Air Fryer Sausages: Cooking Times and Tips
Cooking sausages in the air fryer has become one of those things I do without really thinking about it now. There’s no frying pan spitting fat over the hob, I don’t need to put the whole oven on for a few sausages, and I can get on with making everything else while they’re cooking.
The only slightly annoying thing is that when someone asks how long sausages take in the air fryer, there isn’t one answer. A skinny chipolata obviously isn’t going to need as long as a chunky butcher’s sausage, while frozen sausages and meat-free ones can be different again.
I’ve brought the timings I use for air fryer sausages together here so you can find the one that’s closest to the sausages you’ve actually bought rather than trying to make one cooking time fit everything.
How long do sausages take in the air fryer?
For standard thick fresh sausages, around 10–15 minutes at 180°C is a useful starting point, turning them halfway through so they brown more evenly.
The exact time will depend on the thickness of your sausages and your particular air fryer, so don’t treat the timer as proof they’re cooked. If yours are particularly chunky, they may need a little longer.
Arrange them in a single layer rather than piling them on top of one another. The hot air needs to circulate around them, and squeezing far too many into the basket rather defeats the point of using an air fryer.
| Type | Temperature | Approx. time |
|---|---|---|
| Thick fresh sausages | 180°C | 10–15 mins |
| Chipolatas | 180°C | 8–10 mins |
| Cocktail sausages | 190°C | 8–10 mins |
| Vegetarian/vegan sausages | 180°C | 10–12 mins* |
| Thick frozen sausages | 180°C | 15–18 mins |
| Thin frozen sausages | 180°C | 12–14 mins |
*Check the packet as brands vary considerably.
Thick pork sausages
For ordinary thick supermarket or butcher’s sausages, I use 180°C for approximately 10–15 minutes.
Turn them about halfway through cooking and check them towards the end. If they’re especially thick, give them longer rather than increasing the temperature and ending up with very dark skins before the centres are properly cooked.
Chipolatas
Chipolatas are much thinner, so they don’t need as long.
I cook fresh chipolatas at 180°C for approximately 8–10 minutes, turning or shaking them halfway through. Keep an eye on them for the last couple of minutes because the thinner skins can brown quickly.
They’re particularly handy when you only want a few sausages for breakfast or a quick tea and can’t be bothered putting the oven on.
Cocktail sausages
Small cocktail sausages cook quickly in the air fryer. I use 190°C for around 8–10 minutes, giving the basket a shake during cooking so they colour more evenly.
Because cocktail sausages vary quite a lot in size and some are sold already cooked, check the packet too. If the manufacturer’s instructions differ from mine, follow the instructions for the product you’ve bought.
Vegetarian and vegan sausages in the air fryer
As a vegetarian, this is obviously the section I’m considerably more familiar with eating myself!
Meat-free sausages can behave quite differently from pork sausages because the ingredients and fat content vary enormously between brands. For many fresh or chilled vegetarian sausages, around 10–12 minutes at 180°C is a useful starting point, but check the packet because some brands have their own air-fryer instructions.
I’ve found that some meat-free sausages can dry out more easily than meat sausages. A very light spray of oil can help with browning if the particular ones you’re using tend to come out dry, but they certainly don’t all need it.
Can you cook frozen sausages in the air fryer?
Yes, although again I would check the packet first because manufacturers increasingly include specific air-fryer instructions.
As a general guide, I’ve found thick frozen sausages need around 15–18 minutes at 180°C, while thinner frozen sausages can take approximately 12–14 minutes.
If they’re frozen together, don’t try to prise them apart dangerously with a knife. Start cooking them and, once they’ve softened enough to separate easily, arrange them properly in the basket and continue cooking.
Should you prick sausages before air frying them?
I don’t generally prick sausages before cooking them. Leaving the skins intact helps keep the juices inside rather than deliberately making holes for them to escape through.
Occasionally a sausage will split anyway. I’m not going to pretend this is a culinary disaster; it still tastes like a sausage!
Do you need oil for air fryer sausages?
Usually not for ordinary pork sausages because they contain enough fat of their own.
Some vegetarian or particularly low-fat sausages may benefit from a very light spray, especially if you find the outside tends to dry rather than brown.
There’s no need to add oil automatically just because you’re using an air fryer. See how the particular sausages you buy turn out first.
How to stop sausages smoking in the air fryer
Fatty sausages can release quite a lot of grease, and depending on the design of your air fryer that can sometimes result in smoke.
I wouldn’t recommend universally adding water, bread or anything else underneath the basket because air fryers aren’t all designed in exactly the same way. Check the instructions for your particular model before putting anything into the drawer that isn’t specifically intended to be there.
Make sure the air fryer is clean before you start too. Old grease and food residue can smoke when the machine heats up, and sausages are hardly going to improve matters by adding even more fat.
If your air fryer starts producing excessive smoke, stop cooking and check what’s causing it rather than simply carrying on.
Cleaning up after cooking sausages
This is probably the least exciting part of the process, but sausage fat is much easier to deal with before it’s been allowed to sit there indefinitely.
Let the air fryer cool until it’s safe to handle, then remove excess grease with kitchen roll and dispose of it in the bin rather than pouring it down the sink.
Wash the removable parts according to the instructions for your air fryer. Some baskets and drawers can go in the dishwasher while others are better washed by hand, so check your particular model.
I’ve got more advice in my guide to cleaning an air fryer if yours needs a bit more attention than a quick wash.
How do you know when sausages are cooked?
Don’t judge them purely by how brown they look on the outside. A thick sausage can look beautifully cooked before the centre has reached a safe temperature.
I find a food thermometer the easiest option because you’re not repeatedly chopping sausages in half trying to decide whether they’re ready.
The Food Standards Agency gives several safe time-and-temperature combinations for cooking food, including 70°C for two minutes or equivalent combinations. Check the centre of the thickest sausage rather than just the smallest one in the basket.
What can you serve with air fryer sausages?
Sausage, mash and gravy is the obvious answer, especially when the weather is miserable, but cooked sausages are useful in all sorts of meals.
You could slice them into pasta, serve them as part of a cooked breakfast or use them with vegetables and potatoes for an easy dinner. My sausage pasta bake and sausage casserole are useful if you’ve got sausages to use, although obviously follow the individual recipe rather than cooking the sausages twice!
If you’re already using the air fryer, air fryer cauliflower can make an easy vegetable side, while there are plenty more ideas in my air fryer recipes collection.
Can you cook sausages and chips together in an air fryer?
Potentially, especially if you have a dual-drawer model, but don’t assume they’ll automatically need the same cooking time.
I’d work backwards from when you want everything ready and start whichever needs longer first. In a single basket you also need enough room for the air to circulate, so trying to cram a family-sized portion of sausages and chips into a small drawer probably isn’t going to give you the best results.
A final tip from me
Once you’ve worked out the timing for the particular sausages you buy regularly, make a note of it somewhere. Different air fryers and different sausage sizes mean the perfect timing in my kitchen won’t necessarily be exactly the same in yours.
Use these times as your starting point, check the sausages are safely cooked and adjust by a minute or two next time if necessary. That’s much more useful than endlessly searching Google for the exact same packet of sausages every time you cook them!
