Cooking chicken sausage in the air fryer is incredibly easy. It requires your favorite brand of chicken sausages like Applegate chicken apple sausage or Aidells and a little oil. Ready in 15 minutes, this air fried chicken sausage recipe is the perfect main dish for a busy weeknight.
Why Make Air Fried Chicken Sausage
There are lots of reasons to cook chicken sausage in the air fryer. Here are my top three:
- Easy and Quick: Cooking chicken sausage in an air fryer takes about 15 minutes. All you have to do is spray the chicken franks with oil and let the air fryer do the work!
- Juicy and crispy result: get crispy chicken sausage that taste like they were cooked on the grill with this easy recipe.
- Easy Dinner Idea: Serve these air fried chicken sausages with a range of side dishes to make a meal that your whole family can enjoy.
Ingredients Needed
As I said, chicken apple sausage in the air fryer doesn’t take much. Here’s what you’ll need to gather:
- Fully cooked Chicken sausage: I’ve made this recipe with Applegate chicken apple sausage, Trader Joe’s chicken andouille and Aidell’s garlic and artichoke. They all use the same directions. Feel free to use any one of your favorite brands. Some others brands available in most grocery stores include: Dietz and Watson, Bilinski’s, Premio, Boar’s Head and Amylu.
- Cooking Spray: I use olive oil or avocado oil to help with browning.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full step-by-step instructions and the exact ingredient amounts.
How To Cook Chicken Sausage in an Air Fryer
Follow these simple steps to make fully cooked chicken sausage in an air fryer:
- Place chicken sausages in your air fryer basket in a single layer so that the hot air can circulate.
- Spray the tops of the chicken sausages generously with oil (to help with browning and crispy skin).
- Air fry the chicken sausages at 400 degrees for 6 minutes.
- Flip the sausages and spray the tops with oil again. Continue cooking at 400 degrees for additional 5-6 minutes.
Recipe Tips & FAQs
- The cook time varies based on the type of chicken sausage, thickness, as well as whether your meat is refrigerated or frozen.
- Use refrigerated chicken sausages for best results: this recipe was not tested with frozen chicken sausage or raw chicken sausage. If you opt to use either of those types of sausage, adjust the cook time to ensure that a meat thermometer says that the internal temperature of the chicken sausages are 165 degrees.
- Adjust the cooking time for crisping: I prefer crispy chicken sausage. This way, my sausage is a little charred. If you don’t want to char your sausage skin or are using the kind of sausage that does not have a casing, check for doneness after 8-10 minutes of air frying.
- Use the air fryer grill with the same instructions for a more grilled take.
- Add aluminum foil to the bottom of the air fryer basket since that’s the best way to minimize clean up and mess.
Storage
After you air fry chicken apple sausage, you can store leftovers for next time in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Cooking chicken sausage in an air fryer takes 10-15 minutes depending on how brown or crispy you like them as well as whether your chicken sausages are frozen.
I cook chicken sausage in the air fryer for about 12 minutes.
Like other ground meat and sausages, you should air fry chicken sausage until the internal temperature is 165 degrees.
Yes. It’s safe to put a foil in the air fryer. When making air fried chicken sausage, I prefer to use it because you can just toss it after cooking, minimizing clean-up and mess.
Side Dishes for Air Fryer Chicken Apple Sausage
Use these easy air fryer recipes to turn your chicken sausages into flavorful meals:
- Air Fryer Green Beans
- Air Fryer Potatoes with Onions and Peppers
- Ninja Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Chicken Sausage (Air Fryer)
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 12 oz Chicken Sausage I used one package of Applegate chicken apple sausage, but other flavors of pre-cooked chicken sausage works.
- Oil Spray olive oil spray, or avocado oil spray
Instructions
- Add the chicken sausage to your air fryer basket.
- Spray them with oil.
- Air fry the chicken sausage and 400 degrees for 6 minutes.
- Flip the chicken sausage and spray the tops with oil again. Continue cooking at 400 degrees for 5-6 additional minutes.