meat sausages (about 65 g) | 12 minutes |
| larger sausages such as bratwurst or Cumberland | 14 minutes |
Storage
Fridge – Allow to cool and store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat, preheat the air fryer to 185°C / 365°F and cook for 4–5 minutes.
Freezer – Cooked sausages can be frozen and defrosted in the fridge. Then given a quick reheat in the air fryer as above.
Hints and tips
- For best results, cook in the air fryer without a liner, so that the air can circulate.
- Make the clean up easy. When you have finished cooking, pour the excess fat out of basket while it is still hot. I pour it into a used coffee filter, as this mops up the oil and makes it easy to dispose of in the food waste bin. Then put the air fryer basket in the sink to soak right away.
- For best results preheat the air fryer and don’t forget to prick your sausages before cooking!
- Do not overcrowd the basket. You want a single layer with space (a sausage sized space!) between sausages. I know they roll about but give them space to start with!
- Oil the basket. Use a sprayer filled with oil, or oil and a brush but DO NOT use a non-stick spray that contains anything other than oil. The other ingredients will wreck the non-stick coating on the air fryer basket.
- For smaller or fatter sausages, adjust the time rather than the temperature.
Which air fryer?
There are so many to choose from that it can be a little confusing. I currently use the Cosori 5.5L which has a basket about 8″ square and it suits my needs perfectly.
I nearly always cook for two. This air fryer will roast a medium chicken, and is easily big enough for everything I want to cook in it, without taking up too much space on the counter.
It will hold a 7″ square baking/roasting tray, and I can bake 9 cupcakes or scones at a time.
Since I bought it in July 2022, there are newer models but it remains ideal for my needs.
When buying, go as large as you can without going crazy, as you will use your air fryer almost daily once you get used to it.
FAQs
No. You can if you want to, but you will get better results if you don’t.
Yes. You will need to allow more time (20 minutes for traditional link sausages) and prick them when you turn them half way through.
Anything! We enjoy classic British links, such as traditional Lincolnshire sausages but if you like Bratwurst or little Italian sausages, just adjust the cooking time to take account of the size.
I allow 12 minutes for typical link sausages. I adjust the cooking time rather than the temperature for thicker or skinnier sausages, so go carefully if your sausages are small.
It depends on how hungry you are! We tend to eat 2 or 1 and a half each, which is actually quite a lot of meat, but I know some people like to eat 3 or even more!
Related recipes
- Easy lamb shish kebabs – juicy and meaty
- Easy lamb koftas – spicy and succulent
- Easy chicken shish kebabs – with a delicious yogurt marinade
Air Fryer Sausages
Ingredients
- 1 tsp oil
- pork sausages
Instructions
- Lightly oil the basket of the air fryer and then preheat to 180C (350F).pork sausages, 1 tsp oil
- Prick the sausages and space them out well in the basket.
- Cook for 12 minutes, turning half way through.
Notes
Storage
Fridge – Allow to cool and store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, preheat the air fryer to 185°C / 365°F and cook for 4–5 minutes. Freezer – Cooked sausages can be frozen and defrosted in the fridge. Then given a quick reheat in the air fryer as above.Hints and tips
- For best results, cook in the air fryer without a liner, so that the air can circulate.
- Make the clean up easy. When you have finished cooking, pour the excess fat out of basket while it is still hot. I pour it into a used coffee filter, as this mops up the oil and makes it easy to dispose of in the food waste bin. Then put the basket in the sink to soak right away.
- For best results preheat the air fryer and don’t forget to prick your sausages before cooking!
- Do not overcrowd the basket. You want a single layer with space (a sausage sized space!) between sausages. I know they roll about but give them space to start with!
- Oil the basket. Use a sprayer filled with oil, or oil and a brush but DO NOT use a non-stick spray that contains anything other than oil. The other ingredients will wreck the non-stick coating on the air fryer basket.
- For smaller or fatter sausages, adjust the time rather than the temperature.
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